Eight Years Now

We always look at a squillion pictures that were taken on June 30, 2008.  There's a slideshow video we made, and a few discs of pictures as well - we pour through them all together as a family, remembering that happy day.  And online, there are there other 'forever families' that celebrate that day with us as well - they were with us in that chaotic little room.  We share photos with one another, and some of the joy comes from giving a family a picture of themselves that day that they might not have seen before.  That certainly happened a few times this year as we shared some more of our photo library.  But we got one this year from a family in Seattle that shared some of their pictures of that day, and yes, it's of the three of us and we've never seen it before.

This is a new one to us - it was actually taken on July 1, 2008.  We know this because you can see the outfit that Mommy got for Madison there, complete with the new shoes and the rattle that Madison would not ever let go of.  We still have that rattle to this day, a happy memory of that amazing adventure.

Madison woke up this morning letting us know, "It's Gotcha Day!"  We had a day much like any other, although Daddy was off of work.  We spent a good deal of time rearranging the house.  Mommy is setting things up nicely, and there was some grocery shopping to be done.  Beyond that, there our usual trip down to the pool today.  Madison's progress is good!  She's still a little scared to do the longest length of the pool, but she did do a lot today, more than she's done in the past.  Mostly in between, we throw a wet sponge football back and forth at each other.  She loves peeking underwater and seeing the other world down there.  If she had a snorkel with her, she could easily make it from one side of the length of the pool to the other - it's just a matter of proper breathing technique.  For this, we're showing her how to turn her head sideways and do it that way.  She's trying that out, and getting more and more comfortable in the water.  We just keep doing this, and eventually, I believe she'll get the hang of it!

Speaking of which, today was another speech therapy class down in Alpharetta.  Traffic down there, oy!  But it was a good session today, with Madison's assignment to say more words that end in 'er.'  Like 'power' and 'flower.'  What she has to do though, is say the 'er' part first.  So they become 'er pow' and 'er flow.'  Then, she says them normally afterwards, making sure she has emphasis on that 'er' part.

Anyway, we're working on that 'r' sound, which I always thought was ironic because she's a pirate, and should naturally have an 'arrrr' sound!

Tonight, we got home, and did a little Disney Infinity.  Daddy got her the new character Kanan, so we played around with that one and Zeb for a bit before Madison got to bed earlier tonight.  The reason?  Madison wanted to make sure that Mommy and Daddy had their date night!  Of course, we just had to do our usual reading from "Mary Poppins" tonight.  We've been talking about a cat, one that looks at a king.  We wrapped up that chapter, and our devotional reading as well - and then Mommy and Daddy went downstairs to watch an old movie we picked up from the library:  "Funny Face."  It was actually a good old-fashioned movie, one that made us both want to watch some others we haven't seen before.  Next, we're checking out "Harvey," the one with James Stewart and the imaginary rabbit.  Daddy hasn't seen that one before.  Anyway, it was a nice evening together, and a nice day together as a family.  It's been eight years of joy for us.  We can't remember so much what it was like before June 30, 2008 - without Madison.  She's been such a blessing in our lives!

Madison's Mad Lib

Tonight, our friend Joey brought to church a hacky sack (auto correct is desperate to change that to "tacky sack"). This may have to be a future gift for Madison - she loved it.  We had a circle of friends, about eight of us, and we just kept at it, kicking it and passing it along for about a forty-five minutes or so.  She was absolutely having a blast with this thing, although a couple of us were just learning to do it.  Joey was really good with it, as were a few others, and it was just fun to keep going and going.

It was a good day today - Madison was working on a craft at home, a tissue box with seashells glued all around it.  These are shells we've collected from Satellite Beach, of course.  The idea is to make a gift for Nana Green when we get to Florida next.  

The big fun of today was the KidPak service tonight.

We had KidPak tonight, and it was our small classroom experience once again, that is to say, a service where we dismissed the kids from the general larger assembly to a smaller classroom, assigned by grade.  We are in our Superheroes series, so Josh and Daddy decided to dedicate this night to Wonder Woman (as she's one of the only main DC characters leftover).  So all of the classrooms talked about this message here, the one that Daddy wrote up about Wonder Woman:

     She’s the princess of superheroes, the champion of truth and justice, and a major player in the Justice League. She stands toe to toe with the likes of Superman and Batman. They call her Wonder Woman, and it’s no wonder: she has super strength, bracelets that deflect bullets and an incredible lasso of truth.
     The bracelets come in handy, but wouldn’t it be great to have a lasso of truth? It is simple to work – Wonder Woman throws it around friends and foes, and whoever it is that is wrapped up inside has to tell the truth no matter what.
     Can you see how useful this would be? She could find out who took her diet soda from the refrigerator at the Hall of Justice. She could also find out who made a mess at the conference table and didn’t clean it up.
     Of course, Wonder Woman doesn’t use her lasso of truth to do mundane, boring things like this. She uses it to save the day against villains and evildoers. But in both cases, there is a simple fact – wouldn’t it be an easier world if everyone told the truth and didn’t hide things? We wouldn’t need a lasso of truth, that’s for sure.
     Like the lasso, lies can tie us up and confine us. They limit us, and prevent us from doing things we need to do. Worse, just like a lasso, they can only get tighter the more we struggle against them. It’s a pretty awful feeling being trapped in a lie. Really, there’s only one thing that can free us: that’s the truth.
     Don’t get caught up in lies, because they can tangle us up. The Bible says the truth will set us free, so don’t wait for Wonder Woman to come after you with her lasso! Be a hero and stick with the side of truth today!

