Lance the Turtle, Dance, Dance, Dance!

 

There is no way to thank all the people who came together to make Lance's 18th Birthday so special; from the cards, to the gifts, to simply being there to celebrate with him, we are so thankful for you all.

For weeks, Lance has been lamenting that he did not want to turn 18, he wanted to stay 15.  He said 15 is the perfect age because you can do everything but you're not an adult.  He also kept lamenting that in "X" days I will finally be the age people have thought I was since we last went to Boston.

Lance's Twitter handle is @LancetheTurtle an ironic inside joke from Veggie Tales.  When he was little he hated the song but as he grew he learned to love it and to love dancing.

In the fall of 2019 he (under duress), Jared and a bunch of friends took ballroom classes for a semester.  By the end of the semester they were all hooked.  They were hoping to convince the teacher to keep running the classes when the crazy began.  Thankfully, our new church loves to dance.  They enjoy the old fashion community dances: Virginia Reel, Post Jig, circle dances, etc. At the church dance back in November we all had fun learning these dances.

In addition to lamenting about growing up, Lance lamented about wanting to go dancing.  He doesn't lament often about much of anything, so when he does I take notice.  It was clear that somehow we needed to have a dance for his birthday.

It took a lot of finagling but in the end we pulled off the ultimate birthday dance party.

We arranged for a caller, to call the dances and play the music.  Our church allowed us to use their barn space and our wonderful friends filled it with fun, love and dairy-free/gluten free deserts.

 

At the end of the night many of his friends were danced out but Lance was ready to literally dance all night long.  He was a very happy boy.  My precious "baby boy" he will always be, no matter how old he may technically become.

I sit hear at my computer trying to figure out what to say next, how do I talk about how he's grown the last 18 years,  how creative with his trains, how talented in baseball, how well he uses his leadership skills, how much I enjoy his company, how pleased I am of the thoughtful man he has grown into and how excited I am about the future ahead of him....but I guess that will have to do for now. 

I'll finish with the verse I sneaked into his baseball bag when he went to play in away in Virginia last year:  

May the Lord Bless you and keep you; May the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.  The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26

For today and always, just like our love for him.

If you want to see more pictures of the dance you can find them at this link:  Photo Gallery

Where you can see this pic of Chris and his new girlfriend :-) Since I completely forgot to get a family photo at the beginning of the night, despite dressing everyone to match LOL.

Amber and Titus take the floor (Titus is the first couple, Amber is in purple in second). Then the Richard Petty Look-alike is Jared.

 

Sewing Not Sueing - (Dude Looks Like a Lady)

My kids have always gotten those too words confused :-)

This week was fairly routine.  They were charging for the Lance's Baseball Away game this week, so Jared stayed home with Amber and Titus.   Since I got in free as "Manager" I took a chance and came along, so glad I did.  I was ready to keep my distance along the 3rd base line but we got there and it was another normal game (Despite email threats of goofiness, we're four for four of people acting rationally).  The weather was perfect again, his team was not, they lost 3-7 but it was baseball and friends so it was still a great night.  Season is now 3-1.

Amber's friend Kathryn has a neighbor that wants to teach the two of them how to sew.  I had my friend Katie (who knows about sewing unlike me) keep an eye out for a used machine.  She said the old ones are much better, "you don't really want the junk they make today".  Well, she found one and after some negotiation Amber and I picked it up.  Amber is so excited.  I got another friends daughter to come over and show us the basics in how to use it because Amber was about to explode otherwise.  I'm really excited about all the possibilities of having a sewing machine and obviously so is Amber.  

Titus and I were hanging out in the Florida Room on Sunday.  Titus was playing with the chicks, everyone else was away.  Suddenly we hear the weakest, quietest, most-pathetic cockle.  I sat up and asked Titus "Did you hear that?".  Then he stood up.  When it happened a second time, I pointed to the chicken and said "Go catch it!".  This was a command my eager barefoot Titus was quick to execute.  The chicken juked him a couple of times but eventually he brought the chicken up to me on the back stairs.  We looked at its legs and sure enough, the chicken had spurs, which means it was not a chicken but in fact a rooster.  This is particularly strange for a couple reasons: 1) Comets are suppose to be sex-linked, which means the males and females are different colors at birth making it fool-proof to distinguish 2) We have had this chicken for over a year and it had never made a sound.  Roosters usually reach sexual maturity by four months.  The world keeps getting wackier each day.

