Thankful Thursday: "I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature."

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. 

I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.” 

― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

Just last night, AC and I were talking about how I seem to have more than one good friend whom I regularly spend time with.   I also have a few good friends who do not live nearby anymore, but I chat with on a regular basis.  This is an anomaly for me, as I am fairly introverted and don't deal well in most social situations.   In fact, typically having just one good friend is difficult, stressful and exhausting for me.  As well as being introverted, the Austen quote above is very true for me, and contributes to my difficulties with friendship.

This week, I am enormously thankful that God has placed this handful of women in my life, and that even through my awkwardness or sometimes inappropriate comments, they continue to be faithful.  I hope you all know who you are, and I love you.

What are you thankful for this week? Leave a comment below, and then check out some other Thankful Thursday posts here:

Thankful Thursday: "The truth is rarely pure and never simple."

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple. 

Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, 

and modern literature a complete impossibility!"

Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, Act I

This week I am thankful that SC successfully completed our first-ever standardized test.  I wrote previously that we had her tested just before she turned five years old for IQ and achievement, but other than a new understanding that she is gifted, asynchronous, and really needs to work on listening skills, there wasn't much we could do with the results at this point.  

What I really wanted to know was whether or not I had missed anything in planning and teaching.  In the State of Texas, the Texas Education Agency publishes a set of standards called the TEKS, and while that is helpful in directing planning, it does not tell me now, before we start, what SC really already knows.  I went through the kindergarten TEKS standards last summer, and other than a few of the science and social studies parts, in my opinion, she had already mastered most of it because of the product she was generating when we did preschool and kindergarten level work at home.  

For starting this fall, I did the same thing, looking at the first grade level TEKS, but I was more unsure.  Again, we had not done much of the science or social studies items at home, though many were taken care of at the Mother's Day Out pre-k program she went to.  However, I am not that worried about missing information in these areas for the upcoming year.  It is the math, reading and language arts skills that I really wanted to know about, especially since she is working so far ahead: what has she already mastered, what is a struggle, what does she not know at all?

I chose to go with the ITBS Level 6, which is the level for students going into 1st grade (K.7-1.7).  I did not want the test to be so difficult that she was only getting a few questions correct (what I thought might happen if I had jumped two years and chose Level 7), but I hoped that she wouldn't just blow through this one, either, and have wasted my time giving a test that she scores 100% correct answers on.  

Level 6 was a perfect test, and though I do not know the "official" results yet, because I was the test administrator (ITBS allows this, as long as you get certified, which requires a bachelor's degree), I was able to see where, when and how she made mistakes.  Most of the mistakes were made with regard to listening comprehension.  Though we knew that she struggled in this area from the previous tests, it really helped to see her make the mistakes.  I was able to see that she does fine when there is one or two pieces of information, but if there was three or four, she tends to forget the first part of what I was saying.  This held true across all the categories, both in the actual "listening" section, but also in the math area when she had to listen to word problems that had more than two numbers to manipulate.

The other problems she got wrong (other than for listening reasons) were in the vocabulary section, and specifically had to do with categorization.  Some of the words she was asked to identify (by choosing the picture that best represented the word she heard me say) were things like thick/thin and skinny.  I realized that as a family we have purposely avoided these types of categorization words due to the fact that they can be applied to people, as well as the word "fat," which is the opposite of "skinny" in this context.  AC and I have not wanted to deal with SC pointing out these specific differences in people (because she does notice and point out in a childlike manner) in public because though her intent is not to offend, sometimes the words of a child can be taken as offensive, and people can still be hurt by them.  

 So, I would say that overall, this was a great testing experience.  AC and I both wanted SC to have some experience with taking a standardized test, and though the State of Texas does not require that we test or submit scores, we think the information we can learn from the testing (as long as it is analyzed in way that is not simply "did she score X" or "did she pass") will be a great help to us going forward.

Have you had experience with testing young elementary students at home?  What do you think about the ITBS test specifically?  Let me know, then check out some other Thankful Thursday posts here:

Thankful Thursday: "...and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."

"The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." 

Psalm 19:1

This Thursday I am thankful that in the midst of a hot July in Texas, God blessed us with not only a much needed rainstorm, but a whole day of drizzle, cool temperatures and light breezes last Sunday, which became a much needed day of relaxing together as a family.

