Sunday, November 10, 2019

Year Eight - Year End Review

Happy 8th birthday, my favorite little Bear! (My sincerest apologies for this recap being one day late. Your actual birthday was filled to the brim with ice skating, family pictures, and a macaroni-and-cheese cake debacle, so there simply wasn't time to post this yesterday …)

However, your Top 10 Lists are always timely.

Top 10 Things You Love:
  1. Carbs and cheese (and cheesy carbs, if you're feeling very efficient) 
  2. Natalie (playing with her, drawing with her, being read to by her, annoying her -- they all bring you immense joy) 
  3. Having Boy Time with Daddy 
  4. Legos 
  5. Running laps at school on Mondays (who knew?) 
  6. Sweets (chocolate, candy, ice cream - you're an equal-opportunity sugar consumer) 
  7. Star Wars and Harry Potter 
  8. Being read to (I read out loud to you and Natalie over breakfast; she reads out loud to you either right after you wake up or before you go to bed) 
  9. Your ninja/sports class 
  10. Church
Top 10 Things You Don't Love: 
  1. Bugs (I think I can confidently cross off EXTERMINATOR from a list of possibly career paths for you)
  2. Soup (this continues to be something you don't love and it continues to be such a shame because I continue to make some really good soups) 
  3. Potatoes, unless they're fried and French 
  4. Cooked vegetables (you don't love vegetables in general, but you definitely prefer them cold and crunchy)
  5. Losing 
  6. Seeing me or Natalie cry
  7. Bad guys in movies
  8. Performing on stage (I'm with ya, bud)
  9. Chores (again, I'm with ya, bud)
  10. Being corrected, particularly regarding your behavior (you have pretty high expectations of yourself and you get frustrated when you don't live up to them)
Top 10 Things You're Good At:
  1. Lego-ing (particularly building creations just based off either your memory or your imagination; it's super impressive)
  2. Protecting the ladies in your life (if Daddy follows up my snark with his own snark, you immediately spring into action and holler out, "Don't be mean to my momma!". Or if Daddy is tickling Natalie, you'll jump on his back and yell, "Don't mess with my sister!") You're protective and chivalrous. A winning combination in my book.
  3. Math and cursive (despite the fact that you don't particularly like one of them …)
  4. Landing on Free Parking an absurd number of times and bankrupting your whole family
  5. Praying (I love hearing you talk to God about what you're thankful for and what you need)
  6. Dressing well (don't get me wrong - you love sweat pants and t-shirts as much as the next kid, but you also enjoy vests, ties, and blazers)
  7. Accumulating bruises on your legs (at one point, you found nine on just one leg)
  8. Cracking eggs
  9. Helping (whether it's carrying grocery bags, loading up the recycling, or helping your teacher on Mondays - you like to feel useful)
  10. Carrying multiple folding metal chairs (each Sunday, the four of us do the set-up that's necessary for our homeschool group to meet the following day. You and Natalie are the designated Chair Setter-Uppers, and you've gotten really strong over the past 1.5 years that we've been doing it)
Top 10 Things You're Not Good At:
  1. Losing gracefully (your competitive side has really emerged this year, as have many lessons on how to lose without pitching a giant-sized fit)
  2. Answering math questions without doodling on all the margins of your book
  3. Being sweat-free (you sweat like a man, dude)
  4. Going up the stairs without turning it into a competition to see who can get to the top the fastest
  5. Having a sock drawer full of matched socks (your drawer has a few sock balls in it, but there are also a lot of random singleton socks scattered throughout. I don't get it.)
  6. Eating all your dinner in a timely manner if the meal isn't grilled cheese, pizza, or spaghetti.
  7. Differential Equations (ugh, so embarrassing) 
  8. Walking through the toy aisle of Target and not adding 52 more things to your Wish List (You: Mommy, I've wanted this Lego set forEVER! Me: Really? I'm pretty sure that's one of the newer sets. Like, it probably rolled off the conveyor belt about an hour ago. You: Well … well … UGH. I've wanted it for the last two minutes then. Can I add it to my Wish List anyway?)
  9. Waking up in a bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed manner. (For such a good-natured kid, you're kind of a grumpasaurus in the morning)
  10. Winning gold in the triple jump at the Olympics (again, shameful)
Oh, sweet boy. How lucky I am to call you mine! God has given you such an amazing set of qualities. I love that you're both sensitive and tough. Logical and imaginative. Strong and a snuggle-lover. Hard-working and a daydreamer. A great question-asker and wise beyond your years. You are incredibly kind, naturally sensitive, and instinctively nurturing. And the cherry on top - you're almost as funny as your momma.

