Sarah's Artwork

Near the end of the school year, Sarah came home with a folder of art she had worked on during the year.  She will be going into the 10th grade next year.

Eyes of classmates.

Portrait

Ballet Recital 2013

May 15, 2013.  The sixth year of dance recitals.  Not one moment of regret for any of it.

2013 Picture night

2013 Recital with grandma and mom

2013 Recital with Mrs. Randolph, their instructor.

2013 Recital

 Previous Years

2008 Recital

2009 Recital

2010 Recital

 

2012 Recital

2011 Recital

Elias and His Catapult

Every year, Mr. Cash's 6th grade science class does a catapult project.  Katherine and Sarah both did one.  This year it was Elias's turn.

Elias incorporated a sling into his project.  Here is some text directly out of the essay he had to write.  He named his catapult the "Power Winder".

"My catapult, a roman torsion catapult/onager, is a combination of two catapults. I chose the Power Winder’s design because when I researched different catapults and how they work I found most kinds of catapults have one or two things that set them apart from others and make them work better. The torsion bundle, or rope twisted to create torsion, classifies my catapult as an onager and provides the power and strength my catapult needed. The Power Winder uses the sling idea from traditional trebuchets instead of a spoon shaped depression to hold the projectile. The sling action provides the momentum and length along the arm to fire the projectile faster."

I helped him some with the cutting of the pieces and drilling of holes for the screws, and offered suggestions as needed.  The catapult project is something I have enjoyed working on with all of the kids.  We have already starting thinking about Asher's, which will be in two years.

The boys have already starting thinking about useful applications for this catapult, such as using it as a pitching machine and launching water balloons at turkey buzzards.

There are two strings for launching the projectile.  One is a safety device to hold the arm down while getting ready for the launch (that arm is under surprising tension).  The other string pulls a trigger releasing the arm.

Here's another view.

Elias and his Wire Bot

Elias, age 12, brought home his school Art Class folder.  Found this inside:

This is the description he wrote:

My robot is a bot that scares away the birds that perch on telephone wires. It has clamps to grip the wire and special wheels to help it stay balanced.  It has lots of tools to fix the wires if broken.  It has an extra eye and a powerful flashlight to use in the dark.  It has brushes to clean the wire and is light so it does not weigh down the wire.  It also has a magnet to get tools it drops and rocket boosters to get him up on the wire.  It has an umbrella for the rain.  It has water guns and horns for the birds.  It has clippers and a grappling hook to get branches off the wires.  It also has a chain saw and axe to clear away fallen trees.  It has a very strong robotic hand to hoist itself up and finally extra wire to fix broken ones.  I like my robot because it has so many different tools..  MADE BY ELIAS TIMMONS

I especially like the rocket booster touch.  Elias Timmons.  Look for him in Wikipedia in the future under "Creative Genius."

The Georgetown Little League Horse Crap Call Incident

Georgetown Little League had tryouts today, and I was reminded of an incident last year involving one of our boy's coaches.  That incident was the subject of a previous blog post, and since it was such a colorful event, a portion of it is reprinted here:

Coming into Little League two years ago, we heard all kinds of cautions, mostly pertaining to overly competitive coaches and parents.  We have experienced none of that.  Georgetown Little League has been an outstanding organization, staff and parents alike.

We did have one small incident, the details of which are listed below:

• A visiting umpire made a questionable call.
• Elias's Coach Jeff tried to question the call, the umpire refused to discuss it, and as he walked away, Jeff muttered the words "Well that's a horse crap call."
• The umpire immediately ejected Coach Jeff from the game.  It was his first ejection, ever.
• A parent got involved in the situation (normally calm and extremely pleasant), and probably without thinking, let the "F" word slip.  He too was ejected from the field by the umpire.  The parent protested that he had just cut the grass on the field, and couldn't be ejected.  The umpire did not think these extenuating circumstances merited any leniency, and the parent was ejected anyway.  When he hesitated to leave, the umpire threatened to cancel the whole game.
• Another parent rose from the stands and shouted "It's all about the kids.  Let them play ball!"
• Our coach and the parent then quietly left the field.  No yelling, no kicking of dirt onto the umpire's shoes, which was very disappointing, as I thought these things were part of the game of baseball.  Apparently not in Little League.
• The term "Horse Crap Call" became a joke for the rest of the season.  
• Elias was called out at first base on a subsequent night by this same umpire.  The ball clearly reached the base before he arrived and the umpire called him out, but the first baseman apparently bobbled and then dropped the ball.  Jeff was coaching first base and politely asked for a revision of the call, which was ignored.  He elected not to use the term "Horse Crap Call", and let the call go in the interest of good sportsmanship and the fact it was closing night.
• Later, Jeff said he thought I should have gone to bat for my son, and should have used the "Horse Crap Call" line myself.  