*Update: Since none of our hens are broody and he hasn't made a sound since free ranging last week and that sound was quieter than the hens we've decided to keep him for now.  I'm tempted to breed him with our Sapphire Gems and see if we can "make" the perfect chicken, but that will take some research.

Play Ball! Shoot Straight!

The rain finally stopped, the ground dried up just enough and the sun made a glorious appearance.  This formula lead to the Storm having their first baseball game of the season on Thursday.

It was such a beautiful day, the game was at a safe park, so Amber and Titus came and played the whole time on the adjoining playground with a couple dozen other kids all excited to be outside in the sun.  The team we played was rational, so there was no stress.  It was like we had gone back in time, back when people were allowed to live their lives as they saw fit.  Jared was the official game keeper, "the grandparents" showed up to watch; they had a great time, frankly everyone did.  At the end of the game the boys, on their own, even shook hands.  The final score was 7-0 Storm but the real win was having a "normal" day of baseball to forget the crazy.

Friday, was playdates and chickens.  We picked up our 12 new ISA Brown chicks in the morning.  Amber and her friend Kathryn came with, while everyone else played with Kathryn's siblings at her house.  The girls were so cute, day old chicks peeping between them and their tongues rattling in tune.  We got a new type of brooder heater, a stand they can scoot under when cold instead of a hot heater lamp.  The lamps were hard to adjust and a fire hazard, this fixed both those concerns and being under something seems to keep them much calmer.  

Saturday, we were split into three groups.  Amber and Titus stayed home with Holly.  Chris and Lance went down to Wilmington for a double header.  We had concern there would be some stupid at these games but were thrilled it was all reasonable, meaning a second great day of baseball and two more wins as a bonus.  The Storm season is now 3-0.  The team is really young (lots of Freshman) so we weren't expecting much out of the season, so this is an awesome, though slightly surprising, start. 

Jared and I spent the next two days at the NFAA State and Sectional Archery Tournament.  Saturday he had two new personal bests:  First Round Vegas Score 286 and NFAA Round Score of 289.  Sunday, as he put it, "I fell off the rails".  However, there was a lot playing into his Sunday results.   In addition to shooting so many rounds in a short period, he was also dealing with allergies in a world that finds them a capital offense if you show them.  I think he did great!  If the world was normal, I think he would have broken even more records.  Most importantly, as you can see, he had a great time till the end.  **Update he ended up 4th in State.   He and the third place guy tied in numerical score but he was beat by "Xs", which is a note they keep of arrows not just in the center ring but also touching the X to break numerical ties.

 

Sun Inside and Out

The sun finally found its way out for a few days this week, we much enjoyed the visit.

Titus popped a tire on the Crazy Cart, so it was temporarily out of commission until the new tire arrived.  This spurred Amber and Titus to complete another project they had started a few weeks ago.  Reinstalling the Slacker Slack line.  I was really impressed with their initiative, team work and hard effort.  Unfortunately, though they did a great job installing the posts, the post holders and the screws that came with them couldn't handle the tension of the ropes and bent in on them.

However, they were undaunted.  The next day they went out with the measuring wheel to find two trees that were under 50 feet apart, on fairly level ground and not over the swamp.  Success.  It just required a little hole in the chicken fence.  They have truly been enjoying their new fitness/adventure activity.

On Thursday after Chapel we all couldn't help but stay outside.  After playing around the chapel property, we went to a local park and stayed outside for hours!  Long enough for us all to actually get some sun, how novel.  The day wasn't over though, our friends the M Family came to dinner; Titus had wanted to show his crazy cart off to his friend and we all wanted to get together.  We adults enjoyed great conversation in the Florida room.  The rest enjoyed food and fellowship everywhere else, including a long game of "Bang" a new card game they all enjoy.

While Jared and I went to archery on Friday, Titus did some art and of course Lance did some baseball with Chris. Amber sported her newly updated/fixed gown the oldest M child had fixed for her.

