January:
- Superboy had a group of school friends over for a playdate. Made snickerdoodles for them. The weather was beautiful and they ran around outside for hours.
- Hunter went on a hunting trip with Benton & Ben. I remember he was gone the day of President Obama's inauguration. (random inauguration thoughts: Loved the first lady's dress. Gorgeous. Loved Yo-Yo Ma. Really enjoyed listening to Elizabeth Alexander read Praise Song for the Day.)
- Dad, Mom, and Joe came for a visit. Mom got to stay a bit longer. She was here for Superboy's Pinewood Derby Tournament (Cub Scouts.)
- Tried to make decisions about the children's schools for '09-'10. Observed classes at ICS.
March:
- Pumpkin had her friend Hailey over for a playdate. I remember that the weather was sunny and beautiful that day and I let them pick a few daffodils.
- Attended Timothy's confirmation service. (Timothy is the oldest child of all the children in our community group.) His public profession of faith had a big impact on both Pumpkin and Superboy. Great conversations afterwards.
- Started blogging with my sister--yippee! And here we are, 195 posts later.
April:
- Game night at our house. "Bowls" and Catchphrase.
- Went to sunrise service on Easter morning. Had students over for lunch. Lovely and wonderful.
- Watched baby birds grow up and fly away.
May:
- Visited retirement home with the children's music class. Sang songs. Played glockenspiels.
- Summer conference '09 in Florida. So much fun on the beach.
- Daddy's "Mozart in the Morning challenge": We (family members) had to listen to the CD and assign a family member to each song. And justify our choices. What a great challenge. I loved it.
June:
- Superboy and I spent the night with my grandmother, Nannie. Just the three of us for dinner. Lots of great time for visiting.
- Next, Pumpkin and I spent the night with Nannie. Ditto. Just the three of us for dinner. Lots of great time for visiting.
- Nannie and I stayed up each of those nights talking through our family's history. I took notes on a yellow legal pad. (The yellow legal pad just happened to be what I had with me...later, I thought it was a paper choice that Granddaddy would've really approved of.) :-)
- VBS at Covenant. Allison and I helped with the 3 yr old class.
July:
- Pops on the River for 4th of July. Sonic afterwards. Then, on to Robert & Allison's house for more fireworks.
- Gram, Aunt Beva, Aunt Camie, and the cousins came to our house for a visit. Slip-n-slide in the backyard. Frisbee in the front yard. Playing at the park. Had a yummy picnic (with Chinese Chicken Salad) at the pool. And had birthday cake for Gram's birthday.
August:
- Took the children to various appointments: annual check-up at dr, visit to the dentist
- Enjoyed delicious produce from our first ever backyard vegetable garden. One night we had a taste test--We just happened to have a container of store-bought cherry tomatoes. And we also had our basket of homegrown cherry tomatoes. We took turns blindfolding each other to do a taste test. Could we tell the difference between the two? The answer is: you can tell whether it's homegrown or storebought before the tomato ever touches your lips. I promise, it's true. There's a fresh/peppery/green/delicious fragrance that radiates from the homegrown tomato.
September:
- Pumpkin started her gymnastics class.
- Massive flooding in our city. School cancelled due to flooding on 9/22.
- Robert & Allison were passing through town & stopped to stay with us for one night. Allison and I usually drink a cup of coffee together in the a.m.. When I asked her what she wanted in her coffee, she sort of grinned and said, "well, I'm not drinking coffee right now." WHAT??? I knew in that instant that she was telling me big news. "You're pregnant?!?!" Yes!...We had to immediately rush in and wake up Hunter to tell him the big news. Hooray!
October:
- Girlfriend getaway weekend with Marsha Kay and Jenny Beth. We went to Gram & Papa's log cabin. So cozy & so many great conversations. Pretty much one entire weekend of non-stop conversation, actually.
- Hunter & Superboy went on a Cub Scout campout. Lots of dads and growing boys. Superboy brough his pocket knife and whittled a stick into a spear. Sat around the campfire telling spooky stories. Hunter said that Superboy waited really patiently and then stood up to tell his story (which he made up on the spot.)
November:
- Thanksgiving feast with Pumpkin's kindergarten group (at Amy's house.)
- Thanksgiving feast with our community group (at Jonathan & Rebecca's house.)
- Thanksgiving feast on Thanksgiving (at Jonathan & Susie's house.)
December:
- Superboy's first performance in a church Christmas pageant. Pumpkin sat beside me and recited every word of the entire script as it was performed. :-) (from having listened to the CD.)
- Pumpkin & her kindergarten group performed a precious Christmas pageant as well. My favorite part was when they sang Away in a Manger.
- Celebrated the birth of our Savior!
+ + + +
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
--words by Thomas Chisholm
+ + + +
God of the ages, history's maker--
Planning our pathway, holding us fast--
Shaping in mercy all that concerns us--
Father, we praise you, Lord of the past.