I love how you love your sister so well. You are her biggest fan, her #2 protector (after Daddy, of course), and the cause of any premature grey hair she may get. You're continuing to learn when she needs her space and when she needs you (but won't say so) to belly flop on top of her while she's coloring. You encourage her in her talents and you've even started asking her to teach you some drawing techniques. You're just a couple of inches shorter than her (maybe by your 9th birthday recap, you'll be the same height?) which just makes her the maddest ever.

You're one of those kids who can get along with just about anybody. Older, younger, boy, girl. It doesn't matter. It's just one of the many ways you remind me of your Daddy.

Watching you love people well is a picture-perfect glimpse into how Jesus loves us. You're encouraging, kind, helpful, and loving. Nobody embodies those attributes better than Jesus, but it's like getting a little glimpse of heaven when I see you holding a door open for someone, when you carry in the grocery bags without me asking, when you compliment the way I look even if I'm just wearing sweatpants, the way you respect your teachers, and the way people feel when you're around.

You're one-in-a-million, kiddo, and I'm so glad you're mine.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

Thursday, May 16, 2019

2018-2019 School Year - Charlie's Recap

The Bear is now in second grade!

The first day of school (which was the first day of our homeschool tutorial) began with you not wanting me to leave you. Your face crumpled up and you clung to my neck, furiously regretting your decision to get in the car that morning. Fast-forward to the end of the year and instead of a crumple-y face, you had a sticky, cotton candy-y face plastered with an enormous grin. I knew you’d love it. And I also knew you’d have to come to that conclusion in your own time (which only took about two weeks).

You blazed through your math book this year. You still maintain that you don’t like math, that you just happen to be really good at it. (I gave you a side-eye as I typed that). Your handwriting improved a lot this year, too. I wish I had started it at the beginning of the year and not just a few months ago, but I had you write a journal entry every day and draw a picture about what you wrote. You could write about whatever you wanted to, but well over half of your entries had to do with Star Wars.

You can read really well, but it’s our little secret. I won’t tell anyone. You have yet to really enjoy reading anything other than your Lego magazine, books about Legos, books about Star Wars, and books about Lego Star Wars. But hey, whatever floats your boat. Or Death Star. Whatever.

Now let's go and build a Lego beach (because, let's face it, that's really the only kind of beach I enjoy) because IT'S SUMMER VACATION TIME!

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

2018-2019 School Year - Natalie's Recap

How’s life, Ms. Finally-a-Fifth-Grader? Good? Excellent. I was hoping you’d say that.

I’m sure it’s because your heart is full-to-overflowing with the goodness that was this past school year and the satisfaction that you finished well. I’m sure it has nothing to do with that you can finally spend your days not reducing fractions and explaining why the main character felt angry/happy/confused during a particular chapter.

This past school year was definitely good. It was hard and messy and teary-eyed and stompy-footed, but it was good. It was frustrating and delayed-gratification-y, and yet, still good.

We finally found a math curriculum that works for you, so now you (almost) believe me when I tell you that you’re very good at math. I read out loud lots of books over breakfast. You fussed out loud about having to do literature reviews on those aforementioned books. I struck out (again) with our science curriculum, but all my fingers are crossed that next year will be easier. I think I hit a winner with our history curriculum, but we’re taking it slooooooow so that it’ll probably take us at least another year to cover the first book. No biggie.

You became the anti-Garfield and loved every Monday because it meant you got to go to your homeschool tutorial. Our living room turned into a craft factory during the weeks leading up to the Science Fair. You turned into a first place winner after turning in your project for the aforementioned Science Fair. We practiced all kinds of words for the Spelling Bee but neglected to study a certain word found on the third-grade list. NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE WORD ‘WRY’ ANYWAY. You channeled your inner five-year-old as you played the part of Gretl in your school’s performance of The Sound of Music.