It was a simple message, but Daddy needed something fun to do that helped the message along.  And that's when Madison stepped up to help.  She suggested a mad-lib, and actually helped write this story below, coming up with probably more than 50% of it, just off her head.  As we wrap up here, below you can find the mad-lib.  The kids in our class just loved it!  Lots of laughing tonight!

     Once upon a time, there lived a superhero named ___________________.  This hero always told the truth, and never lied.  Like George Washington.  Or maybe ___________________.

    One day, our hero met a ________________ named __________________.  Our hero said, “Where are you going?”

     And the other person said, “Um… I’m going to ___________________.”

     And our hero said, “That costs about ______________.  Where are you going to get that kind of money?”

     And the other person said, “Oh.  I already have that.  I’m ________________.”

     Now our hero said that he was going there too, and he would see his friend there.  Only this was the problem:  his friend wasn’t rich, and didn’t plan on going.  But now, he had to figure out a way to cover up his fib!

     You see, our friend here was trying to impress the hero.  Our hero left the room.  He had to go save a ______________ from going off a cliff in ______________.”

     Our friend here had to cover for his lie.  He had to find (same as above) dollars!  And since he couldn’t find it, he became a robber!”

     (Put ski mask on second volunteer, and give that volunteer a crowbar.)

    The robber threatened a bunch of people in the class, by saying, “Put up your ____________!”

     The class did just as the robber asked.  And then the robber said, “Give me all of your __________________!”

    But just as the robber was doing this, our hero returned.  He ___________ into the room!  Our hero said, “I’m ______________!”

     The hero grabbed the robber’s crow bar, and bent it just like this!

(Hero grabs crow bar and bends it just like this)

    The robber was frightened.  But he gave up.  He turned to everyone and apologized, saying, “I’m ________________!”

     The robber took off the mask, and lo!  It was the hero’s friend!  The hero asked, “Why did you try to steal all that?”

     The robber said, “I was a ____________.”

     Then he added, “I wanted to impress you, so I told a little fib.  But then I had to come up with the money, so I did the only logical thing I could do: Dress up as a robber, and go _____________ it.”

     But our hero knew the right thing to do.  He said, “Always tell the _____________.”

     Wait.  Is that right?  No, it’s always tell the truth!  In fact, there’s a Bible verse that goes something like this:  "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 
John 8:31 NIV

     And so the robber said he was sorry.  He saw how a lie can only grow and grow and grow, and promised to never do it again.

     Will you all press charges against him?

If YES, then:

      Oh, well, then he went to court, and was sentenced to go to jail for __________ years.  And for everyone else, it was a happily ever after. 

The End!

If NO, then:

     Oh, good.  Forgiveness rules here at the church.  Well, everyone was happy now.  The former robber went to McDonald’s afterwards and played that dumb Monopoly game and guess what?  He won ___________ dollars!  So he became rich, and could go after all!

     And everyone lived happily ever after!

1.    Name (Jeff, Carlotta, Billy Bob)

2.    Famous Person (Abraham Lincoln, Taylor Swift, Franklin Delano Roosevelt)

3.    Profession (reporter, rodeo clown, pastor)

4.    Name (Chuck, Brigham, Susan)

5.    Location (Disney World, Comic Book Convention, Beijing)

6.    Number (3.14, 12, 3 billion)

7.    Adjective (flabby, stinky, disgusting)

8.    Noun (cell phone, porcupine, taco truck)

9.    Place (Argentina, Mt. Everest, Churchill Downs)

10.                  Plural Noun (sticky notes, cowbells, water guns)

11.                  Plural Noun (Spongebob pillows, toenails, boogers)

12.                  Verb ending in –ed (rolled, hopped, crawled)

13.                  Adjective (shiny, flat, preposterous)

14.                  Adjective (ridiculous, bubbly, infectious)

15.                  Noun (toaster, Choco Taco, shoe)

16.                  Verb (jump, toast, fly)

17.                  Noun (fog horn, churro, spatula)
18.                  Number (2, 100, 12 billion)

Hulk Smash Origami!

Madison spent a good portion of the day trying some new origami.  And she's pretty good at it too!

Mommy found an origami booklet that we've been saving for Madison, and sure enough, there were some things in there that she wanted to try out.  When Daddy got home from work, there was quite a collection of her creations lined up, including a frame created with folded green paper.  Inside the frame was another piece of paper, upon which the words "Hulk Smash!" were artistically written.

