Spar Wars

This is Madison tonight, sparring again.  And as a Daddy, I was having a great time in the waiting area, peeking through the glass there and watching all this unfold.  I mean, look at her expression.  It's one with this weird mix of joy and ferocity!

Last time she was sparring, she was more on the defensive, and a bit more reserved.  But tonight, Madison was unleashed!

It's such an odd thing to laugh at and cheer on your daughter as she unleashes violence upon others, and it's probably a good thing that she didn't see me over there cracking up.  Other parents were there too, and we were laughing at the surprise on Madison's victims as she attacks them with a foot-fist fiesta!

She had a good day today, although she didn't do as great on her science test as hoped.  Still, it's a B, and that's not terrible.  We're going to go out to eat Friday night, although she thought we might not because she got a B.  But really, it's about doing your best, and we let her know as much.  This drops her down to a B in the class average, but we have a long semester to go, and I think she'll be able to pull up that grade easily.

The rest of her day was good, all indoors of course, as it is still pretty chilly outside.  Meanwhile, this historic polar vortex north of us is simply stunning.  The temperatures are so low in certain areas that weather maps ran out of color codes to use for certain areas.  As mentioned earlier, the temperature in Antarctica is actually warmer than it is in Illinois.

Meanwhile, here, it's rather mild when the sun comes out.  Comparatively speaking.  One thing that Daddy did today was do some recording for Summer Xtreme.

I'm playing a minion character named "Sims."  He's pretty funny, a cross between that bat from "The Great Mouse Detective" and a certain local radio talk show host we know with a pretty nasal voice.  It's an odd frame of reference, but the voice came out really funny, and I think it'll work in the end.  We've been recording these in a makeshift Soundbooth, a lot of sound boards surrounded by clothing, props, stuffed animals and so forth.  There's a lot of recording lately - and we're calling this spot "The Fortress."  It's in this kids room down the hall, out of the way, and now occasionally pretty noisy!

Madison was doing homework tonight, a writing assignment where she was answering questions about an interview she found online.  She found an interview about "A Wrinkle in Time," and was doing that assignment just before bed.

Of course we read and prayed.  And of course we did our nightly game of hide-and-seek.  We do that every night.  She says, "Ready!"  And Daddy runs upstairs to see if he can find her, which of course he cannot.  Lately, her hiding spots have been hilarious.  She's been in a clothing hamper once.  Another time underneath the pillows in our bedroom.  Tonight she was in the big tub in our bathroom.  Sometimes she's hiding in plain sight in a dark corner.  All the time, it's a fun game of hide-and-seek before bedtime.

We read from our devotional, and another chapter or two from "The Secret of Rundoon."  Molly Aster keeps disobeying her dad, and it keeps saving the day.  Will it happen once more?  Probably, but we'll have to wait and see what happens next.  We said our prayers tonight, grateful for warmth.  We prayed for healing for certain people, and warmth for others.  We're grateful and happy together, and quite blessed with what we have.