Thank you Georgetown Little League.  Thank you coaches.  And thank you boys.  From your perspective,  you are just playing a game.  From ours, you are enriching our lives.

Sarah's Digital Design Class

This is a project Sarah worked on for her digital design class.  There are programs that will turn a photo into artwork automatically.  This wasn't done with one of those programs.  She started with her photograph, then used Photoshop to manually color the picture.  The butterfly is a stock image.

Michael C. Ferguson Scholarship

Our Sarah just got some good news.  She received a $1,000 Ferguson Scholarship to be used towards her college education.  The awards are based on DCAS scores from last year (when Sarah was in the eighth grade). The following is straight out of the Sussex Central High School Web Site:

Fourteen Indian River School District students were awarded Ferguson Scholarships from the State of Delaware for exemplary performance on the 2012 Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System (DCAS).

Sixteen scholarships totaling $16,000 were awarded to district students who earned high scores on the reading and math portions of the DCAS. Each scholarship is worth $1,000 and can be used once the student begins post-secondary education.

Statewide, 299 scholarships were awarded to 279 students. There were 20 students who earned multiple scholarships.

The scholarship program is named in memory of Michael C. Ferguson, former Deputy Superintendent and Acting Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction and former state budget director.

Sarah earned her scholarship for her performance on the math portion of the test.  The funny thing is, Sarah says she really doesn't like math that much.

The Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon

After anticipating this day since late June, we set out from our house at 5:15 a.m. after about 6 hours of sleep and arrived in the sleepy town of Rehoboth Beach, DE for the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon.

(Note:  clicking on the pictures will enlarge them.  Clicking on the links will take you to other pages.)

For those of you who want the Cliff Notes version:

• Event:  Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon
• Date:  December 8, 2012
• Weather:  52 degrees, heavily overcast, no rain
• Time to complete:  4 hours, 10 minutes, and 14 seconds
• Average pace:  9:33/mile
• Overall Finishing position:  430 out of 823 runners
• What I predicted:  525th, 4:08:00
• Finishing position in age group:  37 out of 68 runners
• Finishing position among males:  310 out of 517 runners
• Time for first half:  2:01:48
• Time for second half:  2:08:26
• Pace in first 6.55 miles - 9:02/mile
• Pace in first half - 9:18/mile
• Pace in second half - 9:49/mile
• Official Results from Lin-mark Sports. 
• Official Photos at US Candids (select Rehoboth Marathon 12/8/12 -search for bib #901) .
• The winner was a fellow we have met, Enos "E" Benbow Jr..  He finished in 2:45:21 with a pace of 6:19/mile.  E helped coach Sarah some when she ran track two years ago.

For those of you who were interested in the Strategy I mentioned in a previous post, here are the answers:

The Starting Line

- I didn't want to start out too fast.  Not a problem.  There were 2000 people crammed into a street about 50 yards in length behind the starting line, all waiting very patiently to begin.  This mass trudged along for quite some time, putting a harness on everyone's adrenaline.

- I intended to pick out a runner to run behind, who would help me keep pace.  I didn't really find this person, and ran behind various runners who never really fit the bill.  I did find one good prospect around mile 15. I had glanced at my watch, gave up on trying to do the math in my head, and asked a lady who met most of my criteria for the pacing partner.  Based on my quick math, I thought we were running at a pace to finish around 4 hrs, 15 minutes.  I asked if she was tracking her pace.  "No," she said, "But it feels like we are running to finish in about 4 hrs 10 minutes, maybe 4 hrs 15 minutes."  Great, just about what I thought.  Then I noticed that she had no fancy gadget.  In fact, she wasn't even wearing a watch.  She WAS the runner for whom I had been searching.  She had obviously done this a lot. (Note:  I discovered that it was Kristen Hine of Baltimore.  She finished 425th with a time of 4:09:32, 5 places and 42 seconds ahead of me.)

