Play, Praise and Service

We're getting into that time of year where things start getting a little nuts.  Though I need to start writing smaller to fit everything into those tiny calendar squares, it's all fun stuff, so I'm not complaining!  Here's what happened this week in the VM House:

Last weekend Delia attended a birthday party for her best friend Brittany.  Though this buddy doesn't go to her school, she's kept a close bond from preschool and through church.  The party was at one of those awesome gymnastics places.  The kids spent an hour climbing on equipment and bouncing off the trampoline run way into the foam block pit.  Delia's ecstasy over this type of physical play was so obvious, random parents were telling me, "You have to get that girl in a dance or gymnastics program!"

Delia had fun reuiniting with a bunch of old preschool friends who she hasn't seen all year.  Having watched big sister go to friends' houses and parties for years, it was finally Delia's turn to do something super special.  It was a great day for Delia.

In the middle of the week Dave's youth group hosted the annual softball game against our church's council.  This event is a favorite each year and this year was no exception.  We love watching dads who are Elders tag their high school daughters out and cheering for high school sons who play for the Varsity baseball team hit home runs over their dad's head.

The kids always make their own fun at the park where the game is played.  We have some young dad Deacons this year, so the crowd of kids is growing!

 "Good Game."  It's a night of great competition and sportsmanship that the players and audience all get really into.  Once again, the council took home the victory.

Last night our hearts were truly blessed as Ella and the whole second grade led us through A Journey of Praise.  This was not a traditional program, as we learned when the kids all yelled out at the beginning, "It's not about us!"  They sang 7 praise songs and, as their teachers explained, had a goal of glorifying God with each word spoken, each ribbon twirled, each step danced and each instrument played.  They did do a wonderful job, but even more, I am certain God was honored and praised through their efforts.

Ella was a speaker, a soloist and a dancer.  When it was over, Delia told her, "You were awesome!"  Ella responded, "Thanks, but I'd be happier if you said, 'God is awesome!'"  Cool, huh? :)

April 27 is Love Our Cities day.  Do you have this by you?  People all over are encouraged to set aside a few hours on this specific Saturday morning to volunteer to do things that serve their community somehow, like showing appreciation to civil servants, bringing cheer to residents of the retirement home, yard work at the public school, projects for the parks, assistance at the library, or cleaning at our food bank.  Dave has always enjoyed participating in these Love ______ projects and this year Ella was excited to volunteer with him!  The first hour of weed pulling at the school was not her thing, but she did love the next 2 hours of red line painting.  Maybe in a few years we'll be able to share this experience as a whole family.

As for me, I'm happy, happy, happy!  On Monday I am officially done being a student when I turn in my final and most impressive project as a culmination of my year of ECE classes-- a 30 page Historical and Current Trends in Early Childhood Education Report.  On Tuesday I lead my last Bible Study.  This week I've gotten to spend lots of time helping and observing in the preschool.  I got to sit down with the principal and attend my first staff meeting and even go out for dinner with the team of preschool teachers.  As the word leaks out that I'll be teaching next year, I've received a lot of really kind and encouraging words from parent friends who will have little ones in my class next year.  My head is bursting with ideas I can't wait to implement.  I love daydreaming about things like how to set up my classroom, or how to involve family members, or what fun projects and activities we can use with certain unit studies!  It is a fun time of transition from concluding a year of studies to re-entering the world of teaching again.  And so far, I'm just loving it all!

Date With the Tooth Fairy Tonight!

All day we've been humming the Tooth Fairy song that our Mount Hermon friend Jack sings: 

"The tooth in the middle, 

it had a little wiggle...

Oh Tooth Fairy can you hear me?

We've got a date tonight.

I'm tellin' you the truth

I got a loose tooth

The first one on the right."

Unfortunately, for Delia's first loose tooth, it was not all smiles and cute Jack jingles.  We've had serious tooth drama in our house for the past week.  Terrified of the pain and blood that she perceived would accompany the tooth's exit from her mouth, Delia wouldn't wiggle it, brush it, eat certain foods, let us touch it...or look at it or even talk about it.  When I noticed it hanging by a thread this morning, I knew it would probably fall out at school and that would probably be best because then she'd be more likely to keep calm.

And that is exactly what happened.  It came out before school even started and with her whole class watching and her sweet teacher cheering, Delia proclaimed, "I didn't need to freak out at all!"  We'll see if this lesson sticks with her when the next tooth gets wiggly.

The laughter above is a little bit of relief, a little bit of excitement for the Tooth Fairy's visit tonight and a lot of giggles about how hard it is to smile in a way that shows off the new gap, but doesn't look like you're angry or about to take a bite of the photographer!  I'm just gonna admire those sweet little, perfectly lined-up baby teeth in this picture as long as I can.  If Delia's teeth come in like Ella's, I think we have a date with the orthodontist after the one with the Tooth Fairy!

