Year 3, April 20th-22nd, 2018: Skate On!

Hm, Friday, what happened Friday?  See, this is what happens when you let too many days pass in between posts. Oh yeah, younger boys had early morning haircuts.  Benaiah worked in Gary and Leah's yard mowing and raking. The middles and I finished up schoolwork for the week.  I had to give them an ultimatum because they are not motivated to memorize stuff for me.  Justin had to nearly perfectly memorize 30 out of 32 CC memory cards and Keturah had do 24 out of 32 before they could go on any kind of electronic device regardless of any previous punishments earlier in the day.  And what do you know, it worked!  I try not to use too many incentives like this because in the end, we should be motivated to do the right thing regardless of the an external reward.  But, sometimes, it's needed.  I know I need it, too, sometimes.  Anyway, I'm glad it worked and if they slack off again this week, we'll institute it again.  I think I'm going to break it down by day, i.e. they have to have x out of y cards memorized before TV that day.  These are cards we've been working on all year, so it's nothing brand new.  And in reality, they would be going through these cards three times if they had joined CC earlier.  With Justin moving on to 8th grade next year, and two years more of CC memory work, I want him to have some mastery with these ideas.  It's basic knowledge like a timeline, the presidents, skip counting math tables and other match concepts like area of a triangle, basic grammar knowledge, science concepts like parts of plants and human body systems, Latin declensions, and geography.  Anyway, there's that.  Justin earned his right away and Keturah earned her tv time the next day.  I think we watched more of Ben Hur as well.

Ben Hur, wow, it's an incredibly powerful storyline without all the nasty swearing, blood and guts, snarky comments, sexual innuendos of today's films.  Sure old movies can seem clunky sometimes, but it's almost like real theater because the sets and costumes ARE REAL.  I appreciate the computer graphics we have now, but boy are they overused.  There's nothing like having a real set in my opinion.  Having to figure out in a physical space how things move and work together is pretty cool.  And I definitely can tell where they reused the same set pieces to save money, same goes with the theater!  But the whole faithful to his people storyline, and the way they weave Jesus' story into it without it being heavily Christian is incredible! But again, more people would recognize the Jesus story because church attendance was much more regular even in the 60's.  Anyway, sure the storyline is slower than the current movies and TV shows, too.  But anymore, what we watch and like, it's all about how can we make this or that fight look bigger and better and less about the characters themselves.  Not always, but I'm thinking of comic book movies and action movies like even Braveheart or Gladiator.  Ok, enough about Ben Hur.  We've watched probably 2 1/2 hrs worth and still have another 1 to 1 1/2 hrs to go.  Can't wait!

On to Saturday.  Saturday was most definitely the bigger day for us, at least it was different than our normal because Sunday was basically straight forward except a little bit of time changes because Keturah sang with the kids' choir before every service and they needed extra hands in the nursery.  Gary was at Shelby St. in the morning, Benaiah wasn't on top for middle school Crave or in the media room backstage, and we had to stay late because Keturah had an extra long rehearsal.  They have dress rehearsal on Wednesday and then their performance is next Saturday.  Phew!  But back to Saturday.


The day started early for me on Saturday because I volunteered to help with the Baby Dedication for this semester.  They do it twice a year.  It was a little weird being there by myself.  I greeted at the door, which isn't usually something I sign up and then helped with putting out refreshments for afterwards and finally cleaned up when things were winding down.  There was a big group of people, but it was the only thing going on at church so it was pretty quiet getting things ready and during the ceremony.  That gave me time to reflect and think because I tried not to reach for my phone and I didn't have kids to take care of.  I ended up watching other staff and volunteers doing their thing and started wondering who is connected to who and I wish I knew their names.  I've always been a people watcher though, so this is nothing new.  But I was getting frustrated so I wrote myself a note in my phone to go home and print out the staff directory from the website.  I won't probably memorize everyone, but I want to work on putting names with faces including spouses, as well as what "department" they work in.  Maybe it's the fear that someday Gary won't be on staff and the number of people who know is will be less and less, and therefore new people will question why we know our way around so well.  Maybe, it's just that we have settled down and it's time to invest in where we are at more and more.  So, I memorize staff directories, look them up on social media, and connect the dots.  I'm probably not going to be close friends with most of them, so I don't feel comfortable asking them all these questions.  I'm a Facebook stalker, yes, when I can't remember how many children and what they look like or how old they are, I often turn to Facebook to help me remember.  I've done it for 10 years.  And I take that information and ask them about their lives when I do see them in real life.  It's just how I connect and I enjoy it.  Anyway, if you aren't feeling connected with where you are at, get involved, get to know the staff and lead volunteers, and as always, be part of the solution, not just the one who complains about the problem.  Like when I see an issue in society, I don't just educate my children about it, but I try to think of ways we can share what we know with others or influence someone who does have the power to change things, or come up with a solution like starting a homeschool support group.  I look for the leaders and I get to know the leaders, maybe because I am one?  I lead when and where I can, although I would much rather follow.  Moving on...

