Morning coffee & trees in the rain

This morning our department had a farewell coffee for Jenn. It was very classy and we found out that she was going to sort-of continue as she will be doing some contract work for us (whew).

For lunch Lauren wanted to pick up a tree since her neice is in from Chicago and her boys are coming in for a few days. So we borrowed Lisa's 4-runner and went in search of trees. Of course, it was nice and cloudy all morning then started raining when we got to the tree lot. Lauren kept asking my opinion on the trees and I kept reminding her that I've never had a real tree. On the way to the second lot we stopped at the Flower Bucket to pick up some real garland since it was 1/2 price. I've never been tempted with the real tree and decorations but I was when she got the garland; it had berries and pine cones and smelled so wonderful.

At the end of the work day Jennifer, Annette & Lauren helped me complete the majority of our Christmas cards and they will go out tomorrow!

A very good friend of mine is very early pregnant :-)

I finished up the VERY LAST of the Christmas shopping this evening but had to drive Trey's car, which is a standard and I'm not that great on standard. So for some reason as I'm getting back into the car to leave Academy, the stupid alarm starts going off and I COULD NOT GET IT TO TURN OFF. I called Trey and he told me how but it WOULD NOT WORK. So finally the alarm shuts up and I start the car and drive off. Of course it starts going again as I'm leaving the parking lot, which flusters me and I let off the clutch and it starts putt, putt, puttering. I drove the stupid car the whole way home like that. Trey comes out laughing when I pull into the driveway. He gets in and immediately turns the alarm off. I warned him not to trust it as it would stop for a few minutes then start up again over and over but the alarm never went back on for him. So I am beginning to think the car is possessed and I should stay away from it. Trey thought it was quite funny and said that he could hear me coming up the street, around the corner, etc . . . . I guess it was a little funny . . . .

Exceptionally good article:

I discovered this article a few weeks ago and shared with a few people. The comments I've received are that many also that it was an exceptional article. In fact, after reading this we've been working really hard to get Danielle to realize how she should approach opening presents and the thoughts behind them. I don't really agree with all the homeschooling--what works for some does not work for all--but the thoughtfulness is still a very good lesson. I hope I'm not stepping on any copyright laws here--if so, please let me know asap.

From Crosswalk.com website: http://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/1453355.html


How to Make a Monster in Three Easy Steps
Jenefer Igarashi, Contributing Writer

A few years back we rearranged our furniture. We wanted to move the TV into a position that would better suit all six of our kids. We found the perfect spot: we moved it into the dumpster. We figured the easiest way to screen programming and commercials was to not have to bother with it. We're lazy like that.

Anyhow, the many years that we did have the television, there were a few programs that my family liked to watch. One of them was a funny video blooper family show, which caught all sorts of hilarious mishaps on tape. Most of the home videos were truly funny, but I always cringed when they played their "heinous kid" segments, in which they featured children who behaved like little monsters. They would show these kids going into a rage over having to eat their green beans or flying into a fit because they were trying to sing and their brother kept interrupting them, or falling down into a crying tantrum because the parent walked in on them as they were doing something naughty, like smearing toothpaste all over the bathroom mirror. And of course the audience would cackle with hearty laughter.

One of this program's segments always included a montage of ungrateful kids. The video would open with a scene at a birthday party or a Christmas morning showing a kid ripping open his gift, staring at it, and crying, "This isn't what I wanted!" He would proceed to throw it, stomp on it, or drop it into his younger sibling's lap with an air of indignation.

I can still remember my surprise when this particular show played a video of a little girl opening a gift. While she was tearing into the present with exuberance, she didn't notice that the dress inside accidentally flew out with the wrapping paper. When she got to the heart of the package, the only thing left was the hanger. I cringed and waited for the wailing to ensue. Instead, the child's face lit up like the sun and she squealed, "A hanger! A hanger! Thank you! I love it!" It actually brought me to tears. Now that was a clip worth smiling for.

