Catching Up

Well, it' s been a little nutty for the past few weeks. I made it through mid-term finals and I am really pleased with my grades; it was worth all the hours of studying. Aside from a letter grade, I have really learned alot about the world around me. I am more in awe of God's creation than ever before: from the unique properties of water, to ionic bonding, to a cell. I am so amazed!

Whitley is coming along in her school work. Her new school has really challenged her but she is rising to the occassion. Her renal ultrasound is scheduled for Nov.1 and we expect to have a good report on her kidneys! She started harp lessons last week for the first time. Her teacher is so talented and Whitley responds well to her. A whole lot of the lesson was about form and fingering techniques; I hope Whit sticks with this! I'm going to attach a few pictures of her practicing here at home.

John is still licking his wounds from that roof project on our house and is still not quite back to himself yet. He has been dinking around on the internet and has been assembling all the equipment for he and Whitley to go skiing this winter. All 5th graders in the state of Colorado ski free. It is really a great marketing tool to ensure the next generation of skiers. The opened a new resort area just 12 miles west of us last winter called Echo Mountain. A years pass for John was super affordable. Not only is it close, but it has lighted runs at night with music, so they can always get a run or two in after school for a little exercise. We have had one squall of snow here at the house that didn't amount to much, but we are expecting and acculmalative amount tonight. Looks like it won't be long before father and daughter are hitting the slopes. I told them I would try over Christmas break; this should be interesting!

We replaced a lot of things this week: the over the stove microwave, the refridgerator and our digital camera. We're taking it in stride and I'm just pretending that my birthday came three weeks early. We decided to go with stainless steel appliances for a change, so half my kitchen is in that now. We had really good luck finding some decent deals out there at this time of year. We bought our fridge from the Sears scratch and dent sale. We got 50% off a brand new s.steel side by side w/ indoor icemaker because it had a dent on each side. Lucky for us, the fridge butts up to a wall on the left and the counter on the right and so it looks flawless. The product comes with the full manfr. warranty so we were pretty excited with our find. We are pleased with the microwave and increased the wattage. It's kinda scary how fast it cooks things. As for the camera, the old one was only a two magapixel, so it had seen better days and we got our money out of it. These things happen from time to time.

Well, I hope this blog finds all of you well. Here's a crazy thought: only 73 days until Christmas!! Where did 2007 go?????

Harping about Dollars and Sense

Do you remember when you brought your band/orchestra instrument home for the first time? Oh how those clarinets "squeaked"! And what about that ring aroung your upper lip from the mouthpiece? Or the gurgle that accumulated from hot air and spit in the body of your brass instrument? And how about that drum set that magically ended up in your garage or basement one day when you got home from school? Hmmmm..who could have moved it???? Your Mom? Your Dad?????

Well, John & I have been spared all the above, but unfortunatley our wallet has not. Whitley has decided to take up playing the HARP! It was a really tough decision, but the pieces came together and we felt lead to give her this wonderful opportunity!

Since the instrument is somewhat rare, we'll give you a little education on the harp. For starts, she will begin on a 26 string "Ravenna". The harp is about 5 ft. tall. It has a very beautiful voice. Standing harps can vary between 19 to 36 strings. They are usually made of cherry, rosewood or maple. The style of the harp is unique to a specific style like Celtic, Folk, Traditional,etc. The particular harp that Whitley will start on, retails for about $2,500.00 (used), but we can rent it for the first 6 months. After that, we can apply the 6 months rental to the purchase price is she is excelling and we wish to purchase it.

So here's what I want to know, "How did David, a poor shepard boy in the Bible, afford his harp???? I'm not quite sure, but here's our plan.

If she is still playing by high school, we can look at the Pedal Harp which runs between $11,000-$55,000.00!!!! I know, we choked too.....however, the demand for harpists is so great that there is a high probability that she could get a full ride to college on a music scholarship...which in turn would save us about $100K in college tuition. Now, with that being said, it seems like it might be worth the investment.

