One-minute Club Party

On Saturday, I had a party for my piano students who passed the one-minute challenge.  I read about this idea on Susan Paradis's wonderful site here.  The challenge is to name all the notes (from flash cards) on the grand staff and play the notes on the piano in less than a minute.  I started this in 2013 and had only 3 students made it.  For 2014, seven kids completed the challenge, but they couldn't all make it to the party.  We had pizza, an ice cream sundae bar, and played a couple of games--"Around the World" with staff note flashcards and a Musical Jeopardy game. It was fun and I think the kids felt special for completing the challenge.  I hope they did!  They each received a certificate and a laminated tag for their piano bags.  I'm sure we'll have even more kids make it in 2015!

I'm not good about remembering to take pictures, but I did manage to get a few:

Christmas Crafts and Activities

Once upon a time, I used to make paper crafts and handmade gifts. I still enjoy it, but rarely find time to fit it into my life.  However, I always tend to do some crafting over Christmas.  This year I made just a few things:

Money holders, gift card holders

Inside look at money, gift card, and movie ticket holders.

  

Monogrammed Card set for my mother-in-law

Inside look at the card pouch.

Cards inside the pouch

Set of cat cards for Bonnie--Jason's godmother who loves cats.

I always want to do so many things with the kids at Christmas--Christmas stories, Christmas movies, Gingerbread houses, cookies, looking at the lights, etc.  This year we did a lot of those things and I decided maybe it was too much work!  I made a note NOT to do gingerbread houses and sugar cookies next year because of the effort and mess it involves, but I'm already back pedaling on that resolve when I look at these pictures and remember only the happy parts. :)

It was a happy holiday season and I was sad to have it come to an end.  It always goes too quickly for me.  At least I know it will come around again!

Christmas trip with Kayla

Over the Christmas break, I had a wonderful vacation with Kayla.  Jason and I "won" a 3-night trip to Williamsburg by attending a time-share tour last summer.  The condo was only for a family of four and we have a family of six, so Kayla and I generously offered to go on a mother-daughter trip since we couldn't all go. :)  The boys didn't mind too much--they could have boy parties at home with the girls gone and be as loud and crazy as they wanted.  Kayla and I had the most peaceful, relaxing vacation.  We did a little bit of sight-seeing, watched chick-flicks, and enjoyed the quiet time while we each read or worked on things on our own (I loved not cooking or cleaning!).  I must say we loved every minute of it and were sad when it came to an end.

We have been to Colonial Williamsburg several times, so we didn't buy tickets on this trip (they are quite expensive), we just walked around the town, visited the shops that didn't require tickets, and ate lunch at the King's Arm.  I think we have eaten lunch at that place every time we've visited.  It was a cold, dreary, rainy day, so we didn't stay long, but we always love to visit this historic place.

Our next stop was the amazing Yankee Candle Store in Williamsburg which is really like a department store with all kinds of little shops in it.  It is "Christmas all year" in one section, and it "snows" every 4 minutes.  We didn't get a very good picture here.

Our last visit was to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens where they had the whole place decorated and decked out for Christmas.  Most of the big rides were closed (I'm a chicken about roller coasters anyway), but we rode the train, watched a show, and just enjoyed looking around at all the lights and displays.  Kayla got to ride Verbolten so she had her roller coaster fix.  We were freezing at this place too so we only stayed a few hours, but it was fun.

It was a wonderful trip and I wouldn't mind making it a yearly tradition!

