Proud Little Sis

Today, Beth and I are volunteering at the theatre, which means that we get to see THE SNOW twice today!! Here's the actor with his little sister having lunch before call time today...and another photo from the show. If you haven't gotten tickets yet, you should!!!

Cross Country, the Final Chapter (we think)

I'm not sure he's ever been called a "natural-born athlete" before, which is what his coach called him during their end-of-season banquet, but I do think he's got some natural endurance and pace-setting genes in him...after all, he is his grandpa's grandson!

Today, I drive down to Indiana again to be with my daddy and mama...can't wait to show Dad the pictures and video of Rex getting his cross country award last week. It was his third year on the team, and with this, Rex's forced athletic career comes to a close. 

Thanks to Mrs. Swick for being a fantastic coach for our son these last few years...he has learned to be an encouragement to his teammates, no doubt, from you!

Paper Bag Christmas, the Play

Exciting times backstage at The Paper Bag Christmas! Rex performs again tomorrow, but the other cast is fabulous, too. Great entertainment, a wonderful message, and a fundraiser for Children's Hospital all rolled into one.  SUCH a blessing for our Rex to get to be a part of it!

When Jill was here, she captured this image...I love the expression on Rex's face as well as the emotion being shown by his "brother" and "mom".

"Lots of hard work and talent, well done!!" --Aunt Jill  

Paper Bag Christmas: The Rehearsals

This Christmas, Rex has the amazing privilege of sharing the lead role in Morning Star Production's The Paper Bag Christmas, a show about a group of kids who put on a Christmas pageant at a local  Children's Hospital.  This play is being used as both an outreach and a fundraiser for our amazing Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.  

All of our boys have been patients at Children's at one point or another; Neil, Tom, and Bart have all had surgery there, and Rex has visited the ER a time or two!  We love the fact that some of the proceeds from this wonderful holiday show are going toward such a fabulous place which cares so well for so many families each year.

Here are just a few glimpses from play practices so far this fall...

"Katrina, are you in there?" Rex plays Molar, a boy who is asked to befriend Katrina, one of the patients in the oncology unit. He learns that isn't as easy as it sounds.

Molar (Rex) and the angel choir...

Rex's Molar counterpart, P, rehearsing with Alan, a seasoned performer playing one of the doctors at the hospital.  Together, Rex and P are going to help make this show a smashing success!

Mrs. Davison, the show director, is surrounded by part of her Paper Bag Christmas cast.  (I wonder what was on the computer that was so interesting to Rex and his friend, I?)

We're so proud of you and all the hard work you are putting in to this show, Rex...keep it up!  Just a few more weeks, and you won't have any more rehearsals to go...for now.  ;)

Cross Country Banquet

Another Cross Country season is in the books for Rex, and I personally am so glad that he's been on the team these last two years.  I wish we had pictures from his last meet....it was pouring down rain and really cold.  Brrrrrr!  We had lots of blankets and a stroller and a friend who cuddled Bart and a really good parking space for quick and easy runs back to the van.  It was a great memory, and I'm proud of Rex's perseverence.  Hoping he will run next year, too, but we'll see!

A couple of photos from last night's fall sports banquet at school...

Coach Swick and the middle school cross country runners.

Rex got the award for "Perseverence."  We love watching him run and hope he continues to enjoy this sport and get better every year!

Jester's Corner: ALS Ice Water Bucket Challenge

Okay, friends...my creative son has been asking me to post this for awhile now--which I said I would do but just keep forgetting. Rex draws a comic strip called "Jester's Corner". (He has changed the name this time around.) Yes, we are a bit late to the party, but awhile back, one of our SITC students challenged all project staff and students to the ALS ice water bucket challenge. Rex took up the challenge in this interesting way. Comic backstory: set in medieval times, Dr. Tech is a character who is ahead of his time, kind of a gadget-guy. In this strip, Dr. Tech has accepted the ALS challenge...keep watching, as there is more to come!

Installment #2 in the Jester's Corner ALS Ice Bucket Challenge saga...straight to you from our Artist in Residence. (It should be noted that the characters involved have a Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote relationship, where they always try to "get" the other but never do.) Enjoy!

Installment #3: This is where Rex gets some of his friends in on the Challenge action. I think this one is a little easier to read than the above one, but bottom line, he is challenging M and L to give to either ALS or another great cause...

And now, for the last installment....as he says, we hope you've enjoyed!

Cross Country, Year 2

Best part of my day yesterday? Cheering Rex on as he began his second year of cross country! He ran 2 miles in 17.33...better than I could do for sure! Way to go, Buddy!

Biking Success!

Biking.  He did it.  It was his first time.  I'm proud.

For the most part, our vacation was fine, more than fine, actually.  But for this part, it was awesome! Rex biked the whole way, he and Hoffbeast biking almost 90 miles in three days.  I am so proud of him!!!  (I realize I said that already.)

Number Twelve!!!

