Spring Rain

It's raining today! The boys and I were discussing on the way to school how high the river is going to get this week, with the snow melting because we're above freezing and now a very rainy day!

Spring break for the boys begins Friday. Last year, we had a week off for winter break in February and one week in April, near Easter. This year, we had 2 days in February and a week and 2 days now! I can't quite understand why the days were moved to now - the weather is actually tolerable now (we'd much rather go away in February!) and we really don't need an 11 day break when school will be finished in just 11 weeks! The school district ought to let me arrange the breaks! ;-)

We had a relaxing weekend overall; it was almost strange to not spend 10 hours at an ice arena! I think Harrison has enjoyed the last couple of weeks with no hockey, but yesterday he was getting antsy and asking when spring varisty hockey starts ... which isn't until april 27. He made me laugh - he said "I gotta play hockey sooner." Can hockey be addictive??! Also, Harrison completed 4 weeks of math in the past week, so we're just a couple of days short of being caught up!

Clay has been working on a t-shirt; he's designing and coloring it with fabric markers. He also had a lot of science homework this weekend for some reason. Our "patient" is doing well, but has a sore tummy. He went to work today for half a day and is planning to put in full days the rest of the week.

The top photo is Harriosn. The one underneath is from the current issue of Vogue Magazine. Some girls at school saw the picture in the magazine and thought it looked like Harrison's "doppleganger!" I must admit they do resemble each other quite a bit!

Dreary Thursday

Today really looks like March. Grey, drizzle, and cool. I just can't wait for nice weather! Dad has surgery tomorrow; he has an umbilical hernia. Hopefully it goes quickly and well. A friend is taking him as it's scheduled right while I'm teaching. Harrison and I worked on math yesterday; he is homeschooled in math and we've gotten behind! Spending a week in Ecuador, a week in Arizona, and then hockey finals (hockey every night until after 10) really put us off schedule (plus me being gone several times to Florida and New York for my dissertation research). At any rate, we're working on catching up now. We use the Michigan Virtual High School program through Michigan State University. He does well with the format. I also think having me explain to just him is helpful for him. He's doing great this semester - has an "A" so far (we'll see how it goes doing it double-speed to catch up!). There is also a certified teacher from MSU that does the tests and other homework assignments: she creates them and grades them, while I'm responsible for helping Harrison learn the material so that he is able to do the assignments. It's quite a nice program. The only strange thing is that I don't like being his teacher! I have so many students and I enjoy both them and teaching a great deal; however I don't like the lack of "distance" from Harrison! I keep wondering how it will be when he goes off to university and (maybe) has me for an instructor! My favorite teacher when I was in college had a daughter named Laura who was also exactly the same age as me. Laura and I got along well and it seemed having her mom as a professor was fine. The other profs didn't appear to see her any differently than the other students, either. Hopefully, it will be the same for us!

Human Society Cattery

Clay and I volunteered at the Humane Society today. There was an absolutely beautiful seal point Persian in the cattery that had the sweetest personality, lovely coat and the most gorgeous sea-green eyes - they were HUGE! I would have loved to have taken this cat home! It would really be a stretch for us to have another cat at this point - particularly to spend enough time with it. This cat was truly the most beautiful cat I've ever seen. Attached is a photo while I was petting her - unfortunately, she was looking down, so you can't see those beautiful eyes!

All the cats were super nice this week - every last one of them friendly and easy to work with. Clay liked a dark brown/black long-hair named Frodo. That cat sure loved him, too! I wanted to post a picture of them I took, but I got a new phone today and can't figure out how to email my picture! If I do within the next few days, I'll post it! Later this evening: I found the picture - note 3 cats clamoring for attention from Clay! He's petting Frodo. We think the short-hairs (black and a tabby) might be litter-mates.

So, if anyone is interested in a PURRFECT cat - let me know! I have just the one - the white with grey-tipped long hair (seal point) Persian! She is neutered, declawed in the front and as sweet a cat as I've ever seen. I'll direct you to the Kent County Human Society in Walker!

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to me! The years are flying by way too fast for me at this point! I thought I'd check out who else shares my birthday. I found these people also were born today: Peyton Manning, Louie Anderson, Steve McQueen, and Harry Houdini. People who died today? Jules Verne (1905) and Queen Elizabeth I (1603).