General Conference Favorites

I joined a Feel Great in 8 Challenge that started this past Monday.  It's an 8 week challenge to help you improve physically along with some spiritual elements for improvement as well.  You get points for eating the right foods, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, among other things.  You lose points for eating junk food or going over your daily calorie goal.  I really like the challenge, but it IS challenging to track everything.  Really challenging.  I'm not even coming close to the  perfection level I was shooting for, but I'm learning and hoping to improve my score each week.  As part of the challenge, you set a personal goal you want to accomplish in the 8 weeks.  My personal goal was to blog weekly for 8 weeks.  The challenge week runs Mon.-Sun. which makes this the last night of the first week and my last night to achieve my goal!  So here I am. :)

I have been reading many of the talks from the most recent General Conference.  I have felt so inspired and uplifted from these talks and have been wanting to write about them. Unfortunately, it is late and I need to get to bed, so I'm just going to post links for my three favorites (just click on the title to read) and limit myself to one quote from each (very hard to do).  Hopefully sometime I can come back and share some of my thoughts on why these particular talks meant so much to me.

1.  Parents: The Prime Gospel Teachers of Their Children, by Tad R. Callister

"We might all ask ourselves: do our children receive our best spiritual, intellectual, and creative efforts, or do they receive our leftover time and talents, after we have given our all to our Church calling or professional pursuits? In the life to come, I do not know if titles such as bishop or Relief Society president will survive, but I do know that the titles of husband and wife, father and mother, will continue and be revered, worlds without end. That is one reason it is so important to honor our responsibilities as parents here on earth so we can prepare for those even greater, but similar, responsibilities in the life to come.

As parents, we can proceed with the assurance God will never leave us alone. God never gives us a responsibility without offering divine aid—of that I can testify. May we in our divine role as parents, and in partnership with God, become the prime gospel teachers and examples for our children, I so pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

2.  Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence, by Elder Jorg Klebingat

"Brothers and sisters, my counsel to this sister missionary is my counsel to you: acknowledge and face your weaknesses, but don’t be immobilized by them, because some of them will be your companions until you depart this earth life. No matter what your current status, the very moment you voluntarily choose honest, joyful, daily repentance by striving to simply do and be your very best, the Savior’s Atonement envelops and follows you, as it were, wherever you go. Living in this manner, you can truly “always retain a remission of your sins” (Mosiah 4:12) every hour of every day, every second of every minute, and thus be fully clean and acceptable before God all the time."

3.  Ponder the Path of Thy Feet, by President Thomas S. Monson

"...physically walking where Jesus walked is less important than walking as He walked. Emulating His actions and following His example are far more important than trying to retrace the remnants of the trails He traversed in mortality.

We need not walk by the shores of Galilee or among the Judean hills to walk where Jesus walked. All of us can walk the path He walked when, with His words ringing in our ears, His Spirit filling our hearts, and His teachings guiding our lives, we choose to follow Him as we journey through mortality. His example lights the way. Said He, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”⁸

There is no higher end than this, that we should choose to accept His discipline and become His disciples and do His work throughout our lives. Nothing else, no other choice we make, can make of us what He can."

Okay, those were some long quotes, but I was really holding myself back.  I was tempted to cut and paste the entire talks!  I liked them all very much, but the last one is the one to read if you are only going to read one. :)

Merry Christmas!

Hello to Family and Friends,

I didn't get Christmas cards sent out last year, or a Christmas letter written, so if you didn't hear from me, you're in good company. :)  Last year for Christmas, we went to Utah for a family reunion with all of my brothers and sisters and their children.  We flew out there a couple of weeks before Christmas; I had every intention of writing a Christmas letter there, but I played with my family instead! :)

Here is a picture of all of us together at a ski lodge in Aspen Grove:

Here is a little update on our family:

Jason
Jason decided to return to school to get his master's degree in Information Technology.  He is an excellent student and is doing fabulous in his classes.  We miss him during his long study hours, but he still finds time to play with us when he is not working or studying. :)  He has been the cub master in our ward for the past few years which has given him a chance to show his funny side.  He is a dedicated basketball player in church ball.  If you ever want to know the stats for the games in our stake, or see "highlight reels," just ask. :)

Marsha
My new passion is teaching piano.  I started in the spring of 2013 and it has been an exciting journey.  I have always loved to play piano (privately, not publicly), but I had much to learn about teaching and it has been very fun to learn.  I'm also trying to be brave and play piano in public a little more myself. :)  I started teaching my own boys (Kayla had already taken for years) and now I have sixteen other students that I love, love, love.  I am a little piano obsessed at the moment, so if I do end up posting on my blog more (which is always my goal), I'm sure there will be plenty about piano.  When I'm not at the piano, or attacking the never-ending housework, I love to read books with the kids, play games, and watch movies.

