In 2004, our family moved from the Los Angeles, California area to Rolla, Missouri. Talk about culture shock! But we are glad we made the move, and even happier that many of our friends have been able to visit us in our new home.
The title of this blog comes from my husband, Dan, who has a glossary full of funny twists on common sayings, like "misery loves company" --but we are NOT miserable :)
The week started off with Kay's Music Studio Christmas concert, which encompassed quite a gamit, from beginning violin (YIKES!)to Elementary choir. The concert treated us to quite an ecclectic mix of holiday music, with a very nicely arranged crescendo to the REAL meaning of Christmas. Once again, I've relied on my friend Kim's picture -- Above, Abby, Rachel Hickle, Anna Nisbett and Zeke eagerly await their turn to play. They did really well. Here is the whole crew (actually, I think quite a few students had already left) -- many of these kids were in multiple groups throughout the evening...Monday is homeschool day at Kay's, and many families just come and participate in as many classes, bands and choirs as they can fit in, since she has made it very reasonable. We are blessed to have been part of it!
Tuesday, the threat of freezing rain (which didn't materialize) cancelled everything in the evening, and gave us a nice night off!
Thursday we had another wonderful night of basketball, starting off with Zeke's junior high team winning a game -- he scored 8 points. Abby's team also won, and she scored her first 2 points of the season :) -- she just told me those are her (only)two points for the season. Then Andy and a couple other young men teamed up with some old men (including Dan, and two other basketball dads) to take on the Varsity boys team. The game started off pretty close, but eventually experience won out -- I think Andy is quite an intimidating presence in the middle.
Friday we had company -- my brother Dave, his wife Kiersten, their two boys, Max and Drexel, and dog Gus stopped by on their way to Kiersten's parents home in the Dallas area. They left Illinois earlier than planned to allow extra time, since Illinois had an ice-storm instead of our December thunderstorm, and that got them here earlier, which gave the boys lots of time to play. Here are Zeke, Max, Drexel, Isaac and Elizabeth enjoying cousin fun!
Elizabeth enjoys Uncle Dave's lap, while Isaac gets "grossed"out by Aunt Kiersten's squishy ball (trust me, you don't want to know any more than that)
The second week of December started with Becky getting sick. We knew it was going around, so we braced ourselves to all get sick, and it did go around the family, though I think Becky had it the worst. It was pretty mild for most of us.
We were very excited about the start of our basketball season, and then our opponents called to cancel an hour before the scheduled start when they started to experience ice on the interstate. One car of girls arrived, though, so we had an informal girls game anyway, and then Varsity boys practice afterwards. It was amazing that there were almost 75 spectators there even though there wasn't a game -- our homeschool sports organization is really beginning to have a following, and it is really fun!
Fortunately, the weather cleared up enough that we were able to drive down to Poplar Bluff to pick Andy up from school. We decided to combine it with a visit to a couple of Missouri landmarks which we had not yet visited, and took the whole family except Abby, who was taking her turn being sick. After Poplar Bluff, the first stop was Taum Sauk Mountain, the highest point in Missouri. Only Dan braved the look-out tower, which had some ice on the steps and railings that deterred the rest of us -- the following photos give an idea of what he braved and what he saw. The rest of us decided it will be much more worth the climb in the spring!
Looking down from the top -- where we are trying to stay warm in the van!
Looking out from the top of the tower.
Panoramic view from Taum Sauk Mountain overlook
About a 1/2mile away from the lookout tower is the actual highest point. A "rugged" path takes you right there, the long way. Dan took a short cut through the woods, the direct way and beat us back to the van!the rugged path
Seven Halls at the top of Missouri -- wow!
Next stop, Elephant Rocks state park. These huge granite rocks are an oddity in Missouri -- but they may look familiar to those of you who live in California and have ever hiked in the Sierra Mountains! They mined a lot of beautiful red granite blocks out of this area, but these rocks were too soft to be of any use in building, so they got to become a state park. The kids want to go back with friends -- lots of places to explore and hide.
One of the places they quarried out of, now full of water -- but no swimming allowed!
