Two Weeks 'Til Christmas

We are being kept very busy with the pre-Christmas events that fill the schedule of every parent of school aged children! Jacob performed a short solo on his trumpet in his "holiday" band concert this past Tuesday. It was a combination concert with the middle school orchestra, chorus, intermediate and advanced bands. I especially enjoyed a number called "Aurora Borealis" which incorporated the chorus, science team (via powerpoint presentation), art, dance and band. What a great idea to use multiple mediums for one song! We also went to Ben's beginning band mini-concert on Friday. This performance lasted 12 minutes and was followed by cookies and punch. We were quite impressed by how far the 6th graders have come in just two months of actual playing!

Today Eli and I went to visit his 4th grade teacher Mrs. Hamilton who is on maternity leave until January. We couldn't resist buying "Jennings" a Green Bay Packer t-shirt as a gift! His birth is extra special as it occured on October 10th, Eli's birthday!

I officially graduated from my Wilton I cake decorating class. Pictured above is the final project. My family is disappointed that I am finished, as I got to bake and decorate a new cake each week! I had a lot of fun and am hoping to continue on to course II in January.

Holiday Fun!

What a fun Thanksgiving week! The kids had five days off of school which we tried to fill with things to do lest they climb the walls (or drive Rob and I to:)).

Bob and June came to visit from Grand Rapids, MI. We really enjoyed showing them around Columbia and celebrating Ben's 12th birthday & Thanksgiving. Since Ben is a new fan of both the USC Gamecocks and the Clemson Tigers, I decided to decorate a birthday cake for both teams! Ben enjoyed getting new Packer gear, a digital camera and a ticket for an upcoming "interact with Beluga Whales" event at Sea World in a few weeks! Grandma & Poppy's visit ended with a wonderful slide show of June's recent trip to Italy as well as opening some "Italian" Christmas presents!
On Friday the six of us took a spur of the moment trip to Charleston. What a blast! It was a beautiful 65 degree day and we enjoyed walking through the town marveling at all the historic homes and sites. We took a tour of the old Slave Mart where slaves used to be auctioned off. It was very humbling! We spent the night at a hotel and enjoyed a quick dip in the outdoor pool (brrrrrr!) and a long soak in the hot tub. I love snuggling in with everyone to watch a movie which we did in two groups...boys watching "Batman" and Grace and I watching "The Santa Clause". We slept in longer than we had planned due to the comfy beds and room darkening curtains! On Saturday we went to Patriots Point which is a awesome naval "museum" consisting of a WWII aircraft carrier complete with all the "fixings". The boys LOVED exploring all through the ship and fiddling with all the knobs and gadgets! We also explored a WWII submarine. How any sailor survived mentally in that thing I will never know? The whole place took us about five hours to explore, so our feet were very tired by the end of the day!

On Sunday we had the opportunity to attend a church pastored by a friend of ours. It was a very different but wonderful service! The pastor is from Guinea, West Africa. She and her husband came to the US fourteen years ago and felt called to serve the poor and down trodden in Columbia. A church was started and we were able to be at the service to celebrate their "new" building. The service lasted three hours and was full of dancing, clapping, singing, hugs, testimonies, scripture reading and prayers (many in french!)...all done with lively passion! We were the only white people there besides our friends, and felt totally loved and welcome into their fellowship! We were invited to stay for lunch after the service and enjoyed some delicious African food.

Mountaineers

Recently the three boys and their father ventured into the Smokeys. We drove 2 hours to North Carolina. When we first arrived (where our GPS took us) we drove around until we found our first campsite. It was at the base of the mountians. We set up the tent and jumped into our cozy sleeping bags. The next morning we packed everything up and started our journey up! We ventured from 1,000 to 6,000 feet. We found a new campsite, unpacked and drove to a trail. That day we hiked 4 miles through the beautiful mountains. When we arrived at our car we jumped in and started on the long journey back to our campsite. On the way down we stopped at a waterfall for a few minutes and then continued on down. We reached our campsite and sat around the campfire while dinner(hobo dinners) cooked. We ate our delicious dinners. We sat for a while and then started dessert. It consisted of chocolate chips, banana, and marshmallows. It was a banana boat. We ate than sat for 3 hours and then hit the sack. The next day(Sunday) we got up early and packed. We hiked three miles through beautiful terrain. We returned safely to our home and 3:30. It was a very memerable and fun trip. :) Written by Ben.

Now dad's perspective. It was a blast to be hiking in the mountains with the 3 boys. They did a fantastic job and the weather was perfect. Ben left out the small detail that it was 30 something each morning and was really hard to get out of the warm bag. Difference from WI is that within an hour or so it was warm. The Sunday hike was up to a huge outcroping that looks a bit like half dome in Yosemite...though not as far up. It was a breath taking view when we busted out of the trees looking over mountains, valleys, souring hawks, and millions of trees. Many laughs were had and memories were made. We talked about hiking the Appalacian Trail together someday. We figured it'd be best in eight years when Jake graduates from college, Ben is a sophomore and Eli is graduating from high school. Only problem with the plan is that I'll be 50 something. Better keep running.