Saturday, we celebrated GM Mary's birthday with some Bison Pasta and Spice Cake.  Luckily I had made the Spice Cake earlier in the day because Chris had to make the Bison Pasta all by himself, as I was still painting.  Chris had helped me prep the half bath for painting in early in the morning.

We got down the first coat fine, but it didn't dry as quickly as I hoped and I was just finishing the second coat as they were arriving for dinner.  However, despite the chaos of the application, the end result was just like I wanted.  It's so much cozier, finished, and frankly us.

The only thing I may still change is the picture above the toilet.  I'm going to look for a frame, similar to the others, to put more family pictures in sometime in the future.

Sunday was Fellowship Meal at church and a wonderful guest speaker who reminded us all to look from above for understanding, as the Psalmist explained in Psalm 77.  Our time with the church community is the best time of each week for all of us.  As usual, we were there to the end closing down the church, helping and socializing.

Roller Coaster

 

This week started out a bit of an emotional roller coaster with car mess, non-stop rain (for weeks) and baseball drama (dangerous COVID policies, very upsetting).  

The Beast had to be towed into the mechanic (again) on Monday, this time it was wheel bearings and brake pads.  As a result, we decided to purchase a new (to us) car on Tuesday from a local dealer.   Titus and I picked up the car to take to a mechanic to have it checked out.  The mechanic (Wes) was a local homeschooling dad, so when Titus showed interest he "went into homeschooling mode", showing and explaining everything he was doing and looking for to Titus.  Titus absorbed it all like a sponge and was quick to anticipate what tools Wes needed next; that really impressed him.  He is really great at remembering things, especially when he can touch and has an attentive teacher.  In the end, we didn't end up buying the car (an experience I won't relive here) but we had asked God for a clear signal about the car and he gave a clear "no" in a really unique manner.  The day would have been a loss if not for Titus learning so much from Wes and he and I getting some one on one time.  In the evening, we had fun celebrating Holly's birthday with a spaghetti dinner and her movie choice of "Secretariat"; an absolutely awesome movie even if you don't like horses and the best if you do.

Our chief mechanic Tim (who is also sick of seeing the Beast) got the beast up and running (again) on Tuesday and we picked it up on our way to "Shove Tuesday" or "Pancake Day" at church.  What a fun night of food, fellowship and worship.  Pastor went over the importance of properly attending to the church calendar to "number our days".  

Wednesday we were back to car hunting.  This time I wanted to go "peopless" and the best deal we could find was not at a dealership anyway but online at Carvana.  After we did all the paperwork with Carvana, Credit Union and Insurance; Jared and I salvaged what was left of the day at archery practice.  Chris and Lance went again to Redline and then to the first Storm practice of the season (in the gym since the rain won't stop).  Practice was productive, Chris said the team has potential, hopefully they'll get a chance to show it off to someone but at this point, but if they scrimmage all season because of the stupid that will be fine too.

Thursday, I thought would be smooth sailing and we could get back on schedule; until it wasn't.  My hope for a "peopless" process became me talking with both Carvana on one phone and Credit Union on another phone, at the same time, for a few hours so they could get on the same page.  Determined not to loose another day to nonsense not on my schedule, we did manage to complete the three most important things on my list; straighten out Amber's nightly prayer list, get caught up on our Art study (currently Mantega), and write letters.  Each month I have been trying to have the kids practice the old art of letter writing.  Last month we started with kids in Haiti.  This month, we wrote to Grandma Carol, since Jared had a DVD of his stop motions to send anyway (she doesn't have a computer or internet).  As a bonus, we did a little Spanish and I breathed a sigh of relief that despite the chaos we had reclaimed some of the week.

Friday, Lance spent the morning with his friend Dil.  Jared and I went to the range so he could practice before we headed to "Friend Friday" at the T Family.  After "Friend Friday" ended we shuttled six of their children to our house to watch "Perfect Game"and eat pizza; the T family knows little about baseball and we decided if they were going to be our friends (which they are) they needed to learn. LOL

Saturday:  Airsoft at the T Family home with lots of boys from church and the T girls watching by binocular.  Their property is very hilly, so it required different strategy from our yard, which was fun for all the boys.  Chris and I enjoyed some one on one time with Amber, reading, playing games, going for a walk and watching a new version of Emma with some tasty treats.

