First Parent-Teacher Conferences

Friday my mom watched the girls while Alan attended the conferences. I was kind of bummed that they were on a Friday during the day, because that is a day I teach and wasn't able to go. But Alan gave me all the scoop, and came home with the written evaluations and some stories.

Both girls are doing well in all areas, although Evelyn still "needs development" in listening & following directions, waiting to be called on before speaking, and showing self-control. This line, right out of the teacher's notes here, makes me smile: "She would like to be in control of her peers a bit more than they are willing to allow." Apparently, every day during free time Evelyn lines up chairs in front of the chalk board and insists on teaching a Science class. Some students willingly prefer Evelyn's "class" to other activities. Her teacher said, "Evelyn has amazing leadership skills...we just need to, well, channel them a bit." Sounds like we need to encourage Evelyn to realize that her Science class is an elective.

Amelia is still not really talking in class, although her teacher is able to discern what she knows. She's got pretty much straight A's (the pre-school version, at least), except she can't consistently hop on one foot and, when she raises her hand to answer a question, instantly melts into silence when actually called upon. Over Christmas, my mother-in-law asked her whether or not she liked school. Amelia smiled, wrinkled her nose adorably, and answered in her shy, squeaky voice (the one she uses when talking about school), "Yes. And my teacher likes me...because I'm quiet."

I've saved my favorites of the teachers' comments for last. Evelyn's teacher wrote, "It is a pleasure to teach Evelyn. Her love for the Lord is evident and continues to grow every day." She also told Alan that Evelyn volunteers every day to say the end-of-the-day prayer (let's restate that--she volunteers for EVERYTHING) and that the other children have learned how to pray through her example.

And Amelia, when answering the question, "What do you know about Jesus?" answered simply, "I love Him."

One kid--many animals

Today Amelia is a dog named Rosie, and her attention span for playing "fetch" is bordering on the remarkable.

She also accepted my offer of a Rolo...as long as she could eat it out of my hand.

Christmas on New Year's Day

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We had a shrimp-fest at my parents' house to celebrate with the Bisset side of the family, and boy was that YUMMY. I think my niece, Anna, and I will have an ongoing who-can-eat-the-most shrimp contest. It's a pretty close race.

I love the picture Alan took through the kitchen window into the dining room, where Mom seems to be "holding court"--in reality she is doing something she is really good at: giving gifts. Doesn't the room have a warm glow?

It was, as always, a joy to celebrate, to see the kids together, and to kill yet another box of chocolates. R.I.P.

I love these people!

Everybody Wants to be a Cat

For quite a while now, Amelia has most often spoken of herself in third person, and most often requested to be called someone (or something) else. Yesterday she was "Kitty," and insisted on prowling around, meowing loudly and demanding that I open all the doors for her because "Kitty can't open doors." I put my foot down when she wanted to eat her food with her face in her bowl.

"If Kitty wants to eat, Kitty will have to use her paws."

Like any self-respecting cat, she stuck her nose in the air and walked away from her dish.

Gloria!

My mom took some cute pictures of the girls during their school Christmas program last month. I've been on the other end--the planning and production end--of so many programs in my life, it was really, really neat to be an attending parent. I couldn't believe how moving it was, and how my face was stuck in smile mode the whole time. Of course we are blessed, with this little Lutheran School, to have a Christmas program that really centered around Christ, which increased how moved I was. There is something really precious about hearing your children sing with a group of their peers, "Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay close by me forever and love me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care, and fit us for heaven to live with You there."

How wonderful to think that because of that Savior in the manger, we CAN be fit for heaven to live with Jesus.

Friends & Fireworks

Hamiltopia went on the road last month when the Smiths, the Walsh girls and we were joined by Karin & her kids to go downtown to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree at Baltimore's Washington Monument. We had no idea what a popular event it was! We packed a picnic and tried to keep the kids from freaking out too much during the fantastic light and music show.

On our way back to the car, the girls again proved that their greatest dancing inspiration always comes from street musicians.

Making memories!

Now that we took it down...

...we'll reminisce about the wet, snowy Saturday last month when we ventured onto a neighborhood corner to get the 2009 Christmas tree. (Apparently it was Evelyn's "tilt your head to the left" day.) We pick our trees pretty quickly (I used up all my Christmas tree choosiness while growing up--I was such a snobby judge of trees! Sorry, Mom and Dad for all those years of haggling.)