"Scientific theory is a contrived foothold in the chaos of living phenomena." Wilhelm Reich (psychologist) March 24, 1897 - November 3, 1957

Happy Easter!

Here we have the boys making a few eggs last night. We drove to the other side of the state to visit Grandma and Grandpa yesterday; we all played a trivia game together and exchanged Easter baskets! Back home in the evening, we made a dozen eggs, ate bacon and eggs for dinner and watched "Enchanted." It was a decent flik!

Wishing everyone a enjoyable Easter and blessed year to come!

The Second Day of Spring!

Well, it's the second day of spring and we have 3" to 6" inches of snow predicted! I guess I wasn't far off with the prediction of one more good snow storm. The upshot is we don't live 30 miles further south, where they will receive 6" to 10" of snow!

I spent most of the day yesterday working on my dissertation (still recruiting participants) and then correcting. I'd been wanting to see "10,000 BC," so when the boys got home I asked if they'd like to go. Nobody wanted to, so during dinner time I went myself! I'm glad I saw it on the "big screen;" the special effects (such as mamoths) were good. The story line left something to be desired, as did the time line! The movie depicted the great pyramid going up (recognizable by the gold pyramid topper), which I believe didn't happen until somewhere in the 3,000 to 2,000 BC time period (not a great historian!). Also, the movie depicted metal handcuffs - once again, I'm not the best historian, but I'm pretty sure the stone age (10,000 BC) didn't include metal handcuffs! Seems to me the first tools found were copper and bronze (hey, the Bronze Age!) around 4,000 BC. Well, I guess it was just a movie... Probably the most interesting twisit in the movie was that it hinted the pyramid builders were actually Antlanteans!

Roy is coming along slowly. He still tires quite easily but is walking around some and doing his therapy regularly for the knee. Surgery at 81 has got to be tough!

1st Day of Spring

The first day of spring ... we drove to school in a world covered by frost! I'm betting on one more good snow storm before it's actually spring. But, boy am I ready for warmer weather!

By the way, tulips are one of my favorite flowers - as long as there are lots of them and they're multicolored! They rank right up their with bunches of multicolored roses. I'm not big on the pastels, but love the rich, bold vibrant colors that when seen can only make you smile. The most beautiful floral arrangements (to me) are HUGE bouquets of tulips and greenery.

Clay built a new Indiana Jones Lego set last night. I can hardly wait for the new movie! I'll be in the theater on opening night!

It's also Maundy Thursday, the day of the 'first' Last Supper. It was Passover then, but Passover won't happen for several weeks yet this year. Easter is so early this year (it won't be this early for another 203 years) because Christians follow a lunar calendar and Easter is always the first Sunday following the first Pascal full moon after the first day of spring. So blame the moon!

I remember Holy Week being so different as a child. We celebrated the Passover and usually had a half day of school on Good Friday. I can remember playing outside in the afternoon, after church, wearing a spring jacket! My mom just said we had to not play boisterously because it was a solemn day. Everything was closed and quiet. Saturday was a day of making eggs and getting the house and food ready for relatives to come over on Easter Sunday. We always had a few baskets that were well hidden, with some small gifts inside. Usually, the following week there was no school or at times, no school all of Holy Week.

My children have no time off from school. Not even a half-day on Friday. Our current church celebrated Passover once - 4 years ago. There is no Friday afternoon service, only one late at night. The world keeps moving; nothing closes and it seems just like any other busy Friday.

We still color eggs and hide baskets and celebrate with family. I am saddened that Christianity is becoming so marginalized by our society; I think we lose a part of ourselves, our culture, and our ability to experience gratefulness for the miracle of existence when we ignore our faith and our heritage in the name of secularity. I am not convinced secular practices make us a better nation; rather I think it weakens us. Instead of celebrating who we are and what we believe, we choose to hide under the guise of "political correctness" so as not offend anyone.

You know what? It's not offensive to have a heritage, a faith, or a culture. I will take joy in others' celebrations as well. I remember a Jewish family that lived near us when I was growing up. Their celebrations weren't threatening or "bad;" they were interesting and made me feel more intelligent to know and understand some of their history. It also gave me a deeper understanding of my own history. I have brought my children up to take an interest in and enjoyment from other religions and cultures. Rather than lose our faith and history to secularity, I would prefer to celebrate and share!