Mile 11.7 near the DQ in Lewes

- It didn't take long to realize that she was a faster runner than I was.  I consciously had to say to myself "Let her go, she's too fast for you."  So I did.  I don't know where she finished.  At that point in the race, I determined that a 4 hour finish time was probably out of reach, and I was perfectly content with that.




 - Finishing strong was important to me.  The last mile is perhaps the highlight of the race.  You know you are about to finish, and the joy of accomplishing the task sets in.  Almost got a cramp in my right calf because I picked up the pace in that mile, but I immediately slowed until I knew it was in check.  Then I passed 5 or 6 runners in the last stretch, awing the roaring crowd (O.K. So perhaps they weren't actually in awe, but I can believe what I want, cause it's my story.)

Mile 19.3, also near the DQ in Lewes

- The course, as expected, was spectacular.  And I enjoyed it the best I could.  But you are so focused on running that you have to almost force yourself to take it in.  Keep in mind that when you have a goal in mind for a specific finishing time, you are constantly having to push to run a little faster than you really want to.  If you are out for a casual jog, it is different.  You are doing this for hours on end.  It takes a lot of mental energy, believe it or not, and this is part of what makes the marathon a challenge.

For those of you wondering about my health:

- I felt great at the end of the race.  My only effects were a blister on one toe, and a little chafing under one arm.  Some soreness in my thighs set in around mile 20.  The next morning,  my thighs were sore, but just muscle soreness I would expect - nothing to indicate any kind of injury.

For those of you wondering what part of the marathon I liked best:

Family and Friends

- Sharing it with my friends and family.  This whole thing has been a big event in the the lives of our whole family since June.  Sure, you do something big and you want others to witness it... I can't deny that there is some of that sentiment, which is self-centered and in my view somewhat unattractive.  But that's not what I'm getting at in "sharing" it.  We are all involved in different things that are important to each one of us.  And we "share" those experiences with each other by talking about them - letting each other know what we are doing.  In doing that, we all get to experience the joy of the event.  A classic example is inviting others to our weddings.  It isn't a matter of "Look at what we've done," but rather "Come and experience the joy of our marriage."  Now of course, this particular event isn't on the level of a wedding, but it's the same idea.  It is the sharing of lives that brings joy to our hearts as social creatures.  It is that sharing which, in fact, makes us less self-centered, because others get to share our joy.

The Finish behind Rehoboth Beach Running Company

- In that light, I have to mention a few people by name.  Mom and Dad, Steve & Marcia Miller and their boys, Aleisa Timmons (Bud had to work), Kirk and Barbara Westfall, and Al Abrams of Sea Finds in Rehoboth all came to the race to cheer me on.  Tina's Aunt Helen showed unparalleled interest in the race from the very beginning, texted during the race for updates, and sent us a donation, which we used to buy breakfast afterwards at Sammy's Kitchen on Wilmington Avenue.   Rick Baker, who would have been there except for another commitment, called right after the race.  Bill Sammons of 88.7 The Bridge mentioned the marathon on his morning show last week.  None of these people have any particular interest in running.  If you aren't a runner, talk about running is just plain boring.  Watching it is boring as well.  This is what makes people who show interest and support all the more special.

Kirk, Mom, Barbara, Dad, Marcia & baby

Al Abrams

- Many others gave me their ear to talk about the race beforehand (well, they appeared to give me an ear... perhaps I just took it.)  This was important to me.  You can tell when someone expresses genuine interest in what you are doing.  And that says "I care about you... I want to know."  That is all part of that sharing.  And that's what I desire to do for those around me with whatever it is they are doing. 

Tina

For those of you who wonder what my family thought of the marathon:

Tina and the kids were all completely supportive.  They never once complained that my training was a nuisance, even though at times I know it was.  What can I say to that except thank you.  And thanks to the rest of you as well.

Best Christmas Decorations EVER Just Got Better.

Years ago, we made a  plywood cutout of a Nativity based on a Christmas card drawn by our friend Brooke Gehman.  The original stable went the way of all flesh (it rotted), and we replaced the stable a couple of years ago. 

 This year, we wanted to do something different, so Tina and Sarah drew animals on a piece of plywood, and poof... look what we we have now.

