Karla's Birthday evening

On December 6th our family visited downtown Lancaster to see the lights and the new Convention Center. It was Karla’s birthday and she had not seen the Center yet. First we took a family picture at the Square. Then we took a self guided tour of the Convention Center. We had a fun time just being together as a family. Happy Birthday Karla!

Fritz Concert

Date: December 17th 2009
Time: 7:00-830
Where: Fritz Elementary School

Today my school had a concert. There was a Beginner Orchestra, 4th Grade Orchestra, 5th & 6th grade Orchestra, 4th Grade Band, 5th & 6th grade Band, Orff and Drum Ensemble, 5th grade chorus, and 6th grade chorus. I only participated in the 6th grade chorus. We sang 4 songs, Ready, Set, Christmas!, Do You Hear What I hear?, Carol of the Bells, and A Canine Concerto.

It was fun to sing in front of tons of people.

Here are some pictures:

This is Nicholas Haughery in the 5th grade chorus.

Crafts for OneMission

On Saturday December 5th, at the 2009 Holiday City Arts Market in Lancaster City's Eastern Market, there was a small stand of craft items made by a few girls from church. We raised $151.44 for OneMission (a mini "Give a Penny, Build a Building jar" contributed $3.44). OneMission is our church's campaign to raise money to build our church building. The group was made up of some teenage and young adult girls from church (plus Margaret, my Mom, and Grandma Landis), who all came together one Saturday to create the items. We used materials we already had, so that anything we sold would be profit. Special thanks to Cori Bitterman who allowed us to share her 10'x10' plot at the market free of charge, as well as to my Grandma Landis, who provided the majority of our crafts items. Grandma Landis made Boxwood green arrangements, and Grandma Sensenig bought two of them (plus an apron and change purse), which she used to decorate for her Christmas party for new people at church. Without my two grandmas, we would not have made half of what we did!

Birthdays, and a Bit of Wit

December is a busy month for our family. In addition to the normal Christmas and holiday activities, we have 3 birthdays: Mom (6th), Vinson (14th), Joy (30th). Then Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary is on January 4th (our Sensenig Grandparents' is the 1st)! Vinson's 21st birthday was yesterday. Our whole family was home for dinner at 7:30, after his first final exam of the week. My mom got a really good deal on his present: a hardcover ESV Study Bible (from Focus on the Family's sale online). Joy made a funny, and I thought I'd should share on here, since I gave her a hard time in past posts.

My mom was excited to share the price as soon as he opened the gift bag.

Joy: "I don't think other families talk about how much they spend on gifts. 'Why do we take price tags off gifts?...so we get to TELL them how much it cost us!'"

Kudos to Joy for being quick on her feet and displaying a bit of wit. :-)

Wisdom Teeth

Joy had her 4 wisdom teeth removed on Thursday morning. She's healing, but slowly. You can pray that she wouldn't have complications, and that her stitches would dissolve as they are supposed to, or at least be able to be removed without trouble. She had trouble with stitches not dissolving in a past surgery.

She will probably stay home from school again tomorrow. Poor girl has got cabin fever, on top of physical discomfort! You can pray that she'll be feeling much better soon, especially for Thanksgiving and that she wouldn't be overwhelmed with making up school work once she is back at it.

He laid it down on crucifixion day, so that you’d look good on judgment day.

I read this Thursday evening, and it completely met me where I was at and so graciously led me to the cross. I was not expecting to identify much with this chapter currently, seeing as it's titled "Child Rearing - Part 2," but it blew me away how precisely it addressed my heart and softened it to the precious treasure of my Savior's sacrifice in how "He laid [his life] down on crucifixion day, so that [I'd] look good on judgment day."
Below is the excerpt from Womanly Dominion:

Every morning, she faced dirty diapers, runny noses, food messes, temper tantrums, discipline problems, clothing piles, and kitchen clutter. Another son was born. Claustrophobic with cabin fever and boredom doldrums, she sighed, “Any twelve-year-old could wash these dishes, wipe these fannies, mop that floor, and pour these Cheerios onto this high chair tray.”
Her mind often drifted back to her high school and college years. “Back then, I was the center of my world. I decided what I wanted to do for myself. My decisions were based on what would please and broaden me. People applauded me on the stage, commended me for my well-delivered speeches, and discussed with me my future goals and aspirations in life. I enjoyed expressing my creativity in the classroom, discussing profound literary themes with my students, and checking off myresponsibilities on each day’s challenging to-do list.

