The first day of fall has officially come and gone, and today we are experiencing temps in the high 80s! I’m not sure we’re ready for flannels, boots and pumpkin spice, but all those things are out in full force!
September has been a busy month for our family as the boys have played on the school soccer team, Emma has been playing a little volleyball on Saturdays, plus all the other activities of the school year and season of life.
The boys have been working hard a school and playing soccer. Roger has sacrificed a lot to be able to coach the boys soccer team, and while I don’t think the boys recognize that to the full extent, it has been a mostly good experience. We are not happy when we lose, and with four boys and a soccer coach all in the same house, sometimes we have to walk away from each other after a lost match! We have one son that is fiercely competitive and wants everyone else to be equally competitive and play the game with the same tenacity that he does. We have one son that is also competitive, and he works hard to become a better player in whatever sport he’s competing in. We have one son that really enjoys the sport, and probably thinks he’s better than he actually is at it, but he enjoys the game. We have one son that is fairly decent at soccer (actually quite good for his age and size), and he shows up and works hard at games and practices, but is often run over by larger players. And we have one soccer coach that wants all his players to do their very best, encourage each other and play the game. Whew! Yup, it’s a lot! We’ve learned a lot this season, and I’m reminded at every game that this is Garett’s final season playing for the team.
We had several games that have been canceled due to rain, and this past week we had two games back to back. We don’t typically play on Mondays due to the cross country players, but it was necessary this week. The team played terrible on Monday, and no one was happy. However, the team showed up to play the game on Tuesday, and it was a great game to watch. I feel like the soccer refs have been so inconsistent all season, and we never quite know what will or won’t be called. Roger tells his players all the time, “to play til the whistle blows”, and they did just that. There was a lot of whistle blowing at Tuesday’s game, and we ended up with a yellow card for the first time in a long time. A yellow card in soccer is just a warning, but it’s not something you want to get either. I think the ref gave out two yellow cards in the first half so that was a little unusual in itself. In the second half, Garett ended up with a yellow card! I think I was more surprised than he was as that is not Garett’s personality at all. He and another player had been going for the ball, and the ref said that Garett was too rough. Garett got a yellow card for “retaliation”. Now, if this was against his brothers- absolutely! But anyone who knows Garett knows that is not his personality at all. He’s like the gentlest teenager I know, except when riled up by his brothers! But oh well, he got one. Later in the evening, while the team was having supper, our Athletic Director came over to talk to Garett. All yellow or red cards have to be recorded, so he asked Garett about the yellow card. Stephen then told Garett that there was a $75.00 fee per yellow card, and Garett would need to bring the money to school on Monday. Garett looked so crestfallen, but he nodded his head and said, “Yes, sir. Okay.” Stephen pulled it off with a straight face and Garett swallowed it- hook, line and sinker! It was a funny moment, and I’m thankful for laughter and smiles!
This month I’ve been working hard at preparing art for the regional agricultural fair. I’m teaching Middle School art this year, and whew- that’s a lot of prep, PowerPoints, and trial and error! I wanted the middle school to submit some art to the fair, but we found out that all the art for Middle School and High School had to be submitted two weeks prior to the fair! I was able to round up a few art projects for the fair so at least the school will be represented, but next year we will be better prepared. Our elementary students also submitted art for the fair, and all that had to be dropped off this past week. I breathed a huge sigh of relief to have it all dropped off at the fair! Kaycee (my art assistant) and I matted 24 pieces of art for the elementary art exhibit, and it’s hard to pick out four from each grade when there are 40 kids in some of the grades! But we are excited to see how the art places at the fair this week.
Any other elementary/middle school art teachers on here? How do you get it all done?! I have a curriculum, but the PowerPoints for each lesson need to be created so that I can use them for future years. Then there’s the prep time for the lesson, the cleanup time, capitalizing on the lesson, while also teaching them about one of the names of God. Throw in preparing for library classes on top of that, and sometimes I think all I dream about it is school! Thankfully, I have a great assistant in both areas, but the amount of time to prepare and plan is sometimes overwhelming. My goal is to get to the place where each class does their own art projects each year and there is no crossing over of lessons from grade to grade, but we aren’t there yet! And I love curriculum and following a lesson, but it doesn’t take too long to figure out that not all the lessons will work for either the supplies on hand or the students. Life is an adventure and teaching can be a wild ride! I never, ever envisioned myself teaching art classes (and I’m sure my family didn’t either) but I’ve actually really enjoyed the challenge for the most part. I know that even my first graders can tell you the three names of God that we’ve learned about this year and that there are 7 elements of art! (We are a work in progress!) I love it when my kindergarten class can tell me that “Elohim” means “mighty Creator”, and my upper grades can give a Bible verse to go with that. I know that education is important and learning art it’s important, but the most important thing that I can teach them is about Jesus. I want each of my students to have a deeper relationship with Jesus when school ends in May than they do right now. And so while it’s a lot of hard work, I am thankful for the opportunity to invest in the lives of these students right here and right now. (But, I’d also appreciate your prayers for wisdom and direction.)
Per usual, we’ve been busy! I worked a Saturday at the farmer’s market earlier this month, and Chandler worked at a pumpkin stand last Saturday. This week we have three days off of school due to fall break, and we are all working at various places the next couple of days. Wyatt, Chandler, myself and Travis are going to be working at an event and then the fair grounds. Garett will probably be able to get a few days working on gutters, and Emma is coming along with someone! Garett is a senior this year, and we are working hard to pay for a senior trip for our family over spring break. All the kids are pitching in a certain percentage of the cost, and we want to pay cash for this pretty big trip…so we work! It’s really been nice that work has been available for our children, and because they’ve worked hard this past summer, they’ve been able to “get their foot in the door” so to speak on jobs for the future. The jobs we are working this week are a direct result of working this past summer. We’ve already picked out Garett’s senior trip, and we’re looking forward to spring break!
Lest anyone think that all we do is work, we don’t! Roger’s brother, Nate, came for a weekend with two of his kids earlier in the month. While Nate was here, all the boys and Roger and Nate played in a golf tournament for church. Each of our boys was on a different team, but they all seemed to have a really good time. Roger and Nate were on the same team, and it seems like a good time was had by all. Emma and Karis spent the day grocery shopping with me, playing with Sam, and making mud pies in the yard.
Another weekend this past month, the kids and Roger went to Virginia to visit the Everett’s. I stayed home as I had already committed to work at the farmers market, but it was really nice to have a quiet evening at home. While I missed the opportunity to visit with the Everetts, I was very thankful for the time spent at home by myself.
After fall break, we have the wrapping up of the soccer season in October, and then then next sport right around the corner! We are planning on going to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving, and all the boys are dreaming of deer hunting and time spent with Nana and Papa.
We’ve had some very warm days in September, but it looks like cooler weather is coming soon. We had a lot of rain this fall, and that was a blessing for Roger. It’s easier for him to take off of work to coach the soccer team if fires are not blazing. And since we’ve had a wet fall, it’s been quiet at Roger’s work.
We have three names of God that we’ve been working on learning in Art classes. Elohim, Jehovah, Adonai.
“Elohim” - Mighty Creator. Genesis 1:1
“Jehovah” - I am Who I am (God’s personal name and a reminder that He is enough)
“Adonai” - The Lord is my master (Even the mountains will melt like wax at the name of Adonai) Psalm 97:5
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