Sunday:  Chris got a call during church that our new/used car from Carvana that was suppose to arrive in the afternoon was damaged upon delivery.  UGHHHH So now we have to decide what to do next, hopefully Homer and the Beast will behave in the meantime.

Happy Birthday Titus!

Titus is a loving son and brother, sensitive and caring and smart a whip (or bug what ever the confusing cliche is).  In his free time he enjoys being outside, and building things.  He is also our adrenaline junky and an exceptional athlete.  Plus, as you can see, he is one handsome sharp dressed guy.

For a number of reasons (last year being such a bummer for him for one) we really wanted to make this birthday special.  I am happy to report we were completely successful.

First step was to clear his birthday day of any obligations....check

Make French Toast Bake for breakfast, then let him open up his cards....check

Though tempted to replace the box contents with cat food (long story), Lance resisted and we presented the box sent to him intact.  He then spent the rest of the morning building per one gift or shooting per another.

The afternoon was spent with friends, playing in the woods; where he fell in the creek and tested the waterproofness of his pants (they passed) and playing games inside.

He and his siblings then stayed to watch a movie and eat pizza at their friends house (Chris and I got a surprise impromptu date and watched "Sully" we liked it so much we watched again with kids twice over the weekend).

His big gift was still in hiding though because it required the court to be dry.  Thankfully, the weather cleared in the afternoon and the roads were dry Saturday morning, so that we could reveal his final gift.

Harv was the voice of reason when we discussed getting Titus a Go-cart, pointing out the hills in our neighborhood, then Chris found the "Crazy Cart".  It has to be run on level ground, which means in the court for our purposes (though they chose Grand Central Station), its electric, it can drift, spin and consequently has no breaks....It's CRAZY and he absolutely LOVES it!

He's not the only one who loves it, so do all his siblings, even Chris and I took a ride.  The kids used chalk to set up a track and at night they mount a flashlight to the front and have IMSA rallies.  This was definitely what the doctor ordered to fill his need for speed, in a fairly safe manner.

Beside more maze building and racing, the weekend finished off with a church pot-luck and time playing/talking with friends (depending on your age).

He's a happy fellow, He's a happy boy!  Got his new Crazy Cart!  It's his pride and joy! Oy!  (It was an umbrella in the original song but it works)

Get OUT!!!

I saw this meme over the break and decided to take the idea to heart and to our homeschool.

At first, when I kicked the kids out of the house after they finished school, chores* and lunch; I got a little kick-back.  When they realized I wasn't going to give on this, they decided to use the time to take their favorite new toys outside.  Our family gift for the kids this year came with much begging from Titus (which is why he had to wait and be surprised at Christmas when he had given up all hope of ever getting it).  On Christmas Day they found a box of four "Laser X - Revolution Guns".  They work so much better than any of us thought.  So much so that we bought two more to have when friends come over.

Even on rainy days the kids are learning to have fun.  The other day Amber and Titus came in soaking wet from taking the dogs around the block and jumping in puddles.  But they had smiles on their faces, they'd learned to have fun despite the circumstances and that is the point.

*For the first time ever, I created an official chore chart with chores each child has to complete each day.  In the past I felt such schedules were too rigid but strangely structure is something we've all needed more in the past year.  It seems to be helping the kids finish chores without push-back, its just like their school schedule in that its just another item that needs completion.  Its funny how structure has ebbed and flowed over the years in our home.  At times the kids need less and other times they crave more; its good to be flexible.

Busted

Back on January 15th Lance disabled his throwing wall.

He threw a 2lb Plyo-care ball through the OSB, Drywall, insulation and almost through the siding in the garage.  A friend of Chris' summed it up by simply raising his eyes and saying "great velocity".  Personally, all I could do was laugh when Lance sheepishly came in to tell and show us what had happened.  We want him to "bigger, stronger, faster" and clearly he is.

