tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59840660637069837492024-03-19T04:48:02.429-04:00Tea with Mrs. NesbittMrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.comBlogger5349125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-46978012867768810252024-03-17T14:34:00.009-04:002024-03-18T17:44:11.226-04:00Shenanigans <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVV9kjPtFvvgpmDKCAFeeL1HJPllAOlgLcWF99YYLBo90LOW-l69-OR0E10zIczCb1yS8RUWlTabZmPema6UZ9KH0G6aiIPl9p7W6zegqpT-yJnAegIlqynpatOO2BbYMR-R4RxpIWT1Xdl-aU22Ox8TtaYuNNnVdX30_bdPVmEJKZdq5kercGZDJKqJA/s5854/IMG_1118.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5854" data-original-width="3902" height="415" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVV9kjPtFvvgpmDKCAFeeL1HJPllAOlgLcWF99YYLBo90LOW-l69-OR0E10zIczCb1yS8RUWlTabZmPema6UZ9KH0G6aiIPl9p7W6zegqpT-yJnAegIlqynpatOO2BbYMR-R4RxpIWT1Xdl-aU22Ox8TtaYuNNnVdX30_bdPVmEJKZdq5kercGZDJKqJA/w276-h415/IMG_1118.JPG" width="276" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>It's St. Patrick's Day, and it's been a good season for celebrating. Tonight as we were looking back on the month, we even had time to stop and enjoy our traditional Shamrock Shake at home. Yesterday we got some green mint and chocolate chip ice cream, so we mixed it with some milk and made some festive green shakes while we watched a movie together. Our movie of choice was "Muppets Most Wanted," partially because part of it takes place in Dublin and features <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2mWAYAv91-Y/YFCrZEPHzQI/AAAAAAAAo7U/xNx_GxrIW3Ahasfb2e5iIh_venC-lOsHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s600/Leprechauns.jpg">muppet leprechauns</a>... but really, it's mostly because we love this movie so much. Seriously, it's our favorite Muppet movie. I think we got the idea after watching that classic clip from the Muppet Show where Animal, Beaker and the Swedish Chef all sing Danny Boy.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9v9aSpUOzYNN7AvCi8a9FHtzYGq-EExLr5OnP1Qh4Obr-pLpWJMR1VaVre5y3tq7HVEhyphenhyphenPIIid89mA39pTHfWa8mKfRJNxuvCW85n6AoLWLwULuMfQNEMvOGIS7v-CgMjejm4wjSBZj8tw8b3SL8kHdd-rICmoaW3H41YrDLd8ACJTtNzzjRCHDQTlKU/s1200/Muppets%20Danny%20Boy.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9v9aSpUOzYNN7AvCi8a9FHtzYGq-EExLr5OnP1Qh4Obr-pLpWJMR1VaVre5y3tq7HVEhyphenhyphenPIIid89mA39pTHfWa8mKfRJNxuvCW85n6AoLWLwULuMfQNEMvOGIS7v-CgMjejm4wjSBZj8tw8b3SL8kHdd-rICmoaW3H41YrDLd8ACJTtNzzjRCHDQTlKU/w403-h227/Muppets%20Danny%20Boy.webp" width="403" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Must-see viewing right there, folks! It was a very full day, and it was a Sunday, so you know where we were this morning before all this started. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6D25meLsJatpwmcij8Bvvlaz0-TYOQCkqg7sQ3d2QeKs8pscDmR7-1H0i2GtFBoZjMZ6tLbWOWAYQJ-2_RcrNejc1a6wb6wJavTnUqIaztIkX_0UglJjE5hh4hCmdYgul-9u57iP_xopxd3YRNbv9FjLFRQNjee1oTuyQqV97EJADgyzIiZzVQIhG4fU/s3274/IMG_1134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2183" data-original-width="3274" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6D25meLsJatpwmcij8Bvvlaz0-TYOQCkqg7sQ3d2QeKs8pscDmR7-1H0i2GtFBoZjMZ6tLbWOWAYQJ-2_RcrNejc1a6wb6wJavTnUqIaztIkX_0UglJjE5hh4hCmdYgul-9u57iP_xopxd3YRNbv9FjLFRQNjee1oTuyQqV97EJADgyzIiZzVQIhG4fU/w417-h278/IMG_1134.JPG" width="417" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPycJjBRcbOOPo2Qrp-miXz2INdXw9c2-FSwn_VqW2THmXdIKnMfdYHkpNG6FuhvufRO7LlQEPBsANk-x47oMjBrmTV6mwVedoip7hZhNVZtEYF0EYTLrOFlypDFMBImKToNBRxVQU9pECLqiT-uM-vgpvX-k3ppILtnWPKRsWLmU_w1BNn0JOdh7Lsvw/s5383/IMG_1146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3588" data-original-width="5383" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPycJjBRcbOOPo2Qrp-miXz2INdXw9c2-FSwn_VqW2THmXdIKnMfdYHkpNG6FuhvufRO7LlQEPBsANk-x47oMjBrmTV6mwVedoip7hZhNVZtEYF0EYTLrOFlypDFMBImKToNBRxVQU9pECLqiT-uM-vgpvX-k3ppILtnWPKRsWLmU_w1BNn0JOdh7Lsvw/w432-h288/IMG_1146.JPG" width="432" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWfEdiN7oyX-XI-PshArZf9XAAsDKiOhVrdytiD50IvoF8eYiRAm1rS92g1q6bw0zzGWuBpJvrND75nhoWd3fpmQ6oVFyxgbkIIhripLnF-kCwJvHHP5SEskvqwKnjHgNXIyDi_clJAok9C0OBoxdiypeI_NOAqO-1GKl8NmELnoW1IT-BsfpJXNEekI/s3043/IMG_1216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2029" data-original-width="3043" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWfEdiN7oyX-XI-PshArZf9XAAsDKiOhVrdytiD50IvoF8eYiRAm1rS92g1q6bw0zzGWuBpJvrND75nhoWd3fpmQ6oVFyxgbkIIhripLnF-kCwJvHHP5SEskvqwKnjHgNXIyDi_clJAok9C0OBoxdiypeI_NOAqO-1GKl8NmELnoW1IT-BsfpJXNEekI/w424-h282/IMG_1216.JPG" width="424" /></a></div><br /><p>We continued with Exodus, and it was great - we had this matching game where kids in the audience had to pick cards on stage that would get turned over... and their goal was to guess the Ten Plagues in the correct order. The message focused on that part of Exodus, with a great skit, the game above, an awesome message, and a really fun retelling of the story using animated versions of ourselves that Josh created.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hpg1sqp6LkccTDcQCNizXqK6glgtOtCKeLCJ142LsOFqys51obAUwWrurXn_NouvaS4VmP8EB1VbfuYPTiVno2MIpfFNhojKnMeEQZT8mrG3SLUbsIyhjeQ8TsMnsfJuLcPfE33f1-8JXt8tR0e-2mIM8FwmJ2SUmHC0craM4GNUTWbF73vYwm560Dw/s1280/KP%20EXODUS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hpg1sqp6LkccTDcQCNizXqK6glgtOtCKeLCJ142LsOFqys51obAUwWrurXn_NouvaS4VmP8EB1VbfuYPTiVno2MIpfFNhojKnMeEQZT8mrG3SLUbsIyhjeQ8TsMnsfJuLcPfE33f1-8JXt8tR0e-2mIM8FwmJ2SUmHC0craM4GNUTWbF73vYwm560Dw/w412-h232/KP%20EXODUS.jpg" width="412" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>It was a great morning! Yes, we had green on. Maddie had her Edge shirt on, but I had my Buc-ee's St. Patrick's Day shirt on. I got this one last month and have been anxious to wear it! </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuGpzSw-Bl3xjUNR320CHqfJE4cIZbVBeEIPfNiRmfubpAbf5mOaO5ieT1rUVsdY1DfeUwaDP630-xPWTCWjmw6-8td49KLLTpwk9-vrxFc5IW22G4CEmBuwMKBd3YW-5BlXkfiEW5Olaib4z0jXcMEt6U6nuiR2nU20BAXOvN9itcH_IQp4WdLt0jmU/s1392/Shenanigans.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1340" data-original-width="1392" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuGpzSw-Bl3xjUNR320CHqfJE4cIZbVBeEIPfNiRmfubpAbf5mOaO5ieT1rUVsdY1DfeUwaDP630-xPWTCWjmw6-8td49KLLTpwk9-vrxFc5IW22G4CEmBuwMKBd3YW-5BlXkfiEW5Olaib4z0jXcMEt6U6nuiR2nU20BAXOvN9itcH_IQp4WdLt0jmU/w362-h348/Shenanigans.png" width="362" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Let the shenanigans begin! We got home after that, and we ate a bit, and after that returned to Middle Earth for a good bit, moving forward with our game. We seem committed to get to 100% of the game, and after several hours, we're only about halfway there. It's a big game, but it's been fun!</p><p><br /></p><p>But our day was far from over. Tonight we were invited over to Aunt Shain's house for our annual family St. Patrick's Day gathering. I got changed - yes, I wore the kilt tonight! We went over to the family event, and it was really nice to get tofgether, a very pleasant evening with the whole family there. There was corn beef and cabbage, plus Irish soda bread and yes, potatoes. We brought the key lime pie that Maddie made (with our help), and there were other desserts too. The food was nice, but the whole evening was really nice. "Darby O' Gill" was playing in the background, and there were plenty of Irish decorations all about. It was a great night together.</p><p><br /></p><p>We got home after that, and of course there was the movie, and after that it was pretty much time for bed. We finished our Kingdom Keepers book tonight with Eli knowing that his father was in fact a Kingdom Keeper. The head of the mice, Leader, is back with something to say... but we'll have to find out in the next book what that is. We'll see soon when we start that next book, which might be a little later on. Until then, it was time for prayers, and ... a great joke. We've been going back and forth with the Frog Prince, that vibrating singing frog that makes itself known when you put your head on the pillow, because he's under there singing. Well, today we announced that it was time to put him up for the year, as its more of a Valentine's Day thing, right? So after all that, Maddie set her head down on the pillow, and now she heard the Hip Hop Bunny rapping about Easter. Here we go again. This rabbit is going to be popping up all over the place. I'm telling you right now that after night, he's now lurking in Maddie's taekwondo bag. She'll find him tomorrow!</p><p><br /></p><p>It's been a fun day. Mom seems to be feeling better too, getting better as the day went along. We said our prayers, and yeah, it's time for bed. We're very blessed.</p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-16777963133341129292024-03-16T23:02:00.002-04:002024-03-18T16:27:07.861-04:00St. Patrick's Day Weekend<p>Maddie got to sleep in late this morning, always a big deal for her - but this morning she slept extra late. Why not, right? It's a day off, and that's okay. Today is the day before St. Patrick's Day, and we actually did a good bit of celebrating the Irish weekend. For example, while Maddie was asleep, I was doing another 5K, this one in New Hampshire. Of course, virtually. These are on the treadmill as always, and for this one I ran the entire distance, and it was pretty awesome. There were lots of folks wearing green, with shamrock glasses and St. Patrick's Day trivia going on to keep your mind off the chore of running. It was fun though. Best of all was my blood pressure afterwards, astoundingly low. </p><p><br /></p><p>I was out doing some leaf-blowing today afterwards, and Maddie was up at one point of course. She had one big task of the day, and that was this: making a pie!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3fDZwmS7pdpGEzzMVl02wfnSJogUPCdqKZ3wl3hXkKd-WOuvhk4rcXwglmTJ3VtSuQkYlzYN3sVx-LBZ0yR8ehwttCfECW7H9KzNXqTHX0jcAivtsxjZffuNMsJ9bknO_T00SiRYkhUS5Td7j67j_7e8Q3C5n88toTaBFA_0jtIWExwp0itB2f5KmnXQ/s6000/IMG_1123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3fDZwmS7pdpGEzzMVl02wfnSJogUPCdqKZ3wl3hXkKd-WOuvhk4rcXwglmTJ3VtSuQkYlzYN3sVx-LBZ0yR8ehwttCfECW7H9KzNXqTHX0jcAivtsxjZffuNMsJ9bknO_T00SiRYkhUS5Td7j67j_7e8Q3C5n88toTaBFA_0jtIWExwp0itB2f5KmnXQ/w427-h284/IMG_1123.JPG" width="427" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTM9nNKZDcLSADkGpKP0gatpzMg2Uc1T6HZklso2MjaeWpJfKzW8woK-D8t7rHPTuof0RLDbuX78YLSuI95Hu0hN3eVtq7ZH2o1uBkirXNy1NUJZbptG15y1KcCUjZ_eDStpxNl3cDuT9OISoQG8ZuChpwj9gfokJjfoxQmJPYnb77deecj0k2hXcX3Q/s6000/IMG_1124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTM9nNKZDcLSADkGpKP0gatpzMg2Uc1T6HZklso2MjaeWpJfKzW8woK-D8t7rHPTuof0RLDbuX78YLSuI95Hu0hN3eVtq7ZH2o1uBkirXNy1NUJZbptG15y1KcCUjZ_eDStpxNl3cDuT9OISoQG8ZuChpwj9gfokJjfoxQmJPYnb77deecj0k2hXcX3Q/w427-h284/IMG_1124.JPG" width="427" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Maddie mixed the ingredients and made a pie with Mom and I nearby, but it was a delicious key lime pie. We added a hint of green food coloring, and decorated it to bring along tomorrow to Aunt Shain's St. Patrick's Day celebration. </p><p><br /></p><p>Easter is crazy early again this year, and so we're at this weird crossroads of Easter decor and St. Patrick's Day decor. Given that it's the weekend, I went out there and got the tree decorated, with small plastic Easter eggs hanging from branches all there at our front porch. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhCMyhwVzL7bgWBYJGInOWiwzKmdOjuX4Ipdl81809lTwVFBpAAOr5YdDFm5fTSRAHijjfCljeMFTgA5J7G5Seen14w1LcMrwz-93xojp4Qgt3FQcyhZZZx2legmcY5DQkkeSZD9AAoxJx9q8kiCvSGWsmyxDcqsdGKrFw2wwaFWQjVrMsA-qq1Hd2EA/s5595/IMG_1119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3730" data-original-width="5595" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhCMyhwVzL7bgWBYJGInOWiwzKmdOjuX4Ipdl81809lTwVFBpAAOr5YdDFm5fTSRAHijjfCljeMFTgA5J7G5Seen14w1LcMrwz-93xojp4Qgt3FQcyhZZZx2legmcY5DQkkeSZD9AAoxJx9q8kiCvSGWsmyxDcqsdGKrFw2wwaFWQjVrMsA-qq1Hd2EA/w409-h272/IMG_1119.JPG" width="409" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-AG_pCjigWyUeHxXIBflj2e3MMuRIugqFXZWR7YtOb2g_t_6wxCG06pfS03Q7DobZub3Nyl_CruF2kARbhBe9ReZNim1bJuFkZsAqI74sOfekh_bQZSds32jmFKbTOrVziVDHS7DfM20Of9Tvdqz2iGkBoN-NAozxYN7LTh195gNQXFQjBFgFE3cwhh4/s6000/IMG_1121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-AG_pCjigWyUeHxXIBflj2e3MMuRIugqFXZWR7YtOb2g_t_6wxCG06pfS03Q7DobZub3Nyl_CruF2kARbhBe9ReZNim1bJuFkZsAqI74sOfekh_bQZSds32jmFKbTOrVziVDHS7DfM20Of9Tvdqz2iGkBoN-NAozxYN7LTh195gNQXFQjBFgFE3cwhh4/w314-h472/IMG_1121.JPG" width="314" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The other thing I did was set up Happy Hollow. It's an amazing little Easter village, a happy community of bunny rabbits. Times are changing, but the small town has kept its businesses going strong, like the BZBee Honey Company and the nearby Eggery. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUDZJFKlg9xbfck0oVe2BBVp0FCGFjoCPVDECKHJ_oRCF912ruZppuUad8j7vMdRdUp-3Qz8Ot4PiomhdG7FNopelq9R7jF2JOPcPtO4GfLJkBnVa1Te4etEuANs9zQiW4nEp0raGy4PLXx9mH1Vdzw8Q0Ak4hxlhY_33eDnClyH4qW6sX93wKJPWbAlE/s6000/IMG_1116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUDZJFKlg9xbfck0oVe2BBVp0FCGFjoCPVDECKHJ_oRCF912ruZppuUad8j7vMdRdUp-3Qz8Ot4PiomhdG7FNopelq9R7jF2JOPcPtO4GfLJkBnVa1Te4etEuANs9zQiW4nEp0raGy4PLXx9mH1Vdzw8Q0Ak4hxlhY_33eDnClyH4qW6sX93wKJPWbAlE/w409-h272/IMG_1116.JPG" width="409" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQ0w3SG5gcjyYL0uMTXBy8mRLBVzwB4B0jJRSTLjWj345rXXIdgwTTZl9OyIeirLUXOk9bO4RxJTfDnvLLQQdXTxG-FXJvcs46VHW8_0jDjjlvAkcXN9YLc4YumV9cWs7YCIAQ8Ht3kqah4-Fo9CtFJPxN3UbLnmGyUXar5PGT7tFoiYxDGuPXk5WS-s/s6000/IMG_1112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQ0w3SG5gcjyYL0uMTXBy8mRLBVzwB4B0jJRSTLjWj345rXXIdgwTTZl9OyIeirLUXOk9bO4RxJTfDnvLLQQdXTxG-FXJvcs46VHW8_0jDjjlvAkcXN9YLc4YumV9cWs7YCIAQ8Ht3kqah4-Fo9CtFJPxN3UbLnmGyUXar5PGT7tFoiYxDGuPXk5WS-s/w417-h278/IMG_1112.JPG" width="417" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The Flower Shop is absolutely bustling with activity! I moved a few of the houses and shops around, and it looks good this year. Again, the joke is that we got these from the Dollar Store many years ago, buying them all up for about a dollar a piece and giving my dad the whole set. He passed them back to us a few years later and we figured why not keep them? I've grown rather attached to them, in fact. Anyway, I just looked them up online, and surprisingly, a good number of these are being sold for about $15-16 each. I suspect others have grown kind of attached to these pieces too.</p><p><br /></p><p>So Mom was not well today, but it's just a stronger sort of cold with the coughing and the sore throat. She had some medication and took it easy. We went out and did some grocery shopping, Maddie and I, getting a few things for tomorrow, and some more ice cream too. Mom was at home relaxing more, doing some more looking around with ancestry. She found out she's related to Bob Ross, actually - twelfth cousin, once removed! Next time we head down that Florida Coast, we'll have to stop by the gallery there near Daytona. She's also been sprouting some seeds in our bedroom window - they're growing fast!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcQn6hhzqje4vtQwqD1u9v-DYNmUst_stbklS54D0RbVjhWN4r-sq05saLUR5MTKYba4MtNHGRgcrku-ovAx4Vsmgq7uWIpbVI3OtYR7aULzzv13yr9S-yE41sw6IxX2vv9Q9WBKRHlqAJD_4sQMRkCj9h-AnMOLKJsPUY2BGERCSU6Vxr-qum0lvtb4/s6000/IMG_1104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFcQn6hhzqje4vtQwqD1u9v-DYNmUst_stbklS54D0RbVjhWN4r-sq05saLUR5MTKYba4MtNHGRgcrku-ovAx4Vsmgq7uWIpbVI3OtYR7aULzzv13yr9S-yE41sw6IxX2vv9Q9WBKRHlqAJD_4sQMRkCj9h-AnMOLKJsPUY2BGERCSU6Vxr-qum0lvtb4/w421-h280/IMG_1104.JPG" width="421" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>But here's the big fun of the day - Mom got me a St. Patrick's Day gift, and a special one at that. See, my grandfather's kilt was passed down to me, but I didn't have the rest of the outfit to wear with it. Mom ordered the new high sock flashes, flags, shirt, and a sporran! Now there's a word I've recently learned - it's that little pouch in the front. It's not a purse - it's a sporran!</p><p><br /></p><p>We closed out the day with our early viewing of "Darby O'Gill and the Little People," which is always great. This year we rewatched the Disney special from so long ago, the one where Walt Disney goes to Ireland to find the King of the Leprechauns. It's great if you've never seen it! </p><p><br /></p><p>Afterwards, we headed upstairs where the Plush Entourage could hear another few of the final chapters of "The Shimmer," where we found out how the wicked Carnius was defeated by the next generation of Kingdom Keepers. We should finish this book up tomorrow, but I actually liked reading more the next time around. Still confused about Storey Ming's new abilities, but I'm assuming that gets cleared up.</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, we said our prayers after that and sorry Maddie, but not sleeping in tomorrow. It's a big day at KidPak!</p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-17338806643878128732024-03-15T23:43:00.006-04:002024-03-18T13:00:08.501-04:00Dunkin Ides<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlvIth2hQUdUypAF7hJVVO8KQJ9EqNyDOR6SeGrLggE_TQNEbwfX_095cfDFFP_Shfk4ZcsTml9dGHQCze803YX1KwcX2roWBh2snK3gcMZpKRx9rx2jKRWr8JiTIdoS7JOm8HsdRFPtPLfQUU0Bx0qarql1vEz5ZuXtsVci6SGx6yUKbc0tg5lMMGuDY/s2150/Photo%20on%203-15-24%20at%202.49%20PM.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1434" data-original-width="2150" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlvIth2hQUdUypAF7hJVVO8KQJ9EqNyDOR6SeGrLggE_TQNEbwfX_095cfDFFP_Shfk4ZcsTml9dGHQCze803YX1KwcX2roWBh2snK3gcMZpKRx9rx2jKRWr8JiTIdoS7JOm8HsdRFPtPLfQUU0Bx0qarql1vEz5ZuXtsVci6SGx6yUKbc0tg5lMMGuDY/w408-h272/Photo%20on%203-15-24%20at%202.49%20PM.jpg" width="408" /></a></div> <div>Beware the Ides of March! Although, we actually didn't have much to worry about today really. You can see Maddie and I above at the church. We went to this event that I was helping out with, and event called Dunkin with Dads, for Dads coming to visit the preschool daycare. I had spent some time making up trivia questions and hosting a good part of it. Meanwhile Maddie came along and was super useful, taking photos of the event. We shared them with dads and with the social media team - Maddie's been amazingly helpful as a part of the team, taking really good quality pics, like these.