....to the skating party!  I had to scoot out of the Baby D ceremony so that I change, eat lunch, and head out with the whole family to a roller skating birthday party we were invited to!  Woot! Woot!  You should have seen my middles on their skates!  I think they might have roller skated once before, but it was all those years at the ice rink that helped them be confident out there!  Um, yes, technically, Justin is suppose to avoid high risk sports until his next appointment which is two weeks away and we didn't remember that until halfway through our skating time.  He was being careful and it has already been 8 weeks since his fall at church.  Keturah spent over 2 hours making laps and made it up to 98 laps!  That's such an introverted thing to do because I did the same thing.  It was easier for me to keep skating than chase Abishai or make small talk.  And because I love skating and being able to prove that I can still do this stuff when I want to!  Fibromyalgia or not, I'm still going to try!  I wasn't sure if I was at first, so Jared actually rented skates for himself first.  We got skates for Abishai, but he didn't want to put them on until he saw a friend who came late put his own.  By then, we had given his skates back.  Whoops!  So Jared ended up watching him pretend to play on some car racing video games while the middles and I skated.  Benaiah was there, too, but he was tired from yardwork that day and the day before so he just watched TV shows he had downloaded to his iPod.  It was our friend Isaac's birthday, and they had hot dogs and cake for the kids.  They even had everyone stop skating so they could sing Happy Birthday to him out on the floor.  Actually, the older guys that seem to run the skating place seemed to really enjoy seeing the kids have fun and were gentle about the rules and so forth.  Yes, they had rules, but they would gently remind the kids about them.  The DJ was an older gentleman and he called out the name of the songs and had only the ladies skate to one of them and the guys to another.  It's an old roller skating rink, maybe even close to 100 years, and looks like it had been the family for most of those years.  Pricing was excellent, too, even the snack bar.  It was very clean, just old.  I'd rather take my money to these kind of places and pay less knowing that they are loving what they do than pay the high prices of the bigger and shinier franchises like SkyZone or UrbanAir.  Real customer service, family friendly, not worried about a corporate headquarters.  Supporting local businesses once again.  Keturah says that she wants to do a birthday there for her 11th birthday.  She's doing SkyZone for her 10th birthday, which is 52 days away she tells me, lol.  She's matured a ton lately.  She did such an excellent job in choir.  She has to recite a verse at the end of a song and she was the only one not afraid of the microphone.  She spoke up, spoke clearly, and didn't fiddle around with anything.  Such a big girl!  One more year of upper elementary and kids' choir and then she will be in middle school as Justin hits high school.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Saturday was a lot of fun and both Saturday and Sunday were long and exhausting days, but we have a very, very, quiet week coming up!

Late afternoon pretty trees.

Shaggy dog.  Before haircuts pics, except, I forgot the after haircut pics.  Oh well, I'm sure you will see them in other pics.

No!  I don't want to get my haircut!  Yes, Abishai threw a fit and then wouldn't sit on my lap at the hair dresser's until I let him watch a show on YouTube.  Booger.

So much hair!

We stopped at Daddy's office on the way home from haircuts and also got to see Grandpa who typically works in the e2 office on his day "off" from the Creek.  He's always had Friday and Saturdays off.  I'm so glad that the youth group leaves their gear up often.  It's helpful to let my kids burn off some energy!

I posted this on Instagram: I just had a lightbulb moment! I’m here at the Baby Dedication thing we do twice a year at the Creek. We’ve dedicated all our babies here and it just means we promise to bring up our children to walk with Jesus. But, think on this: before we built this part of the building, Jared and I had our first kiss right where the stage is when it was a parking lot. Then, the building opened when Benaiah was 4 weeks old. His name was written on the concrete in the Nursery before it was carpeted and my dad’s name was written on the what used to be the stairs as someone to pray for for their salvation. Here we are 16 years later and Benaiah was on this stage just two nights ago playing with their worship band. Tomorrow, Keturah will be singing with the kids choir on the risers on the left. 2002 seems so long ago but it also felt like it’s only been a blip on the radar of life. So much history here. I’m going to ball like a baby when Gary does retire from here and move just a few feet to be full time with e2. And to be able to live 5 minutes from church and Jared’s workplace is a blessing as well. For him to work with his dad in the building he’s spent most of 28 yrs in is crazy! We Johnson’s are in it for the long haul, always. Sigh. Just some reflections for today walking down memory lane. Wouldn’t trade most of it for the world! So blessed!

Benaiah's first paycheck!  It's for a side job at the church, but how cool!

On our way to the party, we crossed over some railroad tracks and saw the train coming down the line!  So we pulled off to watch it!  Yes, we are that family that loves to do this!

The train was moving pretty quickly and was full of train cars hauling cars and trucks! We even heard and watched how the seam between two parts of the tracks squeaked and were pushed down by the train wheels.  What fun!

There they go!

He had no desire to get out there.

Go, go, go!

Proof that the husband has worn roller skates.  I'm sure he went a couple of times growing up, but I'm not sure I've ever skated with him before.  We did go for a few laps together hand in hand while Benaiah watched Abishai at the side of the rink.  So romantic!  I was grinning and blushing!

Daddy helping his girl.

Abishai didn't realize he wasn't actually playing, lol.

'Nuf said.

She skated for 98 laps!