What to Do on a Windy Day:

Senioritis and Faith

Remember that last quarter of high school?  You had already been accepted into college, the scholarships were secure.  The motivation to keep pushing through and doing your very best diminished, especially as your calendar filled up with fun almost-summer things to do.  This week I'm having deja vu.  Oh how hard it is to endure the completion of hard work-- especially when the goal for which it is being done is already met!   The countdown is on: 2 more weeks of classes, 1 more quiz, 4 more discussion answers, 3 more papers!

On Thursday I interviewed for and was immediately offered a job to teach preschool five mornings a week at the girls' school.  I'll work for about 5 hours each day, getting home a few hours before the kids get off the afternoon bus.  It's the ideal part-time schedule.  Plus, I'll continue to have holidays, weekends and summers off with the girls.  I have been letting the thought, "I'm an official teacher again!" sink in for 4 days now and it makes my heart jump each time it floats across my mind.

I could write a novel about how God unfolds his plans and how I see so many pieces of my past lining up just for this (that my first job out of college was teaching preschool, that God called me to lead Bible Study this year and taught me about trusting in his strength and power to do a job I'm not equipped to do on my own, that I obsessively record and mourn my own children's passing through that super fun 3-5 year old stage, the list goes on...).

With both the girls in school full time next year, we knew two years ago already that I had to figure something out.  But, I did not want just any job that brought in a paycheck.  Whatever my next step was, it had to be a career move-- something I'd find joy and purpose in doing until I retired from it.  What an absolute miracle it's been to clearly hear God giving direction through this whole process.  When hurdles appeared (like needing all these ECE credits before I could even apply!), God provided answers.

And his timing was perfect!  With a new building expansion being completed just this summer, the preschool finally gets the classroom space it needs to double its program size and get a bunch of kids off a waiting list.  I couldn't have applied last year, they were not hiring.  My year of classes not only served to bide some time, it was just what I needed to learn and grow passionate about being the best early childhood teacher I can be.

Next year will be full of changes for all of us.  But, with absolute evidence that God is faithful and that he blesses obedience, our prayer continues to be "His will be done."        

Dave's Spring Break Choice

The choice Dave made for our last day of Spring Break was actually a Plan B, but it was a super fun discovery that we are sure to revisit!  He wanted to do something active and in scenic place.  The first hiking place we looked at had us in the car for 6 hours, riding on twisty roads and ultimately hiking through dark bat caves that Delia expressed concern over.  When Dave decided we needed to scale waaaay back on our ambitious plan, we stumbled on this lovely park in the nearby hills made for biking and hiking.  

So here's how it is in our family: learn to ride a two wheel bike one week, get thrown into a family outing that has you pedaling for over 3 miles the next week!  We're tough, huh? :)  This park we found had about 5 miles of paved bike trails that were just perfect for Delia to continue developing her new skill.  She had her moments, but did great overall.  She discovered that her favorite part of biking is yelling, "ON YOUR LEFT!" and zooming past members of the family to take the lead in our line.

The scenery we saw as we pedaled along was fantastic!  We watched deer and a flock of wild turkeys.  When we got back the car, a friendly man with a dog came up and asked if we saw the rattlesnake half a mile back!  "Um, no, thank goodness!!!" we answered, so he showed us pictures on his phone of the 4 foot long snake he had just encountered sunbathing in the middle of the path.

Unlike the Golden Gate Bridge, there was very little traffic on the path.  When we did have to yield to others, it was horse-back riders!

"This Spring Break, I rode my bike" Ella stated, summing up what we did more than anything else this week. Dave and I are celebrating how this latest stage gives us another way of being active together and exploring new places as a family.  We're considering just keeping the bikes in the back of the minivan for good!

On the way home we stopped for some ice cream and some shopping at a great new outlet mall.  The above picture shows what the girls found in a cute children's store and convinced me to buy!

Something for Everyone this Spring Break

Since we've all been working hard and all looking forward to a break, the big idea for this Spring Break was to let each member of our family pick one special thing they wanted to do during the week off.  After approving the ideas, checking the map and doing a little research, we decided to cross Delia's, Ella's and my ideas off the list over a two day getaway to San Francisco.  

Delia wanted nothing more than to go to a zoo with koala bears, which is either San Diego or San Francisco.  We realized that we haven't been to a zoo in a few years and now that Delia is old enough to be mobile and independent, her enjoyment of them is greatly enhanced.  What fun we had watching her run ahead of us to each new animal exhibit, squealing with joy and enthusiasm.  She was happy and lit up all day, clearly in her animal-loving element.  We saw the koalas right away and checked on them multiple times throughout the day, but these guys were sleepy and spent the whole day napping.  Still exciting to see!

 Besides an exuberant Delia, the second best thing we saw on zoo day was the frisky grizzly bears being fed.

Here is what I love about Ella: she needed to bring her journal into the zoo so that she could sketch the animals and jot down story ideas (she can't wait to start writing one about a family of gorillas whose names all begin with the letter G).  As our girls grow, it is such a blessing to see their interests and gifts emerge!

After seeing the bald eagles on Eagle Island, which was cool, but not as cool as seeing them in the wild in Washington this summer, we had to compare our wing span to theirs.  Seeing how close Dave comes makes me even more impressed by these majestic birds!