After coming up with new solution to the "Throwing Wall" dilemma, gathering supplies over the weekend, putting them together yesterday (Lance enjoyed his man glitter).  The new wall is up and running today.  It is a box attached to the pull up stand.  The box is made out of thickest plywood available, supported vertically and horizontally by more 2x4s on the back and wrapped in rubber a friend of ours uses on his gym floor.  Hopefully, this will be hole proof.  I must say I enjoy the fact that the whole house no longer shakes when he throws.  Titus finally, joined in on "Secret Squirrel Training today", and made use of the new wall as well. 

Today is a Beautiful Day that the Lord Has Made!

When we started going to church last fall, I was cynically waiting for the proverbial wheels to fall of the bus anytime but they never did.  I had always dreamed of belonging to a church where people did life together, where community was real; but I always sort-of-thought it was just that, a dream.  Chris and company had humored me about trying out different churches over the years but they thought it was all a dream as well.  Thankfully they are just as thrilled its not a dream, but real; as I am.  

Today was such a special day.  Unfortunately, it's like a wedding day as much as you want to remember every word spoken, afterward its hard to articulate all that happened.  We were interviewed by Pastor and the Elders before services last week, so that this week we could join the church.  It seems like such a small thing but for people who don't take commitments lightly, it was a huge step and one all over were overjoyed to do.  The cherry on the top, was that today was also the day that Jared and Amber were finally baptized.  Jared had at least been "Dedicated" but when Amber was born we were not attending a church and never found one since that we liked enough to ask them to baptize her.  Watching them be baptized by Pastor was such a special event, his joy seemed to equal our own.  

 

Through out the ceremony the one thing that seemed to stand out in everyone's mind was when Pastor said what "what a blessing your family has already been to us."  Not just "what a blessing we would be", but they were already thankful for our involvement the last few months, that really special.

Ironically, after services today we had the A family to our house for brunch (we'd made the plans before we knew we'd be joining the church that day).  However, it was the appropriate way to celebrate with friends from church that we are getting use to doing life with.  Never in my life have I spent so much time with so many people from the same group.  I can't remember that last time where we didn't have someone coming to the house or us going to someone's on the weekend.  What huge blessing, huge blessings indeed.

This was the best way I can imagine to finish off my birthday week.

Turning 50 wasn't so bad.  I have been practicing for quite some time.  When people asked my age over the last six months, I've said "nearly 50", so when the day came I was rather use to the idea.

My children made breakfast for me in the morning, which was nice treat as I laid in bed a bit later than normal.  At the table was a nice surprise of books (published in 1971), bath-stuff from my Aunt and Uncle, a homemade (by Titus) Sudoku book, complete with a pencil holder (I've wanted one for a long time) and a card with prose/original song Amber wrote which was wonderful.  It was a beautiful morning.

As is the fate of mother's we had a busy day with people over practicing for theater that I could not post-pone but I did request an early departure.  My dear friend and her daughter brought me a lovely gift to pamper myself.  This year I made a decision not to "save" my indulgent bath gifts but to actually use them as as soon I got them.  I must say this is much better idea.

In the evening, we enjoyed a yummy lasagna per Chris, and some chocolate brownies per Titus to enjoy while we watched one of my favorite versions of Jane Austen's Persuasion. It was a lovely day.

Battle of Fort Log and Fort Lumber

Today was our biggest airsoft battle ever, 24 participants.  The weather leading up to today was wet so the yard was soggy but thankfully the day itself was sunny and cool.  The only call we got from a neighbor was from GM Mary who wanted to know if she was, "going crazy or was someone playing bagpipes?"

The answer was bagpipes, Nathan started out our day of battle with the playing of "Amazing Grace" and treated us with other tunes at breaks throughout the day.  I'm a huge fan of the pipes.

The day didn't start with the full contingent of players but rather with the "newbies" coming early (10am) to have a few battles before the "veterans" showed up.  For these fights Lance and Christian refereed as the players got used to the field of play and the rules.  This plan worked exceptionally well, all of the newbies having a great first experience.  The veterans arrived at 11am and the games went on till 8pm that night.  My job was simple, keep them fed and hydrated.  No one needed medical care till after sunset and thankfully that was all minor.  The kids did all the rest themselves, organizing various different types of battles throughout the day.