This summer, Nathan made prayer cards. These are 5 x 8 cards, each with a family, friend, government figure, teachers, etc. listed on them. Every night, they each take one and we have a rotation of praying for important people in our lives. The next step is to get pictures of the various folks and attach them to the cards. The kids like discovering whose card is in the rotation that night and like praying for the person/people.
Tonight Seth's card was Grandpa Richards. Most of you know my Dad has had a rough past year, dealing with his separation, then divorce, and the loneliness involved. I suggested to Seth that he could pray for Grandpa not to be lonely and for him to be healthy (this daughter worries about that for her Dad!). Here was Seth's prayer tonight:
Dear God,
Thank you for Grandpa Richards. Please help him not to be lonely. Help him to be healthy and that he won't eat things that are bad for him, like worms. Help him to be more like You every day. Please keep him company. Amen.
Prayed from Seth's tender heart, Age 4.
Precious, sincere, creative...and most of all, talking from the heart to God A childlike faith....I can learn from my boy.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
September Days and Rays
Hasn't the sunshine this past week been marvelous? It's like Indian Summer, except I'm not sure that's what it is! We had a beautiful afternoon out at Grose Park for our annual church picnic and baptisms in the lake. What a lovely setting for 17 people who showed their outward commitment to Christ - from 10 years old to 40+ years old. Our church is like our extended family and it's great to belong. One whole family was baptized - mom, dad, two teenagers; another two college-age brothers were, too. It's neat to hear each person's testimony, said in their own way, but all pointing toward God's grace and LOVE for us!
Week 1 went well for all. I was feeling a bit nostalgic while writing my last post. It has been a good thing to be back in a routine. Robyn had a paper she needed to have filled out for the first day, so I asked her the questions. For "What is your favorite subject/thing to do in the classroom?" she thought and finally answered, "I don't have a favorite part. I like everything we do in class." A telling and precious statement. She has enjoyed it and we are glad she is in good hands with Mrs. Vanderlaan, the same teacher Nathan had as a 1st grader. An interesting fact: she lives near Spring Lake, about 4 miles from the home I grew up! There's a great bike path that goes around the lake and goes past her home.
Nathan likes his class, too. They are having a class store, with items of all different prices. where the children earn a $5 salary each week. For infractions, they lose $. For positive behavior, they can earn $. He now has $6.50 and informed me he hopes no one else buys the item he wants before he earns enough money. I asked, "How much is it?" Answer: "$85.00!" Wow!!! That will take a while! Isn't that a cool concept for kids - the benefits of earning and saving money, delayed gratification, etc.?
My classes went well, too, and I feel more relieved going into the second week. There's a good tone at both the middle and high school and that helps as a teacher. My classes are in good routines already and after each day last week I thought, "I really love teaching! It is so inspiring and such a great job!" It's neat to see some of the students I had in 6th grade band, who are now 8th and 10th graders. Kent City is a special place for students...they get personal attention and I've been reminded what a caring staff we have. I've been home each afternoon and have had time with Seth and Aaron, then N & R come after school. And on Saturday, Nathan's soccer team did well (I thought Nathan played his best game ever!) and he and Coach Dad celebrated a victory. :) All in all, a good week. Thank you for praying for us.
I have quickly realized I need to be diligent about getting to bed in a timely manner or I feel it! So, off to bed. How did the first week go for you/your kids/grandkids?
Week 1 went well for all. I was feeling a bit nostalgic while writing my last post. It has been a good thing to be back in a routine. Robyn had a paper she needed to have filled out for the first day, so I asked her the questions. For "What is your favorite subject/thing to do in the classroom?" she thought and finally answered, "I don't have a favorite part. I like everything we do in class." A telling and precious statement. She has enjoyed it and we are glad she is in good hands with Mrs. Vanderlaan, the same teacher Nathan had as a 1st grader. An interesting fact: she lives near Spring Lake, about 4 miles from the home I grew up! There's a great bike path that goes around the lake and goes past her home.
Nathan likes his class, too. They are having a class store, with items of all different prices. where the children earn a $5 salary each week. For infractions, they lose $. For positive behavior, they can earn $. He now has $6.50 and informed me he hopes no one else buys the item he wants before he earns enough money. I asked, "How much is it?" Answer: "$85.00!" Wow!!! That will take a while! Isn't that a cool concept for kids - the benefits of earning and saving money, delayed gratification, etc.?