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTd1GdoFzrTvDGxgzM2SzMywklM3uhjNisGs-GFiE_A74CO3fGWeOx5fl7Gc1XJgUrE7GKnuiQXEP7ju6kwiQN-lD9MsD1EzvT62yXR-YeSJdmDhbhvv0XWxFHOLivgPTqgz_-UCAp7jctNPnLh0UZ3wHcL0ref2qykJGnWOuW1eDc7dPl5exZ_1ddLQ/s6000/IMG_0924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdTd1GdoFzrTvDGxgzM2SzMywklM3uhjNisGs-GFiE_A74CO3fGWeOx5fl7Gc1XJgUrE7GKnuiQXEP7ju6kwiQN-lD9MsD1EzvT62yXR-YeSJdmDhbhvv0XWxFHOLivgPTqgz_-UCAp7jctNPnLh0UZ3wHcL0ref2qykJGnWOuW1eDc7dPl5exZ_1ddLQ/w447-h298/IMG_0924.JPG" width="447" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxG4gYe5nnmtfOPjIH1SOZVxP3ZncJO2ioNuYFQwDmqatnJJaCAtgsXTj0SEjGSQNakf8OEIfRt60rUrPycw3-5ml3jbsjvqRA6KdLVq6QjAZsXDZXqkaS-GBqnhZZj-7y-QKP2NTrVarzK-oQQGNLzJlZddv52sBjihapI9C7kUNCkqO6rZwGEaPOdg/s4000/IMG_0848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2667" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxG4gYe5nnmtfOPjIH1SOZVxP3ZncJO2ioNuYFQwDmqatnJJaCAtgsXTj0SEjGSQNakf8OEIfRt60rUrPycw3-5ml3jbsjvqRA6KdLVq6QjAZsXDZXqkaS-GBqnhZZj-7y-QKP2NTrVarzK-oQQGNLzJlZddv52sBjihapI9C7kUNCkqO6rZwGEaPOdg/w305-h458/IMG_0848.JPG" width="305" /></a></div><div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivA-rVUjoiTS7cQcgs91DgJTIkfqhQb237FfXzrZ64pNEbfwIi2rmXtR3WsczqmH2iLGhiVDL_4icIgZ_T7k5HeOuhoDF0zdMEFMbgsF4vFXKCagF93cJD6cb08P6vTjFvnKJio3pMn2HLu9QaH3Ad_eWQq3UvHsr6zyhigOuB4tu59d4ISQruG4E9Zw/s5862/IMG_0929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3908" data-original-width="5862" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivA-rVUjoiTS7cQcgs91DgJTIkfqhQb237FfXzrZ64pNEbfwIi2rmXtR3WsczqmH2iLGhiVDL_4icIgZ_T7k5HeOuhoDF0zdMEFMbgsF4vFXKCagF93cJD6cb08P6vTjFvnKJio3pMn2HLu9QaH3Ad_eWQq3UvHsr6zyhigOuB4tu59d4ISQruG4E9Zw/w428-h285/IMG_0929.JPG" width="428" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>It was fun, and there was food and games and a sort of March Madness feel. Our questions involved a lot of basketball statistics, and some doughnut statistics too!</div><div><br /></div><div>Earlier in the day, the whole family was over at Doc Williams for a chiropractor appointment. Maddie has the day off, so it made sense to do the appointment today. Mom's been working hard lately, so it was certainly a good visit for her as well. It's always fun there though! Maddie always hides in the room until he gets there, and jumps out for the surprise, and there's usually a great deal of laughter as she's getting her adjustment. </div><div><br /></div><div>Getting home, we went back to Middle Earth again, and it looks like we'll be there for a good bit. We went over to taekwondo after that, and Maddie spent some time as an instructor, teaching some of the younger students about side kicks and other maneuvers. She's still learning herself, learning how to instruct for sure, but she's really enjoying it, and she's good with that too.</div><div><br /></div><div>We got home tonight, and Mom seems to be coming down with something. She's just finished a series of dance uniforms, which look amazing by the way. But we agreed to stop and watch something short tonight before bedtime. We're still marching forward with these Monk episodes, somewhere at the end of season five right now. </div><div><br /></div><div>The reading continued tonight. The Plush Entourage came down the hall and listened in as I read to Maddie some of the closing chapters of this latest Kingdom Keepers book. We're excited about this next one, which we'll hopefully be getting some time soon. We have other options to read next should that one not come in by this weekend - there are a few Star Wars books Mom picked up for us for Christmas, so those will e fun to read. </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, we said our prayers, and Maddie's pretty happy to be able to sleep in tomorrow. It's going to be a another good day.</div><div><br /></div>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-82221293316827022382024-03-15T18:19:00.005-04:002024-03-15T23:40:25.290-04:00Key Lime π<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq1A_rhl5eR3ufOhmWILGvFPKh2LHGPrLd-LlfCzHltseaZqarXR5yx6GdJ4AGtpsGGB_mQ-bN0i4oEx53L_o2KhXn7OEL7ap8yZ9-wB3f3aw_7qTU5nBN0DqgzcnGpzW-rIuXKp4lo49ZifGX9ZJQUC8nR1V_lqXDoaVMO1nK1asFJR3emNbNF6bk-QA/s6000/IMG_0831.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq1A_rhl5eR3ufOhmWILGvFPKh2LHGPrLd-LlfCzHltseaZqarXR5yx6GdJ4AGtpsGGB_mQ-bN0i4oEx53L_o2KhXn7OEL7ap8yZ9-wB3f3aw_7qTU5nBN0DqgzcnGpzW-rIuXKp4lo49ZifGX9ZJQUC8nR1V_lqXDoaVMO1nK1asFJR3emNbNF6bk-QA/w396-h264/IMG_0831.JPG" width="396" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCiV42OQS1I5Ll8q8NhaMEELTIgbHEY6StS5szlOxJqjBsKjRnG2sLKKARecXjycw-QfGLz3n4wyIzOszl_D90Pflo01C0PYQnBW5kdtaiQpEqSqT7oZH2loRIN98yfsVoF_BJhKGYPqu1qJg0iKI0Xf78O1SLceqJwkn4mDmf2uJh79wp8xhqjD-UMLQ/s6000/Key%20Lime%20%CF%80.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCiV42OQS1I5Ll8q8NhaMEELTIgbHEY6StS5szlOxJqjBsKjRnG2sLKKARecXjycw-QfGLz3n4wyIzOszl_D90Pflo01C0PYQnBW5kdtaiQpEqSqT7oZH2loRIN98yfsVoF_BJhKGYPqu1qJg0iKI0Xf78O1SLceqJwkn4mDmf2uJh79wp8xhqjD-UMLQ/w397-h264/Key%20Lime%20%CF%80.JPG" width="397" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>It's π Day again, and we did something fun today to celebrate the occasion. The other day, I picked up some ingredients from the grocery store, some of which you can see in the first picture above. We followed the recipe and made ourselves some Key Lime π! For those of you now aware of what π is, of course it's equal to 3.14, which is the date on the calendar, 3/14. Anyway, we mixed the ingredients together, and put our pie in the oven for fifteen minutes to cook - and afterwards, used cool whip and some lime slices for decorations. We had a good bit of zest in this one, and in fact it might have been a little more than the recipe called for - it was quite limey! But it was still pretty good, so much that Maddie and I had a second slice. I'd like to say we had 3.14 slices, but that would be quite a bit of pie. Or π, rather.</p><p><br /></p><p>Once a year, we turn on this one independent game, a π game on the X-Box 360, which is really just a memory game to see how many digits you can get in π. Maddie got as far as twelve digits, which is pretty impressive, actually!</p><p><br /></p><p>So it was a shorter school day for her today, and no, not because of π Day. At least I don't think so. It was a teacher's work day, and she'll be off tomorrow too, which is just as well because it's the Ides of March. These important holidays are all clumped together here in March! </p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, tonight Maddie and I were back in Middle Earth again, going off to visit green ghosts and who fight very fiercely, and grab at your ankles a lot too. We're definitely enjoying this one again, and the music is in our heads pretty good too. I'm guessing we'll be re-watching these soon enough.</p><p><br /></p><p>Maddie did have a forensics test today, and despite being somewhat unprepared, she still got an A on it, which of course is nice. I was at that elementary school today for Bible Blast, a weekly thing where we lead the kids in worship and have some fun with games, our videos, and a good message. Lots of kids show up for this after school program. </p><p><br /></p><p>Mom is working hard on these dancer costumes, and only has a few left to make in this one batch... until she starts working on something else. She's been pretty busy! We're meeting about Easter a little more frequently - it's getting closer to the big day!</p><p><br /></p><p>The night was closed out with reading from Kingdom Keepers, which is also closing out. I guess about four more nights and we'll be done with this first book, which has been fun to revisit. After reading, prayers and getting tucked in for the night. It was a good day, with good pie!</p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-16183879675509219052024-03-13T08:36:00.003-04:002024-03-16T15:33:49.376-04:001923<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgOkjIPk0nS-3XggoarbKCkclA3VvbMfeebONj9PBnjR73oKMxhE1epgG8duBP-TWcGps_4UbTVZee1iPMICt_c-RlzOrlIauf4zzd6ATjBJ0KwjyfuGpj1jz0_FKi3sdn_myrSjiSH5NaoRu99c07jlDLX_VWo5snXb3SBfbc6ynV0yAtXDluwwkTdU/s4032/IMG_2079.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="483" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgOkjIPk0nS-3XggoarbKCkclA3VvbMfeebONj9PBnjR73oKMxhE1epgG8duBP-TWcGps_4UbTVZee1iPMICt_c-RlzOrlIauf4zzd6ATjBJ0KwjyfuGpj1jz0_FKi3sdn_myrSjiSH5NaoRu99c07jlDLX_VWo5snXb3SBfbc6ynV0yAtXDluwwkTdU/w362-h483/IMG_2079.JPG" width="362" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8pCWO8r8N4Hkni3iRfn0kMSHjM6ZTtIl5KG0y47LkavXfCmpBdiYZMedWWcjo5u6LrEAVxbGdsI_vz0-awNDgfPevlewRIySkYJFcx5t4B2Jdp96PNE2pfYSKdyeSh1KpQOkQwax9oURFTLsWWm4bomrfipmCCAbSZck_9quJPMupMoCRswwGtp-FXs/s2422/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-15%20at%206.06.18%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1612" data-original-width="2422" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8pCWO8r8N4Hkni3iRfn0kMSHjM6ZTtIl5KG0y47LkavXfCmpBdiYZMedWWcjo5u6LrEAVxbGdsI_vz0-awNDgfPevlewRIySkYJFcx5t4B2Jdp96PNE2pfYSKdyeSh1KpQOkQwax9oURFTLsWWm4bomrfipmCCAbSZck_9quJPMupMoCRswwGtp-FXs/w463-h308/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-15%20at%206.06.18%20PM.png" width="463" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rUgHgdfz-Bo_-aeccEUd7TjTpe6rPpxKIFtNiUz1R9GU6CtTQfk7lWuQr3Ou7FqCjM0deikH_1wgAOtGvg8yua5qMdtLEP-uXsF1TWS_s9hvEro242F1KN2VHDn0eJA3Bd_CxTJmGkfbu0QtUHJFLf_LsqL79jTL9HIgAcw1RweCT_kgpo7s24Xg2QM/s2414/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-15%20at%206.02.46%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1604" data-original-width="2414" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rUgHgdfz-Bo_-aeccEUd7TjTpe6rPpxKIFtNiUz1R9GU6CtTQfk7lWuQr3Ou7FqCjM0deikH_1wgAOtGvg8yua5qMdtLEP-uXsF1TWS_s9hvEro242F1KN2VHDn0eJA3Bd_CxTJmGkfbu0QtUHJFLf_LsqL79jTL9HIgAcw1RweCT_kgpo7s24Xg2QM/w455-h303/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-15%20at%206.02.46%20PM.png" width="455" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maddie had Youth tonight which was fun as always - it's a great service mid-week, and it was nice to see friends pop in to enjoy church with worship, a good message from Pastor Jacob, games, food and some socializing afterwards.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's been a good day, but a busy one. We're really gearing up for Easter, which of course is a lot earlier this year than usual. Easter in March? Who does that, right? Anyway, we had plenty of Easter meetings today, and meanwhile Mom is plugging away at various dresses for the dance team, new creations that are turning out pretty well. You'll see pictures eventually.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We had other meetings too - including one to discuss Summer Xtreme 2024. We're working on a logo, destinations, messages and all of that. Also scripts too. I think we really hit the gas pedal after Easter is over with. Right now we're overwhelmed with Easter... but there's also a new series in April at KidPak, a visit back with "Hang 10," which we haven't done in a long time, <a href="https://madisoncypher.blogspot.com/2010/06/roll-with-it.html">back in 2010</a>. Maddie was super young back then, three years old about to turn four. <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kQ84wGYlkEc/SpCNuIeetHI/AAAAAAAAANA/67VH3_6-Yxg/s1600/Surf's+Up!.JPG">But she was ready to surf back then</a>! We'll see if we can get in any surfing now. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the meantime, here's our new look for "Hang 10," created by an outside graphics artist we asked to do this for us, as we're all pretty busy. We sent him some other things for a general look, and this is what he sent back.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmd2B8NSMDajDB8x92uxvpQ6WmnVvkvG0Tm8-CaF-GOmsngHghRi5jgofQVb75J6p9_6ybj-xNih6UBdcjw2D1tYVhKt-3Ns52q_H76gFJROq1HPBD9Lx0-V5DKhfM5yNCEhZY13RJpl4qv921dMjdrHOmp9ud-P9Lxcj8PrOi2nB1W58y-9E4-05Tf2Y/s1920/HANG10-kidpak.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1920" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmd2B8NSMDajDB8x92uxvpQ6WmnVvkvG0Tm8-CaF-GOmsngHghRi5jgofQVb75J6p9_6ybj-xNih6UBdcjw2D1tYVhKt-3Ns52q_H76gFJROq1HPBD9Lx0-V5DKhfM5yNCEhZY13RJpl4qv921dMjdrHOmp9ud-P9Lxcj8PrOi2nB1W58y-9E4-05Tf2Y/w423-h238/HANG10-kidpak.png" width="423" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Looks good! It's a series that's dedicated to the Ten Commandments, and it should be a lot of fun, hopefully. It's just after Easter, so we can't give as much thought to it until we get there. But it does make me want to try surfing again. In the meantime, we're still in Exodus, and of course that's where the Ten Commandments first appear. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For research, I had one more movie to check out. We went to 1923's "The Ten Commandments," which is on a DVD, part of the set that includes the 1956 movie we watch every year. The 1923 version is a silent movie, and honestly I wasn't expecting as much but wow! The set pieces in this movie are huge!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOMzKGQgtnwe6T8915gfLWMXaJNqwBHUcAfCRTV51hQL4lF52VWBu64GVWRiw1PEb2ORgLT1uu2sHx8a3B2yFERxcUpRTm7Vi5n0DPR_uDzyYFfyAv_BQI2pFDjkS3YhBVG4BbO3Q7FsWBO0vgxdgw-7Ok7mE5OoSDKfUqKLoH2SVUt3Z6X5NomR4RY4/s1030/Ten%20Commandments%201923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="1030" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOMzKGQgtnwe6T8915gfLWMXaJNqwBHUcAfCRTV51hQL4lF52VWBu64GVWRiw1PEb2ORgLT1uu2sHx8a3B2yFERxcUpRTm7Vi5n0DPR_uDzyYFfyAv_BQI2pFDjkS3YhBVG4BbO3Q7FsWBO0vgxdgw-7Ok7mE5OoSDKfUqKLoH2SVUt3Z6X5NomR4RY4/w392-h313/Ten%20Commandments%201923.jpg" width="392" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This movie is <i>huge</i>. The first hour is an abbreviated version of the Exodus story, starting pretty much right after the ninth plague and moving on through the Passover story, through the Red Sea, and straight to Mt. Sinai and the Ten Commandments. The second hour of this movie is a movie that features two brothers, one of which decides he is going to break all Ten Commandments. Of course, some things - like murder - he doesn't intend to do for real, but inevitably events happen, and as a result, his life goes terribly wrong. Meanwhile, his wife repents and finds healing and salvation in one of the earliest appearances of Jesus on a big screen movie. This was the highest grossing movie of 1923, which was one hundred and one years ago. The movie's opening titles tell us of a world population no longer turning to God, that is until the world was at war. 1923 would mean world war was only four years ago... and an even greater world war was sixteen years away. Just as devastating - in only six years, the nation's economy would collapse in an unprecedented way that would affect us all for decades to come.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's a fascinating slice of time here - and add to this the fact that movies were still silent. There was the accompanying Wurlitzer piano, played live while audience members watched this movie. Could you imagine that? <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq81TJSUTX1nH3Ztct-LfKJ9dIxC6ZGV74WR5G78pTqQxA0ptwQmn5AxhF2pL_js27SC7DSmscRvKq1HxKQiu3cGCmJTtTqrjwbcg-Fjj-AY2Uhf6wKruZ_0Y_HYu6Cy0x_o94HD9345GiJ1JWWCFkc5nVAtqrYu6aP2lVYcUqfHRnICZRdK1mnA14JyE/s2335/IMG_1485.JPG">The restaurant we visited on the Disney Cruise</a> was themed to 1923, when Walt and Roy Disney got things started so long ago. It's an interesting year - President Harding passed away in August, and by the time this movie released in December, we had Calvin Coolidge serving as President with the Roaring Twenties truly roaring along. One hundred years ago, here we are in a different sort of Twenties. Time will tell how historians view it, but of course the pandemic, inflation and social issues of the day are painting a different picture than any other decade. And yes, there are quite a few more Dan McTavishes out there. That's the guy laughs in his mother's face, riding away on his boat called "Defiance." Anyway, all that said, it's a great thing to watch from a historical perspective - I've not seen a silent movie since the one Mel Brooks made many years later. And the quality of the movie is really good for it's time. Imagine trying things out like the parting of the Red Sea, and using special effects to accomplish that in 1923.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Okay, moving on. Tonight we had a few episodes of "The Bad Batch" to watch, some of the best episodes of the season for sure. And we had some of that green mint chip ice cream too. Yummy! Afterwards, we got to bed at a reasonable hour - Maddie still has school tomorrow, but just a half-day. We read a few short chapters of our latest book, said our prayers, and then it was off to sleep.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-40779776018540146532024-03-12T22:42:00.063-04:002024-03-15T17:55:52.678-04:00Lucky Charms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4sbDcb4lV3HGQwCNdgxfMJtcfMrRYbBd4WFnq6EtyIJOnKYmRNLP5O0lvFUmaRJ7djRXZP7d07S-mhmgdrbH2mW8TEzn7bcaAJzegu0SEj7tcnm2rbZOCaZZFwW_dZ9CJfWvWcYi56kvDCGIxx5b40vBDpi2SIoTkkDxLnfMzS1MD_Jx6Rw8sYYOTjA/s6000/IMG_0816.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4sbDcb4lV3HGQwCNdgxfMJtcfMrRYbBd4WFnq6EtyIJOnKYmRNLP5O0lvFUmaRJ7djRXZP7d07S-mhmgdrbH2mW8TEzn7bcaAJzegu0SEj7tcnm2rbZOCaZZFwW_dZ9CJfWvWcYi56kvDCGIxx5b40vBDpi2SIoTkkDxLnfMzS1MD_Jx6Rw8sYYOTjA/w317-h476/IMG_0816.JPG" width="317" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6yemOeW7NvA8UfCV5sORbE7IHAW7-1b9h2zOCBSHAv19Ht0ihdZuFIEf3OiEg_Pd2HBMEkoEyJews8iGrmGwnwbCShcp0kH-uTWpR2fGC5C-o2-mDTNxkyxAEWxFP5mlpjb4ZlFLB2W60eldOamLkheGGpeeqzwnZL4kuTOaX6sOL0ZuQcDqs4opoN4M/s6000/IMG_0823.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6yemOeW7NvA8UfCV5sORbE7IHAW7-1b9h2zOCBSHAv19Ht0ihdZuFIEf3OiEg_Pd2HBMEkoEyJews8iGrmGwnwbCShcp0kH-uTWpR2fGC5C-o2-mDTNxkyxAEWxFP5mlpjb4ZlFLB2W60eldOamLkheGGpeeqzwnZL4kuTOaX6sOL0ZuQcDqs4opoN4M/w425-h283/IMG_0823.JPG" width="425" /></a></div><br /><p>I hadn't shown a picture of the little area we set up for Irish decorations this week, but here it is above, along with the kitchen table, complete with a fresh bowl of Lucky Charms. We've gone through a few boxes of that cereal already, as it is gluten free and Mom also likes it as a snack!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAubm_joaIhkaw2lCTJhkR8rxYDIPT0Z8y78DG8BFNDeD7mWFmLhGRj8BDGqUygey23-53k2wtF2RbGuIKt52Hej1UWd45MBWtSpCOhgc5zWxgT1G60Bl7y0HRN279vbeYcdZV7t3SGu5ANJOd_5a_lgUVRjIh1nDskekFkgT13WIKUA_a6dQFV3g6s_s/s3417/cheshire.