For now, she will start on Mondays after school with a private instructor just a few miles west of her school. She is required to practice 30 minutes a day 5-7 days a week, and we'll just have to see what happens from there!

She is really, excited. She said tonight that when she gets good enough, she wants us to have people over for a formal dinner and she will play dinner music with her harp! Now there's an idea!! Maybe we'll just start charging at the door! Or do you think maybe, just maybe....



she might end up herding mutton??????

SHE'S HOME!!!!!!

Above- this is a picture of "Castle Rock" (no,not the suburb).
This is located outside of Conifer, CO at the camp Whitley attended.

This is a picture Whitley took with a disposable camera on

one of her nature hikes.

These are some kids from Whit's school. She is fourth from the right with

the tan hat on.

This was her home away from home..the Columbine Cabin that

she stayed in for the week!

__________________________________________________________

Well she did it! She made the trip full circle and had a blast! She has been talking non-stop since I picked her up at 2 pm today. Of course right away we had to have her disposable camera developed so we could see where she stayed; these pictures are hot off the press!!!!

As we've pieced together all the action, we can tell you a little of how her day went.

Wake up call was at 6:15 am. Then they went to the Mess Hall and did their daily dance to

a song called "Doot Doot". Then there was time for a morning prayer (interesting for a public school?!?). Next was breakfast.

Each day was filled with hikes, activities, lectures, special visitors,etc. She was very excited that she got to see a great horned owl, a red-tailed hawk, a barn owl and a python! Anything having to do with animals, zoology is right up her alley!

One particular hike was called an "Initiative Hike". It was a three hour hike with many challenges that required teamwork and problem solving. One thing that she said was especially scary was called a "trust fall", where you fall Nestea Plunge style and your team must catch you. She assured me that the adults were strategicaly placed at the end of the chain to catch her "melon". Your melon Whitley???? "I mean my head!", she laughed. Maybe that's why they didn't let the kids call home all week. Can you imagine if the kids called home on the first day and told us about the "trust fall"....that would have wrinkled a few feathers!

After breakfast, they tidied up their rooms. She said that her cabin tied for the neatest cabin and they won a ribbon.

They also had these leather name tags around their necks and they strung beads on the string that they received for merit/good behavior. There were a couple incidents that made us feel especially honored to be her Mom & Dad. I tell you more about that later.

Anyway, all day there were labs and classes. She did archery, photography and astronomy. They breaked for lunch and had some quiet time afterwords to journal.

Later in the afternoon, more classes.

The evenings included dances, games, skits and good ol camp fun. Lights were out at 10:45pm.......PSSSST! and you could earn another bead if you were quiet and went right to sleep.

As I mentioned earlier, there were a couple events where Whitley really shined. One incident she told us about was when she gave up her box of Fruit Loops for a box of plain Cheerios to a kid who loved Fruit Loops, but who was always last in line and kept getting the "crummy cereals" each day.

Another occasion was when this one boy, whom kids teased constantly went to sit down at the table with all the other boys. The minute he sat down, all the boys got up and left him sitting alone. Whitley said he started to cry. She went over to comfort him and told him he could sit at her table. She said the boy did not eat for two whole days after that, even though she conituned to invite him to sit with her each day. Finally on the third day, he warmed up to her and they became good friends. She said that he has some facial deformity that makes him look like a "giraffe" on the outside, but she said he is the most beautiful person on the inside. I couldn't help but cry when she told me the story. I told Whitley that her Heavenly Father must be very pleased with her actions that she did in secret. In her childlike words she said, "My counselor didn't see me be nice to this boy to give me a bead for my necklace, but GOD saw what I did in secret and someday will give me a jewel for my crown!" Agghh...from the mouths of babes! Heaven will be the day when she's really HOME!

Packing Up!