My classes went well, too, and I feel more relieved going into the second week. There's a good tone at both the middle and high school and that helps as a teacher. My classes are in good routines already and after each day last week I thought, "I really love teaching! It is so inspiring and such a great job!" It's neat to see some of the students I had in 6th grade band, who are now 8th and 10th graders. Kent City is a special place for students...they get personal attention and I've been reminded what a caring staff we have. I've been home each afternoon and have had time with Seth and Aaron, then N & R come after school. And on Saturday, Nathan's soccer team did well (I thought Nathan played his best game ever!) and he and Coach Dad celebrated a victory. :) All in all, a good week. Thank you for praying for us.
I have quickly realized I need to be diligent about getting to bed in a timely manner or I feel it! So, off to bed. How did the first week go for you/your kids/grandkids?
Sunday, September 6, 2009
The End of Summer...Sigh
It's been a good run. Three plus months of enjoying the days, flexible schedules, playing here, working there (those household chores just keep a comin'!), doing this and that...well, it all ends now. At least that's what it feels like. We've sure enjoyed our summer, and while it will be good for all to get back in a routine, I will miss our carefree days.
Here is a sample of Ken's past week: Tuesday - work till 4:40, grab Nathan, head to soccer practice at 4:45 (Ken is the coach of N's team), come home at 6:20, scarf some food, head to meeting from 6:30-8:30 pm. Ugh! Thursday his schedule basically repeated. They won't all be like that, and I'm not complaining; on this particular Labor Day we are grateful for good jobs. Perhaps all who have a job are? Anyway, I'm praying for a smooth transition for all. Professional development days/teacher meetings last week were good, but long -it's my only 'full time' week of the school year and reminds me how THANKFUL I am for my part-time position!! Our new HS principal is so competent, experienced, on the ball, and a good motivator - yay!
I'm teaching in the mornings this year. Seth will be doing some preschool with his friend Kristyn at Kristy's home and is excited about that. Aaron is fascinated by their one year old, Oliviya, and hopefully won't sit on her. Kristy is a blessing to our family - so sweet and patient. Any preschool suggestions or ideas are welcomed, as we're still figuring that out.
Usually a week or two in, and we've all settled into our routine. N & R are overall happy to go to school, though Robyn says she would just like to be home with me. Isn't that sweet?
We had a nice trip on the Lake Express - it's a huge boat!! I took video of Ken driving our van onto the ferry. Perhaps if I attempted to post online, I could. That seems like a lot of work. The cabin was spacious and we sat with a table in the middle of four seats on each side. A nice retired lady was also in our section of eight seats....thankfully all were well behaved and she seemed to like kids! A group of chiropractors from the West MI area sat across from us and I couldn't help but listening to the interesting conversations they were having. I wondered if they gave free adjustments on the boat ride? No, I didn't ask!! Milwaukee had great sites and the children's museum was a hit. What a great place! Our outdoor hotel pool was pristine and 84 degrees - perfect! That was another highlight. I headed to Reiman Visitor Ctr with Aaron one evening and got detoured 5 - yes 5 - times by construction. The 'ole GPS (we call her Maggie) doesn't know about construction....so by the time I got there (taking 45 min instead of 15) I only had 20 minutes in the place. But their outlet store had many good finds - my favorite was a new Slow Cooker cookbook. It will be fun to try new recipes in our Crockpot. Oh, and I forgot the kids' total favorite: the Jelly Belly Factory! The original and biggest one is in CA, but this one seemed big to us. It's between Chicago and Milwaukee, right off the expressway, and the right price: free! They took us on a Jelly Belly tram all around the factory warehouse - shelves stocked floor to high ceiling with tons of boxes of candy. We saw via video the process in action. Of course there were free samples at the end - a bag with one of 49 different kinds. Their store had more samples and some candy at good prices. My favorite: very cherry. Interestingly, that is the most popular variety of Jelly Belly. Ken's favorite: malted milk balls!
Just as we were getting ready to get something to eat and then head back to the dock, I received a cell call. The recorded message explained that it is of highest priority to the Lake Express that their passengers are comfortable. The current lake conditions would be very UNcomfortable for passengers (i.e. high waves, stormy conditions), so they were cancelling our boat. SO, around that big lake we headed. We were glad it was on the way home it was cancelled; after our busyness and excitement during our three days, ALL FOUR kids slept the first 2.5-3 hours of the trip. But can anyone explain why Chicago has traffic jams at 6:30 Sat. evening? 45 min of slowdown...then home at 11:30. A good family getaway. Half our boat fare was refunded, too.