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2278" data-original-width="3417" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAubm_joaIhkaw2lCTJhkR8rxYDIPT0Z8y78DG8BFNDeD7mWFmLhGRj8BDGqUygey23-53k2wtF2RbGuIKt52Hej1UWd45MBWtSpCOhgc5zWxgT1G60Bl7y0HRN279vbeYcdZV7t3SGu5ANJOd_5a_lgUVRjIh1nDskekFkgT13WIKUA_a6dQFV3g6s_s/w426-h284/cheshire.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Tonight we had a Cheshire Cat moon in the sky, the crescent moon smiling down on us through the overcast skies. It was a nice little hello from above - whenever it happens we smile back of course.</p><p><br /></p><p>Maddie was back at Chestatee Elementary this morning, and the kids seemed more aligned with the schedule now that two days have passed since the horror of Daylight Saving Time. She had a little homework tonight, but not much. That's why we returned to Middle Earth, plugging away at our story line - we're somewhere in the third movie now, early on. Also, we've got the legendary Mithril disco Phial now, so here we go with that theme song over and over again! It's kind of catchy, actually. The two of us were exploring Hobbiton and Mordor a bit too. This game is so huge though - it'll take us a long, long time to finish it again. But we're enjoying it, and yes we'll wind up watching these movies again, sure.</p><p><br /></p><p>Later on, we wound up watching a few episodes of Monk, nearing the end of season five. Then we went upstairs where we read more from the Kingdom Keepers, where the original team is getting back into holographic form, ready to keep the fight going as Children of Light. We said our prayers after that, and we're still a bit tired, so it was time for some sleep under our big covers.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was a quiet day. Of course there were elections today, but they hardly seemed that big of a deal, given that the two primary candidates already seemed to have a sense of inevitability in their positions. The current President didn't have any substantial rivals, and many of those newcomers seeking to challenge the former President didn't last long in the campaign. So tonight, both candidates officially locked up their nomination with enough delegates to claim their spot in the upcoming election, making this the most boring selection process in recent memory. There were no back and forth moments, no "horse race," no come-from-behind thrillers... it was just two candidates steamrolling the rest. Of course, with the President, there's traditionally not supposed to be any competition anyway. Anyway, so here we are, about seven months away from Election Day, and we have two guys running for office with various issues. We'll see how things go, but there is plenty of time for outrage and heated conversations and accusations and venom.</p><p><br /></p><p>Changing the subject, Mom ordered our season tickets for next year's City Springs productions, so we'll once again be at the front of the balcony for some great plays. Two of them are "Frozen" and "The Music Man." Should be super fun! </p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-3491232189643161132024-03-11T23:08:00.002-04:002024-03-12T15:35:15.654-04:00Exodus Puzzle<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIZbFGs9r0DocfdQ1msf5PaWrC8PnmBLwNZEWRdyzXUW-bnXX7zwVrr_UMGlv94DLJwdlZl677dNj5aJt56EiNb1Dq-byaJLM-oi3jaLinbjF-nbjoKBxnpn2qYp8Ng70KQvhDKV9s519NJCIFUud7AQIteo9Xspyod_jdRolI9K2oSDcKBoJ-VzPh-Q/s4796/IMG_0820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4796" data-original-width="3864" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHIZbFGs9r0DocfdQ1msf5PaWrC8PnmBLwNZEWRdyzXUW-bnXX7zwVrr_UMGlv94DLJwdlZl677dNj5aJt56EiNb1Dq-byaJLM-oi3jaLinbjF-nbjoKBxnpn2qYp8Ng70KQvhDKV9s519NJCIFUud7AQIteo9Xspyod_jdRolI9K2oSDcKBoJ-VzPh-Q/w343-h425/IMG_0820.JPG" width="343" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Finished the puzzle today! Mom put in the last piece, and as you can see above, we’ve got a completed jigsaw puzzle that tells the story of Exodus! It’s a pretty cool puzzle with lots of frogs, locusts, the basket at the beginning, the Nile turning to blood, the parting of the Red Sea, hail and fire from the sky, lots of Egyptians, chariots, and the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai. It’s much more fun putting it together piece by piece, as you discover the little things along the way. Fun puzzle, and of course it goes with our theme lately.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">So today was the first work and school day after Daylight Saving Time, and that means all the kids were wiped out. They weren’t alone. We were too. Maddie noticed that with the kids today at Chestatee, and it was kind of funny. She was also learning to instruct again at taekwondo, remembering (at least internally) to treat certain students as if they were seven years old! She’s doing well though.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">I was out getting ready for Pi Day. At home we’ve elevated the status of Pie Day to something much greater than other dates, and simultaneously elevated the desire to have a homemade Key Lime Pie on that day. After watching Loki, season two, we wanted to try a Key Lime Pie. We did that at the Marvel restaurant, and that was really good. We’ll try it again this week, because I got the gluten-free crust, a dozen eggs, the Key Lime juice, the sweetened condensed milk, the cool whip, and of course the limes themselves. Can’t wait!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">So Mom has been super busy lately. She’s just sewing, sewing, and more sewing. But she did take a break to watch “Monk” with us” tonight, at least one episode where the three of us sat down for a break before bed. Maddie had some history homework to do tonight, and we <i>are</i> still feeling the effects – slightly – of that time shift. So tonight we got to bed and read a few more chapters from our Kingdom Keepers book, one where we get to see a grown up Charlene attack someone with a croquet mallet, which is definitely a highlight of the book so far. Anyway, we said ours prayers afterwards, and got to sleep once the Plush Entourage was all tucked in.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">It's been a quiet day. I was out blowing leaves earlier – it’s a big project though, one that will take another two times I think. Lots to remove. Also, I did another 5K, although somewhat inadvertently. I say that because I was under the impression on the treadmill that I’d be just going down a mountain that we’d climbed over the past three sessions with the iFit program. That’s Mt. Baldy, by the way. Anyway, this time, we basically covered the entire distance traveled in those first three walks uphill, and ran for a good bit of it. The end result was over 5K, and much of it was run… phew! Pretty good workout! I checked my heart rate and all that afterwards, and the results were super encouraging. I’ve been walking and building up to run again, and this was a good moment. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">The sea monkeys are still hanging in there, by the way. We’ve nearly reached the one-year mark, and I think there are three adults still in there, maybe two. Look, I’m just happy they’ve lived <i>this</i> long. That’s surpassing any expectations I’ve ever had. There are lots of little ones in there too, though no in-betweeners – I’m not sure what’s happening there, as I was hoping to see some “teenagers!” We’ll see as the weeks go on. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Outside, the birds, squirrels and chipmunks are still visiting. The cat is still around too, and we have to sort of gently persuade him to go away so everyone else can visit. There’s an increase of coyotes around here, so I’m happy to see the cat is okay. I’ve seen a few crossing the street, and one by the church. It’s quite a shock to see, because you’re just not expecting to see a large dog like that – and they’re pretty smart too. All this time they’ve been in the woods, biding their time, waiting for their next big move, completely unbeknownst to us. We’d better be ready for them when they strike!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;">Okay, that’s an exaggeration. The point is, there are certain creatures out there that are quite surprising. Anyway, we said our prayers tonight as I said earlier. And after that, it was time for a good night’s rest.<o:p></o:p></p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-31223061657103105812024-03-10T12:09:00.003-04:002024-03-15T18:00:41.653-04:00The Burning Bush and a Giant Tater Tot<p>Daylight Saving Time is here, and that alarm came an hour early of course. Yikes! Still, we powered through and got up to get to church. Well, most of us. Mom had to stay home to work on these dancer costumes for Easter. Yep, this morning Mom stayed home and Maddie and I went in to participate in the next part of our series, "Exodus." Which featured me as a Burning Bush - you'll see that below with some of Maddie's pics. She and Nia were cows, and as has been the theme this series, a random Giant Tater Tot periodically appears. Apparently the tot is having some fun with the actors backstage.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6VnMo2FFdnS3qF0XGRh9wSGUHbVcT0mTU_Qei7-FHLXU8CExQgV2eveUKElPZnCqnG3WTyryA0-nPGH9BLaUfDXWhTCN_yksyfha1Qe3aA_lmnLG7EMFHSnHcpSOUC6tckrufMdh1-6UQc-GfDULZdmQ8T1MX5M0nv76QNgwuo_JtWBPsuWNyAiOBC2U/s2000/IMG_2046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="415" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6VnMo2FFdnS3qF0XGRh9wSGUHbVcT0mTU_Qei7-FHLXU8CExQgV2eveUKElPZnCqnG3WTyryA0-nPGH9BLaUfDXWhTCN_yksyfha1Qe3aA_lmnLG7EMFHSnHcpSOUC6tckrufMdh1-6UQc-GfDULZdmQ8T1MX5M0nv76QNgwuo_JtWBPsuWNyAiOBC2U/w311-h415/IMG_2046.JPG" width="311" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2OeN05vNsjXeXy5zv4UhJhaS1mnc4LMRBIxtHrc54hpd07B_IRznvQufSpdMaB72eJgQf6Ivabc2FFOxRzJZaOg3_mCxAOBMmeyeyxOy4falHzcgCuWWTF4DCueSCDZiSeo1McTaraU8ENt9YMCAZi4U3lEU_1sycaBpjxpUrxk4iaK0EyOt591Ehu4/s4032/IMG_2047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2OeN05vNsjXeXy5zv4UhJhaS1mnc4LMRBIxtHrc54hpd07B_IRznvQufSpdMaB72eJgQf6Ivabc2FFOxRzJZaOg3_mCxAOBMmeyeyxOy4falHzcgCuWWTF4DCueSCDZiSeo1McTaraU8ENt9YMCAZi4U3lEU_1sycaBpjxpUrxk4iaK0EyOt591Ehu4/w340-h453/IMG_2047.JPG" width="340" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSAgfVq3_fCs9SqX73Xy_z4fMd4ieVtz-kiPRD_amSfL_hikNIfIvDxNGCYSQd0anAdmsHTyRchsjAaKoQ2odD80DiB_05EOA2tDnySFYVFvhNlJKFZQPKVh0gznNev2INFjk2gMgseAe0IS1Z-tDYtcMBwrdxts1D9fcRyKgsYn7XU-Dqd3IdbKX1tA/s4032/IMG_2048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="431" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSAgfVq3_fCs9SqX73Xy_z4fMd4ieVtz-kiPRD_amSfL_hikNIfIvDxNGCYSQd0anAdmsHTyRchsjAaKoQ2odD80DiB_05EOA2tDnySFYVFvhNlJKFZQPKVh0gznNev2INFjk2gMgseAe0IS1Z-tDYtcMBwrdxts1D9fcRyKgsYn7XU-Dqd3IdbKX1tA/w323-h431/IMG_2048.JPG" width="323" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The Burning Bush costume was pretty fun , as you can see above. And yes, we threw in that Giant Tater Tot for good measure! It was an obviously humorous version of the story of the encounter between Moses and the Burning Bush, but as always, someone comes in to tell the actual story, along with some application. Bailee was the one who did that today. But today was fun, which a slightly shifting cast. The reason for that was baptisms!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBJOCQBVkw6i18ZMTZWARcbicJn0zavTI8ZZLf9J6fV7VWH1fM060SFw-Ri35gBk62imH3TGawi77tK917lShIkvYkz83L8Yo8AX2c-8qd0z4MmNhwT3AXr8icKab49Tpl6wBRfOEbdtgA_W9n8mp5l6m1kHP6MAiv48HkiKi7sw1rIxK8sE8YA-wfho/s4032/IMG_2038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBJOCQBVkw6i18ZMTZWARcbicJn0zavTI8ZZLf9J6fV7VWH1fM060SFw-Ri35gBk62imH3TGawi77tK917lShIkvYkz83L8Yo8AX2c-8qd0z4MmNhwT3AXr8icKab49Tpl6wBRfOEbdtgA_W9n8mp5l6m1kHP6MAiv48HkiKi7sw1rIxK8sE8YA-wfho/w313-h417/IMG_2038.JPG" width="313" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>One of our actors, Jeremiah, was baptized today, and in the second service, another one of our actresses was upstairs to see her mother get baptized. It was a baptism day, obviously, where Pastor Franklin headed up a baptism service, talking with everyone who went up there to get baptized. </p><p><br /></p><p>It was a super solid morning. Afterwards, we got some take-out food from Wang's, and got that home so Mom, Maddie and I could have some Chinese food. It was good as always, and the three of us caught up on our day so far. Mom has been so busy making these dancer costumes, as Easter is only a few weeks away now. It's certainly crunch time.</p><p><br /></p><p>Maddie and I returned to Middle Earth for a bit, working together to get through the fire swamp. We did a few levels here or there leading up to the Battle of Helms Deep, but this game is so huge - we'll be exploring Middle Earth for quite some time, and that's okay. We're going to get to 100% again soon!</p><p><br /></p><p>This evening's movie was "Moses," at least the Sight and Sound version of it. We have a collection of their plays that we ordered some time ago during the pandemic. We wanted to support their product, so we got a box set, plus another two movies. I think we have seven total. Anyway, the imagery on stage of the Burning Bush is spectacular. We still love "The Ten Commandments" more, but this was fun to see. We're really diving deep into Exodus. I'm on chapter twenty five right now, but so far we've seen "The Ten Commandments," "Moses," "The Prince of Egypt" and the entire Hillsdale course on Exodus. We're learning quite a bit!</p><p><br /></p><p>Tonight we had some Girl Scout cookies before bed. There were some extras down at Braselton this past week, including two boxes of gluten-free cookies for Mom. That makes me happy. My favorite flavor are the thin mints, which we haven't gotten yet this year, but we did get a free box of the S'mores flavor cookies, which are somewhat addictive too!</p><p><br /></p><p>We returned to Kingdom Keepers, where the chapters are getting shorter, and the original Kingdom Keepers are gearing up for some action. We said our prayers, and sleep came easy tonight! Daylight Saving Time can make you a little sleepy at the end of it all.</p><p><br /></p><p>One note: the Oscars were tonight. We didn't watch them, and haven't watched them in many years. I used to in the 90's. I think my only interest tonight was Best Animated Picture. I was happy to see "The Boy and the Heron" win that one. It's easy enough to watch a highlight clip afterwards, rather than endure the whole thing. Snarky politics and edgy humor sort of took away the class of the event, but there were a couple folks we were glad to hear got honored.</p><p><br /></p><p>Okay, time for sleep! It'll seem earlier again tomorrow.</p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-28273172250425566072024-03-09T22:36:00.007-05:002024-03-09T22:37:47.996-05:00Mean Girls<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieMrFeblZ4Jr9QCe8temeiSO3NoLrGE8XEtgJcYervZ5F3FCwaAKjtxPv9tSm-3EaxH6-11EOgDFiu8_kO339W9iOCJx7vv8FgmIDfB6XlqLuqo_B4J79Pyvaz0fmpA7DTf5jg4HI7J7gOzeXvxNwdpzOE38fhqjpi0FkmRfKD7HreZRNmwiVgoJrc2s/s2048/Meaner%20Girls.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieMrFeblZ4Jr9QCe8temeiSO3NoLrGE8XEtgJcYervZ5F3FCwaAKjtxPv9tSm-3EaxH6-11EOgDFiu8_kO339W9iOCJx7vv8FgmIDfB6XlqLuqo_B4J79Pyvaz0fmpA7DTf5jg4HI7J7gOzeXvxNwdpzOE38fhqjpi0FkmRfKD7HreZRNmwiVgoJrc2s/w420-h315/Meaner%20Girls.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This afternoon, we went to go see another high school play, this one a matinee showing of "Mean Girls."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXApAd_SQbu2gs1h43GQ0_1bywzEq5we8L9X8khUUtQMwyjpTgXk5rgWfrGRhzaKvj-5s_VaSGeB9gnJ9hO1xuxH-_m6d3bAsy6I13yHbZO0aiP_AeWRWkBYuhuy3h_5wAlyw9Htc_YH8YCsJ1Z8F-9qTqR1dm2NqxQHxyvqvD53-o2EVRJymFVwtDnWI/s1170/Mean%20Girls.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1167" data-original-width="1170" height="415" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXApAd_SQbu2gs1h43GQ0_1bywzEq5we8L9X8khUUtQMwyjpTgXk5rgWfrGRhzaKvj-5s_VaSGeB9gnJ9hO1xuxH-_m6d3bAsy6I13yHbZO0aiP_AeWRWkBYuhuy3h_5wAlyw9Htc_YH8YCsJ1Z8F-9qTqR1dm2NqxQHxyvqvD53-o2EVRJymFVwtDnWI/w416-h415/Mean%20Girls.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Maddie's friend Chloe had a part in it, and so some of the taekwondo gang came to see the play this afternoon, about two hours after Team Edge practice. Between her family and the taekwondo classmates, we took up the entire third row! </p><p><br /></p><p>It was a pretty full day. I was able to get a good bit done this morning while Maddie was at Team Edge practice. Maddie and all the others pulled a prank on one of the students there, one that involved everyone suddenly wearing glasses. It went over really well - it was pretty funny to see his reaction.</p><p><br /></p><p>In between the practice and the play, Maddie and I went to this Mexican restaurant in Oakwood, and there we ordered some street tacos that were pretty good. We enjoyed a pretty good day out, all the while Mom was at home sewing, sewing, sewing. She's been assembling these costumes for the dancers, and she'll be at it nearly non-stop until Easter. She'll miss tomorrow morning because she'll be sewing, sewing, sewing.</p><p><br /></p><p>She did take a small break tonight - we were watching "Luck of the Irish" together, which is a fun seasonal movie we've been watching each March. Another thing we started was a new jigsaw puzzle themed to the book of Exodus. I'll have to take a picture of that one when it is done!</p><p><br /></p><p>We read tonight before bed, and we've got to get to sleep earlier because of Daylight Savings Time. I wrote a letter to our cast today as a reminder:</p><p><br /></p><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"> So yes, this is where we set the clocks </span><i style="font-size: 14px;">forward. </i><span style="font-size: 14px;">As in Spring </span><i style="font-size: 14px;">Forward</i><span style="font-size: 14px;">. This means we get up an hour earlier, of course. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 14px;"> But don’t look at it like you </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-size: 14px;">have </i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 14px;">to get up an hour earlier. Nope! Consider it an </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-size: 14px;">honor</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 14px;"> to get up earlier. That’s right! You, sirs and madams, you </span><i style="color: #351c75; font-size: 14px;">get to wake up earlier!