Thursday, February 28, 2008
Too much free time on my hands?
That can't possibly be the case, yet I've just spent the past hour online setting up my Facebook account. Surely there's something else I should be doing....
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Yay, Hannah!
Hannah's "Battle of the Books" team placed second in their cluster yesterday, which qualifies them for the final competition in March!! Yay, Hannah -- way to go!!
(Battle of the Books is a competition where teams from elementary schools compete in a quiz-bowl type competition against other schools; they are given a list at the beginning of the school year of a list of books that they will be quizzed over.)
(Battle of the Books is a competition where teams from elementary schools compete in a quiz-bowl type competition against other schools; they are given a list at the beginning of the school year of a list of books that they will be quizzed over.)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Whew....
Well, I just made it through my first day of fasting for Lent. Prior to the beginning of Lent, I contemplated what I could realistically give up... and that which I would have to acknowledge I am either unwilling or unable to give up. For a Lenten discipline to be meaningful, whatever you're giving up has to be something you truly value. One of my friends from church gave up ketchup one year... Another has given up buying fabric... It all depends on what you hold dear. Well, I (briefly) considered giving up coffee, but decided it wouldn't be fair to Nathan and Hannah who would have to deal with me in the morning. I almost gave myself an "out" for choosing a Lenten discipline by reasoning that with Joe gone, I had given up him for Lent, ha ha. (Okay, sorry Lord, that I even considered that one!) So I decided to really challenge myself this year by choosing to fast one day a week. And, well, I did choose the day of the week that I thought would be the easiest to fast; a day where I knew I didn't have anything food-oriented likely to tempt me. Tuesdays looked to be the perfect day. And honestly, I have never fasted before, out of choice. Oh sure, I've fasted before having blood tests, and there are the few cases of stomach flu or intestinal distress that just calls for abstaining from eating. Pastor Dan has mentioned fasting several times during his sermons, and I honestly never really considered doing it.
But I made it -- with God's help! When I found myself struggling (looking at the pan of peanut butter fudge on the counter... looking at the bag of Doritos in the pantry... reading the signs on McDonalds... yes--it was a day-long struggle), I found myself praying for strength and more determination to see this through. If Jesus could give his life on the cross for me -- a very undeserving, sinful, weak person, then by golly, I could go without food for one measly day. Thank you, Lord, for seeing me through this challenge!
But I made it -- with God's help! When I found myself struggling (looking at the pan of peanut butter fudge on the counter... looking at the bag of Doritos in the pantry... reading the signs on McDonalds... yes--it was a day-long struggle), I found myself praying for strength and more determination to see this through. If Jesus could give his life on the cross for me -- a very undeserving, sinful, weak person, then by golly, I could go without food for one measly day. Thank you, Lord, for seeing me through this challenge!
Friday, February 8, 2008
Ooops!!
Yikes--has it really been so long since I last posted?? What have I been doing?? Well, eating, sleeping, breathing... other than that, it doesn't feel like I've been particularly productive this year, thus far.
One thing I have accomplished is applying to our school system's "Choice" program, to select Nathan's high school and Hannah's middle school for the 2008-09 school year. After wading through our options (which in our minds were few), we've settled on on a year-round classical school. This is a total choice school, meaning everyone that goes there has to apply to attend. Grades 6-12 attend the same school, so Nathan and Hannah will be on the same schedule. The year-round calendar, though sounding initially ominous, is really not that bad. I had to explain to Hannah that students at the year-round actually attend the same number of days as those attending a traditional school, but they just get longer breaks throughout the year. She thought they actually went every day throughtout the year, but when she saw how long the Christmas break was, she was sold! Nathan was a harder sell, on the other hand. All of his friends at his middle school would probably be going on to the local high school, but since he was attending a school out of his attendance area, it was going to be hard to get him into that high school. And, we weren't convinced that it would be a good school for him. But, alas, one of his friends will be going to this school, so he decided it may not be so bad after all.
After a lot of research, and definitely a lot of prayer, we feel like we've made the right decision. Now to convince the kids of that when they have to start school in mid-July!!
One thing I have accomplished is applying to our school system's "Choice" program, to select Nathan's high school and Hannah's middle school for the 2008-09 school year. After wading through our options (which in our minds were few), we've settled on on a year-round classical school. This is a total choice school, meaning everyone that goes there has to apply to attend. Grades 6-12 attend the same school, so Nathan and Hannah will be on the same schedule. The year-round calendar, though sounding initially ominous, is really not that bad. I had to explain to Hannah that students at the year-round actually attend the same number of days as those attending a traditional school, but they just get longer breaks throughout the year. She thought they actually went every day throughtout the year, but when she saw how long the Christmas break was, she was sold! Nathan was a harder sell, on the other hand. All of his friends at his middle school would probably be going on to the local high school, but since he was attending a school out of his attendance area, it was going to be hard to get him into that high school. And, we weren't convinced that it would be a good school for him. But, alas, one of his friends will be going to this school, so he decided it may not be so bad after all.
After a lot of research, and definitely a lot of prayer, we feel like we've made the right decision. Now to convince the kids of that when they have to start school in mid-July!!
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