You can imagine the Hulk attempting origami, can't you?  Ever since we've returned to the LEGO Avengers, Madison has been leaning towards the Hulk and Hawkeye in the game, and Mockingbird too.  How great that this game actually includes the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

So we did some more swimming this evening, and this time even later than usual.  The weather is cooler, in the mid-eighties, but it almost seemed chilly to us, having acclimated to the upper nineties the last week or so.  Still, it was pleasant at the pool.  If you're keeping score, this was our fifth day in a row there, and it's all in order to get Madison more and more comfortable swimming.  Each day, the idea is to get her to something new, or go further, or both.  Today's task was going the width of the pool, hanging on the wall for a moment, and then doing the width of the pool again.  And she did it!  She was unsure at first, but Daddy motivated her with an achievement award:  Zeb for Disney Infinity. Yes, Madison won the Zeb Award.  And of course, there are other pool achievement awards coming now, but we're pacing ourselves.  Madison can't quite make the length of the pool yet (she tried), but we'll get there soon enough!

It was Taco Tuesday, and this time Daddy was cooking away.  He had to get the meat on the way home, and cooked it up the moment he got through the door.  Madison was more than ready to down about three tacos!  We waited a bit before heading to the pool though.

This was the perfect time to work on the puzzle that's been really, really tough on us this last week and a half.  It's a Thomas Kinkade painting of "The Jungle Book," and there's just a lot of similar waterfalls and jungle foliage about.  It's slow-going, but we'll get there!

Tonight before bed, we read some more from our devotional, and then from Mary Poppins - about a cat and a king.  It was an odd story, more reminiscent of something from "Alice in Wonderland," but still entertaining to Madison.  Mommy, however, was nearly sleeping by the end of this chapter:  she hasn't slept well the last few nights.  Early night for all of us!

Nessie

We've been talking about the Loch Ness Monster a bit lately, and other lake monsters throughout the world as well.  This all started the other night as we were watching some Disney shorts, and there was one about Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.  It's called "The Ballad of Nessie."

Aye, we're back in Scotland again.  Look closely, and you can see Nessie above.  It was a sweet little cartoon, one that explained where all the water came from in the loch, and also where Nessie is now as well.  It's a fun topic - when Daddy was growing up, there was talk of a similar creature in Lake Champlain in upstate New York.  This one they've given the nickname "Champ."  Somewhere, lurking beneath the surface of the water these ginormous lone aquatic dinosaurs lurk, surfacing from time to time in order to pose for blurry photos.  But these two apparently aren't just 'lone' monsters.  Further research has determined that there is one in Lake Storsjön in Sweden.  This one they call "Storsjöodjuret," and has been reported to be as much as 42 feet long.  And up in Canada, in British Columbia, there are sightings of a lake monster almost 20 feet long in Okanagan.  This one's name is "Ogopogo."  But the Northern Hemisphere is not an exclusive place for lake monsters.  No!  Deep in Argentina, there is a lake called Nahuel Huapi Lake.  And in that lake is home to another dinosaur the locals call "Nahuelito."

There's no extensive proof that any of these lake monsters exist.  And yet, there's no proof that they don't either.  Many of these had sightings that predate the Loch Ness Monster, so it wasn't as if these were copycats trying to cash in on the popularity of a new tourist destination.  And why is it that all of these lake creatures are reported to appear roughly the same shape, and the same size?  

Madison is on the fence about whether or not they're real, all of this despite Daddy's playful prodding.  All of this fueled our choice of movie tonight, "The Water Horse."  This was pretty much the culmination of our lake monster mystery discussion, and a pretty decent movie as well.  Earlier in the day we were at the printers, and just across the street there are the war memorials for local soldiers lost in various wars throughout the decades.  This led to a discussion about the wars, starting pretty much with World War I and going up from there.  Ironically, we were talking about how big of a deal World War II was, and sure enough, in this movie you can see the effects of the war, as soldiers are looking for German U-boats when they spot Nessie.

Stopping at the printers was a fun coincidence.  The lady Daddy is in contact there with is named Rhonda, and it was her birthday.  And so, with Madison there as well, the question was asked, "Do you want some cake and ice cream?"  You know the answer already.

It was a nice little trip to town, along with a trip to the office for a bit.  Once done with a small amount of work, Daddy and Madison dropped by McDonald's and then of course Race Trac to refill our cups.  You really can't number the amount of times we've visited there.  Seriously, sometimes three or four times a day.  The place is right across the street from where we work.  What do you expect?  

Tonight, we had more swim lessons, and things are looking better and better.  Madison's confidence is there, and she's really enjoying swimming under the water now.  It's a slight addiction to go under the water, holding her breath.  Now we just have to work on the breathing part, because well, that's kind of important!