</i><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 14px;"> Wow, now there’s a privilege! You have been chosen tomorrow with this special and sacred responsibility, and what’s that? You get to rise one whole hour earlier. Oh my, what a blessing! You’re so privileged, unlike those other prisoners trapped within their own beds. They're sleeping in and missing out on all the fun of that one extra hour, but not you, you lucky early riser, you!</span></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: 14px;"> I’m going to keep telling myself this when that alarm hits, or maybe even get to bed an hour earlier tonight. </span></div><p></p><p></p><p><br /></p><p> We read a few exciting chapters and now we see the original Kingdom Keepers "suiting up," or at least Philby is back in action. It won't be long before the whole gang is back as "Children of Light." We're enjoying going back to read this book again. But it's later than it feels right now, and we've got to get up earlier tomorrow... so I think that'll be it for now. Goodnight!</p><p><br /></p><p></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-74015231692474074122024-03-08T17:30:00.012-05:002024-03-09T11:46:48.340-05:00Northern Flicker<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXqRlVPJXbI4D9wSp_w4HuTy0FortmyUpDC-i2GkqF8MScFS9wPPtFw3yUtT7wNZa_yCxQHsfzgrsPAQ6pXv3lnS4bsSiqIqtG940LIQIdDx4ljUWWry0U5jQL9zW_36beDWdfJh7ZcGV3q7vB3bf2Ic3MzpyL6ZEmfh93Nhmb5Urs-gVew4YZXiAOyA/s3544/0.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2363" data-original-width="3544" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXqRlVPJXbI4D9wSp_w4HuTy0FortmyUpDC-i2GkqF8MScFS9wPPtFw3yUtT7wNZa_yCxQHsfzgrsPAQ6pXv3lnS4bsSiqIqtG940LIQIdDx4ljUWWry0U5jQL9zW_36beDWdfJh7ZcGV3q7vB3bf2Ic3MzpyL6ZEmfh93Nhmb5Urs-gVew4YZXiAOyA/w433-h288/0.JPG" width="433" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've been waiting to catch this one with the camera - this looks like a red bellied woodpecker, but the light brown coloring overall suggests that it is actually a Northern Flicker, which is where Mom leans on this. It's clearly different than the red bellied ones that we have. Like the red bellied woodpecker, these particular birds are larger than most, which makes you think they have a more dominant attitude of sorts. But they're a little skittish. They see the slightest movement inside the house, inside the window, and they fly off as quickly as possible. That said, I've been waiting on this picture for a few months now - the red bellied one is difficult enough, but this one is more rare still. Mom set up some new suet in the feeder and that was the attraction.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_5WjSlCJ4WPY5WIEVg6F92GhXC8q3friQbR9XpJqJaT5rwnNBEkPlpgU60lT2NC9AG4sgUI22EnuMTJChio3cd8usDoaRpMPdV1-SSApQqWRWohqG7kmvGIw4G_FuQZpR8y9EGhzj4ygCUFkxaJwg6l2fChE_bVaK2m_qxKlohnJfPfwpfF4plAnMFU/s3405/1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2270" data-original-width="3405" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz_5WjSlCJ4WPY5WIEVg6F92GhXC8q3friQbR9XpJqJaT5rwnNBEkPlpgU60lT2NC9AG4sgUI22EnuMTJChio3cd8usDoaRpMPdV1-SSApQqWRWohqG7kmvGIw4G_FuQZpR8y9EGhzj4ygCUFkxaJwg6l2fChE_bVaK2m_qxKlohnJfPfwpfF4plAnMFU/w423-h281/1.JPG" width="423" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwE8xtozdVSrx-jA3P23NFtAN0TjEBir0iYpjBwiMgsC9I-vW9TLuFti8M7_CEe1uSl8ZsgzTQL_lUqpO2vZ3Bv6CKUaBOUeRQ2TZorc8ooSrwqentglTlSPivTSZY9SQ3rmSVQu1cJ8_uD8ZYpgRvNrsFKHjjnppxCb10Ai_WoEUkkfxDgE2qQlxmv9A/s4289/2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2859" data-original-width="4289" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwE8xtozdVSrx-jA3P23NFtAN0TjEBir0iYpjBwiMgsC9I-vW9TLuFti8M7_CEe1uSl8ZsgzTQL_lUqpO2vZ3Bv6CKUaBOUeRQ2TZorc8ooSrwqentglTlSPivTSZY9SQ3rmSVQu1cJ8_uD8ZYpgRvNrsFKHjjnppxCb10Ai_WoEUkkfxDgE2qQlxmv9A/w421-h280/2.JPG" width="421" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Pretty cool. I got another square filled out with Exotic Bird Bingo! </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE2hSI-2I5rmgbDb5o9H-6MP1m1B8v9iUCbAXXs9Tn3VemgdAAOWKv7XY6OohM8oDmrASm5d1Fm4C7CTIxAZRj-gjNEPUplK_gn1e-M9Yl_OVa-jH0eUxHqYVU3fZs3OzvWOikAs43QrLVJayVXaFyEXBn5ttq1lR4RgS_plEipo_HGaJA2Xb2Y0_nXk/s400/exotic%20bird%20bingo!.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="400" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE2hSI-2I5rmgbDb5o9H-6MP1m1B8v9iUCbAXXs9Tn3VemgdAAOWKv7XY6OohM8oDmrASm5d1Fm4C7CTIxAZRj-gjNEPUplK_gn1e-M9Yl_OVa-jH0eUxHqYVU3fZs3OzvWOikAs43QrLVJayVXaFyEXBn5ttq1lR4RgS_plEipo_HGaJA2Xb2Y0_nXk/s320/exotic%20bird%20bingo!.gif" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, today was a recovery day of sorts. I did a walk with a new series in Oregon this morning, at least on the iFit, and it's been encouraging - we're learning about depression, looking at the clover model, and then looking at a few simple things that can help attack seasonal depression (water, warmth, sunlight). Interesting and insightful, and then there's the walking while learning. </p><p><br /></p><p>Poor Mom. So overwhelmed with costumes this season. It's tough. She's at the sewing machine racing against time, listening to her phone and drinking tea as she works on these dancer costumes. Meanwhile, I was working on Sunday and helping out with the costumes from yesterday, taking them back to the church to put by my desk. I was doing a lot of other work there too - squeezing in what I could.</p><p><br /></p><p>Maddie was at school, of course. There was a pep rally today that was fun, one where one teacher tried to tip the scales in the favor of the teachers vs. sophomores. It didn't help enough, as the sophomores won to much excitement. It was a fun Friday here. It sounds like it's a scary Friday elsewhere though, as another round of big storms is coming in across the Southeast. More rain. More storms.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOLKu6h-M439Ojo9kSwCg1vPqJ_jTjHb0PqKywT8x5lIPbQ_dT7Z6KxvfNBSb44m1nuiWlCoIcOfK6WreGnsyG3LNYkJf3kQPlIIeK5WHq8aNOm-kOV1y8qW2WjLHTcw8t5kbsm88bdWZGY8megqdh57Jn9XiyLDuTpplolDzWqmg6s__z0IqdQUt6iw/s1280/Exodus.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOLKu6h-M439Ojo9kSwCg1vPqJ_jTjHb0PqKywT8x5lIPbQ_dT7Z6KxvfNBSb44m1nuiWlCoIcOfK6WreGnsyG3LNYkJf3kQPlIIeK5WHq8aNOm-kOV1y8qW2WjLHTcw8t5kbsm88bdWZGY8megqdh57Jn9XiyLDuTpplolDzWqmg6s__z0IqdQUt6iw/w419-h236/Exodus.jpg" width="419" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Mom and I finished the online Exodus teaching this morning, and it was fantastic. We got a 100% on the final exam, and we learned quite a few new little things along the way. So glad we took the class! There were eight online classes and some really fascinating thoughts about classic passages we've read time and again. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoxOEnnOXbgkPKBS0ro5wKKwrhN_CPgDRPvYRW1ggkUz63YutysN5K_SDMbwhAJ59zw8LqVcbMM2SNbNRHcXmW-up1EgYcXicedFKie7PKjg_eh6hzK2uAn79299cCTWECnzzrxTi8iOjtFbniMyLqiMT8UvHdPAtZB37DF5eNE4cxGWgPm19FGSEvmE/s2496/Funny%20Shrek%20Card.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2496" data-original-width="2240" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoxOEnnOXbgkPKBS0ro5wKKwrhN_CPgDRPvYRW1ggkUz63YutysN5K_SDMbwhAJ59zw8LqVcbMM2SNbNRHcXmW-up1EgYcXicedFKie7PKjg_eh6hzK2uAn79299cCTWECnzzrxTi8iOjtFbniMyLqiMT8UvHdPAtZB37DF5eNE4cxGWgPm19FGSEvmE/w373-h416/Funny%20Shrek%20Card.JPG" width="373" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Look at this card that Maddie made! She has a friend in taekwondo that has a birthday coming up, and he likes Shrek a lot, so she spent a bit of time with the idea of making a really goofy looking Shrek card. Mission accomplished! But it's actually pretty fun and good quality! <div><br /></div><div>We were sitting down to watch something tonight, and that's when Mom discovered online some new connections to other famous people in history. Look at this list:<br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>George Washington (7th cousin, seven times removed), FDR, Ginger Rogers, Elvis Presley (11th cousin, three times removed), Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth (eleventh cousin, three times removed), John Wayne, Susan B. Anthony, Winston Churchill, Wilbur Wright, Jaqueline Kennedy, Judy Garland (14th cousin).</p><p><br /></p><p>Yes, Mom is in line for the throne of England! Ironically, it's through her dad's side of the family, but there it is. All we need to do is eliminate all those hundreds of thousands of other in-between folks, and Mom can be the new Queen of England, and of course that makes Maddie a princess. But we always knew she was a princess, so there's that.</p><p><br /></p><p>Tonight was taekwondo, and yes the card was handed to her friend after everyone signed it. It was nice though. Maddie was doing some sparring and she was also helping as a guest instructor too. It was challenging, but she was patient and hanging in there. </p><p><br /></p><p>The rain! It's raining again. Pouring! Always a tough ride home. We stopped by the grocery store and picked up some more Lucky Charms cereal, and got some crackers for that Irish cheese we picked up from Aldi's earlier. There were a few blends of cheese from Ireland that sounded interesting. I'm a sucker for seasonal holiday food. We got home after that, and our movie of the night was inspired once again by our recent Disney Cruise - the cruise director was a big fan of "Big Hero 6," to the point that she did the fist bump all the time. On top of that, the movie itself was playing on the Funnel Vision screen on the eleventh deck by the pool. We were watching that for a few moments on the boat, and that got us all wanting to see it again when we got home, so tonight we were back with the heroes, even to the point after the credits where Stan Lee makes one of his famous cameos.</p><p><br /></p><p>We read again tonight, and we slept easily to the sound of heavy rain outside. Tomorrow's another big day - hopefully a little dryer, maybe?</p><p><br /></p></div>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-51341479860999784202024-03-07T19:42:00.011-05:002024-03-08T09:56:20.211-05:00Pilate<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PwS71YiZd39WiGyeMkinIKvmsX-xviwZFdek1GSCVco41IV1Rp6W76V7sXEr0VyJgaRqpzXlH0P8ZXKsY6CVK-ttGmL7Qok4_ACT5UfbQrldtNkS5LRMluH0n3N9RI9qbKkKIAi6e7QKEGp61TQkGRWOcSMrXgvxgxMuvbEOPJsRPOhupI7oWG-RzBE/s3044/IMG_0786.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2029" data-original-width="3044" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PwS71YiZd39WiGyeMkinIKvmsX-xviwZFdek1GSCVco41IV1Rp6W76V7sXEr0VyJgaRqpzXlH0P8ZXKsY6CVK-ttGmL7Qok4_ACT5UfbQrldtNkS5LRMluH0n3N9RI9qbKkKIAi6e7QKEGp61TQkGRWOcSMrXgvxgxMuvbEOPJsRPOhupI7oWG-RzBE/w403-h268/IMG_0786.JPG" width="403" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Long day</i> of filming today, as Mom and I went down to the Braselton Campus again to help with the actual filming for various cutaways and short scenes on the screens for our upcoming Easter production. We started out with our friend Daniel here at Pilate, alongside a few Roman soldiers.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwQm5dim_rX_NSJqOwP7C8iFJIxlUKSCPzpiqtA-QxCO69QW0QU-W8xBy5tfeX7JrssBdlK1fc3LeEbo4UOpIETMLZwA5XnxIZAk7wgWhAaroSrpRCLzczOrAeSd3ISikfi9W7UpbO-Fk4hVXtuZYO9jH0GTM5Pr6NYzgvgDmku04ruJAEOyvU1wjxdY/s5462/IMG_0768.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3641" data-original-width="5462" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwQm5dim_rX_NSJqOwP7C8iFJIxlUKSCPzpiqtA-QxCO69QW0QU-W8xBy5tfeX7JrssBdlK1fc3LeEbo4UOpIETMLZwA5XnxIZAk7wgWhAaroSrpRCLzczOrAeSd3ISikfi9W7UpbO-Fk4hVXtuZYO9jH0GTM5Pr6NYzgvgDmku04ruJAEOyvU1wjxdY/w409-h272/IMG_0768.JPG" width="409" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilyt3L5bkqiiGn4UCY93sfAv1d3gimsZCPsxf4w9RuAwpaX0BAEfrOrpiZHbk0pZKpKM05kF9jIm9_I_iV574CbFgc2yjnvsYiTaf7dcTgVfgHqoRxAEBvI72De57ZS_eNs9r0LomFbLdJDamIm0NF_kXfUYMFms915FsNQvHZAwc9MTpHLD_5gC01XXs/s4242/IMG_0755.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2828" data-original-width="4242" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilyt3L5bkqiiGn4UCY93sfAv1d3gimsZCPsxf4w9RuAwpaX0BAEfrOrpiZHbk0pZKpKM05kF9jIm9_I_iV574CbFgc2yjnvsYiTaf7dcTgVfgHqoRxAEBvI72De57ZS_eNs9r0LomFbLdJDamIm0NF_kXfUYMFms915FsNQvHZAwc9MTpHLD_5gC01XXs/w406-h270/IMG_0755.JPG" width="406" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURt_pZhAz2vKgHXFaEz_IB2VgLFRG7PTW2aNdwVl2FzmeJK5Zj_l9kH7IzdKgeG6rOLIJ-oTK1RSS1yXFrTOk2_36l3W9QHfdo3x_22Zk8PJyZ7OTmgqu441kHzUMu17U7Y-7yJK0t-l81YtHWSc7A6aagtKmUhW_0lipqg2ixLR5fNJ2UVoY_GCukHQ/s5071/IMG_0743.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3583" data-original-width="5071" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURt_pZhAz2vKgHXFaEz_IB2VgLFRG7PTW2aNdwVl2FzmeJK5Zj_l9kH7IzdKgeG6rOLIJ-oTK1RSS1yXFrTOk2_36l3W9QHfdo3x_22Zk8PJyZ7OTmgqu441kHzUMu17U7Y-7yJK0t-l81YtHWSc7A6aagtKmUhW_0lipqg2ixLR5fNJ2UVoY_GCukHQ/w416-h294/IMG_0743.JPG" width="416" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He's a fun goofball! You can see me below, genuinely moved by the performance of Jeremiah's mother Alejandra, who is playing Mary this year.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IlELgYh0gbH4pJSFKURxUo8NTDyteUrSZ1hMZXW_qLskClUMSK7IIbhdrCRSo3cu4kTQ93nNq3h5IvcLIzbAUOckwHYAN2zYj1J69xLTQWYGwBiQ3syGk37MkAZpck-Sqczexk7Q2F7viOOeb3X18l56oz2kpqg1vSJrmS5FOh92clTnkn6u9UdTiBc/s4032/IMG_2901.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IlELgYh0gbH4pJSFKURxUo8NTDyteUrSZ1hMZXW_qLskClUMSK7IIbhdrCRSo3cu4kTQ93nNq3h5IvcLIzbAUOckwHYAN2zYj1J69xLTQWYGwBiQ3syGk37MkAZpck-Sqczexk7Q2F7viOOeb3X18l56oz2kpqg1vSJrmS5FOh92clTnkn6u9UdTiBc/w405-h304/IMG_2901.jpg" width="405" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">She had no experience with acting, and there weren't any lines, but still a great responsibility to convey all the emotions of a mother watching her son tortured in such a horrific way. That part would come later. She's using her imagination here - acting - looking at nothing. But in her mind, it's awful. Fortunately she didn't have to stick around for the remaining portions, which were genuinely awful to see.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was a long day down there, but Mom was fantastic with costuming, making sure the large crowd of angry rioters were adequately dressed, plus the Romans, Pilate, Mary, and of course Jesus. They all looked great. Josh and I were needed to be rioters, so we too are in the crowd, yelling and screaming at Jesus. You really have to take yourself out of the event and not think of the actual event that you're portraying, otherwise it would be difficult. I mean, who would do such a thing? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, it was a long day. Maddie had a decent day at school. She lifted her math grade up with a decent test score and was happy about that. And she had leadership class tonight - I raced home from Braselton all the way to Forsyth County just to immediately turn around and drive back that way, stopping in Oakwood of course for leadership. It was a short class, but she enjoyed it. When we got home though, it was time for Mom and I to just plop down on the couch and get some rest. <i>Long</i> day! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But it was a beautiful day. The temperature was actually pretty warm, and the sun shining for the first time in a good bit. The skies were clear and blue, and there was a feeling of spring in the air. Indeed, the blooms on trees are there, and Maddie's been on her allergy medication to counter a lot of that spring inconvenience. The Bradford pears are fully in bloom, quite nice to look at, but also quite pungent.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This evening at home, Maddie was working on a birthday card for her friend, and eventually it was bedtime. We read from our recent Kingdom Keepers book, where we've got about a hundred pages left. Our heroes are slowly realizing that their parents could in fact be the actual Kingdom Keepers... gasp! We read this last year, but it's been good for review, as soon we'll get the next chapter.</div><div><br /></div>Closing out the night, Maddie, the Plush Entourage and myself said our prayers and journeyed down the hall to get tucked in. It was time for some rest!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-35297702627231447152024-03-06T19:01:00.008-05:002024-03-09T10:53:48.340-05:00Rainy Wednesday<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWfiTSD231OZZc7Hk6AntIzRKfwQ7NZnSi3ZM_iPiXFz25NcGakWI-3ijVJNmp2Uvmh0v6f3JHI3sq6_uDuwQ8DrG7blVAryxdwoUaqFxJQaZkAvnt9h90MTGmfSGle9kimMUPp79jf8BgUPEdGmLXTRdxPHg2PSIieY4pOmLmnQqPXkS4QO3Gze8gCLc/s5568/fcy%20march%20madness.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3712" data-original-width="5568" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWfiTSD231OZZc7Hk6AntIzRKfwQ7NZnSi3ZM_iPiXFz25NcGakWI-3ijVJNmp2Uvmh0v6f3JHI3sq6_uDuwQ8DrG7blVAryxdwoUaqFxJQaZkAvnt9h90MTGmfSGle9kimMUPp79jf8BgUPEdGmLXTRdxPHg2PSIieY4pOmLmnQqPXkS4QO3Gze8gCLc/w435-h290/fcy%20march%20madness.jpg" width="435" /></a></div><br />Maddie was back with March Madness again tonight, the FCY series for March that has a basketball theme to it. We're super busy this month, so I might not be able to pop in so much, but Maddie will be here for the series and it'll be good. She won't miss FCY, although she rarely shows up with the official photography. <div><br /></div><div>Mom and I were in Braselton today, getting things ready for tomorrow's filming for a good bit of the Easter videos. Easter will be here soon, which means a little bit of getting ready on this end here. I've got work to do for the church, plus home too, right? </div><div><br /></div><div>This year Easter is early, which sort of blends it all in with the traditional St. Patrick's Day season - we've got our decorations up and out there, but soon we'll put the Easter eggs out on the tree in the front yard, the colorful plastic ones hanging from strings from various branches. It'll be a mix of Easter and St. Patrick's Day outside! That is, whenever the weather clears up. The rain has been relentless this season. We've clearly caught up on our water levels though. The water has been pooling up with nowhere to go, and from what we understand, more is on the way. </div><div><br /></div><div>We closed out today with reading from Kingdom Keepers, which is marching along with the usual bits of fantasy - we have a cat that's really a genie, a zombie mouse, virtual pythons, characters teleporting to Japan and more. The chapters are quick, much quicker by far than a Terry Pratchett novel, and so it makes for light and quick reading each night, like reading a comic book. It's been fun to revisit. </div><div><br /></div><div>So this blog... this blog that's been around for a few years now. Something like fifteen is it? Anyway, it was never really intended to reach out to a big audience, but rather just relatives who want to keep up with Maddie. It was also sort of a journal of stuff we do together filled with all kinds of firsts and so on... I'm not going to go terribly deep into a mission statement, although you can find something like that <a href="https://madisoncypher.blogspot.com/2009/07/welcome-to-tea-room.html">here</a>. The point is that this wasn't meant as something other people would be looking at to find images or information. I shared Palm Sunday graphics or Romans Road material because that's what we were doing at the time, and it happens that quite a few others somehow make their way here to find that material, and I'm pretty happy it can be used. But again, the goal was never numbers of viewers. One time many years ago, we had this incredible surge of visitors to <a href="https://madisoncypher.blogspot.com/2010/10/boo.html">this one page here</a> where I shared a picture of "Boo" from "Monsters, Inc." For some odd reason, as of right now, that one page had 70.1K visitors. I have no idea why. Anyway, the point of all this is that I've been noticing the total number of visits creep up slowly to a big number: one million. I'm thinking this blog will see that number go to one million by late spring. Pretty neat. I might even have to do a give-away like some others do. One millionth visit gets a free boba tea. Or a car. Or both.