100 Day Party with Doctor Who!

It seems like just yesterday that I planned our 100 Day Party for Abby.  How is it that 100 Days of Kindergarten has finally arrived for Caedmon?  Slow down, my kids.  Slow down!

Caedmon and my husband are slightly obsessed with Doctor Who...so what better way to celebrate 100 Days of School than with a Time Lord? :)

Here is how we celebrated our 100th Day of School.  (Abby is so excited to be the oldest because, as she stated, "I get to do the 100th day of Kindergarten 2 more times!")

100 Day Pancakes!

The Kindergarten boy version!

The 2nd grade girl version

The 2 year old "I ate all of my chocolate chips instead of decorating my pancakes" version

Filling in the 100th day of on the chart!

I love seeing the progress.  He hated even holding a pencil at the beginning of the year.  Such improvement!

They have been collecting one Lego a day, building up to a surprise Lego set at the end.

My favorite part was watching what they built all along the way before they even had instructions.

The TARDIS from Doctor Who. My husband made this from a large refrigerator box from Lowe's, 3 blue plastic table cloths, printed up details from the internet, and 2 wall mounted night lights from Wal-mart.  Total project was less than $10! Then we filled it with 100 balloons!

Yep.  My 5 year old is dressed as the Doctor (complete with bow-tie) and is pointing his Sonic Screwdriver at me.

There was a lot of screaming, jumping, and excitement when they walked into the living room to find a balloon-filled TARDIS!

 

Math included sorting and counting the balloons by color.  First, though, they predicted which color would be the most abundant.  They both predicted red.

 

They then created a bar graph of the colors.

And red won!  This was a great exercise in regrouping for my 2nd grader as I had her add all the numbers to double check that we had 100.  We were originally missing 3 colors, so we had to go back and recount them. (That was not a popular idea, but the OCD in my could not rest without knowing for sure!)  

We had such a fun day and made many wonderful memories!

In Memory of a Wonderful Valentine

I LOVE Valentine's Day.  There I said it.  I love going into stores and seeing shelves covered in pinks, reds and purples.  I love all the hearts.  I love the stuffed animals.  I love the chocolates.  It all makes me feel warm and fuzzy and happy. I don't even care if it is a manufactured holiday wrapped up in commercialism.  I love the day.

Yesterday, my kids celebrated Valentine's Day at our homeschool co-op.  It was great fun...a little chaotic...but full of good memories. Last week, each kid decorated a paper Valentine bag with stickers.  This week, the bags were set up and the kids filled them with goodies for each other...well, I think mostly the parents filled the bags, but the kids loved getting the bags with all the candies, cards, pencils and stickers. It was fun to sit back and watch  kids of all ages rush in at lunchtime, eager to see what awaited them.

I get happy memories just by holding the little sticker-covered paper bags....the excitement of seeing which  friends gave the cutest valentine, or the best candy.  Watching my kids dig through the bags after school was a deeper level of joy for me as the parent.  Who doesn't love to be loved?  It feels good to be known.  It brings pleasure to our hearts to celebrate friendships.  We find rest when we are loved.

This little Valentine exchange also brought me back to another Valentine's Day that didn't feel quite so restful and pleasure-filled...at least not at first.  The setting was a high school cafeteria.  I was eating my lunch from a paper bag.  My hair was a big, curly 90's style. I was probably donning a silk shirt and vest. I was surrounded by a few close girlfriends and filled with lots of insecurities.  A guy friend (of a friend, of a friend) came by our circle on that fateful day and handed every girl a red, heart-shaped sucker...every girl, that is, except me. Yep.  There in a circle of about 5 girls, I was deliberately left out. Forsaken. Embarrassingly set apart. I was crushed.  My day was ruined.

I came home that afternoon and sobbed my eyes out.  I was too embarrassed to ever return to school.  I had no idea, at the time, about homeschooling, but if I had known, I'm sure I would have begged my mom to keep me home. My shallow semblance of  any kind of confidence was shattered forever.  Life. Was. Over.

