Saturday, December 11, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
I have no gift to bring
...that's fit to give our King.
I always thought this was a silly little Christmas carol. It didn't make any sense to me. There aren't any drummer boys in the Nativity story, so who made this up? I get it now.
I've been sitting on Catalina Island, all by myself for three days. I've listened to a lot of Christmas carols in those three days. This year, The Little Drummer Boy stood out to me.
"What will you bring to Him?" it asks me. The little boy has the answer: the best you can do. His talent isn't special, some would say it's not even appropriate. This little boy can't even keep his own time, the ox and lamb have to do it for him! But, he "plays his best for Him." That's what He asks for. He doesn't care what your talent is, or how impressive it is. He just wants our best. He wants us to make our talent better and stronger than it was yesterday.
So, what will you bring to Him?
I always thought this was a silly little Christmas carol. It didn't make any sense to me. There aren't any drummer boys in the Nativity story, so who made this up? I get it now.
I've been sitting on Catalina Island, all by myself for three days. I've listened to a lot of Christmas carols in those three days. This year, The Little Drummer Boy stood out to me.
"What will you bring to Him?" it asks me. The little boy has the answer: the best you can do. His talent isn't special, some would say it's not even appropriate. This little boy can't even keep his own time, the ox and lamb have to do it for him! But, he "plays his best for Him." That's what He asks for. He doesn't care what your talent is, or how impressive it is. He just wants our best. He wants us to make our talent better and stronger than it was yesterday.
So, what will you bring to Him?
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
A new blog
I have created a new blog, Natural Rambler. This is where all my nature/environmental issues/science thoughts will go. They don't really belong here. And, I want to create a public persona that I can use in my professional life. If you're interested, click on over and read it. I'd love both writing feedback as well as content discussion. That's what makes blogs interesting!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Veteran's Day
HHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Veteran's Day was ccccccccccccccccccccccccooooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll! We went fishing but we didn't catch aannyytthhiinngg!! And you know what? Edgar threw his pole into the ocean(don't tell this to him but it was on purpose!) After that we went to Knott's Berry Farm! YYeeaahh!! We got to go on The Charlie Brown Speedway! It's really fun. We also went on The Log Ride. It's basically the life of a log, just not the part where they get cut down. And my favorite ride: JAGUAR. It is awesome.
Sincerely,
A.J.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Parent-Teacher Conferences
...and school pictures!
First, Levi. Is he cute or what?
He's in kindergarten this year, and is smoking past everyone! He has already passed his 100 words test, even though she only sent home the first ten words. She knew he could read them, and tested him on them all. That means he's now allowed to participate in Accelerated Reader (AR) and take quizzes on the books he reads. So far, he's passed all three quizzes that he's taken. He and his buddy Mike went with a 2nd grade class to take the reading assessment test last week. His score is 2.7-3.6, meaning that he's reading at a 2nd grade, 7th month to 3rd grade, 6th month level. oh, dear.
Our big challenge with him is keeping up his effort in his school work. Many of the other kids in his class are still working on learning their letters, so he doesn't see why he has to write several sentences when everyone else gets a gold star just for a few random letters on the page. Then, he finishes before everyone else and distracts the nearest boy, who should still be working! That is exactly what I thought would happen if his teacher doesn't keep him challenged and interested. Thankfully, his teacher is working hard to keep him motivated, too. She's going to put him with Mike to see if they can put a little competition into the quality of their work, rather than him just sitting around pestering someone. We'll see what happens.
If any of you more experienced parents have ideas on keeping him interested and motivated, I'd really appreciate it. He has no interest in busy work, or perceived time-wasters.
Now on to A.J. He's getting awfully handsome, but don't tell him that!
I met with his teacher last week, also. He's doing really well in his main classroom, but his test scores haven't been so hot in science and social studies, which he goes to the other 4th grade teacher for. This means she has all 41 at once (there are only 8 4th graders in A.J.'s class, and 28 5th graders!) I can't tell if his poor scores are because she's got so many at once, or he just doesn't get it, or if it's the textbooks. The books are atrocious. In my view, they are woefully incomplete. Rather than defining phenomena, they simply describe them. This leaves the student with no idea what the causes are/could be. And it makes it hard to cement the concept in the mind. Grr. I'm kind of partial to science, so I strongly dislike anything that teaches it poorly. Mostly because I've seen the product of the books once they're in college. It's not pretty. In short, we will be teaching the concepts mentioned in the texts, because there is no way he'll get them any other way.
He has started to play the clarinet with the school band/orchestra. He's done really well at it, too! Once he figured out how to make his fingers cover the holes properly, he's taken off. It's been fun to watch him learn to practice with only a little help. And, his tone is actually pretty good, too! That's good, because the clarinet might be my least favorite instrument. It doesn't help that most of the ones I was in school with couldn't march, either.
He has impressed his classmates with his geographic knowledge. The 5th graders are supposed to learn all the states and capitals this year, and his teacher has dragged the 4th graders along for the ride. :) He's known all of them since about 1st grade, so he's smoking most of his classmates when they play games or have races to see who can get the match first.