We started out early in the morning having coffee (AC and I) on the back porch, and then SC and I tried out her new "watercolor" pencils.  We decided to draw some of our backyard sunflowers.  These pencils are neat because you use them first to draw with, and then you can use a small paintbrush with water over the top to create a "watercolor" effect.

We moved inside to make breakfast, and then went back out with some peppermint tea, a book for me, the book AC is working on for him, and some fun playtime in the rain for SC.  She kept her pajamas on all day, but added her rain boots, and spent time toting buckets of water from the gutter downspout to her "pie" in the wheelbarrow (which had previously been filled with dirt and debris).  She also pulled a bunch of weeds to throw in and mix about.  

We didn't finally come inside until mid-afternoon (when GoldCup soccer was starting), and had to put SC directly into the bath.

It was a wonderful day of rest, especially since AC left Sunday night for a week-long business trip to New Hampshire, and was just what we all needed.

Are you thankful for an unexpected break from the summer heat, too?  Leave a comment below, and then check out more Thankful Thursday posts here:

Thankful Thursday: "...among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

We hold these truths to be self-evident,

 that all men are created equal, 

that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, 

that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

-Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

Today I am thankful that in spite of all the political drama that seems to constantly be at the forefront of our governmental system, we live in a country that is trying its best to be (as Lincoln stated) "of the people, by the people, for the people."  I pray that God will continue to bless Americans in this way, and that He uses us as a guiding light for those who are living in the dark, even if it isn't easy for us.

What are you thankful for today?  Leave a comment below, and then check out some other Thankful Thursday posts here:

Thankful Thursday: "I have accidentally written a novel."

"Finally, I finished it, did a word count 

and sent an apologetic email to my publisher — 

‘I have accidentally written a novel.’"

-Neil Gaiman, 06/24/13, The Majestic Theatre, Dallas, TX

This week I am thankful that a good friend of mine had an extra ticket to go see Neil Gaiman speak at an Arts & Letters Live event, hosted by the Dallas Museum of Art.  We get a flyer for A&LL at the beginning of the season, but I almost always forget who the major players are since they are scheduled for months out.

I absolutely loved Gaiman reading from his latest novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which is semi-autobiographical.  To hear an author read his own work with the intended inflection is an incredible experience.  He also talked about how certain parts of the book are autobiographical, like the opening drama of the seven-year-old main character and his father discovering that the family's boarder had taken their white Mini and committed suicide in it.  Gaiman explained that while it actually happened to his family, he was not related the story by his own father until he was into his 40s, reminiscing about "whatever happened to that car."  

Gaiman is also the author of American Gods, Anansi Boys, Stardust, and a number of other novels, as well as The Sandman series of comics (DC Comics) and quite a few children's books, like The Graveyard Book, which won the Newbery Medal, and Coraline, which is probably a familiar title due to the movie of the same name.

     

 

Gaiman is also releasing a new children's book, Fortunately, the Milk, in September of this year, and due to the magnificence "of the [Majestic] theatre" decided to award us with a brief reading from its pages.  It was no less gripping and fantastic than his reading of Ocean, and I preordered it online while I waited to have my book signed.  During his talk he stressed how important it is to "do the voices" when reading books to children, and I could not agree more.  I wish I had that talent, and am so glad AC can do wonderful voices for SC when he reads to her; alas, I must stick with audiobooks when it is my turn.

Speaking of having a book signed, I am very thankful that I only had to wait two hours before getting the opportunity to meet Gaiman in person and have him sign the book of short stories (Fragile Things) I had brought with me.  According to twitter, the signing lasted until 2:30am.  It is no wonder he announced that this tour would be his last in which he stays to sign books.  I also was able to spend those two hours speaking with the people around me about books, which was awesome.

What unexpected thing are you thankful for this week?  Leave a comment, then check out some more Thankful Thursday posts here:

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Thankful Thursday: "I've been wishing for this since I was 10 years old..."

This week I am thankful that I got to see the movie E.T. (1982) in the theatre yesterday.  They were doing a "4 weeks of Spielberg" thing, and E.T. was it for this week.  I remember seeing it as a child, but I didn't really remember much about it other than a very basic plot line and that they dressed E.T. up as a ghost on Halloween.  However, seeing it on the big screen, with the music of John Williams booming throughout the room, was an incredible experience.  The plot goes up and down, wrenching at your heartstrings, bringing you up, dragging you down.  Even though I knew how it ended, I couldn't help but get teary-eyed when Elliot, the young boy who had found E.T. and took him in, said after his presumed death

"Look at what they've done to you. I'm so sorry. You must be dead, 'cause I don't know how to feel. I can't feel anything anymore. You've gone someplace else now. I'll believe in you all my life, every day. E.T., I love you."