Until my dad came home from work.  After I told him what happened, he loaded us all up into the car and we went out for dinner.  After dinner, Dad stopped for a final errand at a store and returned to our car carrying a big box of chocolate candy. Just. For. Me.  I don't remember exactly what he said, but I know it was something witty about chocolates being way better than a sucker anyway.

My dad loved to love me.  He knew me.  He celebrated my value as his daughter. He brought rest to my soul and healing to my heart by purposefully showing me his love. My Dad loved me well that day, and I am thankful for the memory of it.

 That afternoon in high school, I remember feeling unloved, broken, insecure.  But  my dad reminded me that he fully accepted me simply because I was his daughter.  I did not have to prove to him that I was worthy of  his love.  His simple act of cherishing me has helped me to be purposeful in loving others well.

My dad's gift that Valentine's night was more than just a box of chocolates.  His gift is a beautiful picture of  a deeper truth of my Heavenly Father's love for me.  It was His gift to me, not a thing I have had to earn.  Jesus' love brings rest to my soul and healing to my heart. In Him, I am fully known, fully loved, and fully accepted. Jesus loves me this I know...and I can love because He first loved me. (1 John 4:19)
 

Happy Valentine's Day, Dad. Thank you for loving me so well. I love you, too.

Class of 1998 Valedictorian Speech

I came across my valedictorian speech and thought it would be fun to share on my blog.  In 1998, there were several of us Oak Hill High School valedictorians that were allowed to speak to our graduating class.  Here was my contribution:

"As we come here today to celebrate how smart we have become, I have one final exam for the class of '98.  Just four quick questions. For the OHHS class of 1988, that's just 10 years ago, how many games did the football team win?  Who was the captain of the basketball team? Who was Miss OHHS? And lastly, who was the valedictorian?
Does anyone know the answer to all these questions?

I didn't think so.

For the last four years we have defined success by these criteria. What grade did you make? Who's the most popular?

Ten years from today, who will really care if Debbie Bragg was a valedictorian?

If today's successes are forgotten so quickly, were we really successful at all? Instead of striving for things that will soon be forgotten, maybe we should define success by a different standard.

In his poem, Success, Ralph Waldo Emerson said true success means, 'to laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition. To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.'

Jesus Christ put it this way, feeding the hungry, helping the homeless, clothing the poor, nursing the sick, and visiting the lonely--these things will be the things which shall last.

Throughout the past four years, I have gained a great deal of knowledge in the classroom, but the greatest lesson I have learned is this: Jesus Christ gives us the guidance we need to truly be successful. He gives me the ability to overcome all limitations and the courage to stand up for my beliefs even if I'm standing alone.

Ten years from now, I don't want to be remembered for the grades I have earned. It's not the things I've done but who I've encouraged that matters. Therefore, I encourage you, the class of 1998, to blaze your own trail by finding success in things which shall last."


**Thank you to Pastor Steve Willis who was a guide and mentor during the tough high school years**

Easter 2013

Happy Easter!

Today we celebrate the most wonderful gift we have ever received.  Jesus Christ died, and rose again!  He paid for our sins and defeated death!  We have hope because of Christ! 

Because Jesus showed His love for us by humbling Himself on our behalf and thus serving us, we wanted our kids to focus on the act of service today.  So we did Easter Baskets a little differently than usual.  (I got this idea from a magazine called Family Fun March 2013).  I made the kids wait until after church for their Easter baskets.  At first, you would have thought I chopped off their legs when they found out they had to wait, but in the end, it was worth it.

PJ started out by talking with the kids about Jesus and why we celebrate Easter.  Then we briefly discussed the importance of serving one another.  Finally, I hid all the Easter goodies around the house (it was wet outside, otherwise we would have done it outdoors).  Each kid was given the other kid's basket and told to hunt for things that the other would like to get in his or her basket.

It was neat to watch Abby look for things that she knew Caed would love. Even when she found something that she would herself enjoy, she chose to give it to her little brother instead. I loved seeing her heart in this!  Yay! It was just what I was hoping for!

