Another Lost Tooth!

Madison lost another tooth tonight!  We were sitting down to watch "Tinker Bell" tonight, for the first time really in quite a long time.  Madison saw this movie back in 2008, the first year we met her.  She watched a few times after that, but with the release of the other movies, this first one sort of fell to the background.  As a part of our Neverland research, we're now starting all the Pixie Hollow movies, and we started with this one - and it was like watching it for the first time for her.  And us, really.  And it was good for all - it seems as if just about every trip to Neverland is a worthwhile one.

And, as advertised above, Madison lost a tooth.  She was eating popcorn, and lo!  There went another tooth, all from the same row.  The last lost tooth was this past Friday, so we've been on a roll lately with these little pearly whites.  She put it under her pillow before bedtime tonight, and I know that Tooth Fairy Central is scrambling!  We'll see what happens tomorrow when she wakes up.

Today at school, Madison had media, which meant a trip to the library where she could get a few books.  She got another "Weird School" book, but she also got a nonfiction book about the Supreme Court.  What could have made her think to get that?  Perhaps there is some discussion going on today about the Supreme Court, because tonight was the big night that the President announced his Supreme Court Justice nomination.  It was just before bedtime that Madison watched a live broadcast from the White House, and in an educational moment based on getting that very book, she watched the introduction of Judge Neil Gorsuch, who made a nice speech.  He's about to go through it, of course, as Senate Confirmations are never an easy thing.  But this guy represents the reason why many voted for the current President, and he represents the future leanings of the Supreme Court.  One interesting thing about this nomination is that for what I think is the first time, a Presidential candidate gave a list of names from which he'd choose a name for nominee.  And almost as unusual, the Presidential candidate actually did the very thing he said he'd do.  Many are relieved tonight, and of course many are scrambling to find something wrong with the nomination.  There were a lot of protestors at the Supreme Court, protesting long before they even knew who the nominee was.

Anyway, it was just interesting that Madison picked out a nonfiction book about the Supreme Court as her choice of reading material.  Do we have the makings of a Supreme Court Justice in our daughter?  Time will tell!  I think she'd look smashing in a black robe.

We had piano today, and tacos afterwards.  Judging by Madison's reaction to both, the positive verdicts are sustained.  Madison has done her homework a couple days in advance, working in the car on the way to and from places like ballet and piano.  The other thing she does in the car is farm.  There's a farming game she's been hooked on lately.  What is it with these farming games?  Daddy has been hooked on "Harvest Moon 64" before, so I can't judge!

It's hard to believe we're at the end of the month.  Looking back, it does seem like a long time ago we were watching "Back to the Future," and before that celebrating Christmas.  Time goes by, and Madison is growing taller, noticeably.  We take pictures of her each morning, and she's above the mantle now.  She's also going through some other changes - we're in the midst of a battle with a skin condition on her forehead.  We have different techniques that we keep trying out before bedtime, and have settled on one thing at the moment.  One battle that we haven't had as much of a struggle with this year is the fight with lice.  We've only had one occasion where we felt the need to use that special shampoo to wash her hair.  After last year's ongoing war, we're glad to see a few more nights where we're not spending all that time combing through her hair.  It helps that her hair is shorter this year, but even so, we haven't seen a thing on her in a while.  Whereas last year, it was perpetual for her entire class.  I don't know who was bringing it in, but we were getting really frustrated.

Okay, it's time for us to go - time to watch "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." again.  That's Mommy and Daddy's one show we watch each week, time to check in on Phil Coulson and Melinda May.

Butterscotch Soda

Mommy had this butterscotch soda set aside for a while now, something we could look forward to after the fast.  With great ceremony, we brought a couple bottles of this magical elixir to the kitchen table, and popped them open.  Madison, Mommy and Daddy had a little bit of this tonight... and it wasn't bad.  Madison had a whole bottle pretty much to herself, which kind of lets you know she liked it.

Tonight we had all kinds of dancing, which might have been a good reason to drink this before going to dance.  But dance she did, and she's got a new jazz song to do for the spring recital.  She's been studying the New England colonies tonight, but not that hard.  This is because she doesn't need to.  Seriously, she can name them all from memory, and without that much effort at all.  She didn't need to study this, and if there's one thing she got from her Daddy, this might be it.  She's great with geography.

The weather was colder today.  It was also Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, which of course should be every day.  We got to pop a few bubbles, but we didn't wear any around like we've done in the past.  And no, we didn't have enough to put on the floor and dance around upon.  Maybe next year!

We had spaghetti tonight, which is always amazing.  There's something about spaghetti:  Daddy and Madison get excited about this.  Obviously, she gets more excited about Taco Tuesday. But spaghetti will always get a smile out of us.

And so with our reading and our prayers, it was time for bed tonight.  We had a good day, but Mondays are always so busy.  There is so much dancing, but she really likes it a lot.  And if that's something she wants to continue, then so be it.  We're fine with that.  I know Mommy is happy with that too.

Zorgons

Another great morning at KidPak to start the day, with a message about the strong man at the circus.  Of course, our strength comes from God - that's the bottom line of the day, and it was a fun time using illustrations and videos to explain that.  Daddy was in a last-minute video upstairs, which was apparently a hit - lots of people were coming up to him to talk about how funny he was in the video.  Point one is that Daddy never saw the video yet.  Point two is that it takes a team to make these things, and never just one person.  Hopefully we'll get to see it soon.  In the meantime, this morning was the end-of-the-fast prayer service that we have each year.  It was during a service like this that Daddy was miraculously healed, and each year there are all kinds of wonderful testimonies of healing and more.  All those who wanted to go through the prayer line upstairs did, including the staff of KidPak.  Meanwhile, the kids went through a separate line downstairs, with Madison getting a double portion, going to two different services as usual.

It's a good portion of the day, our Sunday morning services.  We go home about 2:00 or so, and of course today we were more than ready to get something to eat.  Mommy made Daddy a delicious fish dinner this afternoon, a welcome back to the land of carnivores.  Our fast is over!  We even treated ourselves to some of those leftover candies from Christmas.  Marzipan!  Ghirardelli!  Snickers!  Yummy!

This afternoon, Madison wanted to try another new board game, so we pulled out the game of "Zathura."  It looks neat, but it's a little underwhelming to be honest.  We're getting to be game connoisseurs, and this one just didn't live up to the other games we've been doing lately.  For one, the rules aren't terribly clear in certain instances, so we sort of had to figure it out, this after repeatedly consulting with the instructions.  Still, we did play the game twice, winging it a little more the second time and having a better go of things.  Madison won both times, although the second win was a bit controversial.  I think, if we played by the exact rules, the game itself would have won, destroying our house and sending us all into deep space where the Zorgons live.  Obviously, this would be tragic.  Zorgons are slimy, cold-blooded creatures that like to destroy things that bring warmth and light.  Sort of like journalists.

Anyway, the game was fun for what it was.  It's worth over $100 right now, although that might be brand new.  Our game is obviously used, but all the pieces are in mint condition - just like the equally valuable board game of Jumanji we also have.  I don't know if we'll ever sell them though.  It's fun to have a prop like that lurking in the basement.  And again, who knows what will really happen if someone starts playing both at the same time!