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, that's the news from here. We said our prayers tonight, and we got to sleep early. Tomorrow is a big, big day for Mom and I. The plush entourage got tucked in with Maddie, the door shut, and we got to bed right away.</div><div><br /></div>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-37154004602146410102024-03-05T23:39:00.005-05:002024-03-06T08:05:34.893-05:00Sweeney Todd<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ZGnZq_K0K3sT-QWvAO7i7xCxSXwk3u_V8stRR00DMPO4p53kC8wSSl4yWHhE7cbGczeJ6eZAMVnN244qd3yZtiupikjhdwDkCTHm5jQNyGaYzzU9Wy62hyXbVoxqRaiokEmeNaIcDavg4So74HjBG_yoUoTbwjVV597XhhTORChBfM0fsLCx5Pm2EHQ/s4541/3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3027" data-original-width="4541" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ZGnZq_K0K3sT-QWvAO7i7xCxSXwk3u_V8stRR00DMPO4p53kC8wSSl4yWHhE7cbGczeJ6eZAMVnN244qd3yZtiupikjhdwDkCTHm5jQNyGaYzzU9Wy62hyXbVoxqRaiokEmeNaIcDavg4So74HjBG_yoUoTbwjVV597XhhTORChBfM0fsLCx5Pm2EHQ/w405-h270/3.JPG" width="405" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>So tonight we finally saw the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a guy named Sweeney Todd. You can see the programs above and a few of the "pies" we picked up too, ones Mrs. Lovett would approve of. These are cupcakes decorated as pies. But for good measure, there were some apples pies available with concessions too. Super fun! Anyway, we were here at Gainesville High School to see a friend perform, and it's a story that none of us had ever seen before.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAZCsoIowOR4FeJYpFKieUzIWH8IYNFcK-Mjc02mExLUG9uWQ0PNRJzqwTQtcn1RTlvuXD7GChxiQPwgPaRa8Xbmw0gwoldlF0xNU-CvrQ4uLHq3TQ1aZaaohHEiAUhCWJHo7YGCZPkg2iawK65drgxA-uh2WR8ijMrCos406fxz-0Ar81SzzkQuytHE/s2048/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAZCsoIowOR4FeJYpFKieUzIWH8IYNFcK-Mjc02mExLUG9uWQ0PNRJzqwTQtcn1RTlvuXD7GChxiQPwgPaRa8Xbmw0gwoldlF0xNU-CvrQ4uLHq3TQ1aZaaohHEiAUhCWJHo7YGCZPkg2iawK65drgxA-uh2WR8ijMrCos406fxz-0Ar81SzzkQuytHE/w412-h274/1.jpg" width="412" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Javier's son, Caleb, played Mr. Perelli, and had a great performance early on.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenJhnn4-FJLuOZVIIl3hWEISxLaScWatsZ2mFmGiD4Ty-3LSf7k-eJT4t45L_R-P8vlCbc61Q5I799bVrsxKoaKTSTWPtSAY77IZt1BOetI23Z0kPfmsISGSnx0ymHu4OPWi913eMEy7BrqmFNZiswZHEFOd6BBDsK2Iu0UX0jkl1Dx3dOS8f5vyAXK8/s2048/0.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenJhnn4-FJLuOZVIIl3hWEISxLaScWatsZ2mFmGiD4Ty-3LSf7k-eJT4t45L_R-P8vlCbc61Q5I799bVrsxKoaKTSTWPtSAY77IZt1BOetI23Z0kPfmsISGSnx0ymHu4OPWi913eMEy7BrqmFNZiswZHEFOd6BBDsK2Iu0UX0jkl1Dx3dOS8f5vyAXK8/w410-h273/0.jpg" width="410" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Note: just about everyone in this play dies! Again, we hadn't seen it before, but the decorations in the lobby were perfect. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qGqCPS1nNqOCwL7UrW4PZv76mmJzimy6pKjOBMm8bGsnAd8r5m2WBzjLdVaUa5ylYN5hObu06Wz9JIRzmaMI-t-IXs5DAwJn6Lqfz70fZE6DkPXQ_0GwO14iW4QtuTgARowte0GJPoC0MxV2bcgjdUJ77E_wF7En9X9v4pY61bILrRhaEBEHDQN4S3o/s2048/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qGqCPS1nNqOCwL7UrW4PZv76mmJzimy6pKjOBMm8bGsnAd8r5m2WBzjLdVaUa5ylYN5hObu06Wz9JIRzmaMI-t-IXs5DAwJn6Lqfz70fZE6DkPXQ_0GwO14iW4QtuTgARowte0GJPoC0MxV2bcgjdUJ77E_wF7En9X9v4pY61bILrRhaEBEHDQN4S3o/w309-h412/0.jpg" width="309" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>There were all these pies, each one with a cast or crew member's picture posted overhead, with candles lit and red curtains draped across the walls. There must have been something like fifty or sixty of them all lined up as if in a bakery. It really set things up for the production!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi4uKbgRCJJg-y73yCLeanzU1XGuCaQ9m82W_DbgR5zXqg2vNY42_qJRnKF9_d3dorh1P893idxxu0hkw4EVjTVXiu01r3qeU9WCiS0YOgDHOECwO7MbDzIGdvl68kQPaq22fKPxqCzwX8dwjoy_WKc5OTZ_NYHtpyrK3hAfButLvvuJhdVgvSPiGpjhc/s2048/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi4uKbgRCJJg-y73yCLeanzU1XGuCaQ9m82W_DbgR5zXqg2vNY42_qJRnKF9_d3dorh1P893idxxu0hkw4EVjTVXiu01r3qeU9WCiS0YOgDHOECwO7MbDzIGdvl68kQPaq22fKPxqCzwX8dwjoy_WKc5OTZ_NYHtpyrK3hAfButLvvuJhdVgvSPiGpjhc/w321-h428/1.jpg" width="321" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXMf3NvcYNJ3sqi3kfyNd_KrVUXyMxZQ_qKrek1741xrusMhExmRiydN54vVNHmidV3yqNDmGDL7ZRNZ-TmPanq6OkT_BlGw78MgNIpTyYWbetBvjo0StJdWChqyz4Hidir7p3hL5ba6sf2DEAiMAVmJjsbveU7WNQt3MFKeOuWSFa1BeEgD0bDEST5gk/s2048/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXMf3NvcYNJ3sqi3kfyNd_KrVUXyMxZQ_qKrek1741xrusMhExmRiydN54vVNHmidV3yqNDmGDL7ZRNZ-TmPanq6OkT_BlGw78MgNIpTyYWbetBvjo0StJdWChqyz4Hidir7p3hL5ba6sf2DEAiMAVmJjsbveU7WNQt3MFKeOuWSFa1BeEgD0bDEST5gk/w321-h428/2.jpg" width="321" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6QwQARqjpMhHdB2Xae9eegcsERuPf_aiPaxzEMZmAu6_ra2SG7LPbh_8EN8A2Dcdga0DoI-jY7XUmkjJpDpMyPCNyz2KX4lWFMbAMrPzlNZQBXkMzKnH8TOb6g2LendskV-INe7QkyEAXhHaAkK898eV3z6apJG7iZS9ESUxEjwtF2lC37H0-6abt6E/s2048/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6QwQARqjpMhHdB2Xae9eegcsERuPf_aiPaxzEMZmAu6_ra2SG7LPbh_8EN8A2Dcdga0DoI-jY7XUmkjJpDpMyPCNyz2KX4lWFMbAMrPzlNZQBXkMzKnH8TOb6g2LendskV-INe7QkyEAXhHaAkK898eV3z6apJG7iZS9ESUxEjwtF2lC37H0-6abt6E/w307-h409/3.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Afterwards we met with everyone and posed for a few pictures with Caleb and took a picture of Javier, Karla and Caleb together. But it was a long play - we had to get to sleep. But the three of us enjoyed the evening and were glad to go. I think the decision was made not to see any other version of this story, but at the same time we're glad we did see it, and in fact saw this version of it.</p><p><br /></p><p>The rest of the day was busy with us getting things done for filming Thursday, plus working on this Sunday's stuff too. Maddie was at Chestatee Elementary, and after that studying history and the Cold War. We read before bed tonight, and we said our prayers as well. It was a pretty good day.</p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-43407102297373287022024-03-04T15:50:00.003-05:002024-03-05T09:51:58.657-05:00March Fourth<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS6fepm0KRue4nWU-R8gmb04BLpK6G5PPFQtGvlSJsozBiUgvy3an-58jEp7sLLieJ-OD3S3Og-1eOMMpf-LgtbKEglzukP2mVobw8S2Q3ft_oqs0-OQMI0CS8rTTFg-cP-_qmaa4rtuDuZic_L2gquYaPxET229EB6ysicfkpa5RnPOGtzwA-Jhgv5-A/s2970/MU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1852" data-original-width="2970" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS6fepm0KRue4nWU-R8gmb04BLpK6G5PPFQtGvlSJsozBiUgvy3an-58jEp7sLLieJ-OD3S3Og-1eOMMpf-LgtbKEglzukP2mVobw8S2Q3ft_oqs0-OQMI0CS8rTTFg-cP-_qmaa4rtuDuZic_L2gquYaPxET229EB6ysicfkpa5RnPOGtzwA-Jhgv5-A/w419-h262/MU.jpg" width="419" /></a></div><br />It's March Fourth, which generally means I listen to a song featured from the Monsters University soundtrack, one by a band called MarchFourth, because why not? It's March Fourth, right? Besides, the track is pretty amazing - it's called "Gospel," and it is one of those marching band songs that just gets you moving forward. Or marching forth at least.<p></p><p><br /></p><p>And that's what we did today - I was marching forth in Nashville, at least on the treadmill finishing that up. The sea monkeys are doing just fine, with little ones still in there flittering about. The big three are swirling about and doing just fine. We've got all kinds of birds out there, including this annoying robin. But the sparrows are wonderful, and so many of them flying in for visits. The scripture comes to mind always when I see them, and for just a moment our eyes are on the sparrow as well, and it's just sort of a moment there.</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, we marched forth out the door this morning for a few chores at the bank, then to Goodwill where we needed some props for this week's filming for the Easter production. While there - get this - I found a comic book with the Exodus story in it. I snatched a few up right away, one for KidPak, and one for myself! We did find what we needed for filming, and after that we were off for a few other chores, including getting more bird seed at the tractor supply place. But we also picked up some potting soil and some small planters so that we can get started on some plants indoors first. And one other big thing we did today was vote. Yes, it's a primary season here, and we did some early voting this morning, but there was a huge crew there at the library to welcome us and guide us through - there were only one thing to vote for, and that was President, and by this point it seems pretty decided with both parties, which is to say there's really not much news here. </p><p><br /></p><p>This is a very unique election season in that both parties are settled pretty much very early. Which is not to say things could change drastically between now and November. Despite the fact that all the delegates for both parties are pretty much going to one candidate for each party, there is very much a potential for either of the candidates to be removed from their chance to run. One candidate is struggling with issues related to the perception of his ability to perform at the age he is, and there are concerns he can make it through this election season. And the other candidate was even blocked by a court ruling in Colorado, by just one judge who wanted to remove the candidate for an alleged crime, which is to say there was no arrest, indictment, trial, and obviously no conviction. Today the Supreme Court decided in a 9-0 decision that this wasn't the way to go about things - it was kind of a big deal. So onward we march with these two candidates, and in fact we voted for one of them today, and got our little "we secured our vote" stickers too! And then we secured a ride home in our car.</p><p><br /></p><p>Of note is the fact that we have a "zero" year President. For an older generation like myself, this was a legit fear. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush broke that curse, or from what I understand their prayer teams prayed against it. But as a reminder for those of you that don't know this, every President that won an election in a "zero year," (1840, 1860, 1880, 1900, 1920, 1940, 1960) died in office. Growing up, we were worried about Reagan, and of course we all know there was an attempted assassination that was nearly successful. And again there were even residual fears about George W. Bush. Of course, those fears were put aside when both flew off from the White House. And in fact, I hadn't thought about the "zero year" anymore until this year. One hundred years ago, President Harding's time in office came to an abrupt halt due to the effects of what might have been a stroke. There are still questions that surround his passing, but the bottom line is that he was likely not assassinated, but rather died from more natural causes in office. One hundred years later, we have a guy in office who is also surrounded by similar political controversies and there is a perception that he is not quite sturdy enough to withstand the responsibilities and weight of being leader of the free world. I am sincerely praying for him.</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, moving on. Mom and I did our next "Exodus" class today, and it's been so good. Was Pharaoh a first-born, and why was he spared? Lots of discussions about the Passover today, and about the parting of Red Sea. We're very much into this series!</p><p><br /></p><p>Maddie had class too. She is more confident in her visits to Chestatee now, and she seems to be doing okay elsewhere. She doesn't talk about school as much, except for the funny moments in her forensics class and occasional stories from the elementary school. She's looking forward to the prom though - we've got the day marked where she can buy tickets to that.</p><p><br /></p><p>I've been doing these arm exercises using a kit that Mom got me for Christmas two years ago, and I do that every day to strengthen my shoulders. It seems to be working too - the cracking, twisting, painful moments when reaching out left or right seem to be getting fewer and fewer as the blood flow in my arms increases and the healing builds up tissue and stops this painful grinding. It's part of my daily routine. Along with reading that Perry Stone Bible too - I'm still in Exodus, along with the classes of course. I'm right there at the Ten Commandments at the moment.</p><p><br /></p><p>Tonight Maddie had another class or two - she was at taekwondo, of course. I was in there watching her, and she took a few moments to lead a small class herself, "teaching" others about sidekicks. There were some things her instructors told her could be better, and then there were plenty of other things that she did perfectly. She's there to learn, and she's doing just that as she gets better with her own form and gets better with leading and guiding others.</p><p><br /></p><p>Our movie of the night was "Kung Fu Panda 3," which we had not seen in a while, but we watched it to complete the trilogy and get ready for the fourth movie later on. We're hoping to see that soon. Mom's working on costumes as she watches. She's getting more and more busy.</p><p><br /></p><p>We read tonight for a little bit, and after that it was time for prayers and bed. It's been a good day, already the fourth day of March. We're certainly Marching Fourth!</p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-86165921151455577952024-03-03T12:25:00.008-05:002024-03-04T15:47:41.965-05:00Exodus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2mmaPh_c2ReNZF-Kgkj9cD5-AkqTfL9lrHGDo3L5z5DZkJe7_JbR_IBdWE2FWkSC5DSz39E4jLTi7K0B1MdeN2i96JqybgBbGEQJhd2tRlV01KWTJwSaW5NkS9ZLQN-AlfoDeCq6dhtVfZKhF8C8F4usSSMlhyphenhyphenoOaQCas7RChQWfDMdkVFY7c2TbbWk/s4549/6.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3033" data-original-width="4549" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2mmaPh_c2ReNZF-Kgkj9cD5-AkqTfL9lrHGDo3L5z5DZkJe7_JbR_IBdWE2FWkSC5DSz39E4jLTi7K0B1MdeN2i96JqybgBbGEQJhd2tRlV01KWTJwSaW5NkS9ZLQN-AlfoDeCq6dhtVfZKhF8C8F4usSSMlhyphenhyphenoOaQCas7RChQWfDMdkVFY7c2TbbWk/w398-h265/6.JPG" width="398" /></a></div><p></p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx0kzM0Gb41uS5WYRoa1z5FiSEKfkkoUvhkhAkIySaRMwhqKDv5XQ6DkvzRw4sf4s1-fKX1eIvE1qOpTRizg1GbMr2iXZdb_W52Bj2tMFDV4-crCA794HTYmV9ei10rbguMx1l-zt94eFr67loYTT5xZavceUqSWv4bT44Dvf2375S2nCtOqaojc8DRQc/w394-h262/10.JPG" width="394" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZADB_6dY01OqtLgUtGm72AyMRagr7wzg2jgcxK4Zdls7fR_zwxxWMcxKwEcyYBRJkW1SFJs3loHed6oF1GfUdoH5NIyEtGdsT-fZWFyDIINeJVjgSmFUd-kRsE5Gj_FIKWpr5dBfE3T3d9soPC_pL4ooueV27wpNavc_KORcJOyXP7bcWcVffV_NkkxA/s5806/8.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3871" data-original-width="5806" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZADB_6dY01OqtLgUtGm72AyMRagr7wzg2jgcxK4Zdls7fR_zwxxWMcxKwEcyYBRJkW1SFJs3loHed6oF1GfUdoH5NIyEtGdsT-fZWFyDIINeJVjgSmFUd-kRsE5Gj_FIKWpr5dBfE3T3d9soPC_pL4ooueV27wpNavc_KORcJOyXP7bcWcVffV_NkkxA/w393-h262/8.JPG" width="393" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8r3oZGHy6Ze9oXSu-jNgs_eYxQXO6yLYQoCYYtTpZyf_sUwxetcBCO-IxLrnukfJ1YHvSPUuKNISRWHOYzgpjjQ__j94jMAOQRqelnJAz_ks9LcwRXtuaxAHpUnlXvzLmR_S8dp1XZC-Hp-vX5pjaYb5R3vLSjUl8sMWQ7q1TJ-HBLHNIn_BFyXG0Q6E/s5020/5.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3347" data-original-width="5020" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8r3oZGHy6Ze9oXSu-jNgs_eYxQXO6yLYQoCYYtTpZyf_sUwxetcBCO-IxLrnukfJ1YHvSPUuKNISRWHOYzgpjjQ__j94jMAOQRqelnJAz_ks9LcwRXtuaxAHpUnlXvzLmR_S8dp1XZC-Hp-vX5pjaYb5R3vLSjUl8sMWQ7q1TJ-HBLHNIn_BFyXG0Q6E/w394-h262/5.JPG" width="394" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEadr5O7blj4SMKIXTiDYo6Lwwg7u8Gxf3_jkh4AejAb8Ppj7UedMxl60w9N5o0QIBDNwJj2YHEMokRGvVD8e8a7G61nCA_Qtkzih8rag4omiUuFq4MpkcrLNBKo9abx_KB8doSbOPv1qYpMjEY-PiU83L-CgSOWXuXyF0yVAUozceQVmtcy1rfwofZVY/s6000/1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEadr5O7blj4SMKIXTiDYo6Lwwg7u8Gxf3_jkh4AejAb8Ppj7UedMxl60w9N5o0QIBDNwJj2YHEMokRGvVD8e8a7G61nCA_Qtkzih8rag4omiUuFq4MpkcrLNBKo9abx_KB8doSbOPv1qYpMjEY-PiU83L-CgSOWXuXyF0yVAUozceQVmtcy1rfwofZVY/w394-h262/1.JPG" width="394" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div>This morning we began "Exodus" with a fantastic and wonderful service. You can see this great set, and of course the awesome costuming Mom put together for us. We had a really funny and really well-received mad-lib today, and just about every single aspect of our service was spot-on. It was a glorious start to a beloved series, and a focus on the Egyptian part of our Biblical narrative. We started out with Joseph and the reason we wound up in Egypt. It was a fantastic start - really fun and of course a lot of learning too. Maddie had a great time as one of Joseph's siblings. Obviously they were all brothers in the real narrative, but we got around that with Jeremiah mistranslating some hieroglyphics that retold the story.