April Showers

Lance and Jared started a four weeks of ballroom dance lesson back in March that culminated in a formal dance on April 1st.

April 1st is also our cats' birthdays.  As you see, Hunter (Fluffy Evilness) has been reading his bible.

and Chomper (Evilness) has found a new partner in couch crime.

In addition to Cat's Birthdays and dancing, April 1st is "April Fool's Day" and Holly found a great trick to pull on Lance.  We lined up shoes with water bottles in them and told him that "Water is running out of your fish tank!" as he came in the door from work. Hee! Hee!

April 3rd Jared filled out his first W-4.  He's been volunteering and doing leadership training at the dojang up until this month.  Now he is officially an employee.  To celebrate we got him his very first wallet (from The Tank Museum in England of course).  In addition to teaching at the dojang, he also helps out in promotional events, such as this one at the Farmer's Market.

The latest twist in his Youtube channel - J-Rod Studios Brickfilms (https://www.youtube.com/c/JRodStudios) is working on making his channel a brand J-Rod Studios Bricks (https://jrodstudiosbricks.com/) where he hopes to launch a line of 1:64 WW2 Tank models as his first wave of products. 

Excitingly Lance started catching again for the Pros again this month.  His old facility had shut down but most of the guys were now working out at this new facility.  His reputation preceded him, so when he called the new facility to see if they needed someone to catch bull-pens they were thrilled to have him.  This is truly a win-win, the pitchers get to throw at a real person and he gets to de-rustify his catching skills and break in his mitt before summer ball starts.

For our Easter Celebration this year we decided to read the Easter story in all four gospels and compare them.  Afterward we packed up lunch and took a nice long hike at Blue Jay Park (with Oliver) to enjoy the beautiful weather and God's glorious creation.  (With that focus in mind, we totally forgot to take any pictures.)

In addition to baseball and demo team performances, Titus spent a lot of time this month helping Frank fix his riding lawn mower, which was a fun activity for them both.

I've found that people seem to make the time to get together better if you have a destination.  So on Saturdays I've started to invite old friends to the Tea Shop next to the dojang on Saturdays while Titus does his classes. First Tea this month was with my old friend Jen and it worked out marvelously.  Next one was with Ava (but at the house) and that too was truly enjoyable.  Looking forward to more "Tea with Friends".

In addition to lots of horse riding, Amber tried out a new sport with her friend Kimberly this month....ice skating.  Thankfully no broken bones, just a few bruises.

By April 16th it was time to migrate the Chicks outdoors, the smell and resultant allergies had become too much for everyone.  The new location is working out great (next to the Retirees), the heater cord works and they are enjoying the great outdoors.

April 22nd Titus and Jared attended the Regional AAU Taekwondo Tournament in Columbia, SC.  Since the competition started at 8am they went with Chris the night before.  For dinner they found an incredible pizza restaurant that got them set up for the long day ahead of them.  In the end, Jared place 3rd in Poomsae and Titus placed 2nd in Sparring.  They finished out their trip by finding another great restaurant, this time burgers, which was much needed after a WHOLE day of competition.  It was a fun weekend for the boys.

April 23rd was Frank Birthday.  We of course celebrated with lasagna and Spice Cake.  Lance's gift to Frank was to fix his truck for him after a shop had messed it up.  Between work and school you'd think Lance spent enough time fixing cars but he's always happy to help a friend and he enjoyed the time with Frank as well.

April 27th  FIAR had a field trip to the Sylvan Heights Bird Sanctuary.  This is one of my family's favorite wildlife parks, so Jared joined us to see "all the little birdies".  About a 1/2 mile from our exit the interstate stopped and became a parking lot.  We sat there for an hour (three semis had apparently played bumper car).  Well I shouldn't say sat, we got out and talked with our neighbor cars, and as we were on a bridge the kids had rock throwing contest into the river much to the amusement of some travelers.  But back to the intended focus of the day....  My family would love to have birds but we realize with two cats that hunt and a dog with a bird problem that wouldn't be wise.  Therefore, we enjoy them wherever we can.  As you can see, the birds were all over the idea as well.