Tim & Don visit!

I didn't realize how much I missed home until Tim Evon and Don Kern's came to visit this past week! What a blessing to have such dear friends here to encourage us and see our life here in the south. We had a great time, especially going to the Columbia zoo on Wednesday. We got a backstage tour of the gorilla and lemur exhibits from a friend of a friend who is a zoo keeper there! We had to wear the face masks pictured above so as not to infect any of the animals with "new germs". We were inches away from the gorillas (behind a barred door) and lemurs and tarpins were brushing against our legs! The most memorable moment however was when we were all watching a gorilla through the glass and he charged at us and body slammed himself against the window! We were all thankful for the excellent shatterproof technology saving us from sure doom! It definitely gave our hearts a bit of a jump, but also made for a great laughable memory.

I was thankful that Tim and Don were here when Rob sliced his hand taking his bike pedal off Thursday morning! They carted him off to the urgent care facility and brought him home sewn back together with ten stitches...no fainting though...PTL! We seem to have a propensity for medical kerfuffles here in Columbia! Needless to say no bike riding for awhile.

Meeting Jan Brett!

Grace and I were able to meet her favorite author, Jan Brett this past Wednesday at Barnes & Noble! I stood in line earlier in the day to get a numbered ticket, securing our place in line for the book signing....#16! Jan came and did a drawing demonstration and brief talk, followed by a loooooooooong line of people waiting to meet her! Boy were we glad to have that ticket!

My Seasonal Clock is Off!

This weekend marked the final soccer game for the boys season. Although they didn't pull off a win, Ben and Eli played great and the ref was fantastic (Rob stepped in:)). We enjoyed cheering them on in our shorts and t-shirts...and let me remind you it is November!!

My seasonal clock is a little mixed up as I am used to watching the calendar by seasons. In Wisconsin, November ushers in much cooler weather, bare trees, and not uncommonly snow. In South Carolina it is high 60's and 70's, leaves just changing, and no snow in the forecast... I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and heaven forbid, Christmas just weeks away!!! I hate to write about the "weather", but it is such a significant difference in our lives here that I cannot help myself.

We further enjoyed the beautiful weekend by exporing Peachtree Rock Preserve about 25 minutes from Columbia. I actually felt like I was back in Three Lakes with all the beautiful pine trees and the smells of the forest. Rob and the kids enjoyed figuring out ways to dam up a small waterfall. I did not enjoy watching all of them walk along the slippery edge at the top, but was able to have fun nontheless. We found some gigantic pinecones and some other interesting plants. What a joy to have time in the great outdoors.

Jacob had his first overnight at a friends house since arriving in SC. He stayed with his friend Danny Ruh who is also in the 8th grade at Hand. Jacob had a great time but came home quite bleary eyed after playing guitar hero and watching the first two Mission Impossible movies, landing in bed at 3AM.

Three Months!!

I can't believe we have been in Columbia for almost three months! The newness has definitely worn off, and we are now learning to live everyday life in the south. It seems like a lot has happened since the last post so I will do my best to do a brief overview.

Rob and Eli celebrated Eli's 10th year with a USC Gamecocks football game. They took $50 cash and went to find some ticket scalpers before the game. They were successful in procuring some pretty good seats and had a fabulous time at the game (although they ended up walking about 5 miles when it was all said and done!).

Report cards came out for the first quarter. Both Eli and Ben made straight A's. Jacob and Grace also had excellent grades! We celebrated by going out for pizza at the "Village Idiot". I really am thankful for all of their hard work and discipline in this area...it truly is amazing for 6-13 year olds!

My brother came to visit for the weekend following a conference in Charlotte, NC. He was definitely thrust back into the years of elementary age kids! We went to the Rosewood Elementary school carnival, U12 soccer game and had a full night of trick or treating on Saturday. What a different experience for our rurual northwoods kids to have miles and miles of homes to trick or treat at (without having to get in the car!!). Unfortunately for this dieting mom, there is now way too many mini chocolate candy bars in the house!!!

On Sunday Ben was baptized at Church of the Apostles by our friend and pastor Chip Edgar. It was a really special event, one that Ben has been considering for some time. He chose Uncle Bryan and Aunt Kristin, and Jonathan Heidengren to be his sponsors. They, along with Rob and I commit to encourage and support Ben in his spiritual walk throughout his life. Being baptized at an Anglican service was different for us, but full of depth and spiritual significance. We celebrated the event with lunch at Moe's! We then had to sadly bid goodbye to Uncle Bryan! What a special treat to have him here!