</div><div><br /></div><div>We were so happy at the end of the day. We were listening to "So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt" by Keith Green on the way in, and really diving into this series head-first! On the way home, we were much more relaxed, and ready to get some rest. We had some of our Factor meals, which are so, so good. We sat there eating as we watched the super territorial robin try to boss his way around the back deck's birdseed supply. That is until the mourning doves have had enough of that.</div><div><br /></div><div>And I went for a walk in Nashville, at least on the treadmill. Outside, the Bradford trees are starting to bloom, which stinks. Literally. But they look nice. Just keep the windows up as you pass by. The daffodils are in bloom all over, and those are really nice. </div><div><br /></div><div>Maddie and I were back in Middle Earth for a short while, but after that we were back in Egypt again with the second part of "The Ten Commandments." Mom and I watched that conclusion, and a little later we had time for one more thing so we saw the latest version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It's called "Mutant Mayhem," and it's not too bad. Michelangelo is toned down quite a bit, and April O'Neal is obviously a lot different. But otherwise, it's not too bad. Not my favorite version, but it's always fun to see these guys in action.</div><div><br /></div><div>We closed out the day in North Africa, or at least with reading Kingdom Keepers as we discover more about what's going on in North Africa with an abandoned theme park idea there and a Villains Realm. We'll of course find out more about that area soon enough with the next book. right now, we're finishing up this one though, and it's been fun to go back to.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was a good day today, always a good one with KidPak in the morning. We got to sleep earlier, given that we have school tomorrow. Maddie was cleaning up her room and talking with friends a little bit. She's setting up that Frog Prince under my pillow, although he's not quite as sensitive as he used to be and you sort of have to plop him down for it to all work. But the joke is still there. The whole plush entourage is still there to hear the book being read, and then on top of that stick around for prayers. We got to bed early tonight with the infuser going in her room. Her cough has slowed down a whole lot, now that she's on allergy meds a little more regularly. We're seeing a good result of that, and I'm glad. I'd hate for her to have to endure that cough so much more. </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, it was a good day, and a nice day outside. We'll have another good one tomorrow!</div><div><br /></div>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-28739370071081459332024-03-02T12:18:00.015-05:002024-03-04T15:53:06.616-05:00Seventh Cousin, Four Times Removed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69J0njCVzfwO8246NI8OeE0ONXwGn579I2yJXpJBy3XOxJax5MqkP40hMoMxDqy2aW2FCMw21LptwM7lRyYrttgnOaNFC27xNkhNyvqVMYgox0a-2y3b_WUnQRhE_2z-kknSwNVyZwRXljuHIynofV-inswavVKIbB9QCQvVXWX8X94IW9dKo2B_SI74/s4000/IMG_0711.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="4000" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69J0njCVzfwO8246NI8OeE0ONXwGn579I2yJXpJBy3XOxJax5MqkP40hMoMxDqy2aW2FCMw21LptwM7lRyYrttgnOaNFC27xNkhNyvqVMYgox0a-2y3b_WUnQRhE_2z-kknSwNVyZwRXljuHIynofV-inswavVKIbB9QCQvVXWX8X94IW9dKo2B_SI74/w411-h411/IMG_0711.JPG" width="411" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Look who's awake! I think the chipmunk family is emerging from their burrows in front of the house to take a peek around at what could be spring finally showing up. This one posed on the sunflower rock that Mom painted some time ago at the Red Apple Barn. Sadly, they stopped with the rock painting there, but we have a legacy of small rocks in our gardens, some of which still have their paint on them. This chipmunk seems to like the one Mom did too, stopping to admire her artwork.</p><p><br /></p><p>The weather is warming up somewhat, the sun emerging after a pretty wet day. Regardless, things were soaking wet outside, the lake filling up if not already at full capacity. I did my final walk in Namibia this morning, which was a refreshing and educational trip on the treadmill. I've been on that every day, and I think it's helped with my increasing HDL count and overall blood quality. Hopefully! The last blood test was encouraging.</p><p><br /></p><p>This morning we had Team Edge practice, and that was a big part of Maddie's morning, of course. I was off grocery shopping, something we hadn't done in a while. The end result was a pretty full car, and a pretty huge bill. The rise in grocery prices is getting noticeably more substantial. I did have to get more than usual, but still, the prices are clearly rising across the board. </p><p><br /></p><p>One of the items I got from Publix with Maddie was a limited edition ice cream: Irish Creme Salted Caramel. Mom and I had a cone of that tonight and it's pretty delicious. Maddie had chocolate - there was a buy-one-get-one-free sale, and so we got some mint chocolate chip too, the idea being that we can make our own Shamrock Shakes soon enough. 'Tis the season! Oh, and don't forget the Lucky Charms! Mom and I will be enjoying a bowl of that soon enough - it's like dessert to me!</p><p><br /></p><p>Speaking of which, we have our leprechaun salt and pepper shakers out on the table. We mentioned the garden flag out there and the St. Patrick's Day wreath on the door. But also included are St. Patrick's Day themed towels in the bathroom, plus some little themed gnomes in the bathroom too. The house is festive and green! Add to that some festive music - I unearthed an old "Revival in Belfast" CD we were listening to, and we'd also pop in the Chieftains vinyl records. </p><p><br /></p><p>We had a little time this afternoon, so Maddie and I were off in Moria, or at least the mines there. We've been revisiting LEGO Lord of the Rings, and it's such a massive game. We got 100% on it before, but it's been a long time, so long that we forgot about a lot of the little side journeys one can make. I say "one," because "one does not simply walk into Mordor." Well, we plan on doing that eventually. Right now, we're just escaping the mines though, and that big ol' Balrog. Not the boxer, but the large fiery thing with the whip that shall not pass.</p><p><br /></p><p>Tonight's flick was part one of "The Ten Commandments," which is still a great movie that holds up so well. It's also pretty long. The director tells you so at the beginning! One thing we learned was that bye Moses was portrayed by Charlton Heston's newborn son, which is pretty cool. But anyway, we watched that in honor of tomorrow's start of "Exodus" at KidPak, and honestly a seasonal thing we do now. We've already watched "Prince of Egypt" and soon enough we'll re-watch the Sight & Sound version of "Moses." Finally, there's a first-time viewing for me: this DVD set we have also includes the 1923 version of the movie "The Ten Commandments," which we'll plan on watching too. Include with that our Hillsdale course on "Exodus" and a few other things, and we're really diving into this book this month. And oh yeah, I'm reading it of course...!</p><p><br /></p><p>Mom still spends some time studying ancestry, and she discovered she was distantly related to none other than Emily Dickinson! In honor of this discovery, I wrote a little poem in her style:</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Seventh Cousin, Four Times Removed</u></b></p><p><i>Mom spends some time in studies -</i></p><p><i>Upon her laptop screen -</i></p><p><i>She studies all her ancestors</i></p><p><i>and that is when she'd seen -</i></p><p><i>connections to a poet</i></p><p><i>that might be pretty fun!</i></p><p><i>You might have guessed, you know the rest:</i></p><p><i>Emily Dickinson!</i></p><p><i>We laughed as we both read this -</i></p><p><i>Mom said she's quite bemused.</i></p><p><i>For she is her seventh cousin</i></p><p><i>And then four times removed!</i></p><p><i>A yellow rose in Texas</i></p><p><i>is likely closer, still - </i></p><p><i>she's related to that poet,</i></p><p><i>which must be quite a thrill!</i></p><p><br /></p><p>I'm distantly related to all the Sleepy Hollow people, and very distantly related to the Van de Graaf generator guy. No presidents here!</p><p><br /></p><p>Moving on, it was a nice little Saturday. We went to bed at a reasonable hour - <i>not watching part two of the Ten Commandments - </i>and we got to bed sooner. We did spend some more time reading Kingdom Keepers, and we did say our prayers. Tomorrow's going to be a big day!</p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-7524620976406101762024-03-01T11:48:00.050-05:002024-03-02T12:02:33.585-05:00March 1st<p>Mom and I had lunch with Pastor Lance, and once again we were celebrating twenty years of employment at Free Chapel, at KidPak in particular, which is amazing to consider. We've been doing children's curriculum for quite some time. We were at Outback Steakhouse, which has been a rising star in our eating choices lately - Mom enjoys it and it's safe for her diet, and of course I've always been a fan. I remember driving to Athens to get to one, and passing by a location in Chattanooga and being sure we stopped to eat there. And of course we ate at one in Lahaina during our honeymoon there in 2000. Anyway, we ate well, so much that we didn't really eat the rest of the day - with so much food, I felt as if I was on the cruise again!</p><p><br /></p><p>Maddie had a good day, the first day of March. She was at Chestatee again, and she's really having fun with her forensics class. Her teacher is one of her favorites. She does have that nagging cough, the same sort of drainage situation that I've had recently - it may be allergies for her, but we've got her on allergy medications and the diffuser and plenty of tissues.</p><p><br /></p><p>The weather outside was not pleasant. Sorry, but this is the sort of day that's not too much fun outside. It was a windy day with temperatures already at 37, and a heavy rain that just blew in your face even with and umbrella. It sort of blew in sideways, and it was so cold and wet, and ... all day long... I'm trying to imagine putting a positive spin on a day like this. I mean, I guess I'm glad for the rain? There are some places like the panhandle of Texas that are desperate for this sort of rain, and it would be great for them to get it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, moving on! We had a lot of work to do today at the office, but we got it done, setting things up for this weekend's big premiere of "Exodus." Mom was busy at the office working on costumes and a <i>lot </i>of rearranging. Meanwhile, Maddie was at taekwondo for a few hours, back there after the testing earlier in the week. </p><p><br /></p><p>Tonight's feature was "Cinderella," the excellent live-action version from 2015. After seeing this again, I am convinced this is the best live-action version of this ever. ALTHOUGH, I have never seen the 1997 version. Don't judge me! We'll get around to that one. But there have been other versions, and other movies that sort of tell the same story, and she are pretty good. But this one is the best in regards to pacing, cinematography, acting, costuming... we watched this one because of the recent cruise, of course, as Cinderella is the patron princess of the ship. </p><p><br /></p><p>We read tonight, briefly, and after that it was time for prayers and time for some rest. The rain outside continued to pour down, just as it has done all day, and it helped us sleep through the night.</p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-90542647405707569662024-02-29T22:47:00.003-05:002024-03-01T15:48:21.934-05:00Leap Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7u3GoboLnQD9hR9LO4MAmOGIYIArthjoCd8ZrqWlPyoA4PgusBGOqG1DWgG8zMhhJzF7PCmYdJvjRhdJjirC5q47A2z0Dz4A-lLkfoz856Q5c3Sqx4Qw7uAYvLxbRfIu1Qh6jQaSB26dl6vkX-yku8WtCVl24zrwNr8F2BSJq1UiwERhIKpbC8sXM5z8/s4032/IMG_0174.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="421" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7u3GoboLnQD9hR9LO4MAmOGIYIArthjoCd8ZrqWlPyoA4PgusBGOqG1DWgG8zMhhJzF7PCmYdJvjRhdJjirC5q47A2z0Dz4A-lLkfoz856Q5c3Sqx4Qw7uAYvLxbRfIu1Qh6jQaSB26dl6vkX-yku8WtCVl24zrwNr8F2BSJq1UiwERhIKpbC8sXM5z8/w316-h421/IMG_0174.jpeg" width="316" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>It's Leap Day, a rare day on the calendar. Maddie's seen five of them so far, and what you see above is me... leaping. We were at the middle school again today, part of our usual after school event called "Bible Blast." Beforehand, we were playing basketball with these large pilates balls which of course won't go through a basketball hoop. Nevertheless, our new rules were to see if we can get one to settle in the hoop, which you can see happening above. I got two points. There were only a few of us trying it, so it wasn't necessarily a major victory. Just a minor one.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBu6xuoqKgLJW0YhEsSS6eNtoyOVVjj7IYeHBWbOu5CCl6A88H2uLLercbRERC0F2z8TzF0zvqCDRAwnQO5YMm0edUw_w32sbPIhqcvajFU1KpvnD5Ryrjej-xCIi_YWe1gojVLNUUxR9kaMapZ1l09LvQ9bn_rhDmlbmhd2krPgGDEKO7c7UQq47eGmA/s3024/IMG_0175.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBu6xuoqKgLJW0YhEsSS6eNtoyOVVjj7IYeHBWbOu5CCl6A88H2uLLercbRERC0F2z8TzF0zvqCDRAwnQO5YMm0edUw_w32sbPIhqcvajFU1KpvnD5Ryrjej-xCIi_YWe1gojVLNUUxR9kaMapZ1l09LvQ9bn_rhDmlbmhd2krPgGDEKO7c7UQq47eGmA/w419-h419/IMG_0175.jpeg" width="419" /></a></div><div><br /></div>And here's a picture of me in the hallway posing in front of photos. That one kid looks a bit surprised at my skillz. Yeah, that's skills with a "z." Anyway, today was a big day at the office, and I completely forgot about it. But twenty years ago this day I was offered the chance to work at KidPak as a job, and in fact I said yes. The rest of the folks at the office took me out to eat, and we went to Panera, the very place where I was offered the job so many years ago. Pretty cool!<div><br /></div><div>It was a quiet day otherwise, and certainly a busy one for Mom who was sewing feathers onto costumes for Easter. Maddie was doing work with forensics and other classes, and also in an elementary school herself for early childhood education. </div><div><br /></div><div>On the way home, I got some plates of barbecue from a church event, and the three of us had a barbecue dinner that was actually pretty good - and pretty filling. I ate too much on that one. It's a good thing I'm still doing roughly forty minutes or so a day on the treadmill. Still in Namibia, and it's been fascinating to me. I think I have two more walks there and then I'll have to find another country to discover!</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight we started the St. Patrick's Day season in earnest. Well, it was earlier today that we were listening to vinyl records of the Chieftains. But tonight we watched that movie you have to watch on February 29th, a movie called "Leap Year." It's an Irish themed romantic comedy, and yes, it's somewhat predictable, but it's also very scenic, as you get to see a lot of the Irish countryside. The premise of the movie involves our lead actress Amy Adams, heading to Ireland to do this thing that girls are allowed to do on February 29th: propose to a guy. Maddie was with us to watch this time, the three of us spending the final hours of this bonus day together in the living room.</div><div><br /></div><div>Afterwards, it was back to the Kingdom Keepers book, and back to this curious park in North Africa where Finn's and Amanda's son Eli is being held against his will. Coincidentally, his friends Blair, Marty, and Lily are there now too, hopefully to rescue him. We'll see what happens next!</div><div><br /></div><div>We said our prayers after reading, and then it was time for everyone to head down the hall and off to sleep. We closed out an eventful February with a nice day. Maddie put her head on the pillow and that's when she discovered something that's been there for some time: the Frog Prince! It's been a week and she hadn't noticed it yet! Funny! He still sings, "Just one kiss, and I'll be your valentine..."</div><div><br /></div><div>He's in our bedroom now, ready to serenade anyone who'll listen.<br /><div><p><br /></p></div></div>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-43891328768793143772024-02-28T07:58:00.013-05:002024-03-02T16:20:48.149-05:00The Youthies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPv1rVGe0IQIIImZDxgFusGfptZ90GYmRydHt6K2BEeV4ceZeY-dwb4CNOzxCjWZzNZ0PILKK5LgC-4_9kcHOQ3LtdY0ecgNYbgVRLgJTQg8mCsbB6lJtP96ccKNsX_NAKeKZxmuplEIOMDShpZFP4OLeCOOqs-xipmfqBJmAuvAnghBW3QJO69E8dQ5E/s3287/IMG_1912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3287" data-original-width="3024" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPv1rVGe0IQIIImZDxgFusGfptZ90GYmRydHt6K2BEeV4ceZeY-dwb4CNOzxCjWZzNZ0PILKK5LgC-4_9kcHOQ3LtdY0ecgNYbgVRLgJTQg8mCsbB6lJtP96ccKNsX_NAKeKZxmuplEIOMDShpZFP4OLeCOOqs-xipmfqBJmAuvAnghBW3QJO69E8dQ5E/w405-h441/IMG_1912.JPG" width="405" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9nX5I84qq9Lcfw6YLYiY-FqQ4SE6xXHmewJunRRn3Vg0-kv5I9KuoLhiJCmCP86oMPoBVFAL9AjqVkCVYk9v12W_UVNPkgn8EgWZ7MgmNs6sBIZmrmQJat1mR7hAp6O4QXCfrs3IVud6-lLe3aMDw9qEIfbmIaldnUDeqemUfgsgpFIfsx-iufXcMNg/s3654/IMG_1901.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3654" data-original-width="2740" height="465" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9nX5I84qq9Lcfw6YLYiY-FqQ4SE6xXHmewJunRRn3Vg0-kv5I9KuoLhiJCmCP86oMPoBVFAL9AjqVkCVYk9v12W_UVNPkgn8EgWZ7MgmNs6sBIZmrmQJat1mR7hAp6O4QXCfrs3IVud6-lLe3aMDw9qEIfbmIaldnUDeqemUfgsgpFIfsx-iufXcMNg/w349-h465/IMG_1901.JPG" width="349" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight Maddie was at the Youthies, an gala event created by FCY, and award ceremony that sort of mimics the larger award ceremonies on television, but honors various volunteers and students. It certainly offered everyone a chance to dress up, which Maddie was happy to do!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4fqH3rlb0MkBmcXBNQjzJXGO2wFl_S5FsjdIb_SvusWcxJZUBEue6AT2braKO1qFYDMJS4QkT1TOjqVwxnmVI0lN0lryZ46vFqV3jE11S9jZgsjdjLi1Z1Fcpa3LsMXXyRe3vKZxv6PCoabtal-50LqtCpH0Vmqr1uxp_VyhOz2oBSphHqKP9elNTyo/s4032/IMG_1914.