And so our day came to an end after Nessie escaped, also swimming freely under the water.  We've been reading from the third Mary Poppins book each night before bed - that and the devotional, of course.  Afterwards, it's time for all of us to pretty much go to bed.

But it's cooler tonight.  The rain came this evening, finally, and what a blessing.  It's not much cooler, but just the idea of rain is something nice.

Cannonball!

So Madison did her first proper cannonball today into the pool.  Sure, there are the unofficial, more unorthodox sorts of cannonballs that have taken place.  But with proper guidance from her coach (me), she's now doing better bigger cannonballs than before.  Currently, there's no shout of "Cannonball!" just before jumping in.  She just does it, because she's all business!  With proper training, she can go far I tell you!

This should be an Olympic event.  I mean, you already have folks jumping off diving boards and into pools at varying heights.  Why not add the cannonball to the repertoire of entries into the water?  Can you picture a diver from South Korea shouting "Cannonball!" from the high dive, and then balling up into correct position before creating a massive splash down below.  The judges see the amount of water displaced, the twirling of the cannonball, and how the divers throw themselves off the diving board.

And you can expand from there, of course, with a Synchronized Cannonball Event.

With that healthy spirit of the games in mind, the Olympic Bellyflop competition would also be a good addition.  Madison probably won't be trying out for an bellyflops any time soon.  She's seen plenty of those at Summer Xtreme, and while they're fun to watch, she's happy to leave them with the professionals.  Cannonballs are fine for now.

Anyway, today was a KidPak service in the morning, one where we talked about the Fantastic Four.  The four are God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and us.  It was a good message, one I'll post here below:

     There is a signal that hangs in the sky – a beam of light that shoots forth in the darkness with one purpose: it’s a call to action for our heroes!

     Light is unique. Though we only see brightness, it is made up of many different colors. If one color is missing – that beam of light would be incomplete. It wouldn’t be the same! The different colors of the spectrum are a team that works together to shine brightly and break up the darkness.

     In a similar way, there is another team of heroes that work together to bring light to a dark world. It is a fantastic four, a team that when working together can be unstoppable.

     The first member of the team is God, the leader and invisible force behind everything good. He puts a hedge of protection around us, leading us and guiding us in all we do.

     The next team member is Jesus. He is many different things to us all at once, - Savior, Advocate and Friend. The thing is, he’s never stretched too thin.

     The third member of the team is the Holy Spirit, the real muscles of the group. It’s a thing of beauty to watch as He’s got the power to help get the missions done!

     The fourth and final member of this amazing group is each of us. We should be on fire for God, like a human torch burning bright! We can be a hero, blazing a trail for others to follow, and rescuing them from the darkness.

     This team works together to bring the light of the world to dark and murky places. Absolutely nothing can stand up against the light and power of this group of heroes, so suit up, get ready for action and join the Fantastic Four!

During the service, we showed a clip from the 2005 movie.  Which wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time.  Well, okay, the parts with Dr. Doom were a terrible reminder of how bad of a job they did with that villain.  But the team was fun, and certainly it was a better movie than whatever it was that came out last year.  Some day, we'll get another Fantastic Four movie that's a little better.  But right now, we'll have to be happy with LEGO Fantastic Four.

Which is what we played today:  the latest LEGO Marvel game.  We met Ultron a bit, and sort of went over that movie's storyline, "Age of Ultron."  Madison has new respect for Ultron.  The Disney Infinity figure is sitting there in the great room, sort of scowling at us, "I'll get you next time!"

Another thing that Madison did today was this:  make pudding.   And yes, tonight we actually ate pudding.  She did a good job, of course under Mommy's watchful eye.  It's been fun learning to cook lately!

So it was a good day today, another scorcher.  Tomorrow, we expect rain, and just that thought alone thrills us, like that old song, "Cool Water."  We saw enough in the pool, of course.  That was fun.  Fun enough that tomorrow, Daddy might even do a cannonball!

Homemade Ice Cream

Madison and Mommy made some homemade ice cream today, with strawberries in it.  Yes, it was perfect.  Especially for a steaming hot day like today.  The weather has been so amazingly hot, and that ice cream was just perfect.  Madison and Daddy had theirs on cones, and Mommy had hers in a bowl.  But everyone's ice cream had sprinkles on it, because … well, they're sprinkles, okay?

Anyway, this  morning we started off with a building project, putting together Iron Man at the local Lowe's.  This is part two of the Avengers Initiative, and as amazingly busy as the other locations are, this one here in Gainesville is so quiet and disorganized.  Not that this is entirely a bad thing, unless you get there in a fowl mood or something.  You're there for the kids, and the building, and despite the employees there not being entirely prepared, there's still a charm to it all that keeps us coming back.  Madison just took over her part, driving in those nails, and Daddy did the stickers as always.  Iron Man has a little Arc Reactor that lights up.  I'm surprised that the employees there had so man Arc Reactors to hand out.  But we weren't greedy - we just took one, and it's proudly lighting up at the house right now as this is typed.