Kayla
Kayla is 14 now and a high school student.  It's hard to believe!  She is as delightful as ever and I'm so grateful to have her as a daughter.  She is still getting her education at home.  She always planned to go to public school once she hit high school, but she tried partial enrollment at the middle school last year and decided she prefers homeschooling.  In truth, she isn't home much as she takes Algebra, Spanish, Literature, and a history/government class in the community.  She enjoys all of these classes and the freedom she has to choose her studies.  She started early-morning seminary this year and it begins each day at 5:30 a.m.!  This is super early for our family of night owls, but we're getting used to it.  She just goes back to bed when the class is over! :)  Kayla loves to create and write.  She is always working on some story and her brothers eagerly await the new installment of the on-going story she shares with them.  She has created several websites for business purposes and growth and improvement.  I think she is an amazing girl and a wonderful daughter and friend.  She just might be my favorite person to hang out with!

 

Hunter
Hunter is 13.  Yes, I have two teenagers!  He is the family comedian who sometimes takes his teasing too far, but life would be dull without him.  He is also homeschooling again and taking similar classes to Kayla.  He has really taken an interest in piano this past year.  To be honest, I don't get around to teaching him formal lessons often, but he teaches himself to play beautiful songs by watching YouTube videos and working hard it.  It has been fun to see his interest and hear his playing.  Jason thinks he might actually practice more than me, but I still think I win on practice hours!  Hunter likes building with Legos, video games, and making stop-animation movies.

Tanner
Tanner is 7 and goes to 2nd grade at Glenkirk Elementary.  I broke my homeschooling streak and put him in school at the beginning of first grade.  It wasn't my plan, but I felt like I couldn't give him enough on top of my other responsibilities.  When Kayla and Hunter were in the younger grades, homeschooling was my passion and "job" so to speak.  I devoted myself to planning fun classes and clubs for them.  With an energetic 2-year-old, piano teaching, and church responsibilities, I just didn't have enough left to be the "amazing" school teacher I wanted him to have.  We decided to give public school a try and it has been a wonderful fit for Tanner.  He has been blessed with excellent teachers and he genuinely enjoys going to school.  He likes structure, routine, and sitting quietly more than my other children, so it is a nice match for him in that regard too! :)  He loves the "specials" at school--art, music, library, etc., and we both LOVE his teacher, Mrs. Hayes.  Besides school, Tanner loves the computer game "Minecraft" and would happily spend all of his spare time playing that if Mom didn't make him do other things.  He also enjoys playing the game Apples to Apples with the family, making crafts (rainbow loom and bead stuff), and hanging out with his friend, Will.

 Archer
Archer is adorable and exhausting all wrapped up in one package.  He is a whirlwind of energy and has definitely shown a bit of a stubborn and demanding streak.  He is still my "baby" and I love snuggling up together with a stack of books and getting my daily "hugs, kisses, and loves."  I can't believe how fast he is growing up and I have a hard time realizing he is not a baby anymore!  He loves to play catch, ride his scooter, play with cars and trains, climb anything, and leave a trail all over the house.

That tells you a little about each of us.  Here are a few more photos from the past year:

Archer loved picking strawberries from our garden.

Baby bunnies we found in our garden.

Daddy outing with Archer and Tanner.

Boating at Lake Anna

Kayla going down a natural water slide.

Daddy outing with the kids to Skyline Drive

Going to the Gala Ball (at church) with Steve and Heather

Halloween at Grandpa and Oma's

Family Photos taken by Jean Allen at Stone Bridge.

Family photo taken at Busch Gardens this past summer



Merry Christmas one and all!

Much love,
Marsha