Monday evening, Jeremy had his first practice as a high school wrestling coach! He has 6 wrestlers (3 freshman, 2 sophomores, and 1 senior), and I am so excited for those boys to get to be taught, encouraged, motivated, and coached by Jeremy!!!!!
Tuesday morning after I dropped the kids off at school early because Annah had vocal jazz ensemble rehearsal at 7:40, I went to vote in the election.
Then in the afternoon, I took Sylvia to her first physical therapy appointment. She wasn't too happy about having to wear the gigantic yellow shorts, but the therapist couldn't properly manipulate or measure her knee while she was was wearing skinny jeans.
She had some electric muscle stimulation on her quad muscle (which she called "the electric chair"), but didn't really like it.
Her knee was hurting quite a bit after therapy, so we decided to get a little pumpkin spice latte therapy next door at McD's after she as done.
Last night, Jeremy watched the election results come in on TV and online. I went to bed fairly early, remarking how odd it was that victories had been declared in some states with 0% of the votes reported, assuming Hillary Clinton would win. Jeremy stayed up a bit later, but neither of us were able to stay up into the wee hours when a winner was declared.
It was pretty surprising this morning to wake up to this!
Emotions and rhetoric are all over the place in our country right now. I really hope we can all come together and return to rational thoughts and actions at some point soon.
Regardless of my opinions, I resolve to do this--another kind of "therapy":
Dear Jesus, please bless the U.S.A. and draw us all to You.
Annah put the colored lights and garlands on the upstairs Christmas tree last week, and lights in the kids' rooms. Caeden and Sylvia finished decorating the tree with all our favorite ornaments. We just love the glow of the lights at night! Annah and Caeden like to have the lights on while they fall asleep, but Sylvia does not--She says it keeps her awake. So, I turn them off when I go to bed.
It did take me a while, but I finally got our real tree decorated too. It looks basically the same every year, but I love it. The past couple years I have waited too long to look for tinsel icicles, but went to Walmart and looked and looked until I found them tucked in one box among the Christmas decorations. They were only $.78/box, so I bought 10 boxes and will have enough for the tree for the next 4 years too! I know I'm weird, but I think the tinsel really makes the tree come alive because it moves when people are in the room (just from the breeze of people moving around) and the reflection of the lights. I think the tinsel icicles complete our Christmas tree.
On Wednesday evening, Sylvia played on the String Project recital. She played Chanson Triste, which is a Tchaikovsky piece written in tenor clef. (Click this link if you want an explanation of tenor clef. I didn't even know what it was until I learned it while studying music in college!)
Sylvia's teacher has been telling the other cellists how great she has been doing, and I think Sylvia may have felt a bit of pressure from them. She played with great expression, but did have a memory slip-up. She stopped and asked her teacher where to start, got back on track and finished well. She was pretty upset, but her teacher came up to her right away after the recital and told her, "You played so beautifully!" Another lady (I'm not sure if she was a musician, a parent of someone else who played, or why she was attending the recital.) also told Sylvia that she really enjoyed her performance because she played with such expression, and she could tell from the moment she sat down that she really loves to play.
I am really proud of Sylvia for playing such a difficult piece, for learning and making great progress on her instrument, for continuing after a mistake, and most of all for making beautiful music (not just playing notes).
We found out Friday afternoon that she was chosen to play her piece again on the honors recital in January. She was surprised, but is really excited to have another chance to perform the piece.
We really like having the house decorated for Christmas. This year I added lights to the garland on the mantel.
Jeremy brought home leftover Dunkin' Donuts coffee the same night I bought egg nog. It's going to be a gooooooood coffee week!
I saw this collage on Facebook and just cracked up and had to share it! We love Monsters Inc, and always laugh at the character Roz and mimic her voice. The thought of Trump as Roz is just too hilarious... "I'm watching you Wazowski, always watching!"
This evening, I dropped Annah off at 4:30 for her violin lesson, Sylvia off at the CPA at 4:45 for rehearsal before her concert, and Caeden and I went back to wait for Annah to finish her lesson. We read in the car, and he was not happy when I surprised him with a selfie.
We went to get Jeremy at work, and he took us to El Porton (BEST Mexican food in town!!!!) for supper. As he sat down, an eagle landed on his head!
It drives Jeremy crazy hanging in its traditional spot on the kitchen door, but the cookie sheet advent calendar I made 8 years ago is up and counting us down to Christmas.
Caeden was scheduled to wrestle in the Fisher tournament today, but had a really upset stomach last night and was white as a ghost during Sylvia's concert. He still wasn't feeling well this morning when Jeremy was getting ready to go coach his team in the tournament, so he stayed home. He finished his book and tried to take it easy all day.
Caeden and Sylvia and I tried the new game that Krampa and Gram gave the kids for Christmas. We played a Christmas song version, and decided Spontuneous is pretty fun.
I bought a spritz maker a few days ago to make some for the church Christmas open house, and Sylvia spent a few hours today making Spritz cookies to take to her friends at school.
Now that his first concert is over, it's time to get the drumsticks out!
We live in such a tiny little village; I walked to the polling place.
I saw a few yard signs along the way. Some for local, state, and federal candidates--and of course for the big Presidential race. I figured I would snap this picture, thinking in a few years we might forget who ran against the current President...
Each time I've voted since we lived here, we had paper ballots. But today we had a choice between paper and electronic. I chose electronic, and was given a scan card (like a credit card) to insert in the machine. The voting machine was touch-screen--even in our tiny little village where less than 200 people voted! I was surprised.
After the kids went to bed, Jeremy watched online as the election results started coming in. We had a feeling what the outcome would be, and didn't stay up for the final results once it started looking obvious.
Now is the time I must admit that, these days, I actually write most of my blog posts several days after the fact. So, as I write this, it is five days after Election Day 2012. My feelings have calmed, and though I was initially discouraged and despairing, I resolve not to live that way. I choose to trust in the only One I know holds the future. I will choose not to live in fear or dread, but I choose to hope in the Lord.
1
Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
2
I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3
Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
4
When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5
Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6
He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
7
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
9
The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10
The Lord reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord!
I don't like to speak about politics, because I don't like to listen to politicians much. I listen and read enough to know what they talk about and where they say they stand, but right now I'm just completely disgusted by politics and politicians at all. I have watched the presidential and vice presidential debates, and it just irritates me to see them pointing fingers of blame and being rude. I honestly don't believe a much of anything most politicians say, because I think most of them will pretty much lie to get votes. It's just icky to me, and it makes me sad for our country. I vote for Jesus. I'm not sure there is a candidate out there who has a chance of winning who would say that same thing, so you see my trouble in finding a candidate who I can "support."
Yes, I have listened. Yes, I have formed opinions. Yes, I will vote.
Of course the kids have been learning about our government and the presidential election at school too. I liked Sylvia's answer on her social studies test from last week...
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven,
and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