We finally played our first basketball games on the weekend. All three teams - Dan and Zeke's junior high boys team, Abby's girls team, and the varsity boys -- started off with a win. Unfortunately, the last two were mismatches. The girls' game wasn't too bad, since we have 14 players and this gave the coach the freedom to give the less experienced girls more playing time. But the varsity boys' game was painful to watch. We could have probably scored 100 points and held them to zero, but the boys did a good job of not turning it into a total slaughter, by practicing their passing and allowing some of the weaker players to shine...the other coach was very appreciate of our team's attitude and character, and thanked us for being willing to play them and for being so nice about it....and we all agreed these kinds of games are an opportunity to build character..The next day the Junior High boys got to be on the other side of the character building coin as they were outmatched and pretty badly beaten twice (they were in a tournament). But they really did pretty well, considering it was their first season, and only a few weeks of practice. It is a good solid group of guys that have a lot of potential, especially if they keep playing together year after year. Dan does a great job coaching them in the basics of basketball, which are so quickly left behind by many coaches, it seems.
Because we got through the tournament so quickly, we were able to get back home in time to participate in our church's Live Nativity. This was the third year, and Isaac is still wearing the shepherd costume I made for him for Christmas Eve that first year, after he insisted while we were visiting the Live Nativity that he had to be a shepherd. That first year we tied a kitchen towel around his head and sent him out to be a part, and he went up to people and asked them if they had seen the baby and then took their hand and led them to the manger, proceeding to tell them not only the Christmas story, but also the Easter story! What a witness! It has become a family tradition. This year more of us got involved (Abby reading scripture, Isaac as a Shepherd, Dan and Zeke as wise men) -- Dawn stayed inside and made sure people felt welcomed!
Elizabeth checked out the manger scene, including climbing over the bales to look into the manger. It was precious!
Can you find Isaac in the wooden nativity display?
Sunday afternoon, Dan and I enjoyed the Rolla Choral Arts Society Christmas concert, in which Abby's choir participated. It was fabulous. We are fortunate to have an opportunity to hear such fine music from people in the community. We rushed home after to host our church youth group who arrived to watch Christmas movies in our shed, which has become a do-it-yourself theatre. When we started the evening, it was 60 degrees and dry; 3 hours later the temperature had dropped to 35, and the rain had started....
Isn't a big part of getting ready for Christmas getting well-rested? It is past my bed-time, so the REAL part 2 (the 2nd week of December), will have to wait. Good night!
It's a little hard to get ready for Christmas in Missouri, with temperature swings from the 60's (Sunday afternoon) to 8 degrees (Monday morning!). Yet, the marching of time inevitably brings Dec. 25 closer whether we are ready for it or not. We started December with a light snow (see previous post), and later that week, Abby and Zeke marched in a Christmas parade with Kay's Music Studio Homeschool Band. It was a tiny parade, but they did a great job, considering how little practice they had marching - not to mention playing!Abby, our gifted trumpeter
Zeke, the drummer with a sense of rhythm!
Rachel and Sarah Hickle, our band carpool buddies
Isaac in a "Nisbett sandwich" on the float for the elementary choir and siblings of band members -- Kim Nisbett, Nathaniel and Anna's mom, talked us into doing band this year -- and we're glad she did.. most of the time :)
Maybe even more fun than the parade was the evening following, as we spent time with our friends the Hickles, whose girls are also in the band (see above)-- warming up, singing, making more music (or noise, maybe), visiting, and, some of us, sleeping....well, in Becky's defense, she WAS getting sick, and it was pretty late by the time she fell asleep on the weight bench..... the conversation going on in the living room was obviously MUCH more stimulating!
The next day was the Rolla Christmas parade, with the usual small town parade stuff, and enough candy to fill a grocery bag full. Our church had a float, which we used to advertise our Live Nativity. Isaac is on there somewhere, and Zeke walked alongside, handing out -- you guessed it -- candy! Later that day, Abby's choir, the Rolla Community Children's Choir, sang in the Old Courthouse, which dates from the time of the Civil War.
