Relaunches

Tonight was the relaunch of FC Youth's services, for basically the first time over a year.  This is for Madison's age group, basically middle schoolers and high schoolers.  You can see her above, just below the letter "C," right at dismissal time when the kids were going to get a slice of pizza.  We were working on the small group plan earlier, and doing a lot of developing through the last few weeks to get here.  It  was a really good turn out.  The picture above just represents some of the middle schoolers towards the end of the event, there for the small group portion of the night.  This is the room we used to have KidPak in so long ago, and the large group service itself was at the North Campus sanctuary, where we had services all the time just about twenty years ago.  There were so many memories there in that one room.  Of course, that's where Mom and I got married.

The other thing today was our launch of the Star Wars series here at KidPak.  It went well this morning - you can see some of the Rebel Hoth costumes we were putting together.  We had an animated race between a Y-Wing, an A-Wing, and a B-Wing.  We had an invention that scanned your brain to see what kind of Star Wars character you were most like.  We had "Chattin' on the Death Star," a talk show that takes place aboard the Death Star.  We had a message about Othniel, the "force of God," and a clip of Yoda vs. Count Dooku.  It was a pretty fun service!

Madison was there at the main service upstairs, where she heard Pastor Tommy Barnett, who I think I'm going to be hearing tomorrow at the Braselton Campus.  Then Maddie was downstairs for the service here, and that's when Pastor Lance called her up to the stage to talk about young people accomplishing big things.  He was bragging on her getting a black belt.

It was a great day overall, made greater by one of our cast members making me a "Mandalorian" hoodie, complete with my name in the hood.  It was really spectacular!

On the way home, I finally stopped for some barbecue chicken at this place alongside the road on the way from church.  It was taunting me all last fall, and I'm glad I stopped - it was really good.  We ate, and we rested, and then it was time to head back to the church for the youth service.  It was a really long day at church, but it was so good.  We're ready for bed tonight - we did our reading, and we said our prayers.  Now it's time to hit the sack!

Immersion

This morning was Madison's first day of Immersion Camp, a very intensive training for students at Edge ATA, each class lasting two hours.  Today's went from 10:15 to 12:15, and Nana and I were there to see the entire thing.  Madison was so sore afterwards!  It was pretty exhausting - she was doing a lot of drills and precision maneuvers, along with some work with the bo staff, which will be featured in her leadership class as well.  She really enjoyed it, but she was so completely worn out afterwards!

We were doing a lot of work with our costuming today, stopping at a few more thrift shops.  We stopped by Chick-Fil-A on the way home and had a chicken feast at the kitchen table.  Afterwards, Madison was on to do math homework and then after that some piano.  She was pretty active today!  

We kicked back to watch something that the whole family is suddenly into:  "Secrets of Sulphur Springs," and we also watched a few other things.  But a lot of work was spent by Mom getting the Hoth costumes together.  They're really coming along well, and we'll see a few of them tomorrow on stage at KidPak.

One neat thing was a rug that we found at the thrift store.  Mom has been looking for one, and this was in such good shape and these things usually cost so much... well, we now have one in our house.  It didn't fit the bathroom as we hoped, but it'll look good downstairs on the hardwood floor.  It's just neat that we've been sort of looking for something like that an lo, there it is.  And there it is on discount!  Oh, and I got another Christmas record.  I'm loving the vinyl stuff I find from time to time, and this was a fun old Christmas record that will be nice to play in December.

We prayed tonight, and we read from Exodus, and then from Galaxy's Edge too.  The singing frog is still showing up under my pillow, as is Jerome the Llama and a few other plush characters on the bed.  Story time is for a big audience!

Hoth Costumes

You can see some of the Hoth outfits we're putting together here - a friend of ours is making insignia and logos, and the hats have been a little story too.  We were supposed to have gotten them a few days early, and in fact the delivery service said our hats arrived at a certain day.  But they didn't and we called about it and they said wait another two days.  So we did, and they still didn't arrive, despite the delivery service saying they did.  SO... another five hats were sent.  I asked what to do with the others should they arrive, and they said keep them.  So I was praying a few days later, saying, "I want those five hats," and sure enough, we got them, several days late, but there nonetheless.  I thought they were lost, but they eventually arrived.  And we got the other five hats too.  It was seventy-five dollars worth of hats that arrived for free.  We also found ski goggles at Goodwill, and those were just a dollar a piece, versus the twelve to eighteen dollars they cost online.  So... we're saving money on the costumes, and they're turning out well!