A giraffe got real close to say hello and a peacock opened his feathers for us-- other neat highlights from our trip to the zoo.

Ella could not decide for her choice.  She was torn between an art museum and a children's museum.  When I saw that the De Young Art Museum was right next door to the zoo and offering its First Tuesday of the Month Free Day, we knew we had to quick stop in so Ella could experience fine art for the first time.

This was not Delia's thing.  She did not light up the way she did at the zoo.  Mostly she looked for benches to climb on.  But Ella, who fancies herself an artist, could have spent all day here.  She studied each picture, asked great questions and couldn't decide if the gallery full of colorful modern art or the wing full of delicate glass sculptures was her favorite.  I'm excited to take her (just her) back some day.

Then we checked into our hotel, our favorite "E Hotel", where we spent the night swimming.

Ella got her children's museum choice too when I discovered that they offered their free day on the first WEDNESDAY of the month.  (Sidenote, with the two free museums and by using our AAA card at the zoo to get two free children's admissions, we spent a total of $30 for 3 great outings!  Pretty good, huh?)  We got to the Bay Area Discovery Museum that she picked first thing in the morning (the perk of having a nearby hotel) and had a good hour of having the place pretty much to ourselves.  When we left about 3 hours later, the place was absolutely nuts, which we expected on the free day.

This was the museum at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge that we found over Spring Break last year.   Hauling crabs into nets, selling them at the wharf and drilling rivets into the bridge were all just as fun as the girls remembered.

They added a new Exploring Fairytales exhibit which was super fun.  As a student of early childhood education, I could have watched the kids interact with this environment all day and written an extensive paper about the value of learning through play.  We worked on our own literacy, language, creative and social skills as Dave read the fairytales and the girls then made them come to life by playing them.

After our few morning hours at the children's museum, we crossed my Spring Break choice off the list: a bike ride across the Golden Gate bridge.  I've been wanting to do this for years, but we just weren't in a good place until now.  Though Delia is getting really strong on the two-wheel bike, she's not quite ready for the traffic and wind of the bridge.  Yet again we got great use out of the tandem bike while Ella did wonderful on her own.

I'm so happy about my choice!  We easily made it all the way across the bridge and back and loved each inch of it.  Riding bikes across the Golden Gate with the family is probably the coolest thing I've ever done in the city.  We also realized that it was exactly 10 years ago, during the Spring Break of 2003, that we first put our feet on this now-familiar landmark when we spent a little time in SF before interviewing at the church we've been serving at now for nearly a decade.  How our lives have changed!

Happy Easter from the VMs!

We added yet another blessed Easter to the list of Easters we've celebrated in this life. Though, how can you not be blessed on Easter Sunday?  Christ is risen and we are free from the punishment of sin and the burden of the law.  Mercy triumphs-- what a gift!  What a reason to celebrate!

Our celebrations included a full day shared with Dad and our best friends this year.  Another reason we feel blessed.

Our church service was great.  One song especially gave me a catch in my throat:

See What a Morning by Keith and Kristyn Getty

See, what a morning, gloriously bright, 
With the dawning of hope in Jerusalem; 
Folded the grave-clothes, tomb filled with light, 
As the angels announce, "Christ is risen!" 
See God's salvation plan, 
Wrought in love, borne in pain, paid in sacrifice, 
Fulfilled in Christ, the Man, 
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead! 

See Mary weeping, "Where is He laid?" 
As in sorrow she turns from the empty tomb; 
Hears a voice speaking, calling her name; 
It's the Master, the Lord raised to life again! 
The voice that spans the years, 
Speaking life, stirring hope, bringing peace to us, 
Will sound till He appears, 
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead! 

One with the Father, Ancient of Days, 
Through the Spirit who clothes faith with certainty. 
Honor and blessing, glory and praise 
To the King crowned with pow'r and authority! 
And we are raised with Him, 
Death is dead, love has won, Christ has conquered; 
And we shall reign with Him, 
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

After church we headed over to Phil and Jetta's house since the annual VM Easter gathering was off this year.  With our dear friends we shared a delicious ham dinner, a giant egg hunt and hours of great conversation.

The day was perfect, but what I'll remember most are actually the pictures I don't have: all the kids smushed up under a blanket in the back of Phil's pick-up truck squealing and watching the thunderstorm roll in over the pasture, the board game the adults were playing inside being disrupted by 8 children outside the large window chanting "Sleep-o-ver!, Sleep-o-ver!"  (We obliged, but not until having a little fun with them first!), or watching the kids act out the entire Easter story (staring Ella as Jesus) which ended with out-of-control, joyful mayhem with their realization that the tomb was empty.

All is quiet this afternoon as the girls and Dave start their Spring Breaks with a nap.  Dave is tired from the early morning of dropping Dad off at the airport.  The girls are wiped out from the 12 hours of hard play that they shared with their best friends.  We loved having Grandpa here and now look forward to a week off to rest and recharge!