Picture Post

The last few months of school flew by.  (The kids may beg to differ!)  This will mostly be a picture post catch up...

To each his own...

Scott in his spring concert...

Natalie had a small solo in her choir concert...

Kate passed several levels on her recorder.  This did not come without much practicing at home!  She was one determined recorder player. 

That's one FAT snake & one curious puppy!  EEK!

Garage sale season has started out a bit slow this year...Scout & Kate can prove this.  I've had to settle for a couple of silly costumes!  They were both great sports- although Scout refused to smile. 
 

Piercing Predicaments

I realize this story may only be funny to me because I just lived it, but I wanted to remember our process of getting the girls' ears pierced. 

I wanted to surprise the girls!  Natalie is coming up on her 12th birthday, and I always told her she could get her ears pierced when she turned 12.  Kate gets her ears pierced when she's 9 because that's the benefit of being the younger sibling and having a tired mom who only wants to go through this process once.  Sorry Natalie- maybe one day you'll understand.  :)

I checked with several moms and got good advice on where to have the piercings done.  We were all set to go to a piercing/tattoo shop and have Lizard* the Piercer pierce the girls' ears.  (*Animal name changed to protect the innocent.)  We then found out that the tattoo shop required a copy of their birth certificates to be kept on file, and we were uncomfortable with that.  I had Jon call Lizard to discuss their policy.  When Jon dialed the number and said, "Could I please speak to Lizard?" I about lost it and had to run out of the room laughing.  Lizard wouldn't budge on his policy, so we decided to look for a new place.

I called to make an appointment at a cosmetic store.  However, an elderly lady answered the phone and then put me on hold.  I heard her holler, "Does Maddie have her ear piercing training yet?"  She then got back on the phone, and we scheduled for the following day with Maddie.   I went back and forth in my head that night.  Maybe Maddie will be really good since she was just trained.  No- I cannot have Maddie do her first ever piercing on my babies.  

The next day, I drove to the mall.  Some people had given me mall piercing horror stories, and others said it was totally fine.  I prayed as I walked in that I would have clear direction.  The man who greeted me was dressed as a woman with fake eyelashes, but talked like a man and had facial hair.  I asked him a few questions about the process, felt sick, and left thanking the Lord for the "clear direction" from that location.  

I then decided to go meet Maddie.  She was all alone in the shop, and I asked her a few questions.  She said, "I was just looking at that!"...and pulled out a box that was labeled TRAINING KIT.  She said that the process wouldn't be as good as a piercing shop, but then started to teach me how the piercing gun works.  I politely cancelled my appointment, and she seemed so relieved.

After talking to more people, I set up an appointment with a jewelry shop for the following day.  To surprise the girls, I told them to get in the van where they were greeted by some stuffed friends who provided a big HINT as to where we were going. Natalie said it was a good thing that I did it this way because she would have panicked if she had to think about it for too much time prior to the appointment.  (I know my Natalie!:)  

 

We were pleased with our experience at the store, and both girls were super brave!  We are following the cleaning protocols precisely and are hoping for quick healing. 

And since tomorrow is Easter, I will end with a much more significant piercing story.  "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." -Isaiah 53:5  Praising the Lord for His ultimate sacrifice that has made a way for us to have eternal life with Him.  Thank You, Jesus!

 

(An Easter dress from my childhood.  Thanks for humoring me, Kate.  And no- you really don't have to wear it to church!)

The BACK Story

It's starting to look more like spring (some days), and we are loving it! 

 

Scott with Great Grandma...

Jon had back surgery last week!  He has been in pain for some time, and when he finally went in for an MRI, he found that he has 5 bulging discs and one herniated disc that was extruding into the nerve.  They tried a spinal injection, but that seemed to irritate his nerve pain all the more. Sitting caused the most pain so he basically paced the house for the week prior and couldn't sleep much because of the sharp pain. Thankfully, he was able to get into surgery within a week, and felt immediate relief after the surgery.  Praise the Lord! The nurse said that with this particular surgery, she has had patients crying in pain prior to being wheeled to the OR and crying tears of joy afterwards because of the great relief.   He lied on the floor of the minivan for our 40 minute drive to the surgery.  I took pictures, but for some reason he doesn't want me to post them.  These boys are no fun, I tell ya!

He is recovering at home now with many restrictions, so he is reading lots of books to pass the time.  He can walk, but cannot "BLT"...bend, lift, or twist.  I have had to sit on him when he gets the urge to practice his ballroom dancing in the living room.  We go back for a check up in a couple of weeks, and they said that he should be able to resume more activities in six weeks (May 2nd...but who's counting?!)

Unsure of what he would feel like afterwards, I borrowed some of my grandma's assistive equipment.  Thankfully, Jon hasn't needed it, but the kids have had fun making up silly games with the cane, walker, and grabber tool!:)  (You've got to get creative when you spend your Spring Break week at home with your dad recovering from a back surgery!)

In cheerier random news, look who learned how to blow bubbles!:)

Mega Catch-Up Post

Shortly after New Years, Natalie's class took an overnight trip to the Ark & Creation Museum. 

The car ride there and back with friends was her favorite part!

More fun with friends at home...

 

Kate & Natalie played a lot of basketball over these past few months. 

Kate made me laugh because I think she equally enjoyed her time on the court AND her time talking to anyone sitting next to her on the bench!:)  She improved each game and had a great first season of basketball!

 

 

 

 

 

Natalie's team ended up runner up in their tournament, and Natalie received the Most Improved Player award.  She's determined to keep working and has set shooting goals for herself during the off season.  We were proud of her!

 

 

We enjoyed the snowstorm and a couple of surprise days off school in early February!

Scott continues to serenade us with his songs.  We never get tired of hearing him play worship songs on his keyboard.  He's enjoying playing in the chapel band each week at school.  Above is a picture of him playing the saxophone during a music showcase event.  (For the record, he doesn't like it when I take his picture so the ratio of daughters to son's photos is off!)

His peers wrote adjectives to describe Scott at school.  Loved reading these!:)