Today we dropped off Uncle George at North Springs, and made our way back to one of the thrift shops, looking for more costuming.  We actually stopped at two different ones, but then suddenly we got a call:  my mother was in a car accident.  She was hit from behind, and the impact was such that the other car's license plate is now actually imprinted on my mother's car's bumper.  What's worse, the husband of the driver is wanting to debate what dent was caused in the back of the car.  Mom was hit from behind the first time only a few weeks ago, and just now got the car back from the repair shop.  So the car was in great condition only to be struck again.  And the husband of the driver was pretty belligerent.  You'd think otherwise, but this is the world we live in.  At least Nana is okay.  Aunt Shain and Hannah came over, and so did all of us, all together with Nana to be sure.  And she'll be fine.

Tonight we had Madison's first taekwondo class for black belts.  She's shifted to a new class, a later one.  She was nervous about it at first, but she knows a lot of people in there, and that helped out a lot.  She had a great time tonight!

We got home in time for the last episode of WandaVision, the big finale.  It was a great series, a really heartfelt one.  We'll see these characters again, and it will be okay.  Some of our friends were wanting closure, but the series wasn't necessarily about that.  It was about dealing with grief, and wow, that's what this year has been all about anyway.  But we know the character of Vision is alive and well out there, and he'll be back again.  Yeah, I want that to be soon too, but I waited ten years for Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann to get back together again, or three years for Han Solo to emerge from the carbon freezing.  I can wait for this one too.

Anyway, it was a busy day today.  A stressful one too, with all the things going on.  But we made it, and after prayers and reading tonight, we were all asleep pretty quick.

Marching Fourth

Tonight we all went to Texas Roadhouse, a visit to end Uncle George's visit.  The place has been busy, although there's social distancing involved with the tables.  But the wait times have been pretty big lately, and that's good for them.  We got ourselves in on the waiting list from home, and arrived, still waiting just a bit before going in.  But the food was delicious and the server was great, and we all had a good time.

Madison is working on another art project - I'll have to share a picture of the red panda, the one art project that she brought home this week.  She's been working on more long-term projects, ones that require a bit of setting up and a bit of patience.  But she's sticking with it, and the end results are turning out very well.

She's doing quadratics in math, and continuing her discussion of the Holocaust in ELA, and Sir Isaac Newton and his apples and figs.  And of course something about physics too. 

It's been a busy season.  No time to write or do much, really.  But we're hanging in there.  We prayed, and we read tonight too.   We may be more like zombies, but we're marching fourth.

Mini-AT-AT

We have a mini-AT-AT now - isn't it adorable?  Jason, who makes our sets and is working on our Hoth set that you'll see later on, made this All Terrain Armored Transport for the lobby.  It would have been great if we had little flying snowspeeders around, but I know the kids might knock those down.

Anyway, it was a quiet day today.  I was working a bit on the upcoming youth service, plus working a little towards this Star Wars themed series as well.  It's been busy.  uncle George has been here this week, and that's been great for Nana, who has been enjoying having the whole family here together in the same house.

Tonight Mom made homemade Shamrock Shakes for everyone, and they were just perfect.  We sat there sipping them down while watching the movie of the night, "Ant Man & the Wasp."

Madison has had homework this week, mostly math.  She's doing well in school though, getting great grades on test and quizzes and classwork assignments.  Not much has changed about what it is she's learning at school - it's been quadratics, physics, and the Holocaust.  Her new art project has her excited though, as she's been showing me some of the sketches and designs for it.  She plots it out first, planning how to do it, and then she gets to work, methodically getting each piece of the work created.  The end results have been great!

Tonight we read from Galaxy's Edge some, and it's been a pleasant book.  Nothing ground-breaking, but it's good background material for our upcoming trip to Galaxy's Edge, whenever that may be.  We also read from the book of Exodus as well.  We'll keep the course there, reading that through this season, and amping up for another viewing of "The Ten Commandments."  Love that movie!

We said our prayers tonight, and not long after that, we were all asleep.  It's been stressful with the workload and the babysitting we do at home.  We're praying for help, for guidance, and for peace.