Old Times

I was looking for some pictures for a project, and I found a bunch of old pictures of me and other kids from church. I guess we were singing for Christmas, or something. I remember that dress I was wearing! We were so little!

Quotes from this evening

A quote from tonight in our family room:

Joy - “Have you noticed how I’m trying to increase my intellectual by using bigger words?"

Dad responds – "hey uh Ma, see how I’m tryin’ to be more smartish by usin’ bigga vords?"

And earlier this evening in the kitchen:

Joy: "This guy honked his horn at me, and I just turned at a red light! . . . oh, I mean traffic light."

It's nice that our family can pick on Joy more these past couple years, so that I'm not alone. (obviously I'm making sure everyone knows this!)

oh, and this just in from Vinson, when Mom was telling him that we have homemade bread (but that he cannot eat the brownies Joy made for another family):

"Is there bread for humans...."

(I take every chance I get to make fun of Vinson, because he definitely dishes it out on me, but I admittedly give him easy material)

Motherly Greatness

I have been really enjoying reading Womanly Dominion [more than a gentle and quiet spirit] by Mark Chanski. I commented to my mom tonight that I think it would be so beneficial for me to read at least one book on biblical womanhood each year or so. If I go too long without a biblical reminder and encouragement for the role of women, the weeds of my heart and culture slowly and surely gain ground without me even knowing, and I start to not only believe lies but act on them. Chanski has been a breath of fresh air, reviving my desire to walk in the role of a godly woman. Practically, I have seen an increase in faith for tackling my everyday tasks at my job, allowed my desire to be a wife and mother be fed and grow in new ways, and increasingly grown much in appreciation for my own mom. I want to share an excerpt from chapter 7 that describes sooo well my mom, and what our family is like because of her. She really is the “soul of our home,” and the “hub” from where all the spokes come and go. Reading Chanski’s description of his wife helped me realize that the fruit that I see God bringing from my family is a direct result of my mom’s full-time commitment to us. It’s almost hysterical how closely he describes our family and mom! I am so grateful for how my mom stayed at home, not only while we were all little and homeschooled, but also throughout our teen years and mixed schooling experiences (home, private, public, cyber, college, you name it!)

Memories of His Faithfulness

Today I spent a few hours driving around Lancaster county, for several different errands during work and after. The drive was a mix of relaxation, conversation (cell phone), getting lost, being late in traffic, getting directions about 4 times from my dad to avoid rush hour traffic, and almost crashing into a car.
As I was driving home, I could reflect on each place and remember different seasons of my life. The result was that my heart was filled with awe at how undeservingly faithful God has been to me. This was His kindness to my heart, to keep me from simple sentimental nostalgia and instead to captivate my thoughts with His greatness in the working of His hand on my life.

Here is a smattering of places and memories that I traveled to this afternoon:

Lititz pike, driving past the home I knew for almost all of my first 10 years of life. It was for sale. This may have been one of the first times that I could drive by that house without at least some tears (I don't go that way often!)

SKH on Lititz pike - free doughnuts with Grandma on the way to her house, back when she kept us for one day a month to give our mom a break. But we only got the doughnuts if we left early enough!

Lititz, along with it's park, train tracks, and Wilbur Chocolate factory. Feeding the ducks with Grandma Sensenig, or going on family walks with Mom and Dad. Book-it pizza at Pizza Hut. School work in the car as Mom did errands. Piano lessons with Mrs. Wittenburg.