Note:  As you can see, for the benefit of those of you sick and tired of reading about running, this was not a running blog .  Nothing at all was mentioned about running in this blog.  Also, no animals were harmed in the making of this Nativity.  And yes, there WERE chickens at the manger (see "If Chickens Could Sing".)

OWN the NIGHT

Front of Bookmark

Back of Bookmark

Our Sarah entered a bookmark contest at the Greenwood Public Library in Greenwood, DE.

When I got home today, she came to me and said "Mommy told me to show this to you."

Sarah did not inherit one single ounce of drawing talent from me.  But it must have been hibernating in my blood, as my brother Buddy is equally talented.

The Arts

Some very good friends of ours invited us to attend an outdoor showing of the movie "Homeward Bound" beside the Riverwalk in Salisbury, MD.  The event was put on by the Salisbury Wicomico Arts Council.  There is something irresistible about outdoor events in the summer.

Roma Old Bay Sausage

We shared dinner together beforehand in our friends' new home.  The old bay sausages expertly barbequed on the grill were a huge hit. 

We were handed a pamphlet at the movie by someone from the Arts Council.  I noticed a quote at the top of the page, which said:  "The arts are a gift to our souls, that we may achieve gladness in the midst of tedious living.  The arts are our entitlement to lift ourselves to higher ground, simply for the asking." 

Finally, someone has put into words why I listen to music, why I drag my family to concerts in the summer, why a good book is a thing to ponder on for weeks, why every dollar spent towards ballet lessons for our girls is a dollar well spent, why the sound of the clarinet and saxophone are music to our ears in our home, why I mix the sound for the family who leads worship at our church, why I badly attempt to accompany that family with the djembe, why I love to see our Sarah draw, why I am fascinated by architecture, and why I write.

Food may actually be a fine art as well.  Maybe that's why I enjoy eating so much.

WMDT 47 News at the Delaware State Fair

During the summer, I sometimes ask if the boys want to go to work with me.  Recently, Elias accompanied me to a job in Harrington.  Every year, I construct a temporary set for WMDT Channel 47 TV, where they do an on-site 6:00 p.m. newscast from the Delaware State Fair.  The boys have been with me in the past.  This year, Elias expressed an interest in going back.

I construct the walls and floor of the set.

We use the same set every year.  It was built in sections the first year, which could be disassembled and put into storage.  Elias and I trooped up to Harrington for the assembly.  He worked all day with me, steadying wall sections, toting lumber, handing me screws, and covering scratches with a marker.

On the way home, I opened my wallet and fished out a 5 dollar bill.  I handed it to Elias and said "Here son, you were a big help today."

He responded "No, I don't want it."

"It's o.k. son, you worked hard all day long.  You were a big help to me."

He responded "I don't need it.  You don't have to pay me.  It wasn't like work - it was fun."

Things Boys Do With Knives

Two Christmas's ago, we gave both boys their first pocket knives.  They asked what they could do with a pocket knife.  "Whittling is a good thing to do," we answered, "as opposed to throwing them at each other."

So, on our anniversary, Elias presented us with this creation.  The large chicken is about an inch and a half tall.

Elias's two chickens.

 


We had my dad over for dessert for his 79th birthday.  Elias gave him this.  The canoe is about 6 inches long.

Elias's canoe, paddle, and fishing pole.

I was never this creative.  He must get it from his mother.

Georgetown, Delaware Little League

Our boys had their last Little League games last night.  They had a great season, and have both learned a lot.  They are well liked by their coaches, who expressed a desire to coach them next year.

Asher pitched some in this last game.  His pitching has steadily improved over the season.  Asher takes everything to heart, and is very conscious of his performance.  It is one of his strong points.

Asher

Elias does not seem to take his performance as much to heart.  And since he doesn't have quite the natural ability as his younger brother, it is one of his strong points.  He just does his best.  We discovered that Elias's prescription had changed dramatically since his last eye exam.  His new glasses came in this week, in time for his last game.  His performance improved noticeably.  The coaches rotated the players around more than usual, and Elias ended up playing second base for an inning... even made a play at first.  At the end of the game, Coach Penuel complimented him on his efforts, and gave him the game ball.

Elias - next to last player on right.

Coming into Little League two years ago, we heard all kinds of cautions, mostly pertaining to overly competitive coaches and parents.  We have experienced none of that.  Georgetown Little League has been an outstanding organization, staff and parents alike.