As much as I loved seeing your face as you understood your math work or watching the excitement as you held your first-place ribbon or seeing you ham it up on stage, it still pales in comparison to the hard work of character-building that we did. Apologizing, tone of voice, choice of words, respect, not giving up, and humility were just some of the areas we talked about. I also introduced you to the art of Finite Venting – for a few minutes, you get to have a crazy pity party full of irrational wishes, giant complaints, and big ol’ wallowing. And then when time’s up, it’s back to real life.

There were some amazing parts to our school year, but I think I can speak for the both of us when I say, HELLO SUMMER, YOU’RE SO CUTE. LET’S HANG OUT.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

Tuesday, January 01, 2019

2018 Year End Review

Two whole hands, that's what you are. Two whole hands of sweetness, sarcasm, and smarts. And it's my honor and privilege to present your Two-Handed Top Ten Lists.

Top Ten Things You Love:
  1. Drawing
  2. Singing, especially on stage
  3. Knowing the bathroom situation of any place we go to (you want to know if there will be porta-potties, regular bathrooms, single-occupancy, etc and you want to make sure everyone has gone to the bathroom before we go anywhere.)
  4. Charlie
  5. Cuddling with your daddy
  6. Girl time with your momma (you particularly love wandering around the American Girl store at the mall - which is actually loads of fun because you never ask for anything in that store. You've never been a 'doll kid'; you like to look at them in the store, but you're happy to leave them in the store.)
  7. Making cards for people
  8. The Holderness Family, Art for Kids Hub, and Super Carlin Brothers YouTube channels
  9. Church, specifically your Sunday School class
  10. Reading

Top Ten Things You Don't Love:
  1. When you're forced out of your routine (which, admittedly, is something that Daddy and I do on purpose to stretch your 'roll with it' muscle. It definitely needs a bit of stretching ...)
  2. When Charlie knows something you don't know, or figures something out before you do. (It's particularly funny when I'm drilling you on math problems and he calls out random numbers just to mess with you - and sometimes, he happens to call out the right number. Which just tickles him to no end and infuriates you to your very core. Charlie's right; it's very funny.)
  3. Cumin and beans (which is super unfortunate because your parents love tacos almost as much as we love you)
  4. Humidity
  5. Reading comprehension ("You mean I have to look through this book to find the answer??????????? I can't do that!!!!!!!!! It'll take too long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
  6. Cleaning the bathroom (I am fully aware of this fact, but you still feel the need to remind me every single time you're asked to do it)
  7. That you're not perfect (One of my many prayers is that you would loosen the grip you have on this idea of perfection that you feel you have to meet. Daddy and I know you'll never be perfect and we know that it's a useless and fruitless quest to be perfect, but you hate not being amazing at everything.)
  8. Dry skin in the winter
  9. Waiting in lines
  10. Chaos. (Hectic/loud/chaotic environments make you feel panicky.)

Top Ten Things You're Good At:
  1. Math (I've always known you were good at math, but this is the first year where you've realized that for yourself. Thanks, Math Mammoth!)
  2. Handwriting
  3. Drawing cartoon characters 
  4. Singing
  5. Sarcasm (It's definitely a life-long process to learn when and how to use sarcasm to its fullest potential to where it's funny but never hurtful)
  6. Teasing Daddy about you being halfway to (insert twice of whatever age you currently are). (Daddy hated that you were halfway to 18. I'm assuming he'll be even less thrilled with you now being halfway to 20).
  7. Trying new foods (You definitely don't like everything you try, but I love that you're always willing to try)
  8. Keeping your room clean
  9. Following the rules (It truly confuses you when people don't follow the rules)
  10. Rollerblading, climbing rock walls, and doing handstands