I'm really glad they are doing well. They both are challenging to parent, and of course in totally different ways. But, they're tons of fun and I'm loving watching them grow and change this year.
First, Levi. Is he cute or what?
He's in kindergarten this year, and is smoking past everyone! He has already passed his 100 words test, even though she only sent home the first ten words. She knew he could read them, and tested him on them all. That means he's now allowed to participate in Accelerated Reader (AR) and take quizzes on the books he reads. So far, he's passed all three quizzes that he's taken. He and his buddy Mike went with a 2nd grade class to take the reading assessment test last week. His score is 2.7-3.6, meaning that he's reading at a 2nd grade, 7th month to 3rd grade, 6th month level. oh, dear.
Our big challenge with him is keeping up his effort in his school work. Many of the other kids in his class are still working on learning their letters, so he doesn't see why he has to write several sentences when everyone else gets a gold star just for a few random letters on the page. Then, he finishes before everyone else and distracts the nearest boy, who should still be working! That is exactly what I thought would happen if his teacher doesn't keep him challenged and interested. Thankfully, his teacher is working hard to keep him motivated, too. She's going to put him with Mike to see if they can put a little competition into the quality of their work, rather than him just sitting around pestering someone. We'll see what happens.
If any of you more experienced parents have ideas on keeping him interested and motivated, I'd really appreciate it. He has no interest in busy work, or perceived time-wasters.
Now on to A.J. He's getting awfully handsome, but don't tell him that!
I met with his teacher last week, also. He's doing really well in his main classroom, but his test scores haven't been so hot in science and social studies, which he goes to the other 4th grade teacher for. This means she has all 41 at once (there are only 8 4th graders in A.J.'s class, and 28 5th graders!) I can't tell if his poor scores are because she's got so many at once, or he just doesn't get it, or if it's the textbooks. The books are atrocious. In my view, they are woefully incomplete. Rather than defining phenomena, they simply describe them. This leaves the student with no idea what the causes are/could be. And it makes it hard to cement the concept in the mind. Grr. I'm kind of partial to science, so I strongly dislike anything that teaches it poorly. Mostly because I've seen the product of the books once they're in college. It's not pretty. In short, we will be teaching the concepts mentioned in the texts, because there is no way he'll get them any other way.
He has started to play the clarinet with the school band/orchestra. He's done really well at it, too! Once he figured out how to make his fingers cover the holes properly, he's taken off. It's been fun to watch him learn to practice with only a little help. And, his tone is actually pretty good, too! That's good, because the clarinet might be my least favorite instrument. It doesn't help that most of the ones I was in school with couldn't march, either.
He has impressed his classmates with his geographic knowledge. The 5th graders are supposed to learn all the states and capitals this year, and his teacher has dragged the 4th graders along for the ride. :) He's known all of them since about 1st grade, so he's smoking most of his classmates when they play games or have races to see who can get the match first.
I'm really glad they are doing well. They both are challenging to parent, and of course in totally different ways. But, they're tons of fun and I'm loving watching them grow and change this year.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
A new team
Everybody is hellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllloed!
My new team is the Yankees.We are the best (or second best, depending on how many losses the Dodgers have) team in the league. We have 4 wins and 1 losses,so our winning percentage is 800. My teammates are
(in alphabetical order) Carsten, Ethan A;Ethan H;Jake,Jared,Liam,Nick M;Nick S;Ryan B;Ryan M;and Trent.We lost our very first game against the dodgers.It was 4-6.The order we play the teams are Dodgers,White sox,Angels,Dodgers,White sox,Angels,Dodgers,White sox,Angels,and last, but not least,the Dodgers.Thats all I can say,we got a lot more stuff comin' up!
Bye! A.J.
My new team is the Yankees.We are the best (or second best, depending on how many losses the Dodgers have) team in the league. We have 4 wins and 1 losses,so our winning percentage is 800. My teammates are
(in alphabetical order) Carsten, Ethan A;Ethan H;Jake,Jared,Liam,Nick M;Nick S;Ryan B;Ryan M;and Trent.We lost our very first game against the dodgers.It was 4-6.The order we play the teams are Dodgers,White sox,Angels,Dodgers,White sox,Angels,Dodgers,White sox,Angels,and last, but not least,the Dodgers.Thats all I can say,we got a lot more stuff comin' up!
Bye! A.J.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Blessings are sometimes hard as a brick
I got a job! It is a really great blessing for us. We needed the income (there's nothing like paying out for school for a few extra years, now it's time to bring some in.) The timing was perfect. I am done with classes, and only have a few obligations left for my master's degree. Jon is around to help out/be a nanny (or manny, as male nannies are called in Hollywood)/chauffeur the kids around. The job is very interesting. It's with a consulting firm, so private enterprise, which I've never worked in before. It's a great resume builder, and could open quite a few doors in the future.
