Thursday, July 30, 2009

Tri-Dac Showcase Festival

Last Saturday, we went to Alyssa's Tri-Dac Showcase Festival. She had so much fun these last three weeks. Each week they covered a different form of art. For her first week, she took Digital Photography where she not only learned about photography itself, but also how to manipulate photos in photoshop. They all had to design a Time Magazine cover:
This is another project they all did:

They even went on a field trip downtown to the State Capitol to take pictures. She really enjoyed this class.

The second week she took pencil sketching which was actually her 3rd choice but she enjoyed it. She started out frustrated. They were practicing shading techniques. She does not have the patience for this. (Wonder where she got that from???) But throughout the week she started telling me her project was looking better and by the end of the week she was happy with it: I think she did a great job! Even though this class wasn't her first choice, I think it's good that she had this opportunity to brush up on these skills.

The third week was her favorite, I think. She took metal sculpting. The students were not allowed to do the actual cutting or welding, but they design the project, chose the pieces, and directed where to cut and weld. They were told they could make anything they want but one good idea was to make one animal turning into another. Alyssa has done this before with papier mache' and loves animals so she went with it. Anytime you give Alyssa free hand in subject matter, her subject is bound to involve a dragon. So, she decided to make a bird turning into a dragon. She had a lot of fun with this class. She even made her name out of scrap metal.

At the end of Tri-Dac we went to the Showcase Festival. First we went to the auditorium to see the dance portion. Afterwards, before dismissing everybody to the Art Exhibit they announce the awards. There were 100 students in the Visual Arts portion of Tri-Dac. Each student had at least 3 projects. In many cases 4 or five projects. Out of all of these they gave 8 awards for outstanding achievement. The prize was a gift certificate for art supplies. Alyssa recieved one of these awards for her dragon sculpture!We were so happily surprised! Even Alyssa had no idea! After being dismissed from the auditorium we all made our way to the Atrium for the Art Exibit.
Do you see the size of that thing? Where are we going to put it? ;) Great job, Alyssa! We're proud of you!

Roan Quote: “Daddy, I don’t want to finish my snow cone. I want to eat it forever.”

Monday, July 27, 2009

Question # 23

What family gathering brings you the most joy or refreshment?
Journaling: As a child, my family went to Roan Mt. Tennesee every summer with our church. These vacations were so special that years later, our extended family decided to start a new tradition by returning to Roan Mountain every other Christmas. We always cut down a real tree and make our own decorations. We hang out, do puzzles, go sledding, shopping, hiking, and take turns cooking. We have such a wonderful holiday every time.

Question # 22

What piece of advice would you pass on that meant a lot to you when you recieved it?

Journaling: When I was a relatively new mother, I went to a Mother's Day breakfast with my mom & sisters. My mother was the guest speaker. She gave one of the most memorable pieces of advice I have ever heard. She said that as a om, you do your very best, then pray that where you fail, God will fill in the gaps.

Question # 21

What is my greatest fear?

Journaling: I am afraid of suffocating, I am claustrophobic. I am afraid of somehow 'missing' God, of being one of the ones who think they're saved, but aren't. I'm afraid of losing my husband or my children. But my greatest fear is of failing as a mother in the stewardship of my children. I want so desperately to teach them to make the right choices. I want them to have a lasting and living relationship with God. I know that ultimately they will be responsible for their own choices. But I can't help holding myself responsible if they walk away from God. In the end, all I can do is place them in His hands and trust that he has everything under control and won't let them go.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Last week, while Kai was at camp, Alyssa turned 13!!!!!! I can't believe I'm the mother of a teenager! On Friday, her birthday, Roan went to work with daddy, which he loves to do, so Alyssa and I could spend the day with each other. We went shopping, bought some new clothes, a new bed set and curtains for her room, and opened her first bank account. For dinner, we went to the Melting Pot. She loved it! We went there for her birthday last year, and she wanted to do it again. The restaurant even gave her a birthday card that everybody had signed. She was impressed. Sunday, we went to see the movie '17 Again'. We both enjoyed it. We had a great weekend with lots of Mother/daughter time. Now, she's at camp and I miss her! Happy Birthday, babe!

Time for Camp!