OFFICER WALTER:  "He's not coming out, sir."
OFFICER DANNY:  "We'll just bust the doors down and get him then!"
OFFICER WALTER:  "No!  He's got a game of Zathura and a game of Jumanji, and he's threatening to start playing both at the same time."
OFFICER DANNY:  "Zorgons, Giant Spiders, Asteroids, Stampedes, Killer Robots, Monsoons and Black Holes... let's get out of here!"

Madison finished her piano homework, and didn't have any schoolwork to do, so we played some games for a short while, mostly with the Avengers.  Madison was Hawkeye, and Daddy was Falcon.  It was snowing in the game, and believe it or not, there were some unexpected flurries outside too.  It's been certainly cold enough for this, so perhaps it wasn't quite as unbelievable at all.  It's just that we didn't expect any.  Even the sight of flurries is nice.  Dahlonega has a bit of snow on the ground tonight, which I'm sure surprised them.

Tonight we watched "Peter Pan Live!"  It's longer, but it is better than the bad rep it got a few years ago.  First of all, credit goes to them for giving it a proper go.  It's a difficult thing, I'm sure.  But it was fun, and the songs are always catchy.  And Christopher Walken is hilarious, although not exactly the first person you'd expect to portray Captain Hook.  Still, the three of us enjoyed it.  We had the usual fire in the fireplace, hot tea, and popcorn for Madison.  And blankets.  It was nice.

We read a bit tonight before bed, about Jacob stealing the blessing - like a pirate.  We also read from the Rush Revere book, which is dwindling down.  We met John and Abigail Adams tonight, which was a perfectly pleasant chapter.  It's also a reminder of how awful the press was even back then.  It's a necessary evil, to be sure.  And of course we're not saying that all media/press people are rotten.  It's the 99% that give the rest a bad name.

Anyway, we said our prayers once more, and said goodnight to Madison with the usual ritual of Mommy making zerbert noises on Madison's tummy, and subsequent accusations of Daddy passing gas.  "Say excuse me, Daddy!"

The Year of the Rooster

It's the Year of the Rooster, and there's Heihei the Rooster, from the movie "Moana" now joining the family.  We started out with a visit from the Tooth Fairy, who seemed to be in the mood to celebrate the Chinese New Year too:  she left Madison a red envelope under her pillow!  It had chocolate coins inside, and real money too.  And then there was this:

Here are some of the decorations we put out each year, some actually picked up when we were in China.  Others are new, and gifts for Madison - like Heihei, for instance.  The other new items include that Itty doll to the right, a small Rooster that was also under Madison's pillow.  She had that with her the whole day, and is in fact still with it right now upstairs on her pillow.  The last new item is that card game you see at the center, a game called "Lanterns."  After dinner tonight, we actually tried it out.  It was fun.  We'll probably be playing it again tomorrow when there's more time!

Mommy decorated elsewhere in the house too, as you can see below:

We went to ballet today, practicing more for the upcoming "Into Grimm's Woods" production that is rapidly approaching.  Daddy took a nap in the car.  He has a sore throat, and the medication made him sleepy.  But Madison had fun dancing inside.  On the way home, we picked up some egg rolls, and had them for lunch, along with some noodles that were not cut - you keep them long to symbolize long life and health upcoming.  

Yes, we took the Chinese New Year seriously around here, also doing a lot of cleaning out today.  We swept up around the floors, and then... a phone call.  It was out of nowhere, but Ye-Ye spotted a piano at a thrift shop, and ... well, let's just say we woke up this morning without a piano in our house.  And now... we've got one!

You can see Madison's rooster there watching her as she practices.  It looks nice there.  I think we'll get some pictures to hang up on the wall there, but otherwise, it fits in really well.  David, Jonathan and Ye-Ye came over and with Daddy's help, the four of us lifted this enormously heavy piano up and into the house, right to the place it is now.  Madison finished her piano practice here, playing "In the Hall of the Mountain King" and other pieces.

Dinner was fantastic.  Mommy cooked up a Chinese meal that was just perfect, some stir fry and of course the egg rolls from earlier.  Throughout the day, we had "Mulan" and "Mulan 2" playing, and even at one point the Opening Ceremonies to the Beijing Olympic Games.  We were talking to Madison about the significance of those games, how we were there in China that very month, there to meet Madison for the first time.  We didn't see all of the Opening Ceremony, as we were low on time - we'll catch it later though, simply because it was amazing.

Tonight it was cold again, so we put a fire in the fireplace, and got all the blankets and popcorn ready on the couch.  We watched the movie "Pan" tonight, part of our Neverland series.  We'd never seen it before, and thought it was decent.  It didn't quite answer why Pan and Hook hate each other, or how one has a hook in the first place (which is rather prophetic, I mean, somewhere up the family tree, there was the first ancestor with the last name "Hook," who was thinking that perhaps someday he'd have a descendant with an actual hook for a hand, and wouldn't that be ironic?).  But it makes for a great "What if?" sort of adventure, kind of like the "What if?" Marvel comics that aren't necessarily cannon, but make for some interesting stories.  

Anyway, we read again before bed, reading about Isaac and Abimelech, who actually go through the same process that Abraham and Abimelech just went through.  "What?  You're really married to her and she's not your sister?"  We also read the Rush Revere book, meeting Abigail Adams back in time.  Daddy loved that book "John Adams," so it'll be fun reading about him and the First Lady.  We said our prayers, and watched one more thing:  Daddy wanted to show Madison that Quicksilver scene from "X-Men Apocalypse."  She thought it was pretty cool - she likes Quicksilver a lot.

Well, speaking of going by fast, it was a full day today.  It's still going actually.  Daddy is about to write some more here, hopefully a devotional entry or something more.  So goodbye until next time, and Happy Chinese New Year!

Squirm Burpee

Tonight we went to see the "Squirm Burpee Circus and the Theater of Doom."  Mommy had seen this pop up somewhere in an advertisement, so we checked it out online and discovered that there were very few seats left at all.  Of course, the venue is smaller, but we were certainly curious about what exactly this is.  It was billed as something like a Tim Burton circus, and of course that got us really curious.

So tonight the three of us went down to the Buford Community Center, which was a first time for us.  It's a nice place, fresh and new, and comfortable seating.  But you want to know about the show, don't you?  Yes, it was great.  There are four performers, and some of the juggling was very good.  The diablo yo-yo performance was the best I've seen, and there was a bit where one guy was juggling bowler hats, while effortlessly rolling them about his arms and onto his head.  It was pretty awesome.

Madison was laughing through the entire show.  It was a family show, and she was really into the whole thing.  There are all kinds of performances - different ones - and in between there's somewhat of a story that is ongoing.  Will the vaudeville theater get closed down? Will it blow up?  There's a bad guy named Vegan von Hamburger that would like to see both.  Here's the cast with Madison afterwards.

We definitely recommend the show.  The performers were kind enough to pose for this photo, and sign Madison's program too.  They put on a great production from start to finish, a very versatile group!

We left afterwards, and drove home talking about it.  Who was the favorite act?  Madison liked a magic trick where a kids sneaker got burnt to a crisp.  Daddy liked the hat tricks.  And Mommy liked the costumes throughout.  They were innovative and fun!