After a bit of work today, and after the ice cream, we went over to the pool once more.  This is a part of the Madison Learns to Swim program, and sure enough, she's swimming further and faster than before. She did the width of the larger portion of the pool today with no problem.  And she keeps diving downward, holding her breath longer and swimming horizontally across the pool's surface.  Mommy and Daddy are thrilled.  It's also a nice thing to do, getting out in the pool on these blazing hot days.  We've been - and will be - going to the pool at around 6:30 - 7:00 in the evening, and that's just perfect, really.  The sun is going down, the heat is still there, the pool is still warm, and it's great to take a dip.  Madison has her standard pool toys:  a sponge football and a tiny squirt gun.  Both of these are endless entertainment for her!

Across the Pond/Pool

It was a big event tonight, as Madison finally made it across one of the smaller sections of the pool, without touching the bottom.  It's been one of those lingering issues for us, as the idea of swimming just hasn't caught on with her lately.  She can't really float so well, and she relies on floaties.  So recently, we went over to a place that teaches kids to swim, and of course we found out that it costs a good deal of money for individual lessons.  And we're not knocking that so much, and in fact are still on the fence about signing her up.  But Madison wanted to try today, and we were certainly wanting to see what she could do, or at least help her out in staying horizontal on the water, versus vertical.

She made it.  After a few attempts, she started getting the hang of the idea of staying above the water.  Just barely, of course.  But after that she discovered that if she held her breath, she could easily swim across the top of the water, face down as if she were snorkeling without the snorkel.  In fact, she was swimming that style for a good bit, although it makes Daddy a bit nervous.  I know she'll come up for air at the right time, but nevertheless I worry.  That's my job.  Regardless, the floor of the pool is right there within range for her - when she stands up, her head is above water.  So this is the perfect place to practice.

Anyway, it seems as if all is well there, which is just great news.  We'll go back again and again, and see what happens from there.

Daddy was off at work today, and Madison was busy doing work here too.  She was doing someone's hair!

Meet Elsa.  You may have met her before.  I know we have, as we've seen the movie quite a bit in this house.  One of Madison's gifts back at Christmas was Elsa here, who is just sitting there waiting for you to style her hair.  That Madison did, and did it for quite some time today.

She and Mommy had fun with this one, as you can tell.

Tonight, we kept our Grecian theme going by watching "Hercules," which is one of our favorite cartoons ever.  The tie-in here - and it's completely unintended - is that perhaps Greece caused what happens to be the big news today:  the Brexit.  Great Britain voted to leave the European Union today, which has caused a great deal of turmoil in the world markets, and the political world as well.  It's a big deal, and it all started today.  Mommy of course has relatives over in England, and they were in favor of the Brexit.  That's the words "Britain" and "Exit" combined.  Not really sure who came up with that one, but there it is.  We'll see what happens from here, but clearly there is a struggle between a nationalistic voice (those who wanted independence) and those in favor of the union, and perhaps beyond that a one world system.  Not coincidentally, those who are more nationalistic, in favor of leaving, are more conservative.  Just follow the dots from there.

So it's been a historic day, but in our eyes we won't remember Brexit.  We'll remember Madison's first time swimming across that pool.  That's something everyone can be happy about!

The Very Starving Caterpillar

We had a great day today, what I remember being a 'typical' summer day from last year and the years before.  When there's no busy schedule, there's time to do things like you see above:  Madison has all these Disney board games that you can interlock with one another (thanks to Nana and Ye-Ye), and the game is now so big that it has created an empire across the table.  We played a couple rounds this morning, going past Cinderella's coach, a big castle, the "Frozen" castle, and the tower from "Tangled" as well, all these pop-up structures on a board.  Madison creamed Daddy the first game, but Daddy made a great comeback on the second game to tie things up.  We'll keep you posted on the tie-breaker.

We spent some time drawing after that, as we got from the library a DVD with Stan Lee telling us how to draw superheroes.  So that we did, along with some more superhero fish.  But soon Daddy had to go to work for a bit, and while there, Madison was busy doing piano practice, and also reading for the summer program.  She's behind this year, but through no fault of her own.  We made it 40 books instead of 50 this summer, because they're bigger.  But these are some of the biggest books she's ever written, so we figured we'd go by the library and give her some other shorter books to help her catch up.

We were going to the library anyway.  The reason?  An Eric Carle themed project with about twenty-something other kids.  First, it was story time, where the teacher read to all the kids "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."  Then, it was time to create a hungry caterpillar of their own!

This is not the finished product - she sill had some coloring to do.  But the caterpillar turned out great, didn't it?  I like how he's not just hungry.  He's 'starven!' All the caterpillars the kids did turned out really well.  The instructor was upbeat and helpful, and the class was pretty enjoyable for everyone, parents too.

We left the room there, and got ourselves some books.  Yes, we picked up some Eric Carle books.  But we picked up quite a few others too, so we'll be busy reading books the next few weeks.