Well another week has whizzed by. The days are getting shorter and cooler. We have had a terriffic amount of wildlife in the yard lately: swift foxes, red foxes, skunks, robins, mtn. blue birds, magpies, cottontails, elk, white tailed deer, mule deer, owls, bats and the like. A startling surprise was last week, when a mother black bear was letting her cub wander out a bit from the den. My neighbor Hilda, was the first to spot her. She was thankful that she wasn't in between Momma and her cub before figuring out that the little black ball of fur was a bear instead of a dog. Yes, the signs of fall are here, the Aspen trees are on the cusp of changing and the animals are packing up for the long winter!

John finished the roof of the house with some new energy conserving insulation. He replaced the damaged roof from last years horriffic winter and thought he'd add a few layers of insulation while he was at it. Just like the animals are packing on layers to keep warm, well... so are we!!!

Whitley dear, packed up the last of her things for her week long mountain expedition that starts early Monday morning. I'm really curious to see how she is going to re-pack all this stuff before coming home. Her one and only suitcase contained: a sleeping bag, reg. size pillow, snow pants/ski coat, hooded sweat shirt, long johns, 4 shirts, 3 prs. of pants, undergarments, snow boots, tennis shoes, 4 pr. thick wool/hiking socks, a camera, notebook, 4 pencils, deck of cards, toothbrush/toothpaste,shampoo,brush,sunscreen, chapstick, lotion, sunglasses, 2 ski hats and 2 pr. gloves! Anyway, she is really excited as she found out that she is in the Columbine Cabin and gets to do three activities that she signed up for: archery, photograhy and hiking. She is nervous how she is going to keep up physically from 6:15 am to 10:45 pm....as she's a little like her Mom..., and likes her sleep! Anyway, it should be a great time for her and hopefully she'll have some beat pictures to post after her adventure.

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

Well, this weekend started off fairly good until Whit ran to me, in a panic. Breathlessly, she explained to me that a member of an online game site was pestering her for her name and age. She told us that the online character first appeared as a game member who was lost in the woods. He kept saying, "Help! Would someone please help me find my way out of the woods?" Being kindhearted, Whitley started chatting with the person on how to get out of the woods, but the minute she did, his demeanor changed. She said he revealed that he was 27 from the UK and he wanted to know her name age. Next thing we knew, 26 viruses/add-ware/spyware/porn and the like started embedding itself into my harddrive and CRASH it went!!! I'm not sure who was ready to faint first, me or Whit. I had 2 weeks worth of homework on this computer and then some. I maintained composure and we applauded her for her internet safety and for coming to get us. However, we were sad to see that someone had preyed on a child's good intentions to help a person in distress. Luckily, this was a computer scenario and not someone on the road on her way home from school or in the mall. She had a true life lesson in discernement and understanding what it means to be a a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Computers and hard drives are replaceable, but are kids are not. Just one more reason to keep reinforcing internet safety and safety in general with our kids!

An Interesting Concept in MATH

This is fascinating. Be sure to go all the way to the end.

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn't it?

And look at this symmetry:
1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 1232
11111 x 1111 = 123432
111111 x 11111 = 12345432
1111111 x 111111 = 1234565432
11111111 x 1111111 = 123456765432
111111111 x 11111111 = 12345678765432
1111111111 x 111111111=12345678987654321

Now, take a look at this..101%

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:What Equals 100%?

What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER100%.

How about ACHIEVING 101%?

What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answer these questions:

If:A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then: H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K

would translate as 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And:K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E

11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But:A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%THEN,

look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D

12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there,

It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" -Phillipians 4:13

Whitley's First Day of School

Well, yesterday was Whit's first day of school. She came home really excited and threw out lots of interesting comments that gave us a little insight to her day. Here are a few:

"The hot lunch meal was great, but the milk was sour."

"My teacher is nice, but serious."

"It rained during PE today, so we stayed inside and I taught everyone how to make orgami frogs. Then we had frog races."

"There will only be three girls in the class this year...Madison, Kianah and ME!"

"Will you fill out the field trip permission slip and give me $6?"

"Good news Mom & Dad...NO HOMEWORK!"