We did have one small incident, the details of which are listed below:

• A visiting umpire made a questionable call.
• Elias's Coach Jeff tried to question the call, the umpire refused to discuss it, and as he walked away, Jeff muttered the words "Well that's a horse crap call."
• The umpire immediately ejected Coach Jeff from the game.  It was his first ejection, ever.
• A parent got involved in the situation (normally calm and extremely pleasant), and probably without thinking, let the "F" word slip.  He too was ejected from the field by the umpire.  The parent protested that he had just cut the grass on the field, and couldn't be ejected.  The umpire did not think these extenuating circumstances merited any leniency, and the parent was ejected anyway.  When he hesitated to leave, the umpire threatened to cancel the whole game.
• Another parent rose from the stands and shouted "It's all about the kids.  Let them play ball!"
• Our coach and parent then quietly left the field.  No yelling, no kicking of dirt onto the umpire's shoes, which was very disappointing, as I thought these things were part of the game of baseball.  Apparently not in Little League.
• The term "Horse Crap Call" became a joke for the rest of the season.  
• Elias was called out at first last night by this same umpire.  The ball clearly reached the base before he arrived and the umpire called him out, but the first baseman apparently bobbled and then dropped the ball.  Jeff was coaching first base and politely asked for a revision of the call, which was ignored.  He elected not to use the term "Horse Crap Call", and let the call go in the interest of good sportsmanship and the fact it was closing night.
• Later, Jeff said he thought I should have gone to bat for my son, and should have used the "Horse Crap Call" line myself.  

Thank you Georgetown Little League.  Thank you coaches.  And thank you boys.  From your perspective,  you are just playing a game.  From ours, you are enriching our lives.

The Trouble With a Large Family

Long ago, in van far, far way (well, actually, it was just 3 miles from home), we were making a brief trip across town.  As is the case in many trips of any length in our van, two siblings began to have difficulties with each other.

Looks are deceiving.

It was very predictable.  One child was doing something that irritated the other.  This other child asked “Would you please stop it?!”, the prescribed advice we had given. While the delivery of the request was technically correct, the attitude left much to be desired.  The demand was repeated for the third time, in the exact same words, with the exact same attitude.  At that moment, through the rear view mirror, I saw her brother smack her.

I immediately stopped the van and got out.  For the first nanosecond I intended to go to the back of the van and deal with the issue.  Instead, I said out loud “I can’t ride with these children.  I’ll walk the rest of the way”.

Good parenting skills?  Probably not.  But I felt much better being out of the van.  My wife, who was also questioning my parenting skills, drove a hundred yards, pulled off to the side of the road, and waited for me to catch up.  I drove the rest of the way to our destination.  There was dead silence.

It was our decision that our family should be large.  It was a good decision.  But while our children have few problems when alone and there is never any arguing with one child in the van, as a group they often end up squabbling.   But we knew that this process of living together would cause our children to grow, prepare them for the world ahead, and we would enjoy them all the while.

This trouble with getting along carries over even into the church.  Adult children of God are more refined than kids though.  There is no hitting.  They sing “They will know we are Christians by our love” (at least the older ones did), and they try their best to love each other.

Folks are drawn to a body of local believers which they believe share their own personal doctrines.  Then trouble comes when they interact in tight quarters like the back of a van, such as a Bible Study or some other meeting.  It is there that we learn how differently we really think.

Sometimes we may wonder if there is another group that is more like us.

Most of us come to realize that we are more than a gathering of like minded believers (which for the most part is only partially true).  We come to understand that we are family.  We are blood, and because as difficult as it may be sometimes, we know that being together is one of God’s ways to refine us, and we willingly submit ourselves to that.

We also come to understand that our church family is not just our local gathering.  It is the whole body of believers in Christ.  We just happen to see parts of the family more than others.

This is not to say that as the refining goes on, we all begin to think the same like one big perfect family.  To the contrary, those differences often do not go away.  But hopefully we do come to love and appreciate each other in spite of them.  We will not all come to think alike any more than our 10 year old son and his 12 year old sister will, which, in all honesty, wouldn’t even be natural.

Meanwhile, we have a Father much wiser than I driving the van.


Note:  This story first appeared in the June 2010 edition of the Manna. http://readthemanna.org. 

What Pleases a Father's Heart

Note:  This story first appeared in the November 2008 edition of the Manna. http://readthemanna.org.  It was written after the girls' first annual ballet recital (before I learned the value of brevity).  They just performed their fifth.