Daddy helped cook dinner tonight, and afterwards it was time for a movie.  As we just finished reading "Treasure Island," we thought it would be fun to watch "Treasure Planet."  Although we'll probably be getting that old Disney version of "Treasure Planet" next, the one with Robert Newton in it.  I believe he's the guy who we all imitate when we try to sound like pirates these days.  So it's an important movie.

Anyway, we went to bed later, reading from our devotional and saying our prayers.  It was a nice day today.  Arrr!

Marvel Fish

This is a idea that Madison had in her head to do.  Today, we returned to the "Marvel Fish."  I'm not sure where this thought came from, but she creates fish and decorates them to resemble characters from Ultimate Spider-Man.  She and Daddy sat down for a bit, and spent some time making fish.  These above are all Madison's fish, including Iron Fist, Nova, Nick Fury, White Tiger, Spider-Man, and at the bottom, Stan Lee.  As fish.

It's pretty fun, actually.  Hopefully she'll continue with this idea throughout the entire Marvel Universe!

It is Wednesday, so therefore we had some church to plan for - along with a Forward Conference as well.  Things went well, aside from the fact that our large screen bulb kept going out.  Suddenly, we were taking evasive action and planning for a service without movie clips or stuff to show on the screen.  Amazingly, it all worked out rather well!  It was sort of like KidPak unplugged, only it wasn't so much the audio as it was the video.  Anyway, it was a good night.  Madison enjoyed it, from the games to the Wisenheimer invention to great worship at the beginning.

But tonight we're all tired.  We're going to bed counting fish... one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, Spider-Man fish....

Greek to Me

This afternoon, Madison and Daddy caught up on Mommy's birthday a bit by giving her a gift that came out today, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2."  It was actually released today, so that all worked out.  Also, as you can see, we had some extra props to help with the presentation.  The Greek salad dressing is a funny touch, as are the pillars we found at Goodwill a week ago.  There's nothing Greek about the Snickers bar, although we know she'll enjoy that.  Madison and Daddy signed the card, and it made for a nice little surprise for Mommy, also setting up "Date Night" for us later in the evening.  Madison graciously went to bed earlier tonight, and the parents were able to take in a movie.

Mommy enjoyed it, although we'd both agree that it wasn't as good as the first.  The first movie is one that we watch about once a year in February or so, part of our "Valentine's Day Movie Fest," where we watch romantic comedies that we like a lot.  The first one was something special, and it was neat to see every single cast member back to have some fun with this one.

Earlier in the day, Madison and Daddy went to the library to see a magician with some amazing slight-of-hand.

It was part of the library's summer program series, and again we're so blessed to have some great things to take Madison to see over the summer.  Madison and all the other children were cracking up at the jokes, and of course the insane slight-of-hand tricks.  The highlight was probably the folded-up dollar bill with a little girl's writing on it that disappeared, and later appeared… was that inside a lemon laid by a dove?  Needless to say, kids were amazed.  Grown-ups were pretty impressed to.  The guy was pretty funny, and a natural with the kids.

While at the library, of course we dropped off a few books and picked up some more.  And for a good part of the day earlier than that, Daddy was actually at work.  It was one of those days where we were all supposed to be off, and yet when Daddy arrived, about 70% of the KidPak staff was actually there, having all snuck in to do this or that - just like Daddy did.  Madison hung out and watched "Jessie," of course.  That's her addiction.  She loves to watch that television show, and has been watching it ever since last summer or so.

It was a warmer day, and we're all still recovering from two consecutive weeks of Summer Xtreme.  But there's an upbeat attitude in all of it, because things went well and vacation is not far away.  This week, we have the teen event of Forward, which is a big deal for our church.  We'll be busy helping with that, although not really shouldering any burdens there.  We won't feel that intense weight anymore.  We'll just be happy to help wherever we can.  Some day Madison will be involved in that conference, but that's a while from now and I don't mind at all if it feels like a really long time to get to that point.  That was one of the topics of the movie we watched, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2."  It's a girl they have, and she's growing up fast.  Between that and the topic of 'Mommy and Daddy finding time to spend together,' there were certainly some themes that were very familiar to us.

Opa!

Finding Dory

Daddy had to take off this morning to go get the car taken care of - it was just a routine maintenance trip, but oy!  It took them forever - something near two hours for a simple check-up.  Meanwhile, Mommy and Madison were rising, and the great news is that Madison is feeling better now.  This time tomorrow, she'll be 100%, and right now we'll even put her at about 90% or so.

Because she was doing better, we decided to go to the movies as soon as Daddy got back.  We made a couple visits while out, actually.  First, we went by a place to check out swim lessons for Madison.  These cost a lot.  I mean, wow.  But the fact is that Madison can't swim so much by herself.  She tells Daddy that she should have tried harder this last visit to Florida after she did a cannonball into the pool. Evidently, that's the key to her success as a swimmer:  first, doing a cannonball into the pool.  I imagine the folks at this place we went to today will be saying the same thing to her.  "Now," the instructor explains,"the first crucial step in being able to swim will be an effective cannonball.  So, when I tell you, jump in and scream, 'Cannonball!'"