Caedmon also thought it was great fun.  He was very excited to fill Abby's basket with yummy candy, especially the chocolate bunny (This picture catches him mid-sentence hence the serious face.)

I think this may be the start of a new tradition.  What are some of your favorite Easter traditions?

Remember His Goodness

" It will not seem as dramatic as a miracle
It will likely go unnoticed by others
But it will be a profound change in a restless heart
It will be a soothing oil to an open wound known only to 
You and me."  ~Interludes, Michael J. Easley


This is a story of how God provided a new-to-us van.  But it is not just a story about getting a great deal on a vehicle. It's  a story about how a restless, fretful heart learned to trust and become content.

A year ago, I began praying fervently for a new van.  I was 7-ish months pregnant with our 3rd little darling and I was quite sure that our  trendy little SUV would not carry all 3 children in the back seat. In fact, I had measured each of the 3 car seats and measured our backseat and there was no way all 3 seats would fit, not to mention they needed to buckle as well.

So I prayed, confident that God would hook us up with a cool new van!
nothing.

So I prayed more, and I enlisted friends to pray with me.
nothing.

So I prayed and quoted scripture.
nothing.

Even Caedmon began praying for a van. Daily. Everyday that little boy prayed, "Thank you for our food, and we need a van." 

And then I became extremely frustrated with my "lack of answer" to my (and Caedmon's) prayers.  I began to doubt that God even heard me. I went though a period of time when I started to distrust Him, thinking things like "If I can't trust Him to answer little prayers like helping us find a van, then how could I ever trust Him with the big things?"

Then my baby was born and I panicked. What would we do?  Certainly, I would be home bound with 3 children.  Then my amazing husband found 2 car seats and a booster that were smaller and would fit with one inch to spare in the back seat.

At that point, my husband began doing something extraordinary.  He began to praise and practice thankfulness.  He started saying things like, "I'm thankful that all 3 kids will fit in the car."  And I began to follow his lead in this. Each time that I felt frustrated about having to lift the baby seat over another child and then get my hand trapped while trying to fasten the booster seat belt, I would say out loud "I'm thankful that we can all ride together in this car. God provided the wisdom to find just the right seats."
 
Before long, I began to experience contentment with our car. My desire for having a new van began to fade.  No longer did I experience jealousy with every new car photo on facebook.  We had what we needed and I was satisfied.

As my awareness of discontentment and purposeful praise grew, I began to recognize other areas of dissatisfaction and a need for thankfulness. On nights when I would fall into bed ready to cry myself to sleep, my husband would hold me tight and start naming things for which he was thankful. Then he'd make me do the same.

 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Philippians 4:8

This verse isn't just a way to paint rainbows and sun shines in the world.  It's a prescription to joy for believers.  It's a practical way to change despair into hope.

And it was good. I could feel a change in my heart and my mind.

A drastic change in a restless heart that would likely go unnoticed by others. 

******

A year later we have been quite happy with our vehicle circumstances.  Our car always seemed to be experiencing weird sounds and hesitations.  So we named it Lucky because we felt very lucky if  "he" made it from point A to point B. But we were content with Lucky. We'd laugh it off each time we bounced out of the driveway.

And then one day Lucky almost didn't make it.

I was driving the 25 minute commute from Abby's co-op to home and 5 mins from home, Lucky began screaming at me and then lost all power. I pulled off the road. Both boys were asleep.  Abby and I prayed!  We also thanked God for His timing.  We thanked Him that we were so close to home.  Walking a couple of miles home is far better than being stranded in Lynchburg 25 mins away!

And Lucky started and slowly inched home.  That was the last time I drove Lucky.

PJ could get Lucky to start and drive him...but PJ is a better man than me.  I didn't have the nerves for it any more. 

I could feel that discontentment rising up in me again. I'm not going to lie. I was nervous. I cried...a lot. I even for a moment got mad at God and asked Him "What could you possibly have me to learn through this again?  Didn't I give it to you before?  Didn't we already learn this lesson?"