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4fqH3rlb0MkBmcXBNQjzJXGO2wFl_S5FsjdIb_SvusWcxJZUBEue6AT2braKO1qFYDMJS4QkT1TOjqVwxnmVI0lN0lryZ46vFqV3jE11S9jZgsjdjLi1Z1Fcpa3LsMXXyRe3vKZxv6PCoabtal-50LqtCpH0Vmqr1uxp_VyhOz2oBSphHqKP9elNTyo/w416-h312/IMG_1914.JPG" width="416" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0yu1X7ZmWFv_-cowAggs8T6GSOCNt8EFR6AwEuVBepdn-MOWsSSZ_bIwIYvml8x9p7r9QWi84mLT6wjJLJ1ysAxXKmVPn8dTCtF4-OJSIbxBI-dqHiCbost9ZpQ349UZon2o1JzBTxZ2yubuoeFL6Q0z6Hwwg9msvrkC3i7Yv75lisCjQUK_chSGJSUY/s3088/IMG_1934.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2316" data-original-width="3088" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0yu1X7ZmWFv_-cowAggs8T6GSOCNt8EFR6AwEuVBepdn-MOWsSSZ_bIwIYvml8x9p7r9QWi84mLT6wjJLJ1ysAxXKmVPn8dTCtF4-OJSIbxBI-dqHiCbost9ZpQ349UZon2o1JzBTxZ2yubuoeFL6Q0z6Hwwg9msvrkC3i7Yv75lisCjQUK_chSGJSUY/w415-h311/IMG_1934.JPG" width="415" /></a></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwKdSEAHD-RFUXI3nni6WLozd0KXvQlU3lUJxGSYy8A1_WsR3DuBCvnZb27q61HvkRNVwkwS1NedT6LRK8qRw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p>And there were plenty of photo ops too, including this 360 one that was a lot of fun with the props. It was a fun message about who we associate with, and it was a great night over all, a celebration of sorts that was just a great time. </p><p><br /></p><p>She had a big day. Here's another thing she did:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyRTFO9hkKiIksxmDr3hMhGwoMy7qlCYfChWcEZrxbMw9YdWJts2qb8I7upQs8sUy6pfrzY9xstRaj2BU_1kySyNOpIL4raDsugD-0gMi2F9ufVGuisqgf-8T0KMgFgQ3gO_7hX8Ff9lvbEfzdoLmKTTfTeLr-d66F48frEOzooFVIhyphenhyphenEMlgBHQJnSBg/s4032/IMG_1891.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyRTFO9hkKiIksxmDr3hMhGwoMy7qlCYfChWcEZrxbMw9YdWJts2qb8I7upQs8sUy6pfrzY9xstRaj2BU_1kySyNOpIL4raDsugD-0gMi2F9ufVGuisqgf-8T0KMgFgQ3gO_7hX8Ff9lvbEfzdoLmKTTfTeLr-d66F48frEOzooFVIhyphenhyphenEMlgBHQJnSBg/w409-h307/IMG_1891.JPG" width="409" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZR4saSsiLiZ77JJLtWdD_ITe_ROI-daCDhFY5E1eyl7V8QCyd9_ln8Q3nIFUCM0QaUwHvLgYQItGe-xrlazCRdWP_NehJGr-jp2WsEHZi-C2izClZU3nlF4eYKLenjnFLQ5tplaRGKQZvT9LTrS08B-OlCc8GTBbz-a24f9jdkYOb4v818HPQjYmOR5k/s1170/IMG_1894.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1163" data-original-width="1170" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZR4saSsiLiZ77JJLtWdD_ITe_ROI-daCDhFY5E1eyl7V8QCyd9_ln8Q3nIFUCM0QaUwHvLgYQItGe-xrlazCRdWP_NehJGr-jp2WsEHZi-C2izClZU3nlF4eYKLenjnFLQ5tplaRGKQZvT9LTrS08B-OlCc8GTBbz-a24f9jdkYOb4v818HPQjYmOR5k/w402-h399/IMG_1894.jpg" width="402" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p>The mock interviews were today, so all the girls were dressed up for school, applying for their first job. Maddie said she felt like she did pretty good with it, and that was great to hear. She's got a lot of confidence, and a lot of skill to back it up, right?</p><p><br /></p><p>The rest of the day was good, although there was a big storm front that came flying through with heavy rain. Right behind that was another mass of cold air that we're shivering through tonight. It was chilly, especially with the wind. But it's February, and even better, it's the end of February. This was a good month - although it's not quite the last day yet, we have one more extra day of the month here. But the point is, spring is on the way. Our front yard is looking better with some of the leaves blown off and the St. Patrick's Day wreath on the door and the shamrock garden flag hanging up. The birds were out in force on the back deck, and the bluebirds were relentlessly tapping on windows, desperate to get their reflections to go away. </p><p><br /></p><p>We had another Easter meeting today, which went pretty well I suppose. We're getting ready for some videos next week, some things to film that can be shown during the production itself, a bit of backstory. The dance costumes have been a struggle for Mom and Dawn.</p><p><br /></p><p>I was working on "Exodus" material today, and on top of that we were taking our "Exodus" class too - that's been super interesting. The online course is something Mom and I are doing in the mornings, just watching videos and paying closer attention to certain things like even the Ten Plagues, and how there's a reason behind the progression of events, a message within those plagues. </p><p><br /></p><p>It's been a good day. We ended tonight after The Youthies with an episode of "Monk" and then some time for reading from this Kingdom Keepers book, which I'm enjoying more the second time around. There are many questions raised, but we'll get some answers soon, and of course even more answers - or possibly questions? - with the next book when we get that one. </p><p><br /></p><p>We said our prayers tonight, and we brought the Plush Entourage back from our bedroom to Maddie's room, where it was time for a good night's rest. It's cold out there now, but it's warm inside. We had a great day today! </p><p><br /></p></div>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-67613305852463903762024-02-27T09:42:00.001-05:002024-02-29T07:58:13.513-05:00Going Down the Bayou<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2RRZHoaoWbMVQX6CDEINC8EROpCiiIsLJHrlL0W6686XgjSMSk7XGb2PxpIvoa3FbjX5vY6Im8VZDiisduV4j-eRK9UfZWye8teHQOsq0jBELAv_DJ5JLyQq4YJXP5JIL5EK0YOQ7dPliSgPrfIE4_SlCxIW0JVLen2BPoNTVN5fYosHwwIJr4TVa1w/s1024/Going%20down%20the%20Bayou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2RRZHoaoWbMVQX6CDEINC8EROpCiiIsLJHrlL0W6686XgjSMSk7XGb2PxpIvoa3FbjX5vY6Im8VZDiisduV4j-eRK9UfZWye8teHQOsq0jBELAv_DJ5JLyQq4YJXP5JIL5EK0YOQ7dPliSgPrfIE4_SlCxIW0JVLen2BPoNTVN5fYosHwwIJr4TVa1w/w406-h305/Going%20down%20the%20Bayou.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Tonight we were back in the Bayou, and this is pretty much inspired by our visit to the Bayou on the Disney <i>Wish</i>. Ever since that trip, we've had a few movies on our minds, and "The Princess and the Frog" is certainly one of them. We enjoyed the Bayou on that trip a good bit, finding our own little booth and enjoying beignets and root beer, doing a trivia game and even some drawings. Also, on board the ship various songs would play, and this soundtrack was featured a decent amount of times. So this movie was on our minds and on our upcoming playlist - we all got together to watch tonight, and it holds up very well. There's a great artistry with this one, from the hand drawn elements to the really fantastic soundtrack. Now I want some more beignets...</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, its was a cluttered sort of day. Mom and Dawn are struggling with getting these costumes for Easter, and I was working on different things today, perpetually interrupted by various other things that needed to be done. It was zany. Still, we got some things accomplished in the morning, one of them being the next session of the "Exodus" online course we're taking. Also, I finished another walk in Namibia, which was actually pretty amazing, one of my favorite virtual walks we've done yet.</p><p><br /></p><p>Maddie had some pre-calculus homework to do tonight, and she's got a big mock-interview tomorrow morning where she interviews for a prospective job as a teacher. She'll be all dressed up and nice, very professional!</p><p><br /></p><p>We read tonight from our Kingdom Keepers book, advancing forward with this next generation, and it's been fun. It's a quick read - we're already half-way through or something close to that. We started reading this on our vacation, so that's been fun. We actually had this book with us on the cruise, reading it on the ship. I <i>think</i> we might be getting the next book fairly soon, so it should all time out where we go from one to the next. Anyway, we said our prayers tonight, and got some much-needed sleep.</p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-16041846994994713092024-02-26T23:47:00.006-05:002024-02-27T22:33:18.069-05:00Good Form!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8IgZR77U_xKfhmOFM7mPmya_MRilGURDAqfTFOSnxpl4lD9rAyWDFLyX0W3u5loWPKMTVDthJz2alyHSWXXCksj9phEhwSRa2DEes8GX2T603z7HGt25JNe82gxe-YgW3u21LZl5-XIWa2SJvc57fAcXRl60cQPjnCWSzFBzhme2Tfo7X4YHOU-cBBE/s4476/1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3115" data-original-width="4476" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8IgZR77U_xKfhmOFM7mPmya_MRilGURDAqfTFOSnxpl4lD9rAyWDFLyX0W3u5loWPKMTVDthJz2alyHSWXXCksj9phEhwSRa2DEes8GX2T603z7HGt25JNe82gxe-YgW3u21LZl5-XIWa2SJvc57fAcXRl60cQPjnCWSzFBzhme2Tfo7X4YHOU-cBBE/w415-h289/1.JPG" width="415" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Maddie had another testing tonight, along with the others in her class. There was one who advanced to third-degree belt, and two that advanced to second-degree. Everyone else was in between, like Maddie, completing one testing of the however many it takes to move on to the next degree.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQK74Yu-rDqr9hzG27PEh9y7ScabgYU2qVe7qi2_V5Uj0a3d2EAwQIoiqIC-EMag68btMTbUkCGnKJ0UbBwS_0sjF5ZbhF1zfQFGvTP5gAH4sTv-nQa17eApQWt9HbdPGYaPCrqLPZNzdPxaNbUDKUKFN5fVdr0tsewPImg1zxJtDEhYrxkZwthfOfpHE/s4665/2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3110" data-original-width="4665" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQK74Yu-rDqr9hzG27PEh9y7ScabgYU2qVe7qi2_V5Uj0a3d2EAwQIoiqIC-EMag68btMTbUkCGnKJ0UbBwS_0sjF5ZbhF1zfQFGvTP5gAH4sTv-nQa17eApQWt9HbdPGYaPCrqLPZNzdPxaNbUDKUKFN5fVdr0tsewPImg1zxJtDEhYrxkZwthfOfpHE/w421-h280/2.JPG" width="421" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphgbhQBB9dJbEQokgxEYuhr8DIsbIRf_SgJ6tfnQez5dMAL5b1WpnU1LxkEGmywp_WW8v9dpsHXJd0PMKPiBfY42gIPSjxkKg0ESBMsM78q5QZTjW7gur2yRZ4KKuKspHEqqIdmQgrI9nJmjiaFxUCsY9MJ7jl3UhxfjBW4Updyop2V9QNqEWcyrfcrE/s5434/3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3594" data-original-width="5434" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphgbhQBB9dJbEQokgxEYuhr8DIsbIRf_SgJ6tfnQez5dMAL5b1WpnU1LxkEGmywp_WW8v9dpsHXJd0PMKPiBfY42gIPSjxkKg0ESBMsM78q5QZTjW7gur2yRZ4KKuKspHEqqIdmQgrI9nJmjiaFxUCsY9MJ7jl3UhxfjBW4Updyop2V9QNqEWcyrfcrE/w409-h271/3.JPG" width="409" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>And in that respect, the evening was something we've seen quite a few times by this point. We sort of get used to the format, and even the students are acclimated to it. It's still a great occasion, and all the parents are lined up in chairs alongside the wall, cheering their kids on and snapping photos. I'm somewhat of a staff photographer, taking pictures of all the students to post online. I make sure I get a few of Maddie along the way though!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4f7PNUP5hGFRPQupNlZ5gbkpxkPvTNzWl1z1r6liUozWokVwpQLkHnT-FBnGmRO0HCI-_rl-1KaW2zhPXevbhANI-gTpN0_Upp8ZtgzCiJeu78e1_yx-U9C5H6VmdTKqA-a9OogwSev2XjU1u4SNeojoJr4hLtZdTt8e4uG7EzxOlGyaaDvO7YJSM14/s4051/4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2701" data-original-width="4051" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc4f7PNUP5hGFRPQupNlZ5gbkpxkPvTNzWl1z1r6liUozWokVwpQLkHnT-FBnGmRO0HCI-_rl-1KaW2zhPXevbhANI-gTpN0_Upp8ZtgzCiJeu78e1_yx-U9C5H6VmdTKqA-a9OogwSev2XjU1u4SNeojoJr4hLtZdTt8e4uG7EzxOlGyaaDvO7YJSM14/w419-h279/4.JPG" width="419" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5R_Ha3dqKW_mhEFSrofc9lkS4-ib2o8lb9H_5NnjsxEYdrHYBWFf70mclQ-6WR6776q-vS28AkFGLIT9IZSPBaohLAv52lif2v4HZSkvLGGoe7rs4sAdIyCxt6FDq_ER9JKn1ruqrTck7qYxaLu9BavYgCUuBtwOkbCyhfvICzivtdL0olXTF_gTEgdM/s6000/5.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5R_Ha3dqKW_mhEFSrofc9lkS4-ib2o8lb9H_5NnjsxEYdrHYBWFf70mclQ-6WR6776q-vS28AkFGLIT9IZSPBaohLAv52lif2v4HZSkvLGGoe7rs4sAdIyCxt6FDq_ER9JKn1ruqrTck7qYxaLu9BavYgCUuBtwOkbCyhfvICzivtdL0olXTF_gTEgdM/w414-h276/5.JPG" width="414" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Permission to break board, sir! This is one of those questions that all the students have to ask before actually attempting to break a board with foot and fist. It would be amusing if the instructor said, "No, not today."</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb14CoJTHrRq3RhnwdcLxjfsgXC0OEe3-1L6_oyMtzLjz7oYCLhX191EBbJXmfhrAv5H56ZP3FL2CHgke-jB3i6dMPcaNDd4QirOO9nLVkVlInp0M09CIYnTsKNEibiJe4q2ovQVvZq8VWfpcPA8Yc2C9OJ9rht9QqPaO6j4E_Gf_65hAJ7c8Yh3UAfUY/s5158/6.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3439" data-original-width="5158" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb14CoJTHrRq3RhnwdcLxjfsgXC0OEe3-1L6_oyMtzLjz7oYCLhX191EBbJXmfhrAv5H56ZP3FL2CHgke-jB3i6dMPcaNDd4QirOO9nLVkVlInp0M09CIYnTsKNEibiJe4q2ovQVvZq8VWfpcPA8Yc2C9OJ9rht9QqPaO6j4E_Gf_65hAJ7c8Yh3UAfUY/w420-h280/6.JPG" width="420" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Still, he said yes. And Maddie abuses boards. It's becoming a habit.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQiKFTD4pnnns8FhdKv-RDyUv9TcesgCRr4B2vylgp7ve9KLW-mbyjPlTh7GXWPxr3CLLfsw14YEfuU5y8Dfv2bEGUgmsFWEQGA07U47-EamU_6RG8I2ejXp74TtKUqdq1_EsYQFVypYlK5hRilVacaNgrwqR3UK3tUgZR0bL-rK3uzt3oQrSwjlrNJZU/s5016/7.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3344" data-original-width="5016" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQiKFTD4pnnns8FhdKv-RDyUv9TcesgCRr4B2vylgp7ve9KLW-mbyjPlTh7GXWPxr3CLLfsw14YEfuU5y8Dfv2bEGUgmsFWEQGA07U47-EamU_6RG8I2ejXp74TtKUqdq1_EsYQFVypYlK5hRilVacaNgrwqR3UK3tUgZR0bL-rK3uzt3oQrSwjlrNJZU/w416-h277/7.JPG" width="416" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>This poor board was crushed. It tried to keep itself together, but Maddie's foot-fist fiesta was just too much.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3C6iZWJhGUocCvsso8oLwSiEr4ynWGj8mGf63QPfM_6jM_IZ3pGGWElwXooPCjQORJlzZDdbMuOyo2dIUPacpsrNiTCYTSqsq5auk4wZWoosJ_JEyDojbCbo7hEuPYmmFp355wqM_V0SptggOvf1XD8HuxIR357P_LyjD4bCvGcu77JFmcK-QbQLJpgg/s3796/8.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3796" data-original-width="3796" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3C6iZWJhGUocCvsso8oLwSiEr4ynWGj8mGf63QPfM_6jM_IZ3pGGWElwXooPCjQORJlzZDdbMuOyo2dIUPacpsrNiTCYTSqsq5auk4wZWoosJ_JEyDojbCbo7hEuPYmmFp355wqM_V0SptggOvf1XD8HuxIR357P_LyjD4bCvGcu77JFmcK-QbQLJpgg/w412-h412/8.JPG" width="412" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Aw, poor board. Look at it fall to the ground like that, so sad and pathetic. Poor board.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyF5BZ5bRmx0mT2Fw7ae7JOGsruLh_Mjz50LDdGA_XnB2vStkhDMUnFMmBm4Y1-m4MXdMi4oeMs9D9YB0JtPWfSRervEEoMYJawwf7h4r9yLCriFy7fBB2LdS7ZM-cj2DgYPtp-ZAW3NX7w-znDhEaP7EdQQKUxyAWU-NW0Pk5MnAV87OsSPBeQbvtFYc/s6000/9.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyF5BZ5bRmx0mT2Fw7ae7JOGsruLh_Mjz50LDdGA_XnB2vStkhDMUnFMmBm4Y1-m4MXdMi4oeMs9D9YB0JtPWfSRervEEoMYJawwf7h4r9yLCriFy7fBB2LdS7ZM-cj2DgYPtp-ZAW3NX7w-znDhEaP7EdQQKUxyAWU-NW0Pk5MnAV87OsSPBeQbvtFYc/w420-h280/9.JPG" width="420" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh073FbK1zXiS82sAXvcXjQ5NHDa25sfPuccxo-T0h1m87QzzoAcuPDeaygi7gPJpWcvrD-NG_lzRhG5tSAEp7xAcdkZ08SgoHXTgxXmLNRnxd9rBjFq6zzB_1nWjAvry750Az4ypXAG6ShzNsZ85NttcYhu0KimTHkfPjuiGW87_js6L51VNl3i0pIgos/s4279/10.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2852" data-original-width="4279" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh073FbK1zXiS82sAXvcXjQ5NHDa25sfPuccxo-T0h1m87QzzoAcuPDeaygi7gPJpWcvrD-NG_lzRhG5tSAEp7xAcdkZ08SgoHXTgxXmLNRnxd9rBjFq6zzB_1nWjAvry750Az4ypXAG6ShzNsZ85NttcYhu0KimTHkfPjuiGW87_js6L51VNl3i0pIgos/w409-h272/10.JPG" width="409" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Ah, the time of the evening where students show good form, good form!</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35aT5mVjl43Thr_LMGrqivL171SZ6tgKi5sfHz6HPVXIb_79amItxieRUFV6uSz3QCAr1soxNL2RHOz1VuVG452x1xT_SEGu-UKFKWZkF4pyVi4TlASE2ftX0AVKOFc1pRTno2ZgO2Z1KP1CGokV-CUS3pJAgsIEElPiUlHN3QAtwyw6fATmUvN6iIdg/s500/Good%20form.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="500" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35aT5mVjl43Thr_LMGrqivL171SZ6tgKi5sfHz6HPVXIb_79amItxieRUFV6uSz3QCAr1soxNL2RHOz1VuVG452x1xT_SEGu-UKFKWZkF4pyVi4TlASE2ftX0AVKOFc1pRTno2ZgO2Z1KP1CGokV-CUS3pJAgsIEElPiUlHN3QAtwyw6fATmUvN6iIdg/s320/Good%20form.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Good form! Good form!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Yes, even the Captain would be impressed as Maddie did very well, and once again came out of the evening's testings with good form.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5QQjR5t21BG98KHG9C_mzI3aF5oT0hKhognCXXna_rHuBw0uwOMl7ZV6Pb0JQ9JyTny-YLsBXl1C7sYYAppX88pbrrClNVcrwdipBqptaKn8HkGsB7bT6TlLOMA1gCBGmu4Mcnq8srkEAo5drpiyZhnGZeplL0KVfQXH8s6t0UBhFPXfiNE-dhB3yo4/s4348/11.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2899" data-original-width="4348" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5QQjR5t21BG98KHG9C_mzI3aF5oT0hKhognCXXna_rHuBw0uwOMl7ZV6Pb0JQ9JyTny-YLsBXl1C7sYYAppX88pbrrClNVcrwdipBqptaKn8HkGsB7bT6TlLOMA1gCBGmu4Mcnq8srkEAo5drpiyZhnGZeplL0KVfQXH8s6t0UBhFPXfiNE-dhB3yo4/w416-h277/11.JPG" width="416" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0VA_a564xjkEpJHP5uqmKx9mI0GLnCZNWFXWwBTRhbKI4Ee7EKAIQkRUpRzDRkzpxj7W8pAqdlGOXIVNgAxllWVut1Lu0omb7vwu-rctwSVT6MoSY7B_Qf8X1ytSAKKR-TVnEuU0tmmL5kADzLr7Xd-KgUw_98YZZ7JYMwK28J33nYiAYMiQ3ZRk9siM/s3500/12.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3500" data-original-width="3500" height="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0VA_a564xjkEpJHP5uqmKx9mI0GLnCZNWFXWwBTRhbKI4Ee7EKAIQkRUpRzDRkzpxj7W8pAqdlGOXIVNgAxllWVut1Lu0omb7vwu-rctwSVT6MoSY7B_Qf8X1ytSAKKR-TVnEuU0tmmL5kADzLr7Xd-KgUw_98YZZ7JYMwK28J33nYiAYMiQ3ZRk9siM/w401-h401/12.JPG" width="401" /></a></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyA4zHdqOanWrokwhlzPhXE2VMlcFUSPWuBz6o7XlalAWK6Djrl9Ww2zBsiXTioQJjCfoc-GRkkWZarDMHV7deLPF6B8NVVkj64bfGYlWB_wu_zWHTBL5rDy5lLWx4L7VVWbz1Krqa6sigMYLCRO6VV8b3qnIjOTW-K1o1WkpQYJ4vFlbAncfDiJ1dwyw/s4766/IMG_0153.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4766" data-original-width="3177" height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyA4zHdqOanWrokwhlzPhXE2VMlcFUSPWuBz6o7XlalAWK6Djrl9Ww2zBsiXTioQJjCfoc-GRkkWZarDMHV7deLPF6B8NVVkj64bfGYlWB_wu_zWHTBL5rDy5lLWx4L7VVWbz1Krqa6sigMYLCRO6VV8b3qnIjOTW-K1o1WkpQYJ4vFlbAncfDiJ1dwyw/w311-h467/IMG_0153.JPG" width="311" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aVGFufuNcqpRrTgjFMdSE0ahH2xkiHM2jTQJXptkXsqAp3Tgbwjp0mB04_9BnIwfg33-KRlAWvnXG6RLiDMBZhVbZJIBIhmVOwHufBg4EatVm4KrwKmhG9B0ZXFjoAwycEuMI0n_l5yTXXabMl5Ix42YFQgqSEZa28J-C4kjgIJpDc_FZdsWugAJPDQ/s5434/IMG_0147.