Twelve years ago today, two families were given the gift of these beautiful two children. What a blessing it has been for Rex to share his birthday with his good friend, M! Breakfast tradition at the Original Pancake House--delicious!  Happy birthday, Rex...we love you!

40 Days (Day 9) - Linus and friends

Watching him sing and act his way through his middle school musical this year was way beyond fun.  Rex IS Linus!  Ever since he started reading and carrying a book around with him everywhere he goes, I've been saying that he is a lot like Linus, the Peanuts' character who is small in stature but big in words.  As his youth leader wrote on a note given him the night of the play, "Minus the security blanket and the thumb-sucking, you pretty much are Linus, so you really just had to play yourself!"  It's true.  He played Linus beautifully, and everyone in the audience knew it and enjoyed.

Frankly, the entire cast was fantastic!  I had a huge smile on my face for most of the performance...the color, the vibrancy, the beautiful voices, the energy...it was awesome.

I only wish it wasn't over already.  We are so proud of Rex, our little actor!

40 Days (Day 2)

I'm not quite sure what these 40 posts will look like, but tonight's post comes as a result of the special evening I just had with my Rex.  One of the things I have hoped for as a part of my birthday celebration is for a little one-on-one time with each of my children.  Tonight, I got 20% of my wish.

In the fall of 2001, just a month after our country mourned, Hoffbeast and I rejoiced.  There was still a great deal of collective sadness, shock, disbelief, and fear, but in our little apartment, on Shadyside Drive in Louisville, there were tears of joy.

The test said yes.

We would be parents.

And 9 months later, along came the baby who has grown into an amazing 11.5-year-old boy...and who still has my heart.

So why the above picture?  Well, every mother loves watching her babies sleep, and I am no exception.  The added bonus of the Christmas lights and the peace that settles on a home the night before the Babe's birth is celebrated just makes this all the more right.

I love Christmas.  And while Jesus was the. very. best. gift of a baby ever given, my Rex is right up there.

Tonight, on our way home, I told him that I truly felt like I was the most blessed mama ever, to have been chosen to be his.  He corrected me:  "Well, Mom, don't forget about Mary..."

Okay, you're right.  She was more blessed.

But still.

When we left the play we had seen this evening and got in the car, our conversation went from zero to awesome in about 60 seconds.  One of my favorite things about Rex is his ability to communicate clearly and to connect pieces of this with pieces of that.  If you know him well, you know what I mean.  If not, you'll just have to trust me.  So tonight, without getting into all the details of the conversation, basically we were talking about how the walk of faith is one where over the days and over the years, we get to see more of the "new creation" that God has made us into move from the inside to the outside.  We change and are made new, but we are also changing and being made new.

And his question...."Mom, do you see the new man coming out in me?"  "Oh, sweetheart," I easily replied, "I see more of the new man all the time.  Every day, God is growing you.  Every day, you are becoming more of the young man He designed you to be."

It's a privilege, I tell you, to be his mama.

We held hands during the play.  Someday, sooner than I might like, he will be holding hands with some other girl.  But for now, he's all mine.  <3

I love you, Bunch.  So much.

Scholarship!

Praise God!  He got another scholarship!  It's amazing to me that Rex continues to receive scholarships related to the violin.  This year, he will be participating in Prelude, the next level orchestra from the last two years' Progressions.  He has received a partial scholarship for his orchestra fee and another that pays for almost the entire cost of his private lessons! 

(Thank you to Grandma for finishing out the rest of his orchestra fee...we are greatly blessed, and we thank the Lord for His awesome provision!)

The End of Progressions

Not that long ago, Progressions had just begun, and he could barely play a note on his violin.

 But now, he's done.  The 2-year commitment that seemed like forever is over...

Here he stands with his fellow-violinists, J and A.  Such talent there!  A is by far one of the best--his solo at this concert blew me away!, Rex has improved so very much--I'm so proud of him!, and J is faithful, always following through despite not always looking so confident.  I am thankful for these boys in Rex's life and for this whole Progressions experience.

 What a gift!  Two years ago, we opened up a letter saying that Rex had been nominated to be a part of this program.  The fee?  Twenty-five dollars per year.  That's it.  For private lessons, for instrument rental, for everything.  That's it.  What a gift!

 The concert was beautiful...they are SO  much better than they were at the beginning of last year!

 A little mid-concert non-verbal communication between Rex and J (who, by the way, is the only other person we know who shares Tom's first name)...

 K (below), is in Rex's class at school...another budding violinist!

 Mrs. Michaels (or Mrs. Williams as I accidently called her for the first year for some unknown reason) was their orchestra director; Rex was under her direction two evenings a week for the last two years.  I love the way she leads the orchestra!

 I am so proud of my Rex!

 Here is Rex with Ms. G, his private lesson instructor for this year.  Last year's teacher was great, too, but for some reason, Rex has really responded to Ms. G and has grown so much under her tutelage.  We're so thankful for her, and Rex is really going to miss her!  (I'm hoping that he will have her again for private lessons, but we'll see...that decision is still to come.)