When I was little, I was a dreadful little wart. I could write pages and pages filled with examples about how heinous I was. I made Nellie Olsen look like a saint. However, I had one redeeming quality. I was thankful for what I got. My parents did not lavish my sister and me with gifts or treats. Going to McDonalds was reserved for birthdays or important occasions. It was a special thing to go out and eat in a restaurant--any restaurant. I could never understand going back to school after the holiday break and hearing kids complain about getting clothes for Christmas. We did not have lovely wardrobes; new clothes were like gold to us! My dad was in the Air Force, and if I asked for new clothes, he would joke, "I wear the same outfit every day--you can too." My parents were in very good shape financially, yet they taught us to be thankful and grateful by not giving us stuff. A gift was extraordinarily precious to me. It was precious because it was rare. Consider diamonds and gravel. Diamonds are precious because they are rare. Think about it--no one weaves gravel into a wedding dress; nobody sets gravel in gold or wears gravel earrings, bracelets, or necklaces. Why not? It's because there is an overabundant supply of gravel. Things that are commonplace are naturally taken for granted. Food, water, air, homes, our health, and so on, are not given much thought, or seem very "praiseworthy" until suddenly they become out of reach or are threatened. For the most part, people have been programmed to believe we deserve these basic things in life. And why be thankful for something we deserve? If we deserve something, then somebody should pay big time if we don't get that to which we are entitled.

One of the hardest things for many parents to do is to follow through with "no" (many parents find it easy to say "no"--it's easy to say, but they don't really mean it). There have been so many times that I've heard parents say, "I just want little Timmy to have all the things I didn't have growing up," or "I want my kids to know they deserve good things," or "I want my kids to learn to stand up for themselves and realize their self-worth." Egads ... ideas like that are some of the quickest ways to mold a kid into an absolutely selfish little canker sore. If you want to build a mini-monster, that's a good way to start.

Call me mean-spirited, but I start teaching my kids very early that they are not the center of the universe. I am known to give one of my kids a cookie, but then tell another one "no." They do not get mad or bitter; we have done this enough times for them to understand (and fully accept) that just because somebody else gets something doesn't automatically mean that they are owed something too. We have taught our kids to know that they are not entitled to "stuff." We want them to be prepared for life, and you know as well as I do that life is not fair. I don't want them to covet. I do not want them to grow up and see their neighbor's nice house and nice car and shake their fist at God who may have showered material blessings on others yet withheld material prosperity from them. No, they are learning to be happy for people who receive blessings, not envious of them.

Parents who create an artificial world for their children are setting them up for a cruel joke when it comes time for them to leave. When these kids enter the real world, all of a sudden throwing a fit to get what they want doesn't work anymore. They won't be able to change people's minds by "whining enough." They will mature into full-blown manipulators. The children who have grown up believing they "deserve certain things" will become bitter, angry, depressed adults if they don't get what they want, and they will become empty and unfulfilled if they do end up with a vault of self-serving possessions. It is unlikely that they will realize they have been lied to for the first half of their lives; rather, they will still believe the "self-esteem" lessons their parents ingrained in them. These kids will grow into adults who will wholeheartedly believe that the world just doesn't appreciate their worth, and they will live in conflict with that knowledge. The thought of my kids living a life like that makes it much easier to tell my kids "no."
The other day I took my daughter, Emmiko, and my sister's daughter, Julia, to a birthday party. They had not met this little girl before, so they were a little nervous about showing up and participating in her party. I had made friends with the birthday girl's mama, and I had met her two older daughters (both were very sweet and respectful), but I had no idea what the birthday girl was going to be like. I've been around long enough to know that kids can be especially obnoxious on their birthday, so I wasn't expecting to make judgments about whatever her behavior might be. But I did end up making judgments when it came time to open the presents.
The birthday girl was turning 9, and she had a total of about six presents. I watched her as she accepted each present. Before tearing into them, she opened each card and read it carefully. She made comments on the cards like, "Oh, this is so cute," and took time to point out different aspects of it. This struck me as odd, because normally people (especially kids) don't care about the card that comes with the gift--unless it has money in it. It was even more interesting to watch as she opened each present. With each one she opened, she would grin her head off and ooh and ah, holding it up for everyone to see, while making declarations like, "Oh, I just love this!" or "Look, Mommy! This is so pretty!" and before she dove into the next gift, there was always a long pause where she looked at the one who gave the gift and said very sincerely, "Thank you so much! I really like it!" Her behavior was out of the ordinary in the sense that she acted like the birthday presents were not all about her ... she acted like the presents were all about the ones who gave them. She made sure that every kid (and mom) who brought her a gift felt special and appreciated. It was a lovely thing to watch.