Sarah had always shown a propensity for dance.  When she was 4 or 5, she would pretend to be a ballerina.  Often in a church gathering, she would ask if she could dance.  She would go to the end of our aisle, put her little hands over her head, and twirl around.  Tina and I talked about the fact we should send her to ballet classes. 

Katherine 2012

As she grew older, she stopped asking to dance during the church meeting.  She gradually lost that lack of inhibition that young children often have.  Finally one day, her mother and I had that “If we don’t go ahead and do it now, she’s going to grow up and the opportunity will be lost” conversation.  So as she was about to turn ten, we made the decision to offer ballet classes to her.  Tina suggested that we should do the same for her sister Katherine, about to turn 12, in the interest of fairness.  That seemed appropriate, but I had doubts that our quiet Katherine would have any interest in something that would require a recital.

The day came to make our offer known to the girls.  As expected, Sarah was thrilled with the opportunity.  And unexpectedly, Katherine also expressed an interest in taking classes.  We told her she could start the class to see how she liked it, and if it wasn’t something she enjoyed, she was free to stop.  She was satisfied with that, and we set about the process of choosing a teacher.

The girls have two friends who had been taking ballet from a lovely lady who, how shall I say it, is a very mature and seasoned ballet instructor who has been teaching for many years.  These friends have been very satisfied with this particular instructor, and in fact have grown attached to her.  We had also heard that as this instructor has been doing this for some time now, she may not have the patience that some may have (a justified attitude after years of dedicated hard work).  She expects the girls to come prepared to pay attention and work.  Knowing our girls, we did not expect this to be a problem at all. 

Sarah 2012

We also became aware of an instructor who teaches a class using praise and worship music.  Now this seemed appropriate for Sarah, whose interest in dance was apparently motivated by worship.  She seemed to have a desire to express worship through dance.  The one drawback to this instruction was that it was not strictly classic ballet. 

Fortunately, these were the only two choices we really considered.  But still, which should we choose?  Classic ballet, with an older, possibly impatient instructor, or praise and worship dance, with a younger, perhaps more energetic instructor?  Either choice would have been a good one, but after some debate, there was one thing that tipped the scales.  The classic ballet class was a little cheaper, so we based the decision of our girls’ dance career on finances.  We are spiritual giants.

So off to ballet class our girls go.  The concern over their instructor’s possible impatience never materialized.  The girls listened intently and did as they were instructed.  The instructor was kind and gentle.  All was well. 

I don’t recall the exact instance, but I did have second thoughts one day when something came up about praise dance.  Had we made a mistake in not encouraging Sarah’s worship dancing, I wondered?  But that concern passed, perhaps as a result of a request by my wife for me to take the girls to class one day.

Normally, Tina would take the girls to their 5:00 class.  But for one reason or another, I ended up taking them.  I sat in a waiting area adjoining the studio.  There was a door with a glass window where you could observe the class.  Their instructor played the accompanying music loudly, and it could easily be heard from that room.  When she started the music for their dance, an unmistakable male voice began singing with quiet guitar accompaniment.  I didn’t recall hearing the song before, but I suspected immediately that I knew the artist.  The instructor’s choice of music took me by surprise.  Turns out, the class was working on a dance which they would do at their spring recital. 

After class, I immediately questioned the girls about the song.  “Oh, that’s Psalm 62,” they responded.  “Do you know who sings it?” I asked.  They didn’t, but informed me that it was a song their instructor had heard in church and really liked.  That was about all they knew.

I suspected the artist was John Michael Talbot.  Anyone who has heard him would agree that his music and voice are unmistakable.  A search of the internet confirmed that the song I had heard coming from the dance studio was indeed his.  I ordered a CD, and eagerly awaited its arrival.  “Psalm 62” was from the older album “Come to the Quiet”, with which I was familiar.  It came out in 1980, during my first year of college.  The music was proving its timelessness, just starting to make an impact on my family even now.  I doubt that Mr. Talbot could have dreamed the music would touch our hearts twenty eight years later.

About two weeks before the spring recital, I had another opportunity to take the girls to class.  I watched as they danced to the song, having progressed much further along in the choreography.  It was then that I felt it approaching.  There was a combination of thoughts and emotions that were all coming together.  Although I wasn’t quite sure what it would look like, I had a hunch it would culminate the evening of the recital.