Sorry I just had to get that out of my system - I do believe that this is the first annual letter our family has ever sent out before Christmas. Kudos to Mum for being on the ball in ordering our pictures, and for continuing to bug me about writing this. J So what has 2008 held for the Hall Family?
Well, we branched out when it came to activities this winter and spring, adding a musical to our usual sports schedules. A local home school group called Fine Linen Drama put on a production of “The Prince and the Pauper”, which Dawn, Becky, Abby, and Zeke were all a part of. It was an amazing experience for all of us -- we made many new friends, enjoyed the dramatic side of things, and felt it was definitely worth the extra schedule tweaking. Basketball for Andy, Becky, Abby, and Zeke, and baseball for Andy and Zeke were, once again, a major part of the winter, spring, and beginning of summer. We also celebrated the graduation of our two oldest, Andy and Becky, from high school with a small ceremony and party. Immediately following that, Dawn and the five youngest kids took a trip out to upstate New York for a family wedding. We took Dawn’s parents along, and were able to stop at several historic sites and cities, giving the kids a tangible experience to connect with the history they had studied in school that year.
The summer was a busy one. We kicked it off with a great, week-long visit from friends from Norway, which we used as an excuse to visit several new places in Missouri. Dan, Dawn, Andy, and Becky also took a weekend trip out to California, to be a part of the final celebration of Trinity Lutheran School. We had a visit from Dawn’s sister and her two sons, who currently live in Dubai, U.A.E., as well as a weekend with the rest of Dawn’s family in Forrest. Then, the final hurrah of the summer was a family reunion/50th Wedding Anniversary for Dan’s parents, which we celebrated in grand style at Camp Windemere, right on the shores of the Lake of the Ozarks here in Missouri.
The school year began with mixed feelings, as we drove Andy down to Poplar Bluff to start his first year of college. Our fall so far has been full, with volleyball, soccer, basketball, band, choir, Sunday School . . . Oh, and of course, a little bit of home-schooling on the side. J With Andy and Becky in college, Dawn now has one high schooler, one middle schooler, one first grader, and one pre-schooler -- talk about a spread!
Dawn organized the world last March, but still finds the time to be involved in nearly everything new that comes her way. She has declared that this is the year that she works herself out of her many commitments, but she still continues to be involved in various events throughout the school year. She was asked to serve as Sunday School Superintendent for this year, and has done a great job at it of course. This fall, she volunteered at the Republican headquarters in town, and continues to serve on the board for Capable Kids and Families, a local organization that provides equipment and support to families with special needs children. A project she took on this fall was to rearrange our rooms, so that we now have a “school room” in the basement, separate from our living areas and her office. This has made the school year run more smoothly, and has made life easier on Dawn as she is still balances (and masters) the roles of wife, teacher, mom, household administrator, schedule coordinator, and beautiful daughter of the King.
Andy, 18, decided to start a band and cut a record. Last spring, he finished up his senior year at the high school in Rolla, playing basketball and baseball and is now in his freshman year at Three Rivers Community College, in Poplar Bluff Missouri. He is on the baseball team there, and has impressed the coaches with both his skills and his willingness to hustle. He rooms with 3 guys, two of whom he already knew, and they have been great friends for him, helping him stand for what is right in every situation. We enjoy seeing him every few weekends, and are looking forward to having him home for Christmas break.
Becky, 17, spent the summer scuba diving off the coast of Australia and slaying sharks. I finished up high school at the end of last school year, and graduated with Andy in May. This fall, I began taking college classes at community college in Rolla, as well as getting more involved with the home school athletic association by taking over a lot of Mum’s administrative work, and helping out with the teams when I can. I babysit twice a week, co-lead the high school girls’ Sunday School class at church, and drive the siblings to various events all over town. I feel like God has taught (or at least tried to teach) me so much this year. If I could narrow it down, it has been mostly about relationships - those with my friends, my family, and of course the most important of all, my relationship with Jesus Christ. Life can be hard to balance when you live at home and go to college, but I am slowly learning. I’m looking to transfer to a four-year university next fall, although I have not yet decided where, or what major I will pursue.