Rex comparing his violin's size to that of Beth.  She's a lot bigger!

Ms. Sarah is the administrator for the Progressions program, and she, too, is wonderful.  Here, Rex is handing in the half-size violin that he has played for the last two years.

 Beth, Tang, and I were the lucky recipients of the three tickets per student.  Beth enjoyed the concert, but she really enjoyed the blue juice drink!

 Last but not least, a picture of Rex with the one-and-only Mr. Tony.  Tony is a volunteer with Progressions, and he is amazing.  Faithful, encouraging, and kind...he would often pull Rex out during orchestra during his first year when he was having trouble and help him work on a particular skill.  This year, a scholarship was named in his honor, so his legacy will live on year after year.  He told me that he was considering asking Rex for his autograph because he just knows that one day, Rex is going to do something great!

Thank you, Progressions!  We will miss you!

The Town Crier

Earlier this year, Rex's class studied the middle ages, and for his class project, he researched the topic of farming. He came up with some really disgusting facts to share with his class during his report on how they farmed back in the middle ages...stuff I had zero clue about. Each of the students had to dress up, so Rex chose to be a Town Crier. He did such a great job on his report, and his public speaking skills are getting better each time he has an opportunity like this one to practice.

During their Middle Ages unit, Rex began writing a class newsletter called--what else?--the Town Crier. He had an application/"hiring" process where some of his classmates became writers, illustrators, and advertisers, and the chief editor is, of course, his fabulous teacher, Mrs. H.

Here, Rex giving his report, posed as the town crier, and with Mrs. H, the class queen. Each year she dresses up, and the kids love it!  And I'm not gonna lie...I was pretty happy with Rex's costume, too!  It was an 11th hour put-together (as good costumes often are around here), and it turned out great!

Happy Birthday!!!

It is now officially my birthday, and in honor of, well....me!....I'd like to throw up some pics of some of the people in this world whom I love the most...on their most recentest birthdays.  Odds are that I missed their birthday posts when they should have been put up originally.  Okay, I just checked, and I actually did okay on a couple of 'em.  Beth got a couple of pictures, and Neil got one plus some explanation.  But Rex?  Well, his birthday didn't even receive an honorable mention. 

So without further ado...Rex's 9th birthday, last July in Colorado:

 Birthday first day of Kids' Care/Kids' Camp

 Birthday breakfast with mom (after we dropped other kids off at said Kids' Care)

 Birthday self-portrait with Mom

 Birthday dinner with staff friends outside our apartment

And, of course, a birthday cupcake "salad"!  (That's what he asked for...it was a salad-themed dinner.)

I can't believe that you're 9 1/2 now, Bunch....just can't believe it.  I love you so much, and I'm so proud of who you are and who you're becoming.  Thank you for encouraging me and loving me....let's always keep our communication good between us, okay?  (Hey, do you know where the word 'okay' comes from??!)

Feb. 3 - Leaving in a Buick

On Jeff's birthday, we were given a great gift--a new car!!! Well, new to us, anyway. It's a '98 Buick Park Avenue, and we've lovingly dubbed it The Buicci...as The Hub says, it kind of gives it a sporty, Italian feel. :)

So in about 8 hours, Jeff, Neil, Beth, Kara, and I will be jetting out of town...in the Buicci. We will drive to my parents', spend the night, then be on our way to Florida where we will spend the next 2 weeks, first at a conference and then on a much-needed family vacation. Rex will stay behind for the first week and then will join us for the second. I miss him already, but we had some sweet mother-son snuggle time tonight, and I'm really grateful for that.

During our talk, we shared something that we like about each other. You know what he said? My voice. He likes my voice. Not my singing voice, mind you, but my plain, old, mama speaking voice.

Wait. You mean the one that gets raised when she is frustrated and the one that reminds everybody of the no-whine zone?

What a good reminder. Even the occasional (and sometimes more-than-occasional) harshness to the tone of the voice doesn't stop the truth from being true: There is nothing quite like the look, the feel, the sound, the smell, and the touch...of a mom and a dad.

Kind of sweet that he chose my voice, you know? It must bring him comfort. (And why not? Talking to my mom still does the same for me.)

Of course it was my turn next, and I couldn't possibly name just one thing. I think I said something about being glad that we were so close and that we can have good conversations about things. It's true. I love that--and so many more things--about him.  What a gift I was given when I became a mom.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from January...

Lunch with my friends, Tiffany and Jessica.  It was great seeing both of you ladies on New Years' Day!

I have enjoyed tons of precious time with my dear friend, Andrea.  She and her husband, Tim, have opened up their home to us so generously and graciously.  It's not easy to have 5 people invade your space for 2 months!  But that part of this ordeal has been great!  Much laughter, good conversations, and many opportunities for us each to see our need for Jesus.

Noel and Neil, cheering the Packers on to their NFC Championship win!  Next up?  The SUPERBOWL!