Anybody who was there for Isaac, even if they didn't have skates on, could walk out on the floor and sing to him while he blew out the candles.  Sweet!

He almost put his skates on when it was time for cake, oops!

Hot dogs and cake!

Isaac and a friend were the cutest things out there on the floor!  Isaac was very timid, but his friend has obviously been doing this regularly because she could skate backwards and was encouraging him on.

So adorable!

"Y.M.C.A"! They also played the chicken dance and the hokey pokey and limbo! Justin loves to dance, apparently, because he's always participating in these things!

"Up head.  This way!" aka back to the racing car game.

Justin playing the limbo on skates!

The machine let Jared play a round without putting any coins in.

I skated!

Hokey pokey with skaters and non skaters!  This time slot on Saturdays are geared towards families.

Kiddos, hubby and I.

And at the end, they had a race!

Justin was much slower than the other boys, but I'm glad he was being cautious.  The other boys obviously have parents that work there because they skate well, but they tried going too fast on the corners and wiped out on both laps.

Daddy got us some $1 drinks at McDonald's on the way home.  Abishai managed to climb up on this stool all by himself.

My babies waiting for their yummy.

Abishai also had fries for a snack and promptly fell asleep on the way home holding on to his precious fry bag.

Abishai wanted to take his plastic saw outside to prepare some firewood, his words, not mine.  "I saw wood, Mommy!"

He literally pushed down on the branches until they broke! He loves, loves, loves being outside and working!

And why yes, we did have a fire!  Jared decided to start a project I guess he had had in his head for awhile.  He moved the bricks from the original fire pit and made it into more of a kiln instead.  He wants to melt down some old metal things he bought in Canada for an illustration in one of the classes he taught.

So cool!

Lighting is different because these were taken on different cameras.  We burned what was the workbench in the garage.  It was full of holes and nasties from the termites.

These people and their pj's/bare feet, lol!  But at least we got them off their electronics for a little bit.

Abishai kept getting too close to the fire wanting to put more wood in.  It made me super nervous.  We are going to have to set up a better parameter and rules.

Keturah added wood to the fire, too!  It burned for 4 hrs or so.

Playtime on this cool but beautiful evening.

Poor Justin!  Benaiah really pushed him far and he ended up hitting the tree in multiple ways and hurt his shoulder.  And it was difficult to stop.  I'm just glad the tree branch didn't snap.

I was wearing my heavy winter coat.  These guys? Pj's and bare toes.

I think I've been watching John Crist Instagram stories too much because I'm starting to find these little jokes everywhere.  But seriously, this made me think of the story where Elijah had the altar douses in water 3 times, and the water filled a moat under the altar, and then he called out to God to bring down the fire and He did.  The priests of Baal weren't able to do that.  I don't know how a real altar works, but just the shape reminded me of the pictures I've seen of when people would stack up rocks as a memorial, which is a different kind of altar, maybe? Ok, I don't know what I'm saying, but it made me think of an altar, k?

Still burning.  A man and his fire.

And now my baby looks like a prophet of old.  He was waiting for Daddy to tuck him in.

He almost fell asleep like this.  Stinker.

Abishai and his tools.  And Jared who, on a whim, decided to rotate the tires on his van, which I've never seen him do before, 45 minutes before we had to leave to go back to church!  I was so nervous that he would get involved in the project and something would go wrong and we wouldn't make it to church on time.  But as soon as I said I didn't believe him, I think he wanted to prove that I was wrong.  He got it done and we were only a couple of minutes late.

I never thought I'd hear the sound of lugnuts being unscrewed from my van tires in my driveway.  The Johnson men are capable, but typically we pay someone else to do this stuff.  Nevermind that these two are both in bare feet.  Abishai did one lugnut, but was scared of the sound and backed away.

And back on it goes.  Woot! Woot!  We also discovered where the spare tire is.  We've owned the van for 6 yrs and I didn't realize it was behind one of the panels near the trunk. Whoops.

Tried a new trendy hairstyle today.  I need a ton of practice, but at least I tried!

Kids' choir sang two songs before church and helped lead a third song in all 3 services.  Then they had a full long rehearsal in the evening.  Those poor kids must be exhausted!  I know Keturah is very tired and will be sleeping in tomorrow.  Most of the rest of them will have to still get up and go to school.

Just...because....he....can....

Get 'er down, in your bare feet and no regards for safety.  But, whatever.

There she is on the first row all the way to the right.  This was at the 4:30 service in the afternoon.

Friends of ours making their momma proud by working hard bringing risers from the east hall to the auditorium for the kids' choir.

Abishai I think has learned to drink from the water fountain!  I love how little kids get their face right up to it.  And, he tried to "hold" the water.  This little stinker kept running from place to place as we gathered up the other 3, forcing me to chase him into the men's bathroom.  It's a good thing no one was in there!  Rascal!

Abishai didn't think twice about picking up  controller and no one stopped him.  In fact, Justin set him up with a Pikachu character from Mario Brothers Smash Bros.  Say what?! You're not in middle school yet!

Gorgeous glow from the backyard as we all rush getting our stuff put away and getting ready for bed.  Stop and smell the roses.