quotes from Christmas

Ah, my favorite quotes from Christmas Day:

"Thank-you so much!" (said with a hug each time Jonathan was handed a present, before it was ever opened)

"I'VE BEEN WANTING THIS MY WHOLE LIFE!!!" (said by our dear, dramatic daughter, Keona, about the paper doll set...and the painted pony...and the ballerina costume box...and the scooter...)

"I've GOT to stop watching commercials." (said by Jonathan upon opening up the remote helipcopter he wanted after seeing it on Saturday morning cartoons at Granny's)

"Happy Birthday to You!" (how my kids started Christmas morning--by initiating an enthusiastic round of "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.)

"Thank you for loving me." (how I ended Christmas day--feeling God's embrace through the love of my kids.)

alicia

p.s. the photo was taken by http://www.randybacon.com/

I'm non-animation

My son LOVES Magic School Bus with Ms. Frizzle--especially when they are focused on science. Today I found a personal letter he wrote to Ms. Frizzle on his homeschool desk. I'll type it out exactly as he wrote it:

12/18/2007

Dear Ms. Frizzle,
I want to go to your school! I wached some of your since Fieldtrips. I'm 1 decade old! 1 decade is 10 years! I think I'd love your trips 10 times more then you or your student, Arnold Mcdonald! I mean Arnold; I hope I'd love your Field trips!

be sure to Find me on your bus! I'm non-animation!

From,
Jonathan Chole

Like Mumble

Yesterday afternoon we watched our newest NetFlix video, Happy Feet, with the kids. Though extremely thankful that the drums trumphed the lyrics in volume at certain points, the theme was very relevant for us as a family.

Some of you may know that our precious 10 year old son has special needs that sing a delightful duet with special strengths. During cuddle time last night, he talked about being "different" like the penguin in Happy Feet.

"The penguin's dad [Memphis] said he had dropped him when he [Mumble] was an egg. Is that why he developed differently mom?"

"Oh buddy, Memphis did drop the egg, but that's not why Mumble was different. Mumble was different because he had a special gift. It just took a while for others to see and value his gift."

"Mom, I'm like Mumble. I'm really different. Like when I laugh, no one else does. I wish, I wish--"

"Yes, love."

"I'm too shy to say it."

"Do you wish you weren't different?" (silence)

For the next 5 minutes, I shared with Jonathan how different I always felt growing up. The last kid picked for teams, the first kid others made fun of...I just always saw the world in a different way. I assured him that his difference was a gift, though it may take a long time for others to see and value it.

"Okay mom," he said as he gave me a bear hug. Listening to his breathing as he fell asleep I reflected on the pain of childhood peer rejection. I contemplated the challenges my son was currently facing. And I realized that I was crying.

pass a tissue please

It happened.

When Jonathan was a baby we spent time musing over the "what do we do about Santa Claus" question. In the end, Jonathan's personality made the choice obvious. He was and is a fierce truth, black and white, soul who desperately needs his parent's words to always be historically accurate and crystal clear. He is a master of justice and is mystified by teasing or inference.

So this year when 4 year old Keona asked about Santa Claus, the stage had already been set. "Yes, Santa Claus is real. He was a real person who lived long ago known as Saint Nicholas...He is now in heaven but his real life inspired people through the centuries to celebrate the spirit of generosity by dressing as he did and giving gifts..." Beautiful. Pass a tissue please.

But Keona's teacher informed us that our normally dramatic daughter reduced it all to just the facts. Though we had clearly explained the need to stay quiet when other kids talked about Santa Claus, Keona waited with her hand up at pre-school while the teacher told a Santa Claus story.

"Yes, Keona. You've been waiting so patiently so long. What would you like to say?" Ms. Laura inquired.

"Santa's dead," Keona said.

Thankfully Ms. Laura responded quickly, saved the day, and the class survived the brutal truth.

I'd be losing some sleep over it except that I'm still recovering from this week's list of Jonathan's questions:

"Are you going through PUBERTY?!" (Asked of every single person, including the bewildered Master's Commission assistants, in the 4th through 8th grade homeschool mad-scientist gathering)

"Do you have any teeth? You should go to the dentist!" (Said to the elderly man being wheeled by his equally toothless daughter into the doctor's office)

"Do you have a baby in your tummy?" (Asked of anyone, male or female, with more than a 24 inch waist)

I'm sure there will be more tomorrow :-).

saying good-bye to something beautiful

Since the site hasn't been launched, my guess is that only around 6 of my dearest friends are reading this :-). A more private set of thoughts tonight...

I love this new site. It's lighter, more fresh, and still beautiful. But I'm sighing a bit as we're getting closer to finally saying good-bye to the onewholeworld site. I'll miss the "wander through a garden" feel, the searchable devotions, the online bible study option, the (unused) forum. I keep shaking my head and hearing cha-ching when I think of all the time and money that was spent to develop the site, and all the irresolvable programming challenges that led to it's demise (I know that's a dramatic word but I can't seem to come up with a synonym a few minutes shy of midnight).

That's all really. I feel like I'm saying good-bye to something beautiful. And I'm a lover of beauty.