The next stop on our journey was another one that involved water:  "Finding Dory."  This is the second time that Daddy has seen the movie this week, and it has only been out four days.  Of course, the first time was with Summer Xtreme in Gwinnett.  But this time around, it was much more relaxing.  Also, we got to see the post end credits scene too.  Thumbs up all around on the movie, as all three of us really liked it.  Daddy loves the new character Hank, but there are plenty of other new characters to like in this sequel.

When we got home, it was in fact later.  But we were thinking of turning around and going right back out again after we ate some dinner.  Mommy made a delicious spaghetti, and then we were back out again to pick up prescriptions and some ice cream.  Yes, we've had these coupons for free ice cream, so we had to take advantage of that, right?

When we got home, we did some video games, and we also popped in a DVD from the library that features Stan Lee helping us learn to draw superheroes.  We didn't get all the way through it, but will probably do that this week.  For the time being, Madison was drawing 3D cylinders and cubes without any problem at all.  'Nuff said.

So it was a good day, pretty much.  Outside of the eternity spent at the car dealership this morning.  We said our prayers, read from our devotional, and continued our reading of "Treasure Island" before bedtime.  These pirates seem to have the upper hand right now.... Arrr!

Thauntering Thoundwave

Take a look at this picture that Camille drew of that maniacal villain Soundwave, or properly pronounced, "Thoundwave."  She was sick all week too, and spent a good amount of time just drawing people from the Heroes movie that we filmed.

Madison is still sick too, of course, although things are improving slightly.  Still, she wasn't well enough to go to KidPak this morning.  That will wait until she's better.  By day's end, she had improved quite a bit, so it might not be that long.

Of course, today was a big holiday:  World Sauntering Day.  We made quite a few jokes about that on stage this morning, sauntering across, or into the audience.  And obviously, though it is World Sauntering Day, the response we were getting from the kids was that it is Father's Day.  Madison made sure that Daddy knew that.  Even though she was sick, she got up to call out, "Happy Father's Day."  And beyond that, she got a card for Daddy, and made him a catapult out of office supplies.  And that my friends is the perfect Father's Day gift right there.  No joke!

The service went well, our continuation of the Superheroes series.  And when Daddy got home, there was a tasty dinner - along with some Marvel Battlegrounds to play.  That was fun for a time, although soon after that it was our movie-of-the-night.  We watched "Holes," which is really a genius sort of movie.  We think it is really well done, a mystery that unfolds over the course of the movie.  Madison sat paying attention between Mommy and Daddy, also munching on a whole lot of popcorn.

Tonight we read from "Treasure Island" again, continuing our reading.  Jim Hawkins knows about Long John Silver now.  This is a stern reminder to the reader:  be sure to check your apple barrels before talking about your mutiny plans.  That's a big tip there.

Anyway, it was good, as was the Heroes devotional we were reading from.  Madison had a good day!  But we're all still a bit tired, so ... g'night!

Levitating Pencil Holder

The day after Summer Xtreme 2016 was a quiet one, with all of us sleeping late.  Madison is still feeling feverish, with all kinds of drainage as well.  She's not as miserable as she's been lately, but she's getting better.  Evidence of this is in her activities today, although there was some pretty heavy video game playing with the latest LEGO Avengers game.

Daddy got home from work to join her, and one of the first things we did after a quick meal was this:  build a levitating pencil holder.

Mommy signed up for a service called Tinker Crate, where these creative and educational projects arrive monthly for us to try out.  This month's project was a levitating pencil holder, a simple project using strategically placed magnets.  We got it together successfully, and learned a bit along the way.  Daddy actually learned a thing or two as well.

After dinner, we were back to the Avengers, and after that a bit more of our superheroes theme with "Big Hero 6."  Madison was so emotional during the ending sequences.  Fortunately, if you've seen the movie, you know how it ends, and that all is well with the team.  But for a moment, we looked over at Madison between us, and she was profoundly affected.

Tonight we're going to bed early.  Everyone is tired, but it was still a very good day.  It will just take a bit to recover from two straight weeks of Summer Xtreme.  G'night!

Heat Wave

Today was the last most exhausting day of SX16 for Gwinnett, which was wonderful for the kids, of course.  There's a feeling of 'spirit is willing, but body is weak' about today.  That is to say, we'd all keep on going if we thought our bodies could take it.  But this sort of thing for two weeks straight is quite an endeavor.  The heat this week alone was enough to wipe you out.  Today we had violent storms roll through, even in Gwinnett County. But the only effect it had on us was to cool things down to the mid eighties where we could go out and enjoy the water slides in the parking lot.  This morning's activities included going to see "Finding Dory," which was really good - but Madison was not there with us once more.  Again, she was at home, still sick with a high fever.  The medicine helps to keep it down.  Also helping were some of the games and comics Daddy left behind for her to keep her busy while she recovers.  Mommy set up the canvas again, and Madison did another wonderful painting this afternoon.  It took some time and care, but it looks great!