Abby, age 14, became a world-class ice-skater, reaching new heights with her jumps. She has become quite a beautiful young lady this year, and is nearly as tall as Becky. Still very passionate about singing, she is part of a choir in Rolla and has also taken up trumpet, playing in the homeschool band. She plays both volleyball and basketball, and continues to help babysit several times a month. The love of horses is still the primary focus of her life, and she is pushing for getting some of her own this spring. Right now, she spends time each week with a lady from our church, learning about the basics of caring for horses and helping out with chores. As a high school student, she is learning a lot about time-management, as well as getting more involved around the house.
Zeke, age 12, set the world record for words spoken per minutes this past June. Since Andy left, he has started to fill the role of the young man around the house. He still plays 3 sports - basketball, soccer, and baseball, and was very excited to be old enough to play on the homeschool basketball team this year. The find of a xylophone at a local garage sale by Dad has led him to play in the homeschool band as well, and he rotates between that and bass drum.
Isaac, age 6, joined a Viking ship and has plundered most of the East Coast. He is a typical “pseudo first child“, often-times shocking us with the grown-up ways he thinks and talks. He still loves to draw and play “pretend” - his “pretend life” is often more elaborate than real life, and certainly more interesting. This fall he has developed a love for games, and has quickly picked up Sorry, Rack-o, Yat-zee, and several others. He finished up Kindergarten in May, and has started First Grade this year. He constantly amazes us with the things he can read and remember, following his brother Zeke in being a wealth of random information. He also enjoys going to the homeschool PE group once a week, and having play-dates with a number of homeschool boys his age who we have met.
Elizabeth, age 4, ran away to the jungles of China, and was adopted by a family of panda bears. She goes to pre-school 3 mornings a week, and there she gets speech, physical, and occupational therapy. While she has yet to begin “really” talking, she has many words and signs that she uses to communicate, and has no trouble understanding our verbal communication. She is very active, and has “run away” several times, giving us a good scare. Many times she tries our patience, but is learning to obey and be a good listener. This year has been an adventure in potty training, which started entirely on her own initiative during our vacation to NY. It is fun to watch the things she learns each day, and cuddling with her makes us wonder why God doesn’t bless every family with a child who has Down’s Syndrome.
God has certainly been good to our family. As we look back on the year, there are so many ways he has blessed us. Mostly during this season, we remember the greatest blessing of all -- as Isaac asked me in the car yesterday, “Becky, isn’t Christmas the most important day of the year?”
I responded, “Well, why would you think so?”
“Because, it’s when God sent Jesus for us,” he stated simply.
Need we say more?
May God bless you and your family this Christmas season!
The Halls
P.S. In case you didn’t catch it, this letter was written by Becky, and the first adventure in each life is made up!
Some of you may pay attention to the time of posts -- I just noticed that the blogger clock isn't very accurate. It makes my last post seem somewhat reasonable, and this one will seem to be reasonable as well. But the TRUTH is that it is 1:11 am according to my computer clock, and I can't sleep. Lesson learned: decaf coffee has some caffeine, and if you drink 4 cups of it after dinner, it might actually affect you. Sigh. But at least I have an opportunity to catch up a bit on my blog. Some of you will appreciate that. Oops, I just heard a door upstairs. I might need to go check on night wanderers :)
Some of my friends think I'm crazy, but I love snow! When we decided to move to Missouri 4+ years ago, I was excited about the possibility of snowy winters. What I didn't realize is that Missouri is actually a Southern state, at least as far as climate (well, a lot of other things as well!). So, although we sometimes get real snow, usually we just get a nasty combination of rain, sleet and snow which makes driving treacherous and isn't very pretty. Occasionally this nasty combination is beautiful, like when it freezes, but then the roads are even more dangerous, and we're lucky to get out of our driveway, which is ever so slightly uphill. In 2008, though, winter is off to right start, at least in my book. The snow flurries started on Sunday morning, though they didn't stick because the ground was still too warm. But by evening, it started to accumulate a little bit, and Monday morning we woke up to a beautiful sight!