Today was a colder day, one of those days where it's difficult to get your toes warm.  But we struggled through nonetheless!  Daddy was working on messages while Mommy was getting the house straightened up.  Obviously, Madison was at school today - she had science this afternoon.

Oh, before I forget:  she lost another tooth today!  Yes, it's true.  These teeth are popping out left and right!  Given that tomorrow is the Chinese New Year, you can just imagine what kind of treasures might be showing up under her pillow.  I don't want to tell the Tooth Fairy what to do, but that is an awfully big coincidence...!

Anyway, it was a great day.  We had fun tonight, and got to do the circus thing.  All three of us had a great time.  And if you get tickets to see "Squirm Burpee," you will too.

Worst Case Scenarios

We had just a little bit of time before bed tonight, so we tried a new game for Madison that Daddy's had for a while:

It was a fun game, one where we simply travel along a path from start to finish, answering questions that place you in a worst-case scenario.  All we knew before going in to this game is that if you encounter a gator, you're supposed to hit it on the snout.  But what do you do, Madison, when standing not far from a rhinoceros?  How do you survive an avalanche?  Or what do you do when encountering killer bees?

We tried to answer these questions and more tonight.  Some of the most bizarre scenarios got big laughs, and it was fun trying to guess what action you're supposed to take.  It was good fun.  Madison won of course.  It was a quick game, which was just the thing we needed tonight after a full evening of ballet, piano and homework.  Madison and Daddy were off to Brenau for ballet as usual, and on the way back Madison noticed yet another wiggly tooth!  Uh-oh, here it goes again!

This morning, Ba-Ba had surgery.  As is our custom, we were praying this morning for him, along with the other people we've heard about this week.  Later on this afternoon, we talked to him at home and were happy to discover that every part of the surgery was routine, and that he's doing fine.  So happy to hear that.

Mommy made a spectacular fast-friendly meal tonight before we played our game, and afterwards, it was time for more reading.  Evidently, our time-traveling characters are about to go visit one of our favorite Presidents, John Adams.  That might be for tomorrow, or at least the weekend.  We have an amazing amount of books to read after this, many new ones from Christmas.  It'll take a while to cycle through them all, from Mary Poppins to Jack Sparrow to Roald Dahl to the Isle of the Lost.  And of course, there's the Bible reading.  Tonight we did a few chapters, meeting Rebekah for the first time.  There's always a lot to talk about with her story, so it was a good time together tonight reading.

It was a good day today overall.  Madison was practicing her recorder in school today with the other kids during music, while Daddy was teaching again, and writing for the new Neverland series, as well as a bit towards our superhero Summer Xtreme devotional.  Lots going on at KidPak!

As we get to sleep tonight, we're watching the news, watching all the changes going on in Washington D.C.  There's a battle still raging for sure.  We prayed tonight for our government, for decisions and protection.  There is so much going on right now - it's amazing to watch.  But we have hope for our country.  Far from what some pundits and protestors may be proclaiming, this is very far from a worst-case scenario.

Geography Girl

One thing that Madison is having to study this week is the geographical locations of each of the thirteen colonies.  But she doesn't even have to study.  Seriously, she can tell you where they are without even looking at a map.  What state is above North Carolina?  Virginia, she says.  Which states are just above that one?  Delaware and Maryland, she answers.  Which states are beneath Massachusetts?  Connecticut and Rhode Island, she replies.  She's not even looking at a map!  We'll do the map thing later on this week, but she's really sharp with geography.  I know she can easily name a majority of the states.  Maybe all of them even, thanks to that app we got with the falling state shapes.

The weather is getting cold again outside.  Madison had her usual Wednesday night at home, while Daddy was enjoying a service at church tonight.  Those moments are few and far between, but some of the staff got to go upstairs today to sit in on a service.  It was perfect, really.

This morning's routine was a little later than usual.  Madison still hides as Daddy comes down the stairs.  He has to ask the question, "Where's Madison?"  And then he looks around, and suddenly Madison bursts out yelling, "Boo!"

We say our prayers and take our morning picture - yes, we still do that every day as well.  And then it's time to join the traffic rush on the way to school, although our school is less than five miles away.  It's harder for all of us to get out of bed as it gets colder at night.  It's just so comfy under all those covers.  But Daddy gets dressed and ready to drive her to school, while Mommy takes on the rest of the responsibilities, getting her breakfast, and making sure everything is packed before heading out the door.  On days with piano, that means the music notebook too.  That's not today, of course.  But the garbage does need to go out in the morning, so there's that one thing.

On the way in to school, we've been listening to all kinds of things, from the Monkees to Moana.  But this morning, Daddy was listening to the "Peter Pan Live" soundtrack, with Christopher Walken singing about "Vengeance."

We ordered this movie and a few other Pan-related movies to look at.  We couldn't watch them tonight, but we'll catch them as the weekend approaches, or maybe beyond.  Daddy remembers watching this one a few years ago with Mommy - it was longer, but it wasn't bad.  I've never seen the Mary Martin one before, nor the "Pan" movie from last year.  We'll do our "research," and check them all out, preferably with Madison around.  In the meantime, here's a message Daddy just wrote about Captain Hook, one I think will be lots of fun for our new series:

____*____*____

     You’ll have to fly, have to fight, have to crow… Hook is back!  In the stories of Neverland, the villain sailing in is the legendary Captain James Hook.  He’s a dark and sinister man, always scheming against our heroes.  One of his dastardly plans seems harmless on the surface:  why not tempt the Lost Boys into joining his crew?
     “You’ll love the life of a thief.  You’ll relish the life of a crook.  There’s barrels of fun for everyone, and you’ll get treasures by the ton. So come and sign the book.  Join us with Captain Hook!”
     It’s a tempting offer, for sure.  But all of this has happened before.  And it will all happen again.  In our lives we’ll face a temptation to do things we know God isn’t pleased with.  It’s a pull to do the wrong thing, one that comes from an all too real enemy.
     That villain wants more new recruits.  And from time to time, sure enough we all want to be like a pirate.  There’s a temptation for all of us to become rogues and scoundrels, making seriously bad choices in life.
     But you’d better watch out for the hook.   Doing things you know are wrong might seem fun at first, and there might not be any sign of trouble on the horizon.  But sin always, always, always has a price!  There are real consequences to each thing we do.
     The best strategy is to follow Wendy’s example:  jump.  Despite all the peer pressure and screaming of those all around, and despite the sweet call of Captain Hook’s voice, she made the best choice:  She walked the plank.
     Those who know the story know what happens next:  No splash!  Someone was there to catch her!  And if you flee from sin, you won’t have to worry either.  Just jump away from a sinful lifestyle as soon as you can.  Don’t worry, Jesus will catch you!
     In the end, and every time, the villains and scoundrels always are the losers.  Trust us,  that’s not something you want to be.  Sin may seem tempting at first, but you must always look out for the Hook!

