Sebastian’s school play
Sebastian was an "agent" (as in Hollywood agent, not James Bond, which he would have much preferred!) for his Christmas school show this year. He belted out his line "Let's get this show on the road!" with great confidence and volume. Tess and I were very impressed and proud.
Dialogue between Jasper and Tess tonight:
Tess: Jasper, how many times do you think you can be rude to Mommy before you'll get sent to bed.
Jasper: Twice?
Another normal Sunday?
We're having a challenging Sunday of incredibly whingy, cranky kids. Sebastian was up this morning at… um… 6:15 AM. Crawled into Tess and my bed to stay warm, (it's actually not that cold though) played with some toys for a while then finally dashed off to orchestrate a real-time Star Wars or Batman adventure elsewhere in the flat. Jasper followed a few minutes later without the pit-stop in our bed. Unfortunately they were making too much noise, which woke Carys. It didn't take much to wake Sela. Now the kids have been "on edge" the first half of the day. The kids share a bedroom. Definitely saves space but costs them sleep.
Our lease comes up in March. Despite the economic meltdown we're expecting at least a 50% increase in rent. This has caused us to contemplate moving. The advantage to this would be finding a four bedroom flat (it would have to be smaller) allowing us to split the kids into two bedrooms in hopes they would get more sleep.
Right now it is 1:30 PM… Tess is about to hold her annual building bake exchange at 3 PM – adult girls only – so I'll be heading out with the kids. Prior to this happening Sebastian has to finish his homework. Homework today included some colouring, writing about his favourite school activities of the past term and later today some reading. But tonight is definitely an "early to bed" night.
Recent pictures…
Here are some recent pictures from the last few months. First, we have the kids on Tess and my bed about to watch a movie… excited because this would mean watching a movie on "THE BIG TV!" This picture was taken in August. Next we have a picture of the kids in their rugby kit. They all have rugby practise late Saturday afternoon. It is a fun community of players and parents. The Saturday group formed as an offshoot of the Sunday group who couldn't easily attend Sundays due to church commitments. Sebastian attends the Sunday practise, though – starts at 8 AM, yikes – then afterwards we go to church.
Next we have four random pictures of the kids that were taken around the house that look much like close-up portraits.
Next we have two pictures of Sebastian. First, a sweet picture of him hanging out on one of the living room sofas. Second, a picture of Sebastian learning to type on Tess' laptop. As part of Sebastian's homework that weekend he had to use an online typing tool available on his school's web site. He made a good start but don't expect him to start blogging anytime soon!
Here we have two pictures of Carys and Sela. The first one is another portrait-like picture. The second one is from the girls making "silly faces" while taking a bubble bath. I took some video while snapping the bubble bath pics and one of these days I might get around to posting here. Finally, last but certainly not least, is a picture of lovely Tess just before we headed out to the ICM banquet.
Tess is a SUPER MOM!
I, of course, have know this all along but now the media are in on it!
A story from the weekend…
Matthew 4:19-20 ~ "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.
On the Road To Emmaus after everyone had gone to bed I took a few minutes to visit one of the chapels. As I walked in I became instantly and acutely aware – in a physical sense – that I was in a Holy place. I stood there with my elbows perched on a bureau, soaking in the richness. Without warning Jesus appeared at my side. He was concerned for me. He placed His hand on the back of my head. The palm of His hand rested in the small of my neck and His arm ran directly down my spine. I wondered if He was protecting me from the enemy, as He had done before, but the Evil One was nowhere to be found nor any of his minions.
"You are falling behind," said Jesus. "You haven’t dropped your nets and at this pace you won’t finish the race."
Sharing my failures?
Here is an interesting video I recently found. I am aware of the fact my kids are always watching me – not necessarily proud of that fact and perhaps some of the things they see that I could do/be better – but the idea of sharing my failures with them was new to me. Sure, it’s one thing to say, "Yes, Daddy is being disciplined by the police because he was speeding!" but a whole other thing to share real failures. That would constitute "Charles’ deepest darkest secrets, fears & anxieties" and only 24% of you wish to hear about that, therefore, why would my kids want to know? Hmmm… what do you think?