Jared Joins the Black Belt Ranks

Jared started his journey to black belt a few months after Titus so it makes sense that he would test for his black belt later as well.  Since Jared is also an instructor at the dojang, he has anxiously awaited this day as he felt it gave him more credence as an instructor being a Black Belt.

This is Jared when he first started TKD.  The first photo is with Master Kim and second with Master Ed-Lijah and Master Jang.

This is Jared with those same men today (Master Jang is on this tiptoes).... he's grown a little.

We can't forget Master Ko, he joined the dojang after Jared but has become a great mentor.

The dojang has become a second family for Jared.  We are so thankful for their love for our children.  Looking forward to the all the future has to hold for Jared on this TKD journey.

The Ides of March

I'm not really sure what an "Ide" is but it sounded like a nifty title.  

March 2nd Titus and Amber had a FIAR field trip to Walnut Creek.  This is an inner city wetland sanctuary.  Thankfully they had loaner boots for everyone, as it was still wet from the recent rains.  The kids had fun exploring, looking for and learning about different animals in the creek and wetland area.

March 3rd Lance and Amber had a "date".  They went to the ballet performance of one of Lance's friend.

March 4th was the beginning of Titus' baseball season.  Chris was bamboozled into to managing both the Varsity and Junior Varsity team and coaching the Varsity team for Titus' middle school.  It was a lot of work leading up to this day and will be till mid-May.  Titus has been playing a lot of outfield so far this month and had some serious ESPN catches, again this year he is often one of the only guys to make it home.

Titus also spent a lot of time with Frank this month rebuilding their chicken coop/run, taking down and putting up sheds.

Amber in turn spent a lot of time on horses.  I'm continually amazed at how she keeps improving.

Titus, Amber and I also started going to the park on Thursdays with a group of old friends.  We all weren't sure how it would work out but its been awesome for everyone.  These kids are great, they just play and play hard just like my kids needed.  It's hard for us to leave each week in order to get Titus to his Writing Class.

March 11th Lance and Jared went to an English Country Dance.  I'm so thankful for these events, they are such a great outlet for young people to have safe fun.

March 16th we had a FIAR field trip to the Raleigh City Museum with some interesting city history and building activities  After we went to a new (to us) park with an incredibly large slide and other challenging equipment the kids had blast playing on, while we moms enjoyed the beautiful weather and talked.

We picked up 20 new chicks on March 22nd.  The chicks arrived four days earlier than we expected so we had to scramble to get a place set up for them.  We decided to go back to the Comets we first got when we began our chicken raising journey and so far we are very pleased with our choice.

Mid March Titus decided to master the art of making Schaum Tortes, they are one of Chris' favorite deserts.

March 25th was a busy day.  Titus had a TKD event and performance at Ting Stadium.  The crowd really went wild after their performance.  

 

Then I took him to the Mc-Family for an Air-soft party I had already dropped Jared off earlier in the morning (Notice the nice air job he did painting his gun).  

In the middle of all this Amber's friend came to the house for a playdate.  Chis and Lance went to USA baseball to watch Caden play with the Collins.  When I got home I was thankful the girls play so well, it allowed me to just enjoyed the quiet till it was time to start picking people up and getting others home.  It was hectic but so thankful everyone was able to do something this Saturday they enjoyed.

Jared finished out the month taking a CPR/First Aid Certification Class at the fire department for work.  He said the class was both entertaining and informative.  Those are skills good for everyone to have.

Officially a Man

The Bible states that manhood starts at age 20.  Therefore, today Lance is officially a man, though to me he will always be my little boy.

We celebrated with friends at the bowling alley over the weekend.  Then today at home for the traditional ball pelting and spice cake (Age doesn't protect you from a good ball pelting).

His work celebrated him with a really nice Hibachi lunch, with custom deserts.