***********************************

“A special offer for today, I'll tell you what I'll do.  All those who sign without delay will get a free tattoo.  Why, it's like money in the bank!  Come on!  Join up and I'll be frank: unless you do, you'll walk the plank!  The choice is up to you!” – Captain Hook

“Above everything else, guard your heart.  Everything you do comes from it.”  Proverbs 4:23

“I am warning you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who try to keep you from staying together. They want to trip you up. They teach you things opposite to what you have learned. Stay away from them.” Romans 16:17

“Don’t let anyone fool you. ‘Bad companions make a good person bad.’” 1 Corinthians 15:33 NIRV

“So I say, live by the Holy Spirit’s power. Then you will not do what your desires controlled by sin want you to do.” Galatians 5:16 NIRV

“Yes, you made a boo-boo.” – Captain Hook

“Dark and sinister man, have at thee!” – Peter Pan

***********************************


1.      That villain wants more new __________.  From time to time, we all want to be like a pirate!  There’s a temptation for all of us to become rogues and scoundrels, making seriously bad choices in life.
“Watch and pray. Then you won’t fall into sin when you are tempted. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Matthew 26:41 NIRV
a.  recruits    b. prayer       c. choices    

2.      Watch out for the ___________.   It might seem fun at first, and there might not be any sign of trouble on the horizon.  But sin always, always, always has a price!  There are real consequences to each thing we do.
“When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.” Romans 6:23 NIRV
a.  crocodile   b. horizon      c. hook

3.      __________ will catch you.  The best plan is to walk the plank!  Jump away from a sinful lifestyle as soon as you can.  Don’t worry, there’ll be no splash.  Jesus will catch you!
“Say no to every kind of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:22 NIRV
a.  Sin         b. Jesus        c. Time

***********************************

MEMORY VERSE

“When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.” Romans 6:23 NIRV

X Amount of Time

After school, we had x amount of time to do x amount of things, so today Daddy was there with a timer and a whistle, moving things along - go, go, go!

Right after school, there was piano.  The next clue for our upcoming Winterfest event, by the way, is a cowboy riding a bull.  Put that together with a mountain goat.  Those two together are clues that reveal what we're doing next month.  Hmmm….

If the students feel like they've done a decent enough job practicing on "In the Hall of the Mountain King," they were given new music sheets for something a little different to practice:  "Scarborough Fair."  Which is kind of funny hearing Madison play this tune in the other room for practice.  Tonight, she started her practice with the time she has.  We were pretty methodical with our time this afternoon, mainly because we had to be with all the things we planned on doing.  But as for Simon and Garfunkle, we've had a theme of that lately.  There's a version of "Sound of Silence" in the movie "Trolls" that we just love ("Hello!"), and there's a game on her iPad, one of those games where you try to play all these notes as they descend from the top of your screen.  The song?  "The Sound of Silence."  Daddy likes Paul Simon, but have never been a huge fan of these two songs.  Although again, that "Trolls" version of "Sound of Silence" is pretty awesome!

We mentioned having a lot scheduled today:  we got home, and of course it was Taco Tuesday.  Check!  We had our tacos, those of us who weren't fasting meat.  Daddy and Mommy had chips and salsa, which were good.  We did homework in the car to make the best of time, because after dinner, it was time for a rousing game of "Battleship."  Madison has been requesting this for some time now, so tonight we set up sides, and had a great game.  Madison won the game, but it was close!

This gave us enough time for popcorn, and "Return to Neverland."  We're still in "Peter Pan" mode, watching and researching.  This sequel to Disney's earlier "Peter Pan" movie is actually one of the better sequels from the last decade.  There were some that were clearly sub-par.  I'm looking at you, "Cinderella 2," "Belle's Magical World,"and "The Little Mermaid 2."  Anyway, this one wasn't too bad, and gave us some jokes and possible ideas for the upcoming series.

We read some more with Madison, who like clockwork got to bed on time.  We timed it all exactly right tonight, reading about Abraham and Isaac tonight, and more from the latest Rush Revere book about the Presidency.  There's a big election taking place between Elizabeth and one of our main characters, Cam.  We don't know who will win yet, but regardless, Cam is learning quite a bit from our first President via a few time traveling trips.

After bedtime, speaking of 'x amount of time,' we finished "X-Men:  Apocalypse," which was better than it was made out to be with critics.  Daddy loved two bits at the end that sort of give away plot points.  Overall, there were so many characters that were in Daddy's earliest comic books - it was great to see them on the big screen.  Having Cyclops and Jean Grey as main characters was something important lacking recently - this is the first family of the X-Men, right?  And there's Jubilee.  Jubilee in a movie makes everything better.  You did know that Madison's name could have been Jubilee at one point, right?  That was an early contender for a name.  That, and Juniper.  We liked that name too.  Ultimately, we went with Madison.  She likes that name, she says.  She's glad we didn't go with the others!

After that, it was back to "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." again for an episode with tons of twists and turns.  Wow, what a crazy one that was.  Daddy shares that with Madison each morning what happened, and this one will be tough to explain!

The weather outside is getting cooler, by the way.  Which is seasonally appropriate, of course.  We've got the big blankets out again, having given them a few nights off recently.  It's good to have them underneath, to dive under during the chilly nights.

Apocalypse Now

It was a cold day today, or at least it felt that way when compared to recent weather.  The winds blew in strong and frequent, a reminder of the tragic weather pattern of yesterday.  In south Georgia, there was a cluster of tornadoes that brought a surprising amount of destruction and pain - here we are in January, and that's the sort of thing we brace for in the spring.  It felt like spring last week, but winter is back today.  It's not a terribly cold sort of day, but that wind does give a chill.

Madison had her art class today, where she's been working on a bit of expressive art that will hang in the school gallery in a few weeks.  This is that framed picture we buy once a year - of course we'll buy the thing.  It's hard to resist your daughter's artwork framed, and hanging on a wall.

She got home, and we raced indoors because it was cold and slightly raining outside, which makes it worse.  We ate some snacks and played a few games of Uno, but that's all we had time to do.  Jazz and Ballet start pretty soon, and that's a longer session.  Sometimes all three of us go, and that's what happened today:  Mommy and Daddy went to do some grocery shopping while Madison danced jazz and ballet.  She saw her costumes for the spring recital today, and is pretty thrilled with the jazz costume.  Meanwhile, Daddy was thrilled with the grocery store.  Never go shopping on an empty stomach!

We're still fasting, so it was a veggie burger for Daddy tonight.  Madison is still fasting too.  We had time for about one or two races with Disney Infinity, and then it was off to bed.  Madison hides in a new spot each night, and each night Daddy has to find her - after she brushes her teeth, of course.  We read tonight about George Washington's Farewell Address, and from the Bible about the birth of Isaac. And then it was time for more zerberts.  Madison's tradition for the past few months is to show her tummy to Mommy, who blows a big zerbert.  And then Madison hears the noise, giggles, and says, "Say excuse me, Daddy!  Daddy did it!"

Daddy had a productive day, writing a quite a bit for Summer Xtreme and our upcoming series in Neverland.  It's a sweet message, one about heaven, and it fits really well with the Neverland stories.  It's going to be a wonderful series, that's for sure.

Tonight, Mommy and Daddy started to watch "X-Men:  Apocalypse."  We didn't finish, mainly because it's a long movie and we started a bit later.  We'll catch it tomorrow, but it's got all the bells and whistles and characters Daddy grew up reading in his comic books.  We're going to bed, and Daddy is having to explain a few things to Mommy about this character or that.