Top Ten Things You're Not Good At:
  1. Having a good poker face. (Not that we play poker ... yet. But when we play spades and you end up with a great hand, you try your hardest to look normal, but your mouth purses up and your eyes open wide.)
  2. Receiving constructive criticism (It's never fun to hear that you've done something wrong or that there's a better way to do what you've done, but it's important to be humble and recognize that you don't know everything)
  3. Driving a car (if any police officers are reading this, I'M JUST KIDDING .... Of course I'm kidding ... you're a great driver)
  4. Doing any activity (school work, reading, drawing, sitting in the car) without singing or humming
  5. Being an adult (this, of course, doesn't stop you from trying to be a momma to Charlie ... it might surprise you, but he only needs one momma, one daddy, and one sister)
  6. Juggling fire batons
  7. Simply listening (and not participating) when an adult conversation is happening
  8. Lying (praise Jesus!)
  9. A triple lutz
  10. Remaining calm when you hear that someone has to go to the bathroom without there being a bathroom in the immediate vicinity. (It makes you so nervous to think that someone might have an accident. I keep trying to tell you that an accident is pretty low on the list of Worst Things in the World, but that doesn't seem to help.)
How is it possible that a decade has passed so quickly? Those first six months of your life and the entire year of you being two definitely seemed to have lasted a lifetime-and-a-half (Will she ever stop throwing up on me?? Will she ever stop crying?? Will she ever stop pounding on the door and kicking the walls when she's mad??), but the other eight-and-a-half years have practically flown by in a blink. Watching you grow, learn, fall, learn some more, fall some more, and then learn some more has been a joy.

You're remarkably capable, ridiculously thoughtful, and incredible talented. You love performing in musicals and you love the quiet solitude of reading in your room. You love being silly and ridiculous, but you can also carry on an intelligent conversation with an adult. You're encouraging and sympathetic, kind and eager. You're tough and hard-working, cautious and curious. You're beautiful and strong, sensitive and mischievous. You're your daddy's baby doll and your momma's peach. You are our Natty-J.

As a girl in 2018, you're bombarded with slogans like GIRLS RUN THE WORLD and SORRY BOYS, GIRLS RULE and THE FUTURE IS FEMALE. To me, these slogans scream that being a girl automatically makes you better than a boy. That boys are incapable. That you must loudly proclaim your worth to the world at all times or else your worth is zero. Being female is wonderful and unique. It should not a burden nor should it be of utmost importance. 

Being female is not better or worse than being male; it's not a competition. God made us to be different - to like different things, to have different skills, to have different ideas. And that's wonderfully A-OK. 

Boys are not incapable. Sure, there are lots of boys and men who make really terrible decisions. That's not a gender problem; that's a sin problem.

Likewise, girls are not the end-all-be-all. There are lots of girls and women who make really terrible decisions. Again, it has nothing to do with gender and everything to do with sin.

Your worth does not need to be proclaimed on a glittery shirt. Your worth is not determined by your gender, your looks, your talents, or your likes or dislikes. Your worth is defined by the Creator of the word 'worth'. Your worth is defined by the One who created you. Your worth is defined solely by what He did on the cross. If you live like your worth is based on anything else, your worth will never feel secure. Because every single one of those anything elses can and will change - your talents can change over the years, your likes and dislikes aren't written in stone, your physical appearance will morph as you get older. On a day when your hair looks amazing, you blaze through school without any trouble, and you talents seem endless, you'll probably feel something like, Man! I am amazing. Look at how great I'm doing!! I'm a force to be reckoned with! But on those days when you can't find a thing to wear, you struggle with math concepts that you understood last week, and you can't seem to get along with anybody, you'll probably feel, Man! I'm a disaster. I can't do anything right. I'll never be good enough.

But if you base your worth on Someone unchanging, Someone eternal, Someone who loves unconditionally, you can face the great days with humility and the not-so-great days with grace. You understand that while He's the giver of every talent you have, His love for you isn't based on possessing that talent. His love for you is based on your position as His child. You understand that while He's responsible for the brain in your head, He's not demanding you be perfect at anything. He knows you'll never be perfect; He just wants you to follow Him. And following Him will look like amazing days as well as not-so-amazing days. 

So keep following Him, my darling. Follow Him on the good days and follow Him on the bad days. He's faithful and steadfast and He's crazy about you. You are His masterpiece.

Your daddy and I are quite fond of you as well.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy and Daddy