Tonight, we watched "Zootopia" together, and Daddy was snoozing a bit in the middle.  He was that tired.  But we enjoyed the movie and the time together.  This is something we'll be having more of in the coming days, another thing to be grateful for when it comes to thinking about SX16 being over with.  Hopefully next year, Madison will be feeling better.

Charging Tweedles

It looks as if Madison will miss all of the Gwinnett portion of our Summer Xtreme.  She was with a high fever yet again today, and that pretty much settled that.  Our destination today was Sky Zone, and there was just no way she could do all that jumping around.  Between that and the extreme heat we're experiencing, I suspect that things would just get worse for her.

So home she stayed, while Daddy was playing some intense dodge ball on the trampolines.  While there were some pretty amazing acrobatics with Matrix-style avoidances, this one session wreaked havoc on Daddy's calf muscles in the night.

Nana, Aunt Shain and the cousins dropped by today to cheer Madison up a bit, by giving her some delicious chocolate cake and some presents as well.  She got the Mad Hatter, Alice, Time and Poe Dameron for Disney Infinity, so we were playing a bit of that before bedtime.  It was good to hear Madison laugh again - we were battling each other, and once Madison figured out how to get Alice to summon a charging Tweedle, that was that.  It was so funny to her.  Honestly it's funny to us too.  But she kept doing it over and over again, and cracking herself up.

Josh has been spending the night with us all week, so he knows what Madison has been enduring.  He was smiling tonight as he heard her laugh - it was good to hear.

Sad Birthday

This one was pretty bad, sort of like the Bombadil song.  It was Madison's tenth birthday, and the idea was to go to Gwinnett Summer Xtreme, and celebrate with all the other kids at a great service, and then over at Stars and Strikes down in Dacula.

But she woke up with a fever of 104.  And yes, that's again.  She has nearly the same thing as she had about a month before, and that doesn't bode well for her when it comes to going to the rest of the week at Summer Xtreme.  As you might suspect, it was simply miserable for her.  And, I might add, it was simply miserable for us too.  Daddy went to Summer Xtreme at Gwinnett, doing all the things he normally does, keeping busy with skits, with print-outs, with transportation issues, with photographs, with service details… all while thinking of his daughter at home.  It was hard to be in a good mood, despite everything going well and everyone having such a great time.  This was because Madison was so sick, there was not much she could do other than watch episodes of "Jessie" and cry.  She was so looking forward to this day, and for this to happen, it was just very difficult for us as parents.

At least she did get to go last week.  And from the looks of things, that may have been where the trouble started.  We think this because there have been quite a few others coming home with strep throat, and a similar fever.  Madison went to the doctor's today, and did not have strep throat.  And the fever does go down when medicated.  But it shoots right back up again after the medication wears off.

Amongst those who are sick this week are some cast members that Daddy planned on needing for Summer Xtreme.  Also many other kids too.  Some of those cast members that Madison loves sent her messages to wish her a happy birthday, but also let her know that they are in the same boat that she was in.  This is a message from Mary Shannon:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADISON!!!!! I wanted to make sure I wished one of my very favorite people a Happy Birthday! But I'm having to do that from my bed because I'm not feeling well. I heard you weren't either- so I guess we'll both just have to watch a bunch of movies until we get better. But as soon as you're better, we'll get to celebrating because YOU are a girl worth celebrating!"

And here's a video that our friend Camille sent her.

It helped a little to know there were others feeling like she did.  She saw this video today, and was encouraged because it was so thoughtful.  And it helps that she has friends as she does, friends and family that love her.

It was terribly crummy not being able to go to Summer Xtreme Gwinnett, and even worse that it was on her birthday.  It was a perfectly lousy birthday, in fact.  But we're blessed as a family all year long, and there will be better days coming, and soon.  We'll just recover from this one and move on.

WUUGG!!

Shortly, we'll have a picture here of Chewbacca that Madison drew.  It's just perfect!

Today was spent getting ready for Summer Xtreme... again.  This will be the first Summer Xtreme in Gwinnett for Daddy, and for all of us really.  There's a lot to do, from new skits to all kinds of paperwork and arrangements.  A lot goes into these things, and that said, we spent a lot of time today, working late into the night to get things set up.  Madison was helping out too, collecting props and papers and booklets, and getting it all together for the big week.

She and Daddy had a trip this morning, one to the speech therapist.  It was an odd time for us, but the only one we could really fit in.  So drive we did down to Alpharetta.  Madison's speech is still not quite where it needs to be, although there has been a lot of progress.  Some things are bothersome, but I believe with practice we can work through some of these issues.  Practice makes perfect.

We got home, and soon enough we were off to the church to get things going there.  It was a late night for Daddy and the rest of the staff.  All of us are already exhausted, but here we go again!