If you haven't seen the movie, I will stop my synopsis here and request you borrow a copy or just go buy it.  As an adult, looking back at these tough decisions of childhood, I deeply felt what Elliot was feeling.  I have never seen Ghandi, the best picture winner of the Oscars the year E.T. was nominated, but it must have been genius to have overtaken such an incredible work of art.

I also want to mention that I am thankful that I got to have this experience with SC.  She is so in tune to the emotions evoked by music, and even more so when there is a film that accompanies it.  Listening to her describe the beginning of the film ("like a nightmare"), and then moving on to gleefully clapping when E.T. first lifts himself and Elliot off the ground, flying through the air on the bike; the anxiety as the government agents enter Elliot's house while they are gone; to see her tears and hear her moans as she witnesses what she believes to be a sad ending to the film: I witnessed the magic that movies can create as I watched her watching the movie, and would recommend E.T. for that, even if for nothing else.

Have you seen any movies lately that you would recommend?  What are you thankful for this week?  Comment below, then check out some other Thankful Thursday posts here




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Thankful Thursday: "We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once."

"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once."

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

This week I am thankful that SC's dance recital went really well yesterday (and she did great!).  Last year she was very nervous during the recital and simply stood in place on the stage while the other girls danced.  However, this year, she not only danced well, but she did so in two separate dances.  It was so much fun to watch her and her friends do their performances.

We stayed up very late last night and SC got to watch all the older girls (and boys) perform, and she is psyched to start her new dance classes in the fall.  She will be in a combination tap, ballet and jazz class, and a separate hip hop class.

What are you thankful for this week?  Leave a comment, and then check out some other Thankful Thursday posts here

Thankful Thursday: "Imagination is a force..."

"Imagination is a force that can actually manifest a reality."

James Cameron

This week I am thankful that SC and I got to go visit the Perot Museum of Nature and Science on a very special day - when James Cameron's DEEPSEA Challenger submarine was there.  If you were unaware (honestly, I was until a day or so ago), James Cameron recently set the record for a solo dive to the deepest accessible place on Earth, in the Mariana Trench.  You can read more about it here.

This was a really cool experience, and it gave me the opportunity to learn a little more about Cameron, someone whom I really only know as the director of the movie Titanic, and for the few documentary pieces he has done with regard to the actual Titanic ship.  The Perot Museum had also set up a few experiment stations that pertained to submarines and underwater exploration, and every child who attended got an "experiment in a bag" with instructions to use the items (empty film canister, 2 rubberbands, some coins, some plastic keyboard keys) to create something that would both submerge and then resurface.  SC was a little bored at first with the waiting around, but was very interested once the scientists started talking.  I cannot wait until Cameron releases his 3D film chronicling the experience next April, and am glad we will be able to view it at the Perot in their theatre.

What are you thankful for this week?  Leave a comment, and then check out some other Thankful Thursday posts here: 

Thankful Thursday: "I got the blues thinking of the future ..."

"I got the blues thinking of the future, 

so I left off and made some marmalade.  

It's amazing how it cheers one up 

to shred oranges and scrub the floor." 

~D.H. Lawrence

 

This week I am thankful that AC fully supports my whims (though this one had been discussed before) and I got to paint the kitchen green over the long holiday weekend, in between celebrating SC's 5th birthday.  I had been in a bummer mood and for some reason, nothing makes me feel as good as the physicality of painting walls.  So, I told AC "you know, what would make me feel better would be to paint the kitchen."  He said okay, and we got a bucket of paint, a new brush (I always need a new brush) and roller cover and spent a few hours applying two coats of paint to the kitchen.  Next I need to recover the valence (not in the picture anymore) and construct new curtains, but I will have to wait until SC's summer classes start up in June.

I am also thankful that God has given us a beautiful, smart, happy little girl to love and raise. I am glad that we were able to celebrate her on Sunday as she turned five years old, and thankful that she has good taste in music as we are going to a concert to see some local bands like The Orbans (one of her favorites - and mine) and Fate Lions, as well as The Avett Brothers, instead of having a party.  What an awesome little girl we have!

