Inside the Orchestra

Corban enjoyed a great experience on Halloween that involved a different kind of dressing up. He was invited by his violin teacher to perform with a program called "Inside the Orchestra." This is a program done by the Junior Symphony Guild where about 14 professional musicians and a conductor go to elementary schools to introduce students to instrument families, musical terms, and classical music. It's a really fun, interactive experience for the kids. The conductor is entertaining and on this particular day, Halloween, they played music from "Harry Potter," which totally thrilled the crowd. The purpose for Corban performing was to show the kids that playing an instrument can be something they do too. He played a Minuet by Bach and he totally rocked the gym! If he was nervous, I couldn't tell. He did a great job and I was really proud of him. I hope to have Rho include the video in this post soon, so check back if you'd like to hear it for yourself!

Halloween

Wow, has it really been more than a week since Halloween?? Now that's scary! So here are the kids in their costumes. I was a little disappointed that Kaela decided not to be Spiderman like she had been planning for many weeks. I thought that would have been pretty cute. She makes a sweet little M&M though. Corban and Karis went with spooky costumes this year, so we didn't go to the church building as we usually do (no scary costumes allowed there). Rho took them around the neighborhood while I stayed home and passed out candy to the trick-or-treaters. The kids enjoyed nice weather for a change and came home happy with their haul of sweets.

Mom....do you remember the time you tried to tease out my hair for Halloween (I think I was a witch)? I remember crying and making you comb it back out so that I had normal hair. I'm glad Karis knows how to have fun better than I do!! I would have NEVER gone for the green face that she so proudly wore!

Door Decor

For about a month now, Karis has had faces made out of paper plates hanging on her bedroom door. She mentioned a few times that she had plans to finish the artwork. Today, she convinced Rho, and later, me, to help her make bodies for her girls. The girl on the left is Karis, and her dress says "Jeri's Best Friend." The girl on the right is Jeri, and her dress says "Karis's Best Friend." (Words authored by Karis, written by Rho.)

Lacrosse

Corban finished his first season of lacrosse this past Saturday. He really enjoyed learning the sport and intends to play again in the spring. Out of the sports that he's tried so far, I would say that this has been his most successful. He would really get in there and be aggressive and wasn't afraid to have control of the ball. We shouldn't have been surprised, really. Corban has had an attraction to all long, stick-like objects for his entire life. Maybe he should try pole vaulting next!

Family Night

I may have posted about our Family Nights before, so bear with me as I am possibly repeating myself. Over the past few years, we've used books written specifically for families to learn about God in a fun, memorable way for children. There's always a neat activity to be done to reinforce what's being taught. Since we've exhausted the books and haven't found anything new yet, Rho has improvised beautifully and come up with some fun ways to teach Bible stories. This past week, he reinforced the virtue of determination that's being taught at church. He had me read the story of Noah as he and the kids acted it out. I got such a kick out of it that I grabbed the camera and took a couple of pictures. In the first picture, Noah (Rho) and his 3 sons are sawing, hammering, and whatnot. Later (2nd picture), when the rains came, they all boarded the ark (couch). Looks like they had extra time to invent and manufacture a couple of umbrellas and a raincoat!

Why we don't eat out much

This should explain it pretty well.

Duet

Hope you enjoy this little tune from Corban and me. It's called "Happy Farmer." (Thanks to Rho for putting the video together)