We let the girls pick out the tree (it was small, but it actually made it easier in a lot of ways), and it was the first year they really enjoyed putting ornaments on (amazing how they can hang so many in one spot) Evelyn was an enthusiastic helper a couple days ago in taking it down. It was quite enjoyable as we chattered away together taking ornaments off the tree while Amelia napped. Good, simple, pleasant memories.

Artistic Christmas to you!

After three years of service, our camera got accidentally swiped onto a tile floor and was no more. We got a new one, and Alan had some fun using the different settings. I think he got some neat shots. I love the one he took standing on a chair under the doorway between our living and dining rooms where two rows of Christmas cards are draped. Years ago my friend LuraLynn gave us coffees for Christmas and put star-shaped tags on each with a hand-written note. Those (and lots of other unique gift-tags) have become favorite tree ornaments over the years. Of course, the girls are our favorite works of art, no matter what season or camera!

And, for the record. All these decorations are still up.

Why They Nail Them to the Wall

Last month we realized the girls were using the opened drawers of their dresser as a ladder. Fortunately, both of them managed to get out of the way when the whole thing came tumbling down while Amelia was climbing it. (I look forward to re-doing this room--but honestly, I have a hard time imagining securing ANY piece of furniture to the wall, since it would remove my ability to re-arrange it easily, and re-arranging furtniture is one of my personal, holistic medicines.) Here's hoping they will NOT use the dresser as a ladder again.

Good Friends, Good Times

I still have a LOT of catching up from the holidays to do, but Alan just uploaded this picture and I had to post it. We watched the Ravens game last week from our friends Tom & Vicky's downtown condo, and the girls had a giant bubble bath in the whirlpool tub. It was the best bath since Deep Creek.

The Ravens game reminded me of a story. Evelyn has heard plenty of talk about the Ravens between her fanatical teacher's aide at school (who regularly dyes purple streaks into her gray hair) and the other Ravens fans in her life. Early in the season she'd awakened from her Sunday afternoon nap and come down during the third quarter of a game.

We told her who was playing and she jumped up and started cheering, "Go Raisins! Go Raisins! Go Raisins!"

We've since cleared up our diction and she's now cheering for the dark bird of Poe's prose instead of the dried fruit.

Sharing Hardship

Alan has a music colleague who lives a few hours south of us in VA. He and his wife had their daughter between Evelyn and Amelia, and yesterday little Charlotte passed away as a result of a brain tumor that just wouldn't quit. While I've read many of their very honest posts, I think the one that will stick with me is the one from Christmas Day when they put their Christmas 2008 and Christmas 2009 posts next to one another.

Roger and Rachel have started a foundation in their daughter's name, and there's a link to it on their blog.

"May the God of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance." (II Thess.3:16)

We don't even need mistletoe!

The week before Christmas we had some record-breaking snow, and in the midst of it Aunt Betty and Uncle Steve visited from NC to spend the holidays with Mom and Dad. They, Shelley, and Jon and Courtney and the kids braved the drifts to come over for a pre-Christmas hang out. Aunt Betty, Uncle Steve, Mom and Dad and I went over to the Evergreen assisted living across the street and caroled--and doing that w/them is one of my favorite 2009 Christmas memories.

Then we all ate soup & salad and Mom's lasagna and then played "The Name Chase" while the kids watched a video. History games are where these people SHINE, and where Uncle Steve declared himself "an entire BODY of knowledge." Again, the only pictures I have from this are the ones the kids took, and they forgot all about the camera once the cousins arrived, so the kissing pictures will have to be our sweet remembrance of the fun!

The Christmas Hike

This is our favorite place to hike in VA Beach: First Landing State Park, filled with Cypress Swamps that look just amazing in the winter when they're sparsely dressed. (I'm sure they look pretty incredible in the summer, too, but there are more bugs.) This year there was a thin layer of ice on the swamps, and it was fun for the girls to throw sticks and rocks out there to see if they could break through. There's nothing like time outside with the kids.

I wish we'd taken pictures of Evelyn rolling down Mt. Trashmore--VA Beach's answer to a landfill was to cover it up and make it a giant hill and recreation park--but we enjoyed those outings without the camera.

Christmas in VA Beach!

Mom and Dad Blackman hosted a wonderful gathering of, well, EVERYONE! Alan's brother and sister and their families all came to their house and we celebrated, hung out, played Wii, decorated cookies, and pretty much had a great, relaxing time. Here are only a FEW of the highlights, including the first family photo in a while. Matt & Becky brought aging Trapper the merry mutt, with whom Amelia continued her love affair with pets, and the kids all did great opening their gifts, practicing thankfulness, and reining in the very natural tendency to want more and more and more. It was a LOT of fun.