Black Belt

"I WILL PRACTICE IN THE SPIRIT OF TAEKWONDO

WITH COURTESY FOR MY FELLOW STUDENTS

LOYALTY FOR MY INSTRUCTOR

AND RESPECT FOR MY JUNIORS AND SENIORS."

Landmark day today!  After years of training and classes, Madison finally earned her black belt tonight after the official testing session in the evening.  It was of course a challenging year, but tonight sort of amplified that whole concept quite a bit:  someone at the previous testing, at the very end of class, got sick in a messy way.  Everyone but staff wound up going out into the parking lot - outside in the cold - until they could get the mess cleaned up!  And as it was all over, it took a while.  So... some of the testing was actually outside in the parking lot!

All the parents were lined up on the sidewalk, and all the students were in the parking lot warming up - quite literally.  It was rather cold out there tonight!

But eventually, class resumed inside.  And although things were a bit rushed in places, it was still a wonderful occasion.  We had so many come to see Madison.  My parents were there, along with Mom and Nana.  Uncle George flew in from California to be here.  Pastor Lance was there.  Pastor Jacob and his girlfriend were there, along with Pastor Joe and his family, the two of them brought along by Pastor Lance because they work with the youth.  Pastor Camille was there too, as was a friend from the office, Beth Parks, who has several degrees of black belt from another school.  Seats were saved for the immediate family, but some sat on the floor directly in front of us to see the whole evening.  

As with each of these, there was the standard flow of things:  warm-ups, sparring, self-defense demonstrations, and then the form demonstration as well.  At the end, as always, there is the moment where the belt is tied, each side of the belt held by someone who was there along for the journey.  For this one, Mom and I held these ends, and pulled the knot for this big accomplishment.  The rest of the family was there, all of us in front of the class as Bart and Chris spoke about Madison's journey.  Everyone cheered when she got her black belt.  It was a very special time, this completely epic moment I know she won't forget.  She's the first black belt in the family, and she's very much earned this one.  She's been dedicated, hard-working, faithful, and relentless.  She's talented, and focused, and just in love with taekwondo.  Below are pictures and even movies from tonight.  We've got a lot to look through, a lot of happy memories of this unforgettable day.

"I SHALL LIVE WITH THE PERSEVERANCE IN THE 

SPIRIT OF TAEKWONDO 

HAVING HONOR WITH OTHERS

INTEGRITY WIHTIN MYSELF

AND SELF CONTROL IN MY ACTIONS."

St. David's Day

Here are some pictures that Madison took of the trees in bloom around our church - they've been perfectly lovely this week.

It's been great that there hasn't been any torrential rain, tremendous winds or bitter cold, so the flowers can remain on the trees a little longer.  There are several behind the church in a nice cluster, and they look wonderful together.

Madison took some time with the camera, taking her usual photos.  The weather has been cool in the mornings, but the sun helps heat things up to a more reasonable temperature as the day goes on.  It will become even warmer soon, and that will be nice.

Here's another picture Madison took of a bloom in the grass.  She likes the blurry foreground sort of pictures with unusual perspectives.  The trees were so nice that I snapped a few with her phone of Maddie in front.

Anyway, it was a nice day today.  I was down there at North Springs MARTA again, picking up Uncle George who is here for Madison's black belt testing tomorrow.  But even so, I raced back with him to the house, and we had just enough time to make it to leadership class on time tonight.  True story.  I'm not sure what time laws we broke, but there it is - we somehow got from Roswell to Oakwood during rush hour, picking up Madison at the house and dropping off Nana and Uncle George there as well, all within something like 50 minutes? 

So after taekwondo, we were back here, relaxing.  We had a good dinner, and then there were some Muppets afterwards.  

Here's the funny thing about the trip down to Atlanta this afternoon:  we did the drive this morning too.  I went back and forth and back and forth.  The reason for the first part was a teeth cleaning at the dentist for Mom and myself.  Nana was there for an assist with a chipped tooth.  All went well, despite the overblown requirements, restrictions and fees related to the recent pandemic.  

Moving on!  It's St. David's Day today, so earlier on we were listening to some livestream performances from Wales, mostly folks on the fiddle.  In honor of the date, I did my treadmill walk in Cardiff, Wales, passing by the castle and other landmarks.

It was a decent day today.  We said our prayers, and we read tonight, and given all the running around this afternoon, we were all asleep rather quickly.