It's so hard to believe it's been twenty years.  He's grown a lot in the last year, especially in his confidence.  The world is a crazy place, its important to be able to stand your ground, know who you are and know what you want to be.  The next year is full of possibilities, though which path he will end up taking is still unclear.  In the mean time, we'll adjust to our role as counselors and support him along what every journey he chooses.  He's ready for manhood.  We pray the journey ahead will be full of great dreams realized and adventures full of joy.

Rex Crosses the Rainbow Bridge

Our loyal family friend died rather suddenly today.  He hadn't been eating much for a week and so we had the vet come check him out on Monday.  She found some swollen lymphnodes near his throat.  Wednesday, we got the confirmation it was a very aggressive form of cancer and then he was gone.  Thankfully, we don't think he suffered, he went very peacefully.   Its been quite a shock to everyone, but especially to Amber as he was her constant companion and even slept with her at night.

Rex came to our family nearly eight years ago, he was a rescue and little frightened but Chris quickly got him over that and he adapted quickly to family life.   Even as a puppy he knew how to pace himself when on a leash with Amber on her tricycle.  He was tough dog when it came to play, Oliver would truck him and he'd always get up happy for more.  He liked exploring the woods with the kids and of course going on as many walks as people would give.  That all said, he was also a great cuddler and empathetic to the needs of the family; providing comfort and companionship as needed.  The house seems empty without him.  

We are greatly thankful for all the good years we had with him and we will all miss him terribly.

The Weeks Add Up

Every weekend this month was packed with activity.  

Week 1 Titus' Birthday!  (click for details)

Week 2 Boys had an English Country Dance- The boy's theme was "beach bums" this time.

Week 3 was Holly's Birthday and a trip to the Greensboro Science Center, and of course dinner at Wicked Burger again (YUMMM).

Week 4 Titus and Jared had a TKD tournament in Charlotte Saturday.....Jared placed 2nd in Poomsae, Titus got 1st in Sparing by disqualification.  The kid did some dirty kicks and hurt his leg but we were so proud of Titus for still competing later with his Demo team even though his leg was really sore.  It's a good thing he did since he's a key part of the team and they ended up placing 1st!

and Grandma Mary's Birthday on Sunday.

Then of course we had everything happening during the week.  Like helping Miss Berta unload all her creative supplies and finding the first batch of crawdads in the creek.

All this activity helped us get rested for the beginning of baseball season next month..... not really but it all sure was fun!  Though I do think the dogs speak for us all.

T is for Titus

Titus said he had a great birthday week.  As is tradition, he got to pick the daily meals and movies for the week.  On Thursday, we also had his best friend over for a playdate (Amber and I had ours over as well as a bonus).  Then on his actual birthday we pelted him with play balls at breakfast and gave him his presents.  Since he had tried to make pasta by hand the other day, we decided the best thing to get him was a pasta maker, drying rack and some extra attachments.  Amber and Titus went straight to work and boy is his pasta awesome, his ravioli is even better.  The bonus is he's making it with our spelt flour so we can all eat it.

Later that evening Mary and Frank came by to celebrate and eat some spice cake, which finished out his birthday perfectly. 

But his birthday week wasn't over yet..... The Mc-Family came for a final celebration and the unveiling of Lance's gift they had put together the day before - Two Potato Guns.  Titus didn't know the Mc-Family was coming for the guns or the special desert; roasting marshmallows around the new fire pit.  Titus had wanted to do this for so long but it was raining on his birthday so we postponed the surprise to today.  

The Potato Guns were a lot more powerful than I think the kids expected.  It was quite a hoot to watch the potatoes fly high into the forest. 

Titus likes things that go fast.  He loves fast cars and especially aviation.  He currently wants most to learn to fly, be a aviation mechanic and maybe a chef as well.  He's extremely smart and mechanically inclined, I have no doubt he'll be a success at anything he decides he really wants to do.  He is also very athletic and keeps improving with TKD and baseball.  However, what matters most is his character.  As parents could not be more pleased than to be able to say that his character improves each year as well.  We love you very much Titus and can't wait to see what blessings are in your future.