Okay, off to bed now.  We've got another big day tomorrow, with piano and meetings and tacos and the Apocalypse.  Those are things you want to get plenty of rest for.

Lion Tamers

This was a great morning at KidPak, where we talked about taming lions.  We couldn't have real lions, of course, so we had instead our friend Calvin, dressed as the lion from "The Wizard of Oz."  Josh to the left was having difficulty finding courage, and so the skit sort of went in that direction.  They did a great job on stage today, and the message was another fun one.  The circus lives on!

We got home, and it was time to finish up the piano homework for the week.  Madison was having a little difficulty, so as a reward, Daddy offered to buy her any of the $1 games on the X-Box 360.  Which isn't that big of a deal, of course.  She bought a racing game she thought she'd like.  It was okay, but when Daddy sat down to play, it sort of made Daddy sick.  Yeah, seriously.  Some games do that.  Yes, that's age for you.

There were a lot of bad things going on this weekend with the weather.  Unbeknownst to us, there were tornadoes in South Georgia, and these were terrible.  The same weather system came upwards, but we only felt the wind, and a whole lot of rain too.  We prayed for those in South Georgia tonight, and those in Mississippi too.  This system was not a friendly one at all.  We're grateful for the rain, but the other aspects of the storm were unfortunate.

Madison did finish the piano homework, by the way.  She's still working on a waltz by Brahms, and Greig's "In the Hall of the Mountain King."  The latter is something she's getting really good at.  It's amazing watching her play with both hands on the keyboard.  The left hand arrangement is currently pretty simple, but it's still over Daddy's head.  Madison is well past Daddy's ability now.

Tonight we watched the original "Peter Pan" cartoon from Disney, which is just so magical.  Mary Blair's artistic touch makes this movie so rich and beautiful.  Daddy had this as a storybook record growing up, so he knows all the words to the songs, and even a lot of the dialogue in between.  It brings back memories!

It rained a lot today, and the weather is cooler now too.  We read tonight, more from the American Adventurers story, and another chapter of the Bible with Abimelech, which was an interesting story of grace and the law working at the same time.  Death did not come to him right away, because Abimelech didn't realize he was sinning.  And yet there were consequences nevertheless.  So he had to make amends, and clear the red from his ledger.  It's a short chapter, but we're plowing forward, one chapter at a time.  It'll take a while to get to the end of the Bible at this rate, but we'll double some chapters I'm sure.

The other big news of the day is that the Atlanta Falcons won a football game.  This was the NFC Championship, a game where the Falcons basically disassembled the Green Bay Packers, who are usually a rather formidable football team.  This same story happened last week when the Falcons played the Seattle Seahawks.  And so, the Falcons are going to the Superbowl for the second time ever.  We are so used to being disappointed, and yet there's this real glimmer of hope that finally we'll have a winning football team in Atlanta.  In two week's time, we'll see what happens.  But as you can imagine, there's a pretty big degree of excitement around here as once again we all feel that hope swell up within.  Regardless, it's been a great season for the team.  Daddy has vowed to never take Madison to a game.  The last Falcons game Daddy went to was a pretty crazy atmosphere with all the things you wouldn't want to take a little girl to.  The same could be said for the Atlanta Hawks game we went to.  That said, I think we'll stick with the Gladiators and the Braves for now.  As for the Falcons, maybe we'll watch the Superbowl on television.  We'll see.  We're not exactly football people!

Playing Jumanji

Ballet this morning, first and foremost.  And it was a long session.  Madison was getting fitted for a costume for the upcoming "Into Grimm's Woods," which we can only assume is a fairy tale story with songs from the musical "Into the Woods."  If they play that "Into the Woods" song, that's the first act alone, as the song is six hours long.

While Madison was dancing the day away, Mommy and Daddy were getting ready for the lion taming message tomorrow, getting things ready with costumes and music and so forth.  It'll be a great day.  Daddy has also been writing the devotional for Summer Xtreme, writing an entries for various heroes like Angel, Black Widow, Cyborg, Bishop, and even one named Steel.  Remember him?  He was an offshoot of the "Death of Superman" series a few years ago.  Daddy liked that character, but the comics never lived up to the awesomeness that a John Henry character with superpowers could have.  Still, it's great imagery.  No, we haven't seen the Shaq movie yet.  But maybe we will.... or not.

We got home and Madison wanted to play a board game.  We played "Jumanji," and played it safely without fear of any stampedes in the house.  Madison and Daddy played about three rounds of Jumanji, which was actually a better game than we thought it might be.  We'll probably be playing it again soon, in fact.  Madison wants to play "Battleship" again next, so that's probably going to happen Monday or so.  And then after that, we might return to the category of "dangerous board games" by playing "Zathura."  Yes, in our basement right now we have both "Jumanji" and "Zathura."  What a dangerous place, that basement.  Can you imagine what would happen if someone played both of those games at the same time?  Space rhinos?  Robot monkeys?  Crocodiles with lasers?

We continued our Neverland-fest with the movie "Hook" tonight, which Daddy likes more and more with every viewing.  I think it gets better with age:  my age.  Madison enjoyed it, particularly the part where Robin Williams screams he doesn't believe in fairies, and where Julia Roberts pretends to die, falling down the stairs.  Daddy had the notebook out, taking notes throughout the movie for ideas and quotes and thoughts.  Every new series has a whole lot of research behind it, and this research is a whole lot of fun.  

It's been raining early today, and raining really hard.  Meanwhile, there are a whole lot of snowflakes up north.  We had a good day though, despite being indoors.  We went to bed after reading a bit about time travel, and another chapter from the Bible.  Spoiler:  Sodom and Gomorrah don't make it.

Inauguration

We have a new President.  Madison has now been alive during the administrations of three Presidents of the United States.  Of course, as she gets older, she'll understand more the importance and impact of each one.  Obviously, when President Obama first took his oath of office, Madison was just two years old, and that wasn't much of a big moment for her.  But this week we've been studying the inauguration and government, and obviously with all the noise going on during this year's election, it's been hard to tune out what's been going on.  Politically, it's been a war.  But nevertheless, here we are at the end of one battle, and presumably at the beginning of another - but there hasn't been a shot fired.  Much is made of our political process, how we transfer power from one administration to the next, as everyone is reminded once more that the government is supposed to work for the people.  This was said a few times by today's incoming President, and more importantly, we heard plenty of prayers today, asking for God's help in leading this nation forward.  It's our understanding that it was a record number of prayers today.  We'll need 'em!

Madison saw some clips from the ceremony, and also some of the other events of the day, from parades to that first dance later on.  We've been reading about the Presidency, so it all ties together rather neatly.

She didn't watch the inauguration at school.  Our world is so partisan at this point that no matter who won, it would be too controversial to show a simple government function like this.  In fact, from what I understand 69 U.S. Representatives boycotted the inauguration, showing everyone the proper way to divide the nation further from this point on.  The word "snowflake" is being tossed around quite a bit lately, and it isn't made in reference to frozen precipitation.