It is, however, quite a challenge. I have to drive to Bakersfield, about 2 hours away, and stay in a motel for the days that I work. We leave the motel at 6:20 to get to the field office by 7 to get our orders for the day. We walk. A lot. On Friday, I walked/trudged 6.5 miles in 7.5 hours. Total time working, including driving from the field office to the survey location (about 5 miles off the nearest paved road) was 10.5 hours. So, another blessing! Overtime! But, also hard. I was totally exhausted yesterday and today. I fell asleep for a couple of hours this afternoon, and couldn't kick my headache until I woke up. This, I think, is not the kind of job I can do forever and ever. But, it is a really great learning experience, so I'll stick it out until the current project is over sometime next spring, and try to get a job where at least sometimes I get to sit at a desk.
On top of that great and challenging blessing, my whole family got another one this week. My amazing grandma, who is about to turn 95, has started down what appears to be her slide into heaven. She has been a huge blessing to every member of her family. She has loved us, put us up in her home, shared her hard-earned money with us, when we haven't really done anything to earn it, and supported us in our crazy endeavors. We adore her. But, I know she's getting tired. She single-handedly cared for my grandpa until his death, about 15 years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's. His needs were her first priority for a long time, and weighed on her heavily. Now, it's about time for her to be with him again, and he can do a little doting on her when she gets there. It will be a blessing to know that she's at peace, although she hasn't been particularly suffering for a long time. She has been in fantastic health, as a matter of fact. But, I know she's not really comfortable right now, stuck in a hospital room. I called her yesterday while I was at A.J.'s game, and I think she enjoyed the play-by-play. A.J. even caught a foul ball while playing first base while I chatted with her.
Thinking back on her personality, I think she was a pretty fun person. She is the middle of three daughters. She wanted to be a doctor, just like her dad. Later, not long after she and grandpa were married, she caught a huge salmon, while wearing pants. The photo of her holding her prize is my favorite one of her.
Doesn't she look like a super fun person? She and my grandpa used to attend lots of Mizzou football games together. There are some pretty good stories from those, too, or so I've heard, anyway. She's little, but you probably shouldn't mess with her. She's a little rural southern belle. Very proper, always well-dressed, but says "tomatuh" and "potatuh." It's pretty darn cute. I love my grandma.
Update: Her kids decided to stop some medicine or other, and either she would improve or not. Strong, crazy woman that she is went and improved. I think she's still in the hospital, but she's talking and moving around. Such a fighter. I told you not to mess with her. :)
It is, however, quite a challenge. I have to drive to Bakersfield, about 2 hours away, and stay in a motel for the days that I work. We leave the motel at 6:20 to get to the field office by 7 to get our orders for the day. We walk. A lot. On Friday, I walked/trudged 6.5 miles in 7.5 hours. Total time working, including driving from the field office to the survey location (about 5 miles off the nearest paved road) was 10.5 hours. So, another blessing! Overtime! But, also hard. I was totally exhausted yesterday and today. I fell asleep for a couple of hours this afternoon, and couldn't kick my headache until I woke up. This, I think, is not the kind of job I can do forever and ever. But, it is a really great learning experience, so I'll stick it out until the current project is over sometime next spring, and try to get a job where at least sometimes I get to sit at a desk.
On top of that great and challenging blessing, my whole family got another one this week. My amazing grandma, who is about to turn 95, has started down what appears to be her slide into heaven. She has been a huge blessing to every member of her family. She has loved us, put us up in her home, shared her hard-earned money with us, when we haven't really done anything to earn it, and supported us in our crazy endeavors. We adore her. But, I know she's getting tired. She single-handedly cared for my grandpa until his death, about 15 years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's. His needs were her first priority for a long time, and weighed on her heavily. Now, it's about time for her to be with him again, and he can do a little doting on her when she gets there. It will be a blessing to know that she's at peace, although she hasn't been particularly suffering for a long time. She has been in fantastic health, as a matter of fact. But, I know she's not really comfortable right now, stuck in a hospital room. I called her yesterday while I was at A.J.'s game, and I think she enjoyed the play-by-play. A.J. even caught a foul ball while playing first base while I chatted with her.
Thinking back on her personality, I think she was a pretty fun person. She is the middle of three daughters. She wanted to be a doctor, just like her dad. Later, not long after she and grandpa were married, she caught a huge salmon, while wearing pants. The photo of her holding her prize is my favorite one of her.
Doesn't she look like a super fun person? She and my grandpa used to attend lots of Mizzou football games together. There are some pretty good stories from those, too, or so I've heard, anyway. She's little, but you probably shouldn't mess with her. She's a little rural southern belle. Very proper, always well-dressed, but says "tomatuh" and "potatuh." It's pretty darn cute. I love my grandma.
Update: Her kids decided to stop some medicine or other, and either she would improve or not. Strong, crazy woman that she is went and improved. I think she's still in the hospital, but she's talking and moving around. Such a fighter. I told you not to mess with her. :)
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