 
What are you thankful for this week?  Leave a comment, and then check out some other Thankful Thursday posts here:

 

Thankful Thursday: "Help your brother's boat across ..."

"Help your brother's boat across,

and your own will reach the shore."

Hindu proverb

This week for Thankful Thursday, I am thankful for my younger brother, JH.  Today is his birthday, and though he is far away in Minnesota, working with his band Heliosaga on their first studio album, I hope he knows that I love him and am celebrating his life from Texas.  

We were good friends growing up, and rarely fought.  I wish we were still as close as we were as kids, but our lives changed quickly when I got to high school.  We each had time-consuming things that took most of our focus.  By the time JH got to high school, I had just graduated and was going on to college.  Even though I lived at home for the first two years of college, I worked a lot, I spent time out with friends and trying to keep up with school, and then I met AC when I was 18.  JH graduated and moved to Austin for college, then I got married, then we had SC, and all of a sudden JH and I were strangers.  It is amazing how quickly things change and two people can grow apart as their lives take different paths.  

So, today, on JH's birthday, I want to focus on him and the difficult life he is choosing as a musician (and rather excelling at, in my opinion).  Happy birthday, brother, and I am praying that you find success in the choices you make, and peace and love in the music you make.

If you are interested in hearing some of Heliosaga's music, they recently released their first single, "Light of Ardor," to youtube.  

By the way, my brother plays the bass.

Check out more Thankful Thursday posts here:

Thankful Thursday: "It looked like an old painting, but real..."

"It looked like an old painting, but real – everything achingly idyllic in the morning light – 

and I thought about how wonderfully strange it would be 

to live in a place where almost everything had been built by the dead."

John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

This week I am thankful that I was able to take a trip to Dublin, Ireland with my friend AB last week.  I had a wonderful time, saw many beautiful things and places, learned so much about the history and culture of Ireland, had a few interesting encounters, and cannot wait to go back and share it with AC and SC.  I am thankful that I have returned safely to my family, and that the travel itself was unexceptional, though I did return with the flu.  However, I am thankful right now that it seems to be almost over.

What are you thankful for this week?  Leave a comment, then check out:

Thankful Thursday: "Announced by all the trumpets of the sky Arrives the snow ..."

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky
Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river and the heaven,
And veils the farm-house at the garden's end.

from "The Snow-Storm," Ralph Waldo Emerson

This week I am thankful that we had a white Christmas in North Texas.  I do not like the cold, but if it must be cold, I love when it is productive like this.  Most of my life growing up in North Texas the times it snowed, or even produced freezing rain and ice, could probably be counted on one hand.  However, SC has experienced snow at some point in North Texas every year since her birth except last year, and she loves it.  She seems to be immune to the chill that playing in the snow brings about because she wanted to stay outside all day Christmas Day!

What are you thankful for this week?  Leave a comment, then check out other Thankful Thursday posts here:

Thankful Thursday: "...to keep them interested in things."

"I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble 

is to keep them interested in things."

-Walt Disney, 1963

This week I am thankful that we are in Houston and will be spending the day at the Children's Museum of Houston (while AC works, of course).  This is apparently supposed to be one of the best children's museums in the country, and is on my top ten list of museums to take SC to in the next year.  

We knew a few weeks ago that AC would have to make this one-day trip to Houston for work, but this week he said "why don't you just come with me?"  I knew immediately I wanted to go (to spend that extra time with him, of course - it is four hours to Houston from our home), and am thankful that he loves to spend these moments with us as well.  SC and I have gotten very good at traveling along with AC for work, be it a road trip or one out of the country, and enjoy exploring new places on our own and finding interesting things to do while he works.

What last minute trip would you enjoy taking?  Leave a comment, then check out other Thankful Thursday posts here:

Thankful Thursday: "Presents are made for the pleasure ..."

"Presents are made for the pleasure of who gives them, 

not the merits of who receives them."

-Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind

Today I am thankful that I have all my Christmas shopping done, and there are still eighteen days, sixteen hours left until we celebrate.  I do still have a few gifts in transit, but I do not have anything left to buy.  