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3594" data-original-width="5434" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aVGFufuNcqpRrTgjFMdSE0ahH2xkiHM2jTQJXptkXsqAp3Tgbwjp0mB04_9BnIwfg33-KRlAWvnXG6RLiDMBZhVbZJIBIhmVOwHufBg4EatVm4KrwKmhG9B0ZXFjoAwycEuMI0n_l5yTXXabMl5Ix42YFQgqSEZa28J-C4kjgIJpDc_FZdsWugAJPDQ/w410-h272/IMG_0147.JPG" width="410" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2C97vzORXNWrbapx4HtXw0iPUbJta3U9JEYnPSLbSKw54xKEq1rlTL9cegOEFzvizSfmWixhwGfOcAgS8JLK-ymODMCvWi0GpK8jdWS73qWsBKOC6oCBaMk1iSUUBx5cfr0kqreX5D7nkaZ5X-cdUjf0z-GZLvOWFpIsID1KLQuRKU7fNbjiOp_L1sQ/s4529/IMG_0146.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3019" data-original-width="4529" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2C97vzORXNWrbapx4HtXw0iPUbJta3U9JEYnPSLbSKw54xKEq1rlTL9cegOEFzvizSfmWixhwGfOcAgS8JLK-ymODMCvWi0GpK8jdWS73qWsBKOC6oCBaMk1iSUUBx5cfr0kqreX5D7nkaZ5X-cdUjf0z-GZLvOWFpIsID1KLQuRKU7fNbjiOp_L1sQ/w407-h271/IMG_0146.JPG" width="407" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div>It was a good night, and we got back home a little later, but Maddie squeezed in some history homework and then a few episodes of "Monk."</div><div><br /></div><div>Mom and I were working on "Exodus" some today, plus the Easter production of course. She's doing some sewing with feathers and creating dancer costumes. Maddie was at school of course, and I picked her up early from the car line. Earlier, I was out there getting more leaves from the front yard - things are coming along with that front area, although there's a good bit to do. Our birds are still visiting, and we have new squirrels that seem to be testing the limits of our feeders and patience, so we'll see how things unfold there. Our sea monkeys have quite a few children squiggling about in the tank, so hopefully they can grow up and be the next generation. As is, we're down to three adults - but these three were the ones from last Easter, and that's a long time for these little ones to survive. I think they've done well. I've been very careful to feed them regularly and give them oxygen quite a bit.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was an average Monday otherwise. But tonight's action made things a bit more exciting, of course. We closed the night afterwards, reading our book, and then saying our prayers. After that, everyone was a bit tired, and ready for a good long nap.</div><div><br /></div>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-48759372462372498502024-02-25T23:04:00.001-05:002024-02-25T23:15:22.292-05:00Riding off into the Sunset<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9jBk9EtlP4EPUMDBF_whT7o2phm-SgB2ljG5ZuIwMGgop0niXWoSG__qnJH3ahxmL82X4gqbjWb_lE7uMPtPjvUZz0-e9mUU4x8TEbUo5M_QAV99HsUvIBZS0dMbP24_Ut0eZZDRWjJpfkw22WN9RNZ1Jd1gzJpRh9BMVUI77hxlrqwVSXc5oPdB0j8/s3278/IMG_0109.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3278" data-original-width="2185" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9jBk9EtlP4EPUMDBF_whT7o2phm-SgB2ljG5ZuIwMGgop0niXWoSG__qnJH3ahxmL82X4gqbjWb_lE7uMPtPjvUZz0-e9mUU4x8TEbUo5M_QAV99HsUvIBZS0dMbP24_Ut0eZZDRWjJpfkw22WN9RNZ1Jd1gzJpRh9BMVUI77hxlrqwVSXc5oPdB0j8/w300-h451/IMG_0109.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><p> <br />The Lone Ranger and Tonto closed out "Trailblazers" this morning, and it was a fun morning at KidPak overall. Some big policy changes occurred with security, and that sort of darkened things for a little bit, but overall the morning was fantastic. Camille won't there - her daughter and husband were not well this morning. It's been going. Today was perhaps the first day in a month where I didn't have this ridiculous cough. Anyway, things seemed to be okay today. Maddie and I signed the "Better Together" banner today, and soon we were home for the afternoon.</p><p><br /></p><p>We had our lunch, and then we were playing some new LEGO Marvel games that we just picked up. Tonight's feature move was the live-action "Aladdin," which is a great version of the story. We really enjoyed revisiting that one, certainly inspired by the fact that one week ago today we saw it on stage on the Disney <i>Wish</i>.</p><p><br /></p><p>And speaking of Jafar, we read tonight from our Kingdom Keepers book, revisiting this one again, and moving through fairly soon. It won't be long before we get the next part of the story, and maybe even a signed copy. We'll see!</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, it was a quiet day again. The birds are out there, quite happy with our feeder. There are plenty of youngling sea monkeys. The book shelves are cleaned up in the living room, and Mom is working feverishly on costuming for Easter. A lot of stress there. </p><p><br /></p><p>But we're ready for bed tonight, ready to start again tomorrow with a much better day.</p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-75162592122315743102024-02-24T22:58:00.004-05:002024-02-24T22:58:51.805-05:00From Ariel to Aerial<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwfWHSqo201KdtDHKyQMRK58zrDWb3xdlPscfiVgytOYjR9SvPxPzhyyF0LlOJr13FfxirOm1QgUw7ZeJeW4Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maddie is getting better with her aerial, and yes last night we watched Ariel in "The Little Mermaid." So we're going from <i>Ariel</i> to <i>aerial</i>. All that said, she did really well with this and is getting more consistent. The fact that Master Edge was holding the camera here made it even more satisfying for Maddie, who was happy to be successful in front of both her teachers. She's getting more consistent with this and was training with Team Edge this morning in other areas as well.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today was a day to really clean up a good bit. Mom was working with Easter costuming and I was working on cleaning up and straightening a lot in the house. I was walking in Namibia this morning again, and of course we were taking care of the birds and the sea monkeys. There are a lot in that tank right now, a lot of young ones. Hopefully they can survive to be big ones and start up the next generation. Maddie and I were playing some games today, some LEGO games in particular. We got one on sale, a LEGO Marvel game that started downloading and will be available tomorrow. But we were hanging around Tony Stark's Malibu home for a good bit, helping out Happy Hogan and his badges, defending Trevor Slatterly, and shooting bombs at Justin Hammer whenever we could. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tonight's feature movie was "The Prince of Egypt," which we chose because we're doing the "Exodus" series soon. It's been a while since we've seen this one, but it's good, particularly that scene when the Israelites were crossing the Red Sea.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqbRdIXrL8-3HnaaE11VO_vTKvnUlgMsj5oUj9kEA8vtPiz8APTmJfuy8FM2bECIIigomFLhSA16lewMcMMC-q71kunw471Tc7PlxkWxBiGgKK3A5hR6MNkRfgdd5LDN__Vyz5EXNk6D-CKUER28eNB6fZvB-r8BXhuteP1quvXHl2qkuBOWqh9TjOKc/s1278/Red%20Sea.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="1278" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqbRdIXrL8-3HnaaE11VO_vTKvnUlgMsj5oUj9kEA8vtPiz8APTmJfuy8FM2bECIIigomFLhSA16lewMcMMC-q71kunw471Tc7PlxkWxBiGgKK3A5hR6MNkRfgdd5LDN__Vyz5EXNk6D-CKUER28eNB6fZvB-r8BXhuteP1quvXHl2qkuBOWqh9TjOKc/w412-h231/Red%20Sea.jpeg" width="412" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This scene is amazing to me, and it is just a thing of wonder to think about and how it all unfolded. Can you imagine being those people at that time? Scripture is clear<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that <i>"the waters were divided,<span style="background-color: white;"> </span></i><span class="text Exod-14-22" id="en-NIV-1912"><i>and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left." </i>(Exodus 14:22 NIV)</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This morning I was actually reading that portion of Exodus, and of course reading the commentary about the back and forth between the Red Sea and the Sea of Reeds. Some people believe it was the Sea of Reeds that the Israelites passed through, this based on the Hebrew translation in this passage. But given that the suggested Sea of Reeds is so incredibly shallow, I would think you have to go with the numerous bits of context - like the scripture above - which clearly show this is a pretty deep body of water. Regardless of the actual location, it's an amazing miracle, and the movie really portrayed it well. We'll be watching "The Ten Commandments" soon enough, and we'll see it yet again. We might even watch the Sight & Sound version too, just for fun. "Exodus" will be a great series next weekend!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tonight we read from our Kingdom Keepers book, and we said our prayers too. I'm pretty tired though, just barely getting this all typed out so I can get some rest. Tomorrow we have church in the morning, and maybe even "The Chosen" in the afternoon. Got to get some rest!</div><br /><p></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-77004744660956713552024-02-23T23:37:00.007-05:002024-02-26T17:14:05.329-05:00Exodus Upcoming<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfR3xqIpkq1oMAb6rkf0XmkNXLdzMVESU6LKmbA0oNgGBrHaZqc-bzW45Z0nx1GoonlsX_rWfZQgQVcg5NZuaBm82nw996Gz1taeCLbKWG2tywMtVJbHRMeDdmuGnrzYdNxMnW5b8Ufar6dN-9-Tpk9eLA8-RpIP2_FO6yTtGp7N6NbaSctfy63rO77aA/s1706/Exodus%20Booklet%20Cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1706" data-original-width="1104" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfR3xqIpkq1oMAb6rkf0XmkNXLdzMVESU6LKmbA0oNgGBrHaZqc-bzW45Z0nx1GoonlsX_rWfZQgQVcg5NZuaBm82nw996Gz1taeCLbKWG2tywMtVJbHRMeDdmuGnrzYdNxMnW5b8Ufar6dN-9-Tpk9eLA8-RpIP2_FO6yTtGp7N6NbaSctfy63rO77aA/w276-h427/Exodus%20Booklet%20Cover.png" width="276" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Our Exodus booklets came in, and that's always just a nice feeling - you get these boxes and boxes of booklets that you've written, and you cut that tape at the top, and unbox the booklets, holding them up and looking at your creation for the first time. The printing place has a smell that comes out as you look at your booklet - it's a great moment. Camille did the new artwork, but I read and reread the devotional that I did some time ago, and it's very special to me. This new series will be really good.</p><p><br /></p><p>This morning before coming in, Mom and I started the latest Hillsdale online course, a brand new one coincidentally dedicated to the book of Exodus. So we went over chapters one and two with a new professor, and it was really enjoyable. We got a 100% on our quiz too! Looking forward to the remaining lectures, as I love looking closer at these chapters and verses that we've read so many times.</p><p><br /></p><p>Speaking of walking in Africa, this morning I was continuing with the Namibia walking series on the treadmill, and it's been great. I need to walk a little more than run lately, one reason being I was a little bit under the weather. These are recovery walks in the desert, and they've been really nice. Some time ago, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and basically hung out there for a while at the hotel itself where there were all kinds of presentations, from night vision exhibitions where we could see animals off in the dark to presentations by representatives of different nationalities speaking about their own countries. The one we saw was about Namibia, and the young lady gave a great presentation about this country that we knew very little of. I still don't know as much, but I've always been pretty fascinated by Namibia. Yes, I'd even like to go there some day, probably just to visit. But it seems so isolated down there, partly due to the coastline and massive desert. The virtual walks along the coast or across the desert have been pretty cool.</p><p><br /></p><p>Tonight we were back at taekwondo again for a few classes, one where Maddie was happy to be back. She was doing a good bit of training tonight because next week she'll have yet another testing on her march towards that third degree black belt. That's still a year away or so, but she's doing well and she's practicing hard. Plus she's having a good time!</p><p><br /></p><p>The feature tonight on television was one I wanted to watch: "The Little Mermaid." Of course this was inspired by our recent cruise experience, but until now we haven't watched the live action version of this story, the movie that came out last year. The three of us sat down to watch this one, and we actually enjoyed this one quite a bit. There were changes in story or lyrics here or there, but it wasn't anything terrible. Some of the musical numbers were really well put together, and it's a difficult thing to envision in live-action, but we thought they did a great job with it.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was late after that, and yes, it was time for bed. We read some more from this latest Kingdom Keepers book, and after that we said our prayers. It's time for sleep. Tomorrow we get to sleep in a little bit - a <i>little</i> bit!</p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5984066063706983749.post-898752680597195292024-02-22T23:34:00.014-05:002024-02-26T16:52:07.534-05:00Here Come the Crocuses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgGi2r0J-8FKT4Heubm6rgHrFJzjLuOyrb7EXAf1j3SxppQ4lIAorXvxo1iqEKVyrSsDZ8XvLjVA-ioBestPCwcHpqEOUSGywOTTkLJmMTSYyEQDfSe_43q0ACX1IqaDAW_MymxFE4TcOzk1NiqniwHYkpRhyMp045i4rCVxBh72wBJuDSsql_4wH_WU/s6000/IMG_0127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgGi2r0J-8FKT4Heubm6rgHrFJzjLuOyrb7EXAf1j3SxppQ4lIAorXvxo1iqEKVyrSsDZ8XvLjVA-ioBestPCwcHpqEOUSGywOTTkLJmMTSYyEQDfSe_43q0ACX1IqaDAW_MymxFE4TcOzk1NiqniwHYkpRhyMp045i4rCVxBh72wBJuDSsql_4wH_WU/w432-h288/IMG_0127.JPG" width="432" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiICIGapU6KS6Kp737-ksPDoANcX8Ql0KB269HfUQVKyDCTwm_Z5jcQ_oGLD4ZYMUqUl02TVhwbv5vZg3If5Le4C1pWYVxnrOC2A7P5hDw3povdUGpnn1cpDRy0uFeW_-zSpQqRx9VDgaEArDpH9Qy8IVhN9lCjXWbqrfzvOWPvk-N5xO0RzDb7OJDcNs/s4000/IMG_0133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="4000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiICIGapU6KS6Kp737-ksPDoANcX8Ql0KB269HfUQVKyDCTwm_Z5jcQ_oGLD4ZYMUqUl02TVhwbv5vZg3If5Le4C1pWYVxnrOC2A7P5hDw3povdUGpnn1cpDRy0uFeW_-zSpQqRx9VDgaEArDpH9Qy8IVhN9lCjXWbqrfzvOWPvk-N5xO0RzDb7OJDcNs/w400-h400/IMG_0133.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-8Bx5BCq_7XMxYJvwwEJLuKvhmHcAYVoa7bCyhOFG9eTBoFbMOHHQh5r5Qux56AUQ6MBU6Iz8TTVAqD9k0KK8ia2lnWZBDlF9EDBl-cvl0XWI-v-lT17MpJEp30ZghroFWEF1os4kgXKAHxVMeQgun7MSOKqHdI8K-BUzkVSK7X5pPC409BzeOZkrZs/s6000/IMG_0135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6000" data-original-width="4000" height="487" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-8Bx5BCq_7XMxYJvwwEJLuKvhmHcAYVoa7bCyhOFG9eTBoFbMOHHQh5r5Qux56AUQ6MBU6Iz8TTVAqD9k0KK8ia2lnWZBDlF9EDBl-cvl0XWI-v-lT17MpJEp30ZghroFWEF1os4kgXKAHxVMeQgun7MSOKqHdI8K-BUzkVSK7X5pPC409BzeOZkrZs/w324-h487/IMG_0135.JPG" width="324" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_USx_-Z4pJ5tfYXjYUvJ2hOd03M_KyS6BaFk4_ijfOKRqyTdihveaj5F6xdBq3biLoG7CM1m3PxOWA2Q9r_fO7gv4RdG4ygBMMkSd3SPSwPdBtqw86loMq89lD5pgXkjyXmjBMmi_-wtODbO8OY3E54Jt9G85TetCit8M3_izlfiA7vkL5Zr1lksebU/s3090/IMG_0139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3090" data-original-width="3090" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_USx_-Z4pJ5tfYXjYUvJ2hOd03M_KyS6BaFk4_ijfOKRqyTdihveaj5F6xdBq3biLoG7CM1m3PxOWA2Q9r_fO7gv4RdG4ygBMMkSd3SPSwPdBtqw86loMq89lD5pgXkjyXmjBMmi_-wtODbO8OY3E54Jt9G85TetCit8M3_izlfiA7vkL5Zr1lksebU/w427-h427/IMG_0139.JPG" width="427" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The crocuses are starting to bloom in the front yard, these cute little blossoms emerging to remind us that yes, in fact spring is on its way. There's plenty to do with the yards, and we'll be working on that more in the coming days and weeks as we attempt to make sure house look much nicer from the outside.</p><p><br /></p><p>This morning Maddie had her five dollars to get a Chick-Fil-A breakfast sandwich, which is a great way to start the day. Of course, even better way to start the day is with prayer, and the blessing pronounced over her followed by a "Shalom, shalom!"</p><p><br /></p><p>Maddie's schooling continues with forensics, challenges in pre-calculus, fun with ceramics and of course the ongoing adventure at Chestatee Elementary. She enjoys it there. While she's at elementary school, a few of us from KidPak go over to a middle school each Thursday to do a little session after school that's been fun. It's great being back in school.</p><p><br /></p><p>My bloodwork results came back and those were good. I think I spoiled that answer yesterday, a little in advance, but I did have to wait on those results, and was quite thrilled to see them when they came in. Mom was doing plenty of garden work when we got home, but in between she's working on Roman costuming, particularly shoes at the moment. We're getting ready to film some things for Easter soon enough. Meanwhile, I got my walking in, continuing my adventure in Namibia, at least virtually.</p><p><br /></p><p>Tonight was taekwondo, of course, which consisted of helping instructors and then attending leadership classes. She's getting better and better with her aerial, which is something she's happy to be able to do in front of instructors. </p><p><br /></p><p>We got home and watched some episodes of "Monk," moving along with season five, continuing with the forensics theme. We <i>could</i> be done with this by the end of the school year, at which point we could be watching the new movie that came out around Christmas. I've been holding off on that until Maddie sees all of the eight seasons of the original show, just in case something is spoiled. Plus, it's a bit of delayed gratification there, a goal to look forward to. Meanwhile, we just plug along, one episode after another, with some serious binging!</p><p><br /></p><p>The evening was closed out with reading a few chapters from this Kingdom Keepers book we read last year. We're reviewing that, and hopefully the new one will be here roughly the time we finish this one. We'll see how that goes! Anyway, we read, and we're still trying to remember these new characters and their relationship with other characters. I'm glad Maddie gets confused too, but we're not too bad off. It's just every so often we're glad to have the reminder.</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, we said our prayers tonight, and that was it for a quiet day. We're allowed to have quiet days after such an incredible weekend last week, right? Still rocking back and forth with the equilibrium...</p><p><br /></p>Mrs. Nesbitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00721538046753582474noreply@blogger.com0