Madison got some great grades back today - including a 102 on her science test.  She's doing really well across the board, in math and reading as well.  She had a funny answer to one math question about fractions.  The question read:  "Josie has 10 math problems to solve.  Sam has 12 math problems to solve.  Both students have finished 1/2 of their math problems.  Which child has finished a greater number of math problems?"  Madison's answer:  "Both finished 1/2."  The teacher didn't mark it wrong, writing, "That's one way to look at it!"

Other than fractions, she was writing about Hurricane Andrew a bit, based on some required reading.  Her sentences are full and complete - she got a "4" out of 3 on her answers about the hurricane:  "I was kind of surprised that the hurricane got through the thick concrete building because the concrete building is very strong."  And this one:  "The photos give some more information because they show the stuff that the hurricane did to Miami.  It adds to your understanding of the selection because it gives details of what the storm did."  Is this a ten-year old writing?

Anyway, needless to say, we're proud of her.  Tonight when Daddy got home, we began our Neverland-marathon.  We started with the live action version of the story, a movie called "Peter Pan" from 2003.  It really wasn't that bad at all - Madison enjoyed it.  We all did, sitting around the couch and heading off to Neverland once more.  We're doing all kinds of research for the upcoming series at KidPak, so it'll be fun visiting time and again.  We'll have some great messages out of this by the time it is done, hopefully.

So we read tonight, and read from the Bible too.  We're getting into some heavy territory here, in Genesis 18.  The story of Sarah is wonderful, at the edge of the Big Top - or tent, rather.  She's hearing how God is going to bless her in the coming year, and it's so wonderful she laughs in disbelief.  And even after it happens, she's laughing in disbelief.  That's the fun part.  The end of the chapter looms though, Abraham's visitors are heading towards a couple of cities with names everyone knows, for all the wrong reasons.

It was a historic day.  Before going to bed, Madison watched our current President dance with the First Lady to the song "My Way," and of course, there's a whole lot more going on up in Washington DC even now.  We said our prayers for the nation, for peace and unity.  That's something we desperately need, seemingly now more than ever.

Titanium

The Build and Grow program is over at Lowe's.  Well, we're a bit disappointed, but at the same time Madison has enjoyed it immensely for the past few years and learned a few basic carpentry skills over time.  And it's always been free.  The plus side for Lowe's is that's where we go usually to get things we need from a hardware store.  The plus side for us is a whole lot of memories building things, most of them posted here on this blog.  From time to time, we may order one or two from Lowe's - whatever's left on their site.  Or we'll get some elsewhere from people selling them online for reasonable prices.  Madison wants the patches, I'm sure.  That's a must.

This morning, Daddy had his second class to teach, and it went well - although last week was much better.  We had a great time talking about Joseph, about waiting and keeping busy while waiting for that destiny to arrive.  Also, there was a bit of Mommy's testimony in there, about the adoption process and about Madison's arrival.

It was a big work day after that, with work towards "Big Top" and even our Summer Xtreme 2017 as well.  Let it be known here that the theme will be the word "Titanium."  A few of the others just seem to like this name, and don't expect it to be a week-long series about metals from the period 4 column on the Periodic Table of Elements.  No, it's a week about heroes.  We're returning to the heroes theme.  So the idea is to combine the idea of a titanium-strength with superheroes.  We'll see how it all works out and keep you updated.  Until then, they'll be busy with graphics, and Daddy will have to write a bit more quickly so we don't get too overwhelmed. 

Here's what Daddy wrote about Titanium so far.  It's a work in progress:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

     There are trace amounts of titanium in everyone’s bodies, but the prophet Elijah must have had a ton of it inside.  He was one of the toughest people in the Old Testament!  Elijah was like a super hero on earth, blessed with super speed faster than the Flash, and like the Human Torch, he had the ability to call forth flames of searing heat from the heavens!  Here was a Bible hero made of the toughest material known to man.

     Titanium is a substance that has an amazing inner strength, won’t be corrupted, and withstands any trial by fire. And that describes the hero Elijah perfectly!

     On Mt. Carmel, he stood strong against anyone who dared question our Heavenly Father.  Despite outnumbered by four hundred and fifty to one, he firmly stood his ground, because he knew he had someone even stronger right behind him.  And when you’re facing peer pressure, temptation, or something scary, you can have that same titanium resolve.  That’s because you know you have the Alpha and Omega in your corner, giving you an inner strength to stand firm in the faith.

     Elijah never compromised, and neither should we.  Like a chunk of titanium, our lives won’t corrode if we remember where that inner strength comes from.  Though temptation and peer pressure will want to corrupt us, our lives can remain solid and sturdy if we keep our focus on God.

     Elijah had that inner strength to challenge those who did not believe in God – and an answer came right away.  Right in front of Elijah, a supernatural blast of fire swept out of the heavens, bursting the top of that mountain in a fiery explosion of God’s power.  He withstood a test of fire, like a piece of titanium.  And so can you.  When trials and challenges come, you can be sure that you’ll come through, and tougher than ever.

     Elijah was a titan of the Old Testament, a true hero, and a force to be reckoned with.  We serve the same God, and you’ve got that same power within you.  Stand solid in your faith, don’t compromise or let the world corrupt you.  You can and will stand firm, and stronger than titanium.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Madison had ballet tonight, and there wasn't much time for anything else afterwards.  It's late, but they're all excited about the upcoming "Into Grimm's Woods" ballet.  Some of Madison's friends are portraying the dwarves Sleepy and Dopey.  Madison is a forest creature.  I'm not sure which one though.  Hopefully she's not a slug.

That's something I could do though.  Or a sloth.  Except for the wearing leotards thing, I could hang from a tree somewhere, gracefully doing ... nothing.

The Circus is Here

Madison had a free night tonight, with no ballet practice tonight, or piano.  It'll be a good night's rest for her, and that's a great thing.  She's been up late a lot, and with school really getting going, it'll be better for her to get a lot more rest.

She's pictured above with a 'head basket' game, one we found for our circus-themed series at KidPak.  We were wanting to have some fun games for the kids, and this simple idea worked wonderfully.  We had two of these on top of volunteers' heads, and the kids of two teams would try to score as many baskets as possible.  It was loads of fun, with lots of noise and excitement.

Speaking of "head baskets" and "the circus," we were talking this morning with Madison about the climate in this country.  Or, at least the perceived climate.  You just don't know anymore.  I mean, back in the beginning of November, based on websites, radio and television, you thought you knew the direction this country as a whole was going to.  But that was obviously different, and surprisingly so.  Therefore, it's difficult to gauge what's going on for us as a whole.  The obvious answer is to trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  Do the best you can as a family, and don't look to media to bring you peace, because it will never happen.

The spark of this train of thought comes from our recently reading a few posts by other families adopting children from China, particularly ones we know elsewhere in the country, ones that even went to China with us.  As you know, there's a change in leadership coming to our country.  Parents are posting about their children being terrified of being ripped away from their current homes.  As much as I'd like to say this is an exaggeration, these posts are real.  I can't say if their children actually feel that way, of course.  It could be the hysteria of parents upset at the election results.  But if these children actually feel that way, there's a lot to be concerned about.  As a disclaimer, obviously not all parents of children with China are like-minded.  In fact, I have no idea the percentages.  I just know of enough, and some personally, and this justified a short conversation with Madison.