After this past week (four days) of crazyness, we headed up to my brother's cabin. The guys and two oldest kids from each family headed on an adventure: canoeing (Ken said they canoed two hours and waded around in the water 1 hour), camped overnight, canoed another hour Sat AM, and Bronya picked them up around noon. The were filthy and happy!! Bronya & I thought shopping sounded more fun. While they were gone, we drove to Pentwater, a beautiful tourist town on a peaceful lake with sailboats all around. It was lovely! We checked out the cute shops and finished with ice cream. We decided that was our idea of roughing it. ;)
Well, if you've read this far, you deserve a prize! I'll try to update about how the first week goes. To God Be the Glory this school year for our kids and teachers!
Here is a sample of Ken's past week: Tuesday - work till 4:40, grab Nathan, head to soccer practice at 4:45 (Ken is the coach of N's team), come home at 6:20, scarf some food, head to meeting from 6:30-8:30 pm. Ugh! Thursday his schedule basically repeated. They won't all be like that, and I'm not complaining; on this particular Labor Day we are grateful for good jobs. Perhaps all who have a job are? Anyway, I'm praying for a smooth transition for all. Professional development days/teacher meetings last week were good, but long -it's my only 'full time' week of the school year and reminds me how THANKFUL I am for my part-time position!! Our new HS principal is so competent, experienced, on the ball, and a good motivator - yay!
I'm teaching in the mornings this year. Seth will be doing some preschool with his friend Kristyn at Kristy's home and is excited about that. Aaron is fascinated by their one year old, Oliviya, and hopefully won't sit on her. Kristy is a blessing to our family - so sweet and patient. Any preschool suggestions or ideas are welcomed, as we're still figuring that out.
Usually a week or two in, and we've all settled into our routine. N & R are overall happy to go to school, though Robyn says she would just like to be home with me. Isn't that sweet?
We had a nice trip on the Lake Express - it's a huge boat!! I took video of Ken driving our van onto the ferry. Perhaps if I attempted to post online, I could. That seems like a lot of work. The cabin was spacious and we sat with a table in the middle of four seats on each side. A nice retired lady was also in our section of eight seats....thankfully all were well behaved and she seemed to like kids! A group of chiropractors from the West MI area sat across from us and I couldn't help but listening to the interesting conversations they were having. I wondered if they gave free adjustments on the boat ride? No, I didn't ask!! Milwaukee had great sites and the children's museum was a hit. What a great place! Our outdoor hotel pool was pristine and 84 degrees - perfect! That was another highlight. I headed to Reiman Visitor Ctr with Aaron one evening and got detoured 5 - yes 5 - times by construction. The 'ole GPS (we call her Maggie) doesn't know about construction....so by the time I got there (taking 45 min instead of 15) I only had 20 minutes in the place. But their outlet store had many good finds - my favorite was a new Slow Cooker cookbook. It will be fun to try new recipes in our Crockpot. Oh, and I forgot the kids' total favorite: the Jelly Belly Factory! The original and biggest one is in CA, but this one seemed big to us. It's between Chicago and Milwaukee, right off the expressway, and the right price: free! They took us on a Jelly Belly tram all around the factory warehouse - shelves stocked floor to high ceiling with tons of boxes of candy. We saw via video the process in action. Of course there were free samples at the end - a bag with one of 49 different kinds. Their store had more samples and some candy at good prices. My favorite: very cherry. Interestingly, that is the most popular variety of Jelly Belly. Ken's favorite: malted milk balls!
Just as we were getting ready to get something to eat and then head back to the dock, I received a cell call. The recorded message explained that it is of highest priority to the Lake Express that their passengers are comfortable. The current lake conditions would be very UNcomfortable for passengers (i.e. high waves, stormy conditions), so they were cancelling our boat. SO, around that big lake we headed. We were glad it was on the way home it was cancelled; after our busyness and excitement during our three days, ALL FOUR kids slept the first 2.5-3 hours of the trip. But can anyone explain why Chicago has traffic jams at 6:30 Sat. evening? 45 min of slowdown...then home at 11:30. A good family getaway. Half our boat fare was refunded, too.
After this past week (four days) of crazyness, we headed up to my brother's cabin. The guys and two oldest kids from each family headed on an adventure: canoeing (Ken said they canoed two hours and waded around in the water 1 hour), camped overnight, canoed another hour Sat AM, and Bronya picked them up around noon. The were filthy and happy!! Bronya & I thought shopping sounded more fun. While they were gone, we drove to Pentwater, a beautiful tourist town on a peaceful lake with sailboats all around. It was lovely! We checked out the cute shops and finished with ice cream. We decided that was our idea of roughing it. ;)
Well, if you've read this far, you deserve a prize! I'll try to update about how the first week goes. To God Be the Glory this school year for our kids and teachers!
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