But I didn't want to dwell there. I have in the last 6 months experienced God's profound faithfulness in ways which will never allow me to doubt his "realness" and concern for me ever again.  He literally has turned "nothing" into "enough" for us.

So this time, I began to pray differently out of a changed heart.  Rather than simply taking my need to God and basically saying "do this", I put aside what I thought best and I prayed for trust and wisdom.

Rather than saying, "We need it. Do it."  I said, "You know our needs. I trust you."
 
This was truly a test of trust in God's provision.  A couple of  weeks before the car died, we received our income tax. What a blessing this was!  It was more than we expected.  We prayed and asked God for wisdom in how to spend the money.  We both felt strongly that, after tithe, the rest should go towards bills.  So we paid off several lingering bills and felt so content.  

"But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." James 1:6

And then Lucky got sick.

The temptation was definitely to doubt that we made a wise choice. We could have easily gotten a nice van with that income tax.  BUT it does no good to doubt when you have prayed for wisdom.  We had to believe that He had given us that wisdom in the moment and that He must have something else to teach us from this experience.

PJ and I began searching Craigslist, used car lots, Facebook yard sales. Hours and days we spent searching for a vehicle all the while praying for wisdom and discernment.

Every deal failed.  One owner backed out of the sale at the last minute.  3 others sold before we could get to them. 2 vans just didn't "feel" right.  Sellers who had posted that same day would not return our calls or emails.

*****

Sunday afternoon, Caedmon woke up from his nap and his first words to me were urgent. "We need a van."
So I asked him if he wanted to pray together for one.
This little boy has been praying faithfully for a year for a van for our family.  On Sunday he prayed a simple prayer, "We need a van today and thank you for my food."

I was moved and a little worried about such a bold prayer of getting the van TODAY.
So I prayed, "God you know our needs. Please provide a van for us, this WEEK."  I wanted to follow Caed's boldness but thought I'd give God a little more time to work than 24 hours.

At this point, it seemed like an impossibility.  We only had $1200 to spend on a car.  Maybe $1300 if we stretched ourselves.  That night, PJ and I prayed and we added it to our "Impossible List" hanging on the fridge. We finally had a joined peace about it. We spent the evening and the next day telling each other of the things that we have learned from this experience.  We talked about the areas we have grown: trust, assurance, faith, perseverance, contentment, patience. It is good to remind each other of His faithfulness!

The next day, Monday, Abby had co-op class which meant that PJ would have to drive her since I couldn't get the car started.  I was going to stay home with the boys and let PJ and Abby go alone. At the last minute I decided to go and keep PJ company.

The car was louder and smokier than usual. On the way, we passed a van for sale. Since a parent has to be present at the co-op while a child is in class, we decided that I would stay while PJ went to check out the van.  Again, it was out of our price range.

A cold, rainy day and still no van. We were pretty bummed.   On his way back to the co-op, he passed a tiny little car lot C & C Motors with one blue van in the lot.  He stopped and asked about it and explained the condition of our car's engine.  The dealer said that he would accept our offer of $1200 and would be willing to take a risk on our car!
 

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1

On the way over to pick up the van, Caedmon, who knew nothing except that it was a van, said, "I hope it's blue."

My dear boy of faithful prayer!  God provided your van...and even provided a blue one!

*******

I look back over the second half of this story and see God's hand leading us in wisdom and discernment every step of the way.  This van we have is not perfect...but it is perfect for us.  It is the van we have prayed over for a year.  It is the one, above all others, that God cleared the path for us to obtain.  I love to see Him in the details. 

My trust has deepened.  He is good. He is faithful.  He is real!

Not as dramatic as a miracle...but soothing oil to this heart of mine!

*****
Abby was really sad to see Lucky go. She was quite attached to him.  So we prayed over Lucky, dedicating him for the next family to own him.  We prayed that he would be fixed and provide many more years of travel.