Last week, Kai went to camp. He LOVES Bethel Camp and was very excited to go back. He’s been going since he was seven! Also, two of his friends were there. He took Riflery and Outdoor survival. In Riflery he hit the center of a one dollar bill! Since he was the first one to hit it, he got to keep it. He says he got a "hole in one"! :) In Outdoor Survival he learned how to start a fire. He had a great time! This week, Alyssa is at camp. Next week will be Roan's turn. Ah, summer!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

AC Trials and Tribulations

Well. Now that I’ve had some time to ‘cool off’, I thought I’d document our horrible week of HOT. I’ll try to keep it brief.

Sunday Afternoon: Our air conditioner froze up. The filter needed to be changed. The coils were encased in ice. Dean, having been told by our AC guy in the past to keep the coils clean, cleaned them. It didn’t work.

Monday Morning: After spending the night with no AC, Dean called our AC guy first thing. He could not come out that day, which is understandable. He said he’d come out first thing the next day. We set up fans throughout the house and camped in front of them. The kids watched a lot of TV and I spent a lot of time on the computer, wherever we could sit in front of a fan. We did try to leave for a while. Dean took Roan to work with him. I took the other two to the library and a movie (Star Trek, they loved it). Then we picked up some dinner and took it to Dean’s office and ate there. That was all some nice family fun, but we still had to come home to the hot house and spend another night.

Tuesday Morning: Dean went off to work. The AC guy was expected first thing, so we couldn’t escape the hot house this time, waiting for him. He arrived at 3:45pm. Yeah….first thing. He looked at the AC and said we needed a new coil. This was a $1200 part that should be covered by warrantee, but we still had to cover labor which was $525!!! Since AC guy had to now locate a new coil, the AC wouldn’t be fixed until the next day. He said he hoped to pick up the coil and get it in by lunch, Wed. Another hot night spent. It’s getting hotter.

Wednesday: He arrives at 2:45. He looks at me and says, “You don’t look very happy.” I said, “I’m hot.” He brings the coil in and unpacks it. Now, the coil is missing a part that should have been there. He makes a call, then drives one hour round trip to get the missing part. When he gets back he discovers it is the wrong part. Now he’s getting frustrated and defensive. Meanwhile, we are still HOT. He says he he’ll have to come back the next day. Dean even offered to go get the part for him, so he wouldn’t have to drive all the way back again. (Dean works pretty close) So, AC guy says he’ll be back Thurs. AM between 8:30 and 9. By now it is so hot in our house and tempers are flaring. Keep in mind, that since he keeps saying he’ll be there in the morning and then showing up hours late, that we have been trapped in the house, unable to leave it because we’re waiting for him!

Thursday: Dean decided to work from home in order to be able to talk to the guy and so the kids and I could get out for a while. Even though he said 8:30 to 9, we weren’t holding our breath. I took the kids to Saluda Splash for a few hours. We picnicked and got wet. I brought a book. We had a nice afternoon. When we arrived home about 2:00, he had not come yet. Big surprise. He finally arrived at 6:00 PM!

Unbelievable.

When Dean answered the door, AC guy clapped his hands together and said, “You can’t be as hot as I am, let’s get this thing fixed!”

. .
_

So they came in and fixed up the AC. He had pumped out all of the Freon and was outside in the process of pumping it back in when a huge severe thunderstorm started blowing through. They finished up just as the bottom of the sky opened up. Man, the wind was blowing and it was pouring rain. The thunder was really close and loud. A friend called afraid of tornadoes, it was that bad. However, inside the house, the AC was fixed! Yay! He flipped the switch to turn it on…..

And we lost all electricity in the house. (from the storm) The house was 92 degrees,

the AC was fixed, but we couldn’t turn it on because there was no electricity! AND NOW THE FANS DON’T WORK!

And it’s very dark. And the AC guy won’t leave because he’s afraid of lightening. And he sits in the living room drinking ice water commenting on how he can’t believe how hot it is in our house.

. .
_

The storm blew off, the AC guys left, and we left. We drove around for a while, went to Target, got some Italian ice at Rita’s, then went back home. The power was still out. The idea of going in to that house and going to bed WITHOUT the fans was unacceptable. We sat in the driveway for a while with the AC on. Roan was asleep in the back seat. We finally gave in. It was 10 pm by now. Roan was already asleep and Kai didn’t have too much trouble, but the rest of us couldn’t sleep. Finally, I decided to take a cold shower which really helped. Alyssa did the same, and we finally managed to fall asleep. Dean was still wide awake. The electricity finally kicked on about 1am. Because my hair was wet and the fan turned back on as well as the AC, by morning I had a sore throat which turned into a head cold that I’m still trying to kick.

But the AC works!!!