Yes, we had a small talk with Madison about racism.  It's an easier one to talk about for Daddy and Mommy, certainly easier than any of those biology lessons that send Daddy scampering out of the room in terror (now that's something to be fearful of!).  Madison has about four or five classmates in her room that are of different color or race.  And she knows she's from China, and she knows she's different.  She had a conversation with someone the other day in her class, someone who thought she was from Mexico.  "No," she said laughing, "I'm from China!"

One thing to note about that response.  She wasn't upset or angry at the other person, nor did she call the other person a racist.  She laughed about it, because she knew the heart of the other person, and knew the other person meant no harm in that assumption.  And Madison didn't jump to the assumption that it must have been a racist comment, one she had to be offended in.

She's told us she's never been treated differently because of her race.  She's ten.  She's never felt like people treat her differently in this school, or in her church, or in ballet, or in piano, simply because she's of a different race.   That's what she said.  Now, certainly there may be some undercurrent somewhere along the line from someone inflicted with racial prejudice.  But in all these places listed above, she's never picked up on anything racist, she said.  She knows their hearts, having spent enough time with all these people.  And she believes that not one has ever set out to intentionally hurt another person based on race - not in her classroom, not in her piano class, not in her ballet classes, and of course not in her church.

So she doesn't have this fear.  Not here.  And that's a big deal, when you consider the reputation the Deep South seems to have, especially Forsyth County.

Now obviously, racism does exist.  Just as drug dealers do, and just as drunk drivers do, and just as any other criminal element does.  We told Madison about racism, and how ridiculous it really is.  And she agreed.  If you judge someone based on skin color or nationality, that's obviously a bad thing.  It seems as if most people feel this way.  But again, you wouldn't know that based on hearing the news lately.

Madison said she agrees that judging people based on their skin is a bad thing.  And she agrees that those who do that aren't too bright.  And what do you do when you encounter racism?  She does the same thing she does when she encounters any other sort of wrong behavior.  You tell your authority about it or you get away from it, or sometimes you call it out for what it is yourself.  It just depends on the situation, of course.

But she doesn't have to spend her life living in fear of it.  And I think that's the thing that worries us currently, that there are children living in such fear.  Again, this could be the perception gathered from reading only a handful of posts from hysterical parents who are upset their candidate lost the election.  But if it is true, then where is that fear coming from?  How does a ten-year old get that sort of fear?  Is it from school, or is it from home?  Or is there somewhere else?

This country will not degenerate to that level, at least not any time soon.  Presently, we don't see any evidence that it could, given the checks and balances the Founding Fathers put in place.

Anyway, Madison knows what racism is.  We're grateful that she hasn't experienced it firsthand in all her time here in Forsyth County.  While racism does exist, the many people she knows in her life have good hearts.  We're very thankful for that.

Sleepwalking

Last night was a first for me.  Madison came down the stairs at about 11:30 pm, and sort of looked at me funny.  I asked if everything was alright, and she nodded.  I asked if she was feeling okay, and she said yes.  I asked her what she wanted, and she looked around to the living room and the kitchen a bit.  And then she turned to go to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.  She came out again, and by this point I was starting to figure it out:  she was sleepwalking!  Whoa!  Daddy told her it wasn't time to "get up" yet - look at the clock.  She did, looking past me to the kitchen clock.  At that point, she turned and went upstairs, with Daddy right behind her.  She jumped into bed, and Daddy tucked her in once more.  "Goodnight," I told her.  "Goodnight," she said.

Today, she had no memory that this even happened!

It was a great day today, Taco Tuesday of course.  Madison proudly wore her Taco Bout It shirt to school, and we went to piano afterwards.  Everyone was ready for a great day today - the kids are doing really well!

The Winter Wonderland clue #1 is out, which was simply a picture of a mountain goat.  Who climbs things.  That's your hint as to the place we're going for Winter Wonderland.  The kids were thinking hard and places lots of guesses.  Mommy made a joke that the kids are probably going to "Goats on a Roof" up in Tiger, Georgia.

Anyway, we went home and on the way Madison was doing her math homework.  She finished that, because today's extra time - after tacos - was to be spent playing Star Wars Monopoly.  She was really looking forward to this, so we had a couple rounds of this.  Daddy won the first game, and Madison won the second.  It's a simpler game flow, this recent version of Monopoly.  It actually has an end, whereas the other versions of the game we aren't quite as cut-throat, and therefore it goes on and on and on.

After Tacos and Monopoly, we did some more Disney Infinity with the short time left, leveling up various crystal characters, racing around and so forth.  Madison won a few races, and did some sweet moves on the game that impressed Daddy.  She's getting good at video games for sure, although her favorite lately has been the "LEGO Force Awakens" game she's been going through.

Ever since Mommy and Daddy have seen the movie "Mrs. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children," it's been easy to get that song "Run Rabbit Run" in our heads.  Madison isn't helping, as she likes to sing the song too.  We've been playing it on the computer from time to time, and it's been somewhat of an ongoing joke, intentionally trying to get the song stuck in someone else's head!

Have we talked about the hide-and-seek game upstairs lately?  She still does that each night.  She goes up to brush her teeth, and do her skin care thing, and then hides, announcing, "Ready!"  Daddy comes up and tries to find her.  There are a lot of the usual hiding places, but the funny thing lately is her use of a wig:  she makes it look like she's in bed, even placing a black wig slightly under the blankets, as if that's the top of her head just coming out from under the covers.

Of course, Daddy pulls back the blankets, and it's not her - it's a bunch of stuffed animals piled up lengthwise to resemble a person under the covers!

Yes, we read tonight.  We're plodding along with the time traveling book "Rush Revere and the Presidency," which of course Daddy wanted to read in tandem with the activity leading up to the Presidential Inauguration upcoming.  A new President in three days, and the end of an era.  And the beginning of a new one.  It's a big day, once exciting for many and dreaded by others.  But that's the way it is every four years.  Half our country gets depressed while the other half rejoices.  Yes, there are those in between too.  This year, half our country is more than depressed.  History will look back on all of us and how we act.  Hopefully everyone will act nicely this Friday, as everyone did four years ago.  And the four years before that, and so on.

We read about Hagar tonight in the Bible, and about Ishmael.  We're pushing forward in our Bibles, one chapter at a time, along with some commentary from Mommy and Daddy.  And with a kiss goodnight, it was time for bed, and no sleepwalking tonight.  None that we saw, anyway.

Mommy and Daddy watched "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." tonight, and things are moving along there as always.  We're Marvel folks, and Daddy has been busy writing devotional entries each day for Summer Xtreme's Superhero theme.  One a day - today's was actually dedicated to the Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. named Daisy, or Quake.  I'll leave this blog entry for the day with that entry:

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying. They were also singing hymns to God. The other prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly there was a powerful earthquake. It shook the prison from top to bottom. All at once the prison doors flew open. Everyone’s chains came loose.” Acts 16:25-26 NIRV

“QUAKE”

     Agent Daisy Johnson has an ability to shake things up – literally.  She uses vibrations to break through walls, send bad guys flying, and even cause earthquakes!