We tossed around a few names for the new van. Joy. Faith. Hope. The kids settled on "Chara" (pronounced "Car-ah")  which means "Joy".  Our joy is not in the van, but in the God who led us to and provided a way to have this van.  So introducing Chara the Van!  Remember His Goodness!

New Christmas Traditions

This year we do not have a lot to spend on Christmas presents.  I was really bummed at first, but it has turned out to be our greatest gift because it has given us opportunity to focus on making memories and new traditions. I created an advent countdown by making small envelopes that hang on our living room wall.  Each envelope contains something special to do or share throughout the 24 days before Christmas.  My kids have loved this project.  Everyday before we begin school, they are eager to find out what "today's envelope" contains.   Special thanks to my friend Brittany and her wonderful blog for this idea!  It really has been a special time!

Day 1: We created the envelopes.  Abby helped me sew some of them!

Day 2: We packed lunches and ate on the terrace level of Demoss Hall at Liberty University. These are our pirate faces!

PJ was there too...we were really high up there! :)

Day 3: I let them choose a Christmas movie on Netflix. They chose this one. Um...yeah. :)

Day 4: A special treat of Gingerbread marshmallows.

Day 5: Craft time and snacks with Santa at the Rustburg Library.

Day 6: Making Christmas cookies.  We made a dozen to share with our co-op and we ate some too!

Day 7: Singing Christmas Carols at Fairmont Crossing Nursing Facility with Under The Son Academy.

All 3 kids look shell-shocked. :)

Caleb makes friends quickly.

Day 8: Caed's class Christmas party at BRCC

Gingerbread houses are always fun!

Day 9: Family Lego night

Day 10: A play-date with friends Rinnah and Ian

I forgot to take pictures, so these are cute pics from 2ish years ago. Look how they've grown!

Day11: Reindeer EVERYTHING! Reindeer tp rolls, cookies and hand-prints!

Day 12: Made a tent in the living room with a sheet and 4 chairs and had a camp out complete with movies, popcorn and scary "Ribbet and Croaky" (PJ Originals!) stories.

Day 13: Homemade paint!

Day 14: Making Christmas cookies with 17 other friends...yes17 other kids!

Day 15: Salt dough creations.

Finished creations.

Day 16: Movie/story night. 

Day 17: Christmas party for stuffed animals and super heros. Crumpets (jelly sandwiches), cookies and punch were served. After "lunch" Abby performed a play for us entitled "Superhero Special".

Day 18, Part 1:  Playdate with friend, Maddie! (And much needed "playdate" for Mommy with bestie, Des)

Maddie singing "Jingle Bells".  We love Maddie!

Day 18, part 2:  Christmas lights. This house in Rustburg is next to Rustburg Elementary. You park in the lot and tune your radio to 101.9 and the lights dance to the music playing in your car.  It's really quite amazing!  And yes, Abby is wearing a zebra print bathrobe and pink rain boots...that girl has her own style!

Day 19: Made snow cones. Yum!

Day 20: Went to the store and picked out some candy!  Yes. Caedmon is wearing a bathrobe (see Day 18). Apparently, bathrobes are all the rage this year!

Day 21:  Dessert for breakfast!  Everyday Caedmon asks if he can have dessert for breakfast.  Today, I said YES!  They were so excited! It's just one day a year, right? :)

Day 22: We baked 5 dozen oatmeal-peanut butter-chocolate chip-m&m cookies and delivered them to our neighbors.

Day 23: Wii game night. We played Mario Cart.

Day 24:  Today was such a treat!  Our tradition is to go to Bob Evans for breakfast on Christmas Eve.  We didn't think we would be able to go this year, but we were able to sell a few things on Craigslist and PJ and I made this our Christmas gift to each other!  Um...this is our first restaurant visit in over 3 months! (Caleb was more interested in us saying "Cheese" than he was the camera!)

What an amazing month this has been!  We are so thankful for our many blessings. Most of all we are thankful for Jesus who gives us not only the hope of our salvation after death, but gives us hope and freedom in our now!

Merry Christmas from the Campbells!!