Now the difficulty will be to resist the rest of the sales that are happening and not buying anything more.  I love giving gifts to SC and AC, and have a hard time seeing things that they would like and not just getting them.  We really wanted to cut down on what we were buying for ourselves this year, because the past four years have been beyond ridiculous when it comes to present-opening time.  We tried to just keep it simple, but I think next year we are going to try something like "need/want/read/wear" because it will be even better to have that specific focus.  We still overbought this year, in my opinion, for ourselves, and I think it was because our guideline was "maybe one bigger gift, and then stocking stuff."  There is quite a bit that has counted as "stocking stuff," though I am pleased we definitely did better than in years past.  

The point of cutting down the quantity of Christmas gifts for ourselves was so that we could be good stewards of the blessings God has given us, and to give to those who otherwise would have nothing.  So, this year we adopted three angels (one whole family) from the Salvation Army Angel Tree program.  The reason we chose this program is because not only is it local, but instead of just collecting toys, it gives both a "need" and a "want" for each child,  as well as lists clothing and shoe sizes for each child and permits the gifting of things not on the list, like socks, underwear, jackets and other items they might need, but are not their number one need.  I would really encourage those of you who are looking for a way to bless others to look for the Salvation Army Angel Tree program local to your home.

What are you thankful for today?  Leave a comment, then check out 

Thankful Thursday: "How Not to Have to [Wash] the Dishes"

-Shel Silverstein

This week, I am thankful that my daughter has been so helpful, as we have had so much going on lately and it has been hard for all of us to keep up with the housework, especially the dishes.  

Yesterday specifically, in the midst of trying to get the kitchen in order for all the last-minute baking we had to do, she pulled a chair up to the sink and started washing the dishes and loading them into the dishwasher.  I was amazed at how proficient she was at getting things scrubbed, and that she was careful with the glass pieces, asking for help to put them into the dishwasher so she didn't drop anything.

I am so proud, not only of how well she did, completely filling the dishwasher for us while I cleaned up the counter-tops, but also that she took the initiative in the first place.

What are you thankful for today?  Leave a comment, then check out some other Thankful Thursday posts here

Thankful Thursday: "...as you did it to one of the least of these..."

"And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, 

as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’" 

-Matthew 25:40

This week for Thankful Thursday, I am thankful that our sponsor information packet arrived from Compassion International.  AC and I have actually been talking about sponsoring a child for a while, because though we both have a heart for adoption, it just isn't in the cards for us at this moment.  Sponsoring a child was the next logical step, but neither of us actually went out and signed up.  

In the last few weeks, we have been dealing with SC being a product of the technology generation and have really taken a hard look at what we have compared to what so much of the world has, and how we can express to SC that she is so blessed.  We do not want to raise an entitled child, who demands to be entertained during dinner, in the car or when she is "bored" at home.  In fact, we thought we would never be those parents who hand over a phone or other device at a restaurant or have movies playing in the car.  Things have changed quite a bit in the past four and a half years since she was born.  

So, when I signed up to sponsor a child, I wanted to choose a girl who is the same age as SC, because I think as SC grows, it will be easier for her to compare her life with that of a child her own age.  I was really excited that one of the first girls I was shown was born only two days after SC.  I immediately selected her, and tried to wait patiently for the packet to arrive.

Our little girl's name is Oneydi, and lives in El Salvador.  SC cannot wait until we get back from our next tag-along trip with AC to start making her cards (stamped with both girls' names) and send her some small gifts, like stickers.  We have also already been able to talk about how her life might be different from SC's, as well as what things might be the same (they both care for animals as a chore, though I imagine Oneydi's animals are much larger).

Now, we are not doing this so we can say "there are starving children in third-world countries, so you have to eat your dinner" or in any way threaten her to feel guilty about what she does have.  We want her to see how blessed she is, and to raise up a child who loves to give to those who need in the same way that we have been given to cover our needs.  We want to educate her that not everyone lives the way we do, but show her that God's love extends to the deepest, darkest reaches of the Earth, and that He can use us to spread His love.  We want her to feel that giving is so much better than receiving.  We want SC to, hopefully, be able to develop a friendship with Oneydi rather than simply think of her as someone "less than" us who needs our help - to really know that we are all equal in the eyes of God/love.

Do you sponsor any children through Compassion or another organization?  What type of gifts have you found to be the best/most liked/easiest to send?  Leave a comment, then check out what some others are thankful for at: