5th Grade Lock-in

Yes! It totally rocked!
My sweet sister came for the evening to watch the kiddies, so that I could help out @ the lock-in til midnight. Poor Ryan stayed til morning. LOL. But, it was a total blast! Open gym, video game room, board game room (where I hung out with some of the girls who didn't wish to test their athleticism), dodge ball tournament (I had some 'proving' to do, because the sporty boys all thought they were signing up for Ryan's team, but to their dismay, they ended up being on MY team...Hehe...I showed them who can own the court in dodge ball!) My team...otherwise known as 'team Karis'... won the entire tournament...which earned us first dibs in the pizza line. And the 5th grade boys told me afterward, "We didn't know you could play so well!" Ha! That's cool.
Then, more open gym, then a 'dance-til-you-drop' contest to the 'Cha-Cha slide,' with the first place prize being a cd player/boom box and $50 cash! I had to leave halfway thru the dance-off, so I didn't get to see who won. (I'll have to ask Ryan after he sleeps all day! Poor guy!)
They also had a guitar hero tournament (I think for a prize), capture the flag @ 2am, and a movie & snack time. Whew! If I'd have stayed all night, I would have been asleep as soon as they turned on that movie! Anyways, I can't wait til kid's camp this summer! Let's see if people sign up for MY team next time! LOL!

The Phantom Child & Disappearing Automobile...

This just cracks me up! For those that don't know, I currently run a side business, editing and archiving photos, transferring video tapes to DVD, and turning those memories into a creative, one-of-a-kind DVD presentation. I am currently working on a DVD for an 80th birthday party. My client (also a good friend of mine) asked me two specific favors. She wanted me to take the car out of photo #1, and she wanted me to take the baby out of photo #2. Hmmm...I think they turned out pretty well, if you ask me. Hehe.

Stuff like this just DOESN'T happen!!!

Ryan, Mark, and Pastor Michael (our children's pastor) went downtown Chicago to hit a P.O.D. concert last night. It was a very small, intimate show, held @ the Hard Rock Cafe, and only about a couple hundred fans packed the place out!

As Ryan was picking up his tix at the will-call booth, he noticed that there were no other kids there...only adults. Oops! He was afraid this might have been a 21+ show. But, the ticket person assured him that, no, Mark was able to enter. So they went inside and found their way to a spot right along the side of the stage.

As the music was playing...some familiar and some new songs...they found the band ripping out "Youth of a Nation" (which we performed a human video to, years ago, in the NXT youth group). When this song began, Ryan and Michael told Mark that this would be a fun song for him to stand right up by the stage. So Mark was right there! When the lead singer, Sonny Sandoval, came to the edge of the stage, Mark reached his hand out and gave Sonny a high-five. At that moment, Sonny stopped, looked at Mark.......and then reached down and lifted Mark onto the stage!!! He then proceeded to hand Mark the mic and Mark sang the last few lines of the chorus...on stage...with the band jamming behind him, "We are, we are...the youth of the nation!"

Holy Smokes! It was just like in a Disney movie...stuff like this just DOESN'T happen!!! Ryan said that everyone in the audience was cheering and singing along. When the song ended, Sonny lifted Mark back down off the stage. Then, as they were leaving at the close of the concert, I guess lots of people gave little Mark high-fives and said "Great job!"

The guys returned home super late, but this morning when I asked Mark about it, he was so pumped. He said, "They are my new favorite band." As a mother...I just hope they stay true to their Christian roots. After such a dreamlike experience, I would hate for my kid to be disappointed in his "new favorite band."
Thankfully, we have some camera-phone snapshots of the whole experience. No video tho. Ryan said lots of people had camcorders there....so if anyone reads this who had their camcorder playing at that moment...please humor a mother and send me a copy! I'm gonna tag this post in hopes that some fan will come across it. You never kno! Apparently, stuff like this DOES happen!!! xoxo

So, I woke up this morning to the cooing of a morning dove! Usually those things annoy me like all get-out, because they sit right by my window and wake me up when I just wanna sleep in a little bit. But today, it was a very exciting sound, because it's yet another sign that Spring is finally here!

In other news...I'm totally addicted to playing Tetris on my cell phone. I've made it to level 12...but do you know how insanely fast those suckers move at level 12?? And I keep having to charge my phone. Yes, I am a geek. I know.

He's on your side

Here's another excerpt from my reading that I just couldn't resist posting...because it spoke to my innermost being and I never want to forget its message: God is on your side because He chooses to be. A few days ago I received word of a group in Cape Town, South Africa, going through the Bible study Breaking Free. The woman leading the study shared that a prostitute wandered in off the street while the class was underway. The troubled woman was simply looking for a place to sit and rest her weary frame. As our wonderful God would have it, she ended up listening to the entire class, approached the leader, and said, "I can never go back to my old life."

When I heard the story, I wept. That, Beloved, is one reason I love Jesus so much. He is the ultimate Prince Charming to every woman, especially the one who forgot she was Cinderella. He looked with loving eyes on that lifeless woman, knowing all she'd ever said and done. He gazed beneath her sin into the brokenness that caused her to devalue herself so thoroughly. He'd given His whole life for her and wanted her to know that she was worth it to Him. Christ, the Spotless One and the Righteous King, saw beauty beneath her wounded, weathered exterior and sought to make her His own. As surely as Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, He drew a South Aftrican prostitute to the fountain of living Water and gave her a drink. Despite her self-destruction, Christ was for her. He was on her side when she was her own worst enemy. That's the way He is. He's on your side.

This excerpt is from Beth Moore's 'Stepping Up' and it comes after studying Psalm 124.

"I am FOR you, child!"

I've found, in recent weeks, that the decisions Ryan and I make as parents are less than popular among our children. Particularly with our eldest. He considers some of the decisions we have made (ie: early bedtime, saying no to expensive purchases, monitoring the junk food he puts into his mouth, etc) to be unfair or even mean-spirited at the moment. I like how Beth Moore (in my Bible study) puts it: "I even used the words from time to time, 'I am for you, child. For heaven's sake, I'm your mother! Why wouldn't I want what's best for you?'" But our kids are too young and immature to understand that our decisions are for them. We are thinking of their best interest, rather than their current whims.

And at times, when they will not be convinced otherwise, we will have to temporarily live with them thinking poorly of us and questioning our motives. "Still, the future ramifications were worth the present misunderstanding." (Beth Moore) And isn't that the way it is with God??

I love how she explained it in this week's lesson: "On a much greater scale, God can take a similar position. He knows when something glorious in the future necessitates something difficult in the present. Because He knows the glory will be worth it, God will risk being misunderstood. Yes, God wants us to have joyful, satisfying lives, but He also wants us to have crowns to cast. Rewards to receive. Character to develop. Compassion to give. Testimonies to tell. In the midst of those painful processes, God makes bold promises."

She references Romans 8:28-39, and as I studied this familiar passage, I jotted down these promises as they apply to me. And here is what it looks like:

God will make sure all things work together for my good.
He will conform me to the likeness of His Son.
He will call me, justify me, glorify me.
He will give me all good things.
He will intercede for me.
He will make me more than a conqueror!

Amen and amen! My prayer this week is that as the Lord endows Ryan and I with the incredible wisdom that is necessary for raising a 'tween' child...hopefully my kids will see God's love and promises through us. We want what is best for them. But ultimately God wants what is best for them. Even in those times when the answer is an unsatisfying NO!

Easter 2008

We decided not to travel this year for Easter. We stayed in the area...went to our own church (which was so touching)...and ate a special lunch at home. Nothing huge, just our favorite pasta dish. Then we spent the afternoon resting and playing outside. For dinner, we met up with the Brody's and Dahms' for a meal together. Then we headed to the Dahms' for dessert and more play. I love laid-back holidays, where we can spend time with the kids...relaxing, listening, sharing the things we learned at church, and just enjoying their company at these precious ages.