The gift of homeschooling gives us the time and opportunity to mold our children's character. I pray that I will be wise with the lessons I teach my children. Ultimately, their "self-view" will be an outcome of what we impart. Cherished? Yes! But not elevated. We are grooming them to be servants--people who value others more than they value themselves. We let them experience the true joy, and the freedom, that comes with denying self. Our hope is that they learn humility--and true humility is not thinking poorly of yourself, it is simply not thinking of yourself at all. The person who moans about how much she hates herself or how dumb she is, is a person who is selfish to the core. She can't get her mind off herself.

Teaching our children to be "othersminded" will lay a foundation of peace and contentment. It will not matter if things don't go their way; they will not fall to pieces or become obsessive. God willing, they will be more concerned about their neighbor than wrapped up with the things they want and can't have. These are hard lessons to learn as a child, but they are even harder to learn as an adult. I pray that as teachers we will use our time with our children wisely. God bless you as you teach your children the real life lessons that will matter in eternity.
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Jenefer Igrashi lives in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee with her husband, Geoff, and their six children, ages 16 years to 1 year. Jen enjoys writing fiction and has won two awards from "Writer's Digest". The whole family enjoys construction projects, good books, and jumping on their trampoline. Come say hi to Jen on her blog page at http://HomeschoolBlogger.com/JenIg

Copyright 2006. Originally appeared in Fall 2006. Used with permission. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Right now, 19 free gifts when you subscribe. www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

Christmas season is getting into full swing . . . .

We cleaned the house like crazy people Saturday then drove in to Houston to see our precious nieces and Aunt Gretchen . . . we had dinner and hung around the house Saturday night (Gretchen finished up our Christmas cards). Then Sunday morning we went for a walk then to swing by Aunt Mary Ann's house then to Aunt Kelly's Raquet Club Christmas part then to drop off Nannie at the Bridge Club dinner. Trey then drove back here to home because he had to work today. Danielle and I stayed in Houston and went shopping and such today before driving home. I've now gone to the grocery store and Trey and Danielle are making gift tags out of Shrinky Dinks . . . I'll post photos from the weekend soon.

Trey made 2 As in his classes this session. YEA!!! It was an extremely hard session taking 2 classes in the evenings.

Christmas shopping . . .

We are almost completely done with the Christmas shopping . . . we have about 4 people left.

This year I kept a lists of the money spent and it is a lot but not too bad. But it's nice to have an idea for next year. Though I must say, between work parties, school events and family/friends, Danielle has already gotten quite a few gifts. We're working really hard to explain the real meaning of Christmas but we'll have to continue . . .

Happy Birthday to Aunt Kelly today!

bragging on my SIL

My SIL, Gretchen, is a talented photographer--amongst many other creative talents too. This year she is photographing and designing people's Christmas cards. I am bragging on her--here is a sample of her work:

a few pics from last weekend

Danielle's school Christmas program

Waiting to get started. (the beloved Hayden is to the lower left with the red tie)This was my view about 50% of the program--the other 50% was of the blond boy in front of Danielle as he kept bobbing his head back and forth, back and forth...Trey couldn't see Danielle at all; he said "I can see every child in the school except for Danielle."

Do you hear what I hear?

Danielle's class and the campanion 4 year old class sang Oh Christmas Tree and It's a Small World. The finale was the 3 & 4 year class along with the kindergarters singing Navidad. They were, of course, precious. When I was getting Danielle dressed she asked "Who else is here to watch me?" I replied "Daddy." And she asked "Yeah, but who else?" She's gotten used to a lot of family in the audiences! Coming up the aisle to get into place was so cute; Danielle was grinning the entire time. After the performance we let Danielle choose our dinner place and she chose Long John Silvers. Then we stopped in Target and did a little shopping.

crazy, busy week

It's been a crazy, busy week. Monday evening was my Susannah Circle meeting. We go out for dinner in December so we went to Veranda restaurant in Northcross Mall. It's the same place we went last year and the staff is always very accomodating (big table, separate tickets, etc) but the food was just so-so. My crab cakes were a little over cooked with little flavor but the steamed veggies were a little better. Of course, my group is a lot of fun so we had lots of good conversations.

Tuesday evening was our only free night at home so I made my SIL's fabulously good, throw-together tortilla soup. We had some fresh avocadoes so we threw a few slices on top along with some sour cream---yummmmmmmm. Then Danielle and I put up the Christmas tree. I put up the littler tree that I bought last year for $16.99. I had to run to HEB at about 10pm to get some more working lights! I was up until 1:30.