Spring is nature's way of saying "Let's Party!" Robin Williams

ExtravaBANDza!

The "ExtravaBANDza" was a lovely concert. The bands from 6th through 12th grade participated, including the High School Symponic Band, Wind Ensemble, and Jazz Band. In addition, the color guard performed at the end.

Each band (6th, 7th, 8th, and the High School bands) performed 2 songs and then the entire group (350 students!) performed 3 songs together. Imagine 350 playing together! It was pretty amazing.

Clay's (7th grade) band performed "Courage" and "Chesapeake Overature." Clay plays clarinet. The concert was to run for an hour, but went over to almost an hour and half, which was a long time on the gym bleachers! Next year, I think they will have to consider either only 1 song per band to lessen the time, or move us to the Fine Arts Center that has actual theater seating!

If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you might be able to find Clay over on the right-hand side!

The Day After The Big Win

The final score last night for the JV Championship was 7-5. That's Harrison up on the net (on the right). After the game, the boys and families all went out to a victory dinner/celebration. It was so late when we got home, we all slept in an extra half hour today and the boys went to school a little late.

Tonight is the "Extravabandza" for Clayton. The 6th, 7th, and 8th grade bands will have their largest concert of the year ... so I guess another late night! I can't seem to remember where we put Clay's tuxedo shirt (part of his band uniform), so that will be priority #1 today!

More good news: Roy came home from the hospital yesterday evening. The goal was for him to be able to move his knee/leg to 90 degrees within 2 weeks - he did it yesterday (3 days post-op!). Actually, he attained 91 degrees!

So, after finding the tuxedo shirt, I need to really think about Easter (too early this year!) and work on my dissertation ... and of course the laundry, ironing, cleaning, homework to correct, and tomorrow's lesson plans!

Isn't it lovely to have such a full life! :-)

Quote for the day (heard my kids saying this and belly-laughing and I had to repeat it): "You're as ugly as a mule and dumb as one, too. If a stranger offers you a ride, I suggest you take it. " Abe Simpson

We Won the JV Championship!!!!

For the second year in a row, the Davenport Men's Hockey team made its way into the ACHA Division II National Championship Game, but this time they were able to come out on top as the Panthers defeated Indiana University 5-2. The win is the first National Championship of any kind for a Davenport team after beginning the athletic program just six years ago. I watched the game online with the boys (Dad was there in Florida). How exciting to have our University team as National Champions!

On another note, the top-seated team in Harrison's play-offs lost again yesterday - leaving Harrison's team and another tied for first. Therefore, the outcome of the game today no longer matters. Harrison's team will play tomorrow for the championship!

Hockey Results

3/15/2008 Update!

The boys won their hockey game today 6-2! Tomorrow we face off against the top ranked team. He's #19 - I included an action shot froma previous game. After the tough game, Harrison is now at a paintball 16th birthday party for a few hours, then off to a Wii tournament and food to wrap up the birthday. I guess girls like a nice party for their 16th and boys must enjoy a more sporting type day!

One other note: for those of you who know my family (!), yes, that was my Uncle Ed who passed away yesterday. Roy (stepdad) had surgery yesterday for a total knee replacement. He's doing ok and has a strong desire to get back to where he was!

Day 1

Well, here I am, attempting my first blog! Today is Saturday, March 15, 2008. I thought it would be nice to communicate more effectively and regularly with family and friends! I always struggle with trying to keep up with regular communication.

Harrison is playing in the hockey finals for his high school JV hockey team. The first game was Thursday night and they won! We have a game this afternoon. He's playing defense and looks pretty intimidating at 6'2" plus 3" added from the skates!

Clayton is enchanted by his new "Super Mario" game. He preordered it over a year ago using a Christmas gift card from Aunt Sharon and Uncle John. He's so excited after the long wait to finally play!

We went to see "Horton Hears a Who" last night with Clayton's best buddy, T. We all enjoyed it a great deal; it was nice to see Jim Carrey back in a comedic role. It really is his best venue.