     She’s been an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a few years now, but recently she’s also been given powers that make her something the world isn’t so sure about.  Daisy used to be like everyone else in the world, but after a remarkable change, she now stands out as someone really, really different.   

     In our Bibles, there were a few heroes named Paul and Silas that could relate.  They used to be like the rest of the world.  But one encounter with Jesus can change all that.  The difference is that these two weren’t inhumans – they were Christians!

     Throughout their adventures, they faced many challenges, but one of the most famous of their stories started with these two being thrown in prison.  It was there at their lowest point that they started singing songs, and praising God.  And that’s when the real earthquake began!  Daisy would be impressed!  The jail cells shook violently and the doors swung open, and just like that, Paul and Silas were free.  The prison guard stood there quaking in his boots!

     But this wasn’t time for revenge.  Daisy Johnson once explained, “You can catch a lot more flies with honey than with napalm.”  Simply put, our job isn’t to rain down revenge and punishment on anyone.  Paul and Silas would agree, as they used this opportunity to tell the prison guard about Jesus.  In the end, it turned out that the prisoners there weren’t the only ones who needed to be freed:  soon the prison guard himself became a Christian!

     Are you ready to shake things up?  You’ve been freed, and changed – and you’re given a responsibility.  It’s not to beat down everyone you see.  It’s to be hero, and show the world how to be free.

Electric Lotus

Tonight, Madison put together another Tinker Crate project, one that involved electricity - the looping kind.  We talked about electrons and how they orbit, and how they move about.  And then we got busy creating some translucent shapes and LED baseplates.  We did the flower you see above, and a pyramid too.  Also a Chinese Lantern.  Two of these seemed awfully appropriate given our theme of Chinese New Year.  

The flower turned out the best, as you can see above.  Madison did a great job folding the paper, and running the wires, using copper tape and so on.  It turned out great!

Today was a day off for Madison, so we had scheduled a visit to the chiropractor this morning.  That went on for a while, but Madison enjoyed that.  They had to take it easy on Daddy, of course.  Afterwards, we went over to the Cracker Barrel for some fast-friendly options.  They do have vegetarian plates, and of course there's a game of checkers by the fireplace.  Madison and Daddy have a mandatory thing there, playing checkers at Cracker Barrel.  It was very, very busy there today.  It's been a while since we had to wait that long to be seated, or wait that long for food.  But it was good in the end, and a nice way to use the gift card we got for Christmas.

We got home in time to do our project that you see above, and we're still putting up Christmas stuff.  Yes, the de-Santafication process lives on!  It's just taken a while this year, but that's okay.  

Ballet and jazz was tonight, despite the holiday.  It's a long dance session, and not as many kids were there tonight.  Still, it was on and they were doing their thing, preparing for the upcoming Spring Recital.  There are a lot of different dances upcoming.  Our calendars are pretty packed as is!

Mommy and Daddy walked along the square while Madison danced.  We also went over to Joanne's, a craft store nearby.  Let's just say that Madison's Easter basket is already taken care of as of tonight.  It was a productive little visit.

Tonight, we read from our book again, and from the Bible as well.  The weather is a bit chilly tonight, but the temperatures were nice this afternoon, and supposedly warmer tomorrow.  It's been a good day together, but things will pick up steam tomorrow.  No more holidays for a while, and it's back to the old grind, right?

Mommy thinks "Electric Lotus" would be a great rock band name.

A Good Day for the Circus, A Bad Day for the Circus

This morning we continued our "Big Top" series with a much bigger service, this mainly due to weather being more accommodating.  Though we did have a good number of our cast out due to vacations and sickness, we did have enough to have a pretty good service, and so our celebration of the traditional service went off in grand fashion!

The worship service was extended, as you can se here, with children filling the altars and the auditorium.  The crowds were back - everyone has returned for the new year!

The games and the skit went really well.  Daddy's costume above worked out well as the Ringmaster.  I haven't been a Ringmaster before, but I love the costume!  Mommy had that one from before, although last time it was on a mannequin for the ONE Marriage Conference three years ago.

And here are the rest of the costumes.  You can see Madison there towards the left, all dressed up for her part.  She did really well today, a quiet mime sort of character with lots of expression on stage.  She wanted to do this today, and actually did a great job.  She's not quite ready for lines yet, but she was doing really well with the actions on stage.

As you can see, she was encouraging the Amazing Nerdo in his flight as a Human Cannonball.  He wasn't exactly thrilled about it, and furthermore had to be shoved into the cannon later on.  The sound effects were great, from the loud boom to the Wilhelm scream to the crashing and cats screaming.  Madison loved it.

She was having such a good time on stage!  All the kids loved the skit - hundreds of them counted down to blastoff when Nerdo would get launched, and they were all cracking up at the sound effects at the end.

And that's what we do - we get those kids having such a good time, and then comes Pastor Lance with a fantastic message related to that bottom line.  It's all connected, and the kids make that connection, hopefully remembering it more.

It was a fantastic morning, one filled with energy and excitement for the new set, the new costumes, and the new series.  We had such a great time too!  It was a good day for the circus.

But at the same time it was a bad day for the circus.  Word spread this morning that Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey is closing down for good, it's final shows being in May.  Hopefully we can attend a show in March upcoming, when they arrive in Duluth once again.  There are no elephants anymore, as those have been dropped to accommodate protesters.  Once the elephants were gone, apparently sales of tickets plummeted enough that they simply couldn't continue the circus.  And so, an American tradition is no more.  Some are unbelievably rejoicing at the demise of this circus.  It doesn't feature elephants anymore, so therefore these people are celebrating the end of the circus itself, and the fact that a lot of people are losing their jobs.  This obviously disgusts us.  Look at Mommy's display case here:

It features a few of the programs from the past visits to the Ringling Brothers circus.  Daddy remembers going to a few at Madison Square Garden, and then taking Madison to a few more recently.   With the Big Apple Circus also gone, where can someone go to see a traditional circus anymore?  If not Ringling Brothers, then who?

It is the end of an era.  Something deeply American will be gone soon, something that goes back a long, long time.  Consider that this circus survived the Great Depression.  Yet it could not survive the economy today, when mixed with all the laws and regulations.  We'll try hard to get tickets for Madison, for one last hurrah - even without the elephants.  But something sacred will die soon, as it is our opinion that this particular circus is the symbol of all circuses, indeed the Greatest Show on Earth.  We enjoyed our last visit to the circus together, although the one before that was trying to hard to be like Cirque du Soleil.  It seemed to right itself a bit as a significant anniversary was approaching.

But again, the tsunami of regulations and protestors and our struggling economy... all of it came crashing down, bringing the Big Top with it.  It's been a bad day for the circus.

This afternoon we got some rest, and Madison wrapped up her piano homework for the week.  We woke up just in time to go see the 5:00 showing of a movie over in Cumming.  We decided to see "Sing," which was actually a great movie.  We went into it not knowing what to expect, but came away pretty impressed.  Three thumbs up!

We got home, and it was Disney Infinity time, and then bed.  We can sleep in tomorrow as there's no school.  That will be pretty sweet, of course.  We need the rest!