Wednesday evening was my work's Christmas dinner at the UT Club and it was very nice. The UT Club was were Trey and I had our wedding reception years ago. The entrance way has a LOT of new stuff--I guess you become a National Champion and the money comes in droves. Trey wore his black suit and looks fantastic. However, he had a lot of homework so he snuck out early and I forgot to get our photo taken! So I got lots of photos with my coworkers. The Association President awarded my boss with her 10 year pen and in the process said some very nice things about her and how she will be missed. The manager of our program also received his 15 year pen. After the party some of us went to the Mansion at Judge's Hill for a drink and THAT IS A FANTASTICLY BEAUTIFUL place. It's on MLK just West of Rio Grande. I told Trey that is where I want to go for dinner next March, on our next anniversary. Afterwards we all piled into Lauren's car, cranked up the Christmas Carols and drove around the Pemberton area looking at all the Christmas lights. It was so much FUN!!!

Last night we went to a dinner for a local Christian school. Friends of ours, the Snows, bought a table for their annual fundraiser and invited a few couples to join them and it was also a lot of fun. John Erickson, the author of the Hank the Cowdog books (http://www.hankthecowdog.com/) was the keynote speaker and he was powerful. I'll write more about that later. Then the Flying J Wranglers (http://www.flyingjranch.com/) were the entertainment and they were so funny and fun and great musicians too. Reid Ryan was the Master of Cermonies--he is a great speaker--and his dad, Nolan, was apparently sitting at the table diagonal from us all night. (I never saw him but all the people crowded around afterwards and Trey said that he noticed Nolan earlier in the evening.) After the dinner we got CDs and books autographed. I had a very good feeling the whole night and we will probably tour the school as a possibility for Danielle's 1st grade on education.

My mother was INCREDIBLE babysitting both Wed and Thurs for us and we appreciate it SOOOO MUCH!

Tonight is Danielle's school Christmas program, Saturday is TAC and Cirrus' Children's Christmas party then the Oberpriller/Stevens family party out in Marble Falls! Sunday morning is church with Trey and I in the program then coffee with a friend at 2--I'm looking forward to a relaxing conversation. So we are/will be busy, busy, busy. Then, next week, I will FINALLY get some Christmas shopping done! Only 3 little presents under the tree so far . . .

Happy Friday!!!

Crestview Children's program

Setting up for today's Children's program at church this morning:

Mary (Danielle) and Joseph (Matthew) waiting for the service to begin.

The grandparents, including my dad, came to the service.

The Angel (Charlotte) tells Mary of her upcoming birth.

Mary and Joseph getting ready for their journey.
Blessings to you all this CHRISTmas season. May you experience the power of Our Savior.

Weekend stuff

Friday night we went to the family birthday party for friend, Cari, as we missed the friend birthday party due to illness. Here's a photo of the Mermaid Princesses.

Saturday we rearranged all the living room furniture and in the process CLEANED, CLEANED, CLEANED. Saturday night Trey and I went to Cirrus' Christmas party at Scholtz's. It was a "Taste of" party with several different caterers (Cajun, Indian, BBQ, Mexican and AMY's ICE CREAM) and 2 different bands (one jazz and one coverband). It was a lot of fun but a little chilly. Now off to church for the Children's Christmas program.

Winds of change

Thursday I was feeling better and had been on antibiotics for a couple of days (it was Strep) and, after discussion with my supervisor, went in to the office. About an hour after I got there Jenn called a team meeting and we all got quite a shock; she is resigning effective at the end of the month to begin her own consulting business. All of us were quite shocked . . . and worried. I expected her to go after a few years but not this soon. Jenn has been a great boss. We've had differing opinions, yes, but she really is a great boss. All of my advancement I credit to her. I started as an Administrative Specialist and slowly worked up but none of it would've been possible without Jenn. When Danielle was born and I decided to stay at home I was terrified to turn in my resignation but Jenn was understanding. A year and a half later when Trey lost his job and I emailed her and a few coworkers, Jenn gave me a chance to come back. There have also been a few things that I know she has argued on my behalf and without her in my court, I would've been running in place. As well as a lot of other females at our place. Jenn has given consulting options to our organization for up to one year; I hope that she is taken up on that offer...