Isaac is now at the age where he can dress himself, so he was out the door as soon as I let him go, after breakfast and family devotions. Eventually Elizabeth wanted to join him, and the first thing she was to imitate Isaac, and make a snow angel. But she stayed out and played with him for a good 1/2 hour before I heard her crying -- and Isaac said to me; "I think you forgot her gloves." When I went to investigate, she was gloveless and crying because of cold hands -- time to invest in one of those string mitten sets, I guess!
Elizabeth took off up the driveway the other day, right after Becky brought her and Isaac home from the park. She obviously had something in mind -- well, Isaac had been dropped off to bring in a trashcan, and there was another one still out there, so she went out to retrieve it! She brought it all the way home and then went back to get the lid that had fallen off. I was amazed at her perseverance.
My character, Elizabeth. We dressed her up for Halloween to attend a local church carnival that opens its doors an hour early for special needs kids, and so they don't have to fight the crowds. Elizabeth loves the inflatable play equipment and ran from one thing to another for the entire hour.
I am starting to enjoy the "other" end of parenting -- being blessed by wonderful kids! Becky is "just" 16, but she is sure a blessing to me. Today, I was gone for two hours and returned to a picked up house, dinner in the oven, and the table set. I'm sure she got the other kids to help as well, but a sure sign that she was involved is the sink piled with dishes -- definitely a "Becky" sign. I, on the other hand, pile them on the counter by the sink or just wash them as I go.
Becky's friends tease her about being "second mom," but what they don't know is that sometimes she is actually the first mom, because she ends up mothering me (in a good way, of course). It is scary how much she is like me--she understands my frustrations, and a bit of what drives me to overdo. On the other hand, she is a lot different than me. I think she is more balanced in her lifestyle, taking time to do things that are important, not just doing what is urgent. She gives of her time freely, and while she enjoys earning money babysitting, she doesn't expect to get paid every time she helps someone. She enjoys cooking and she has a good sense of style, decor, and color, so she has become the #1 clothing choice consultant in the house! Most of all, she loves the Lord and really tries to let that shine through her life.
In short, I am very blessed, and today am very thankful for my daughter, Becky.
Hope you like the new look -- I got frustrated trying to figure out why my text wasn't showing up -- even though it was supposed to be white on the black background, it wasn't doing it automatically. So it was easier to start new -- kind of like moving furniture around :)
It isn't easy to take decent pictures of soccer action. The one on the left, Zeke had just done a header, and in the one on the right, he is chasing after the ball. His team is doing well this fall, and he is right in the middle of it all.
Last weekend in Springfield, MO, Andy's team had 4 baseball games. He played in 2 1/2 of them, and went 6 for 8 at bat! An awesome outing for him, and good timing, since Grandma and Grandpa Douglass were there to watch. These are the only pictures I got of him, from foul territory. Yes, baseball can be very uneventful!
The last couple of days the kids have been busy creating elaborate train systems. Everyone gets into the act, from Becky to Elizabeth. It's a great school avoidance excuse, since it can be argued to be somewhat educational.
Physically, Elizabeth is stretching out. I see less difference between her and others her age than I used to. She wears 4T on the top to cover her belly, and 3T on the bottom, or they are too long :) So far 3T still goes around the middle. She weighs 33#, and is 35 1/2 inches-- almost 3 ft-- tall! She has been to the dentist 3 times and each time we've made a bit more progress. The first time she wouldn't open her mouth, the next she opened and let the hygienist count her teeth, this last time the hygienist actually spent some time looking at her teeth, but the cleaning tool scared E. and that was the end. They say her teeth look real good, though. We go to St. Louis for a yearly evaluation in November.... hopefully the tubes will have done their job and hearing will be normal. Most likely she will need glasses. Fortunately, we know it is a good time for them -- 2 of the boys in her class wear them, and her teacher told us that she regularly takes them and puts them on. So she will just feel part of the gang!