That day finally came with the typical controlled chaos.  I had to work part of the day, and got home in time to watch their mother labor over the preparations.  There were baths to take, hair to do, Katherine’s sore foot to wrap, two little brothers to get ready, even dinner to make.  We headed down to the high school auditorium, right on time.  The girls made their way back to the “Dancer’s Only” corridor.  And the rest of us waited in anticipation. 

First out were some tiny children - just too cute.  Whether they could dance or not was immaterial.  They made their parents proud.  Two more classes of more tiny children followed, making their parents proud as well.

Finally, the program read “Psalm 62”.  Our girls filed out with six others.  John Michael Talbot’s voice and guitar rang out loud and clear.  The lights made the girls and their tutus glow.  They danced in worship on that stage before hundreds of parents and grandparents, who may as well have been kings and queens. 

Any parent can identify how I felt.  I am normally a relatively unemotional person.  But as I sat there, the emotion was irrepressible.  The tears flowed.  I basked in the feeling, and although I couldn’t quite put my finger on what I was experiencing, I knew it was good. 

To call it a “proud” moment would be overly simplistic and would not do it justice at all.  What I was feeling was much larger, much more complex.  I was thinking about our choice of where to send our girls to ballet class, and how we arrived at our decision.  I was enjoying the sentiment and tone of the song that John Michael Talbot was singing.  I was thinking about how our girls had been faithfully going to their ballet class, always seeming to enjoy it, never complaining about not wanting to go. I was thinking about the camaraderie of these two very different sisters, and how dancing together served to encourage that.  I was thinking about how excited they were the night I took them to class and they got their dresses for the recital.  I was thinking about how seriously they were taking this recital.

And now they were dancing, and they seemed to be enjoying it.  Sarah was obviously more comfortable performing, but Katherine, in her own serious manner, was taking pleasure in the dance in her own, individual way.  Did they dance flawlessly?  I had neither the ability to know, nor the desire to care.  It was irrelevant.  This was not about a performance.  It was about our girls just living.

That’s basically all they were doing, just living.  They were going about their lives, doing something challenging which they enjoyed.  Tonight, it all came to a head, and we were privileged to witness it.  It was witnessing that “just living” that brought such pleasure to my heart, and tears to my eyes. 

I make the assumption that many of the things I experience as a father are placed there by design to allow me to understand what our Heavenly Father experiences.  And I believe that this is just one of those things.  What I experienced at the girls’ recital is much like what The Lord God must experience with us.  He must take such pleasure in watching and participating in our “just living”.  We go about our lives, doing everyday things, following and learning from Him.  And then we have a recital - a moment of being pressed into some situation, and He watches, and takes great pleasure in seeing us live out the Life of His Son which He has worked into our lives.   

Those were some of the emotions I felt as our girls danced.  Life just doesn’t get any better than that.

Cucumber Canoe

Our girls just had their fifth annual ballet recital.  Of course, they were beautiful and perfect in their dancing.  More on that to follow. 

One of the younger classes performed using this song.  I had never heard it.  The group is a husband/wife team called "The Missing Piece".  Just try listening to it without smiling.  If you don't feel like smiling, I would avoid it.

JJ Heller, The Boat Song

Last night, while Tina and I went with the boys to Asher's ball game, Grandpa and Grandma took Katherine and Sarah to Crossroad Community Church to see JJ Heller and Audrey Assad

Katherine was excited about this song by JJ and David Heller, which is based on Margaret Wise Brown's The Runaway Bunny, a classic children's book, and a favorite of all our children.

This goes to prove several things:

• It is good to read to your children.
• Margaret Wise Brown should be on the reading list.
• You never know what impact your present actions will have on something in the future.  Reading Katherine the story when she was just a small child set the stage for her favorite moment (as a 16 year old) at the concert last night. 
• That holds true for the crappy stuff you do as well, but I'd prefer to not even know about those things.

Things You Learn From Kids

 While eating ice cream after dinner, Elias made the comment "It's a good thing humans are warm blooded.  If we were cold blooded, we would never have invented ice cream, because we wouldn't have wanted to eat something that would freeze our insides every time we ate it."

There you have it... The main benefit of being warm blooded.

Things Kids Do With Cameras

Japanese Red Maple by Sarah