Academically, Elizabeth is attending developmental pre-school 3 mornings a week -- out of a possible 4 that are offered. She is in a class of 5, with a teacher and an aide. While there, she gets physical, occupational and speech therapy. We are seeing improvement in her fine motor skills - she can draw both horizontal and vertical lines connecting things, and make smiley faces. Physically, she is doing well -- she climbs stairs up and down without much trouble, can climb just about anything, and has good balance. Today, she ran up and down a hill at the school where Abby was in choir, and then she started to roll down -- don't know where she got that idea! She also likes to put her hand down on the ground when we say "ready, set, go" -- you know the Halls, everything is a race, and she has joined right in. Her speech is still slow in developing. They tell us she is quiet at school, but she babbles all the time at home, and has many recognizable words and phrases. My personal favorite: "Stop, Zeke." Mommy, Daddy, Jesus, book, are others we hear commonly, along with "Wee-wee" (Woody), "Baby" (one of her dolls) and "Doll" (a different doll).
We take her to school Tues, Thur, and Friday -- Becky most of the time, on her way to classes or babysitting. But she rides the bus home, and she loves it. They bring her right to the door, pretty close to the same time every day, which is wonderful. It gives me an extra 40 minutes to finish school with the boys and Abby and to start on lunch. Usually I let her watch a video before lunch -- amazing how quickly she latched on to THAT routine. She loves videos -- "pooh" is one of her favorites, but she also likes the old Donut Mans and 3-2-1 Penguins, as well as Veggie tales. Every now and then she comes up to me with her cute smile and a full-length movie. When I say no, she goes and gets another one -- until I give in, usually!
Spiritually, she seems to be aware of being loved and special. She sings and signs Jesus Loves Me, and she loves to pray -- obviously in the Spirit, since none of us can understand a word she says. But it is interesting how she changes her voice inflection -- she must be mimicking what she hears when we pray.
Around the house, she is starting to help with chores -- she loves to help unload the dishwasher (we just have to be sure she goes somewhere else when we are loading, since sometimes she tries to put dirty dishes away), and she can fill the dog food bowls pretty well, and she loves to give them "treats". She's also good at closing drawers and doors that her mom leaves open, and at putting toys away before she responds to the dinner bell.
Socially, she still manages to charm almost everyone she meets. Amis, a boy with Down Syndrome in her class, is a special buddy. Several of the parents of Andy's teammates already know her by name (I don't know theirs, and they probably only know me as Elizabeth's mom!), and she scared the assistant coach last weekend when she screamed, and then flashed him a big smile (I think he thought she got hit by a ball or something). She loves to play with other kids, but quickly mimics bad behavior. Elizabeth also doesn't quite understand her boundaries and often takes things away and has even been known to choke another kid who has something she wants...
Potty training is still kind of hit and miss. We have victories, like a BM in the toilet this morning early, followed by accidents -- not more than 2 hours later, another BM in the pants. She still doesn't seem to have the idea of letting us know beforehand -- but she does tell us after the fact, usually... the biggest problem is a preoccupied mom. But they struggle at school, too. I appreciate that they are patient with her and me, and that they work on it!
Some of our discarded cantaloupe seeds decided to grow in our compost pile -- we actually had 3 full size cantaloupe! Unfortunately, they didn't taste very good :), but it was amazing to watch things grow we had not even planted!
The week started off with Kay's Music Studio Christmas concert, which encompassed quite a gamit, from beginning violin (YIKES!)to Elementary choir. The concert treated us to quite an ecclectic mix of holiday music, with a very nicely arranged crescendo to the REAL meaning of Christmas. Once again, I've relied on my friend Kim's picture -- Above, Abby, Rachel Hickle, Anna Nisbett and Zeke eagerly await their turn to play. They did really well.
Here is the whole crew (actually, I think quite a few students had already left) -- many of these kids were in multiple groups throughout the evening...Monday is homeschool day at Kay's, and many families just come and participate in as many classes, bands and choirs as they can fit in, since she has made it very reasonable. We are blessed to have been part of it!
Elizabeth enjoys Uncle Dave's lap, while Isaac gets "grossed"out by Aunt Kiersten's squishy ball
