Tweenagers

Over the weekend, I attended a Children's Ministry Conference in Eastbourne, a once grand town by the sea. It's the only beach I've seen in England. I've been told to go to Wales or Norfolk for the best. Eastbourne has beautiful Victorian hotels lining the seafront with a boardwalk, bandstand and pier. The conference is during the off season, so it's cheap, but the weather was nice enough for a brisk walk if one decided to ditch one of the workshops.

The conference was a great place for six married ladies to recharge their batteries, get re-energized for children's work and get to know each other a little better. They had a brilliant worship band that led us in songs every morning and evening.

One track that ran through the entire weekend was working with tweenagers, the new number one marketed-to consumer group of 9 to 14 year olds that has unseated teens as the people with the most expendable income and the most pester power. These people are still children but spend their money to look and act like teenagers. It would be a huge insult to call them kids. They're leaving church in droves because they've outgrown their idea of what God is and church is boring! This is my group! It seems an insurmountable task to try to keep them engaged and excited about developing their relationship with Jesus as their personal saviour!

But this is my son's age. And even though I don't see him as sophisticated and grown up as the demographic info suggests, he's at the point where he's asking tough questions, like "My friends are good people and they don't go to church, why should I?"

I came away from the weekend with some great ideas, hopefully enough to keep them interested. I'm going to start employing more technology, send out termly newsletters via their email address, and possibly starting a chat room on MySpace, or IM on certain days of the week. Either way, I need help and prayers. I'm feeling a little obsolete. Any ideas?

We Got Snow and Snowdrops!

Okay, okay, I know that Texas beat us to the winter precip punch, but we got REAL snow, about 1/2 inch of it overnight on Tuesday. By 9a.m. yesterday morning, the dazzling sunshine was quickly melting it away, but not before Brendan and I got in a snowball fight! I love this kind of snow. You wake up to a beautiful white blanket of the stuff, and by the end of school, it's practically gone. Finally the thermal socks, ski jackets and gloves we bought to go to Lapland are coming in handy again.



I wanted it to snow again today. I went walking in the gardens at Castle Ashby with a friend, and saw the first sure signs of Spring - hearty little Snowdrops, popping up under the shelter of the big trees. Spring is such an event here. After months of dark, cold, wet weather, those little signs of rebirth are so welcome. It does my heart good to know the good weather, the best part about living in England, is just around the corner. Soon the crocuses and daffodils with be up, and the tulips won't be far behind.


I have had such a leisurely week this week, I feel almost guilty - almost. I had lunch with two friends on Tuesday and had a nice long chat, walked in the snow with a friend on Wednesday and had a nice long chat, and walked through the gardens on Thursday and had a nice long chat over rich, decadent, hot chocolate. Tomorrow, I'm going to a children's leaders conference in Eastbourne for the weekend with about six women. This time of year, when you're forced to stay inside, is a perfect time to catch up with friends. I never would have had time to do this when I was working. But I AM still working. I've got three new craft articles just about ready to go, and am starting to research middle-grade novels for girls so I can begin writing one of my own.

The first thing I remember...

Books on my nightstand:
Clarice Bean, Don't Look Now by Lauren Child
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Praying the Scriptures for your Children by Jodie Berndt
AA Citypack for Istanbul

You can tell a lot about what's going on in a person's life by what's on their nightstand, I think. For instance, I'm reading Tom Sawyer to Brendan at bedtime, slowly but surely. It's a little dusty because we don't read together as often as we used to. We're taking a trip to Istanbul, Turkey during half-term break so I'm studying up on the history and top 10 things to see. I'm hoping to start working on a new middle-grade novel that features a female hero, so I'm reading a few current girls' novels, such as Clarice Bean, to get in the zone. And, my sister-in-law gave me Praying the Scriptures for your Children as a Christmas present which has already helped me find the words to pray for Brendan's latest fainting incident.

I don't think we'll ever be a bookless society. You can't curl up with a good laptop or an iPod. It doesn't give the same satisfaction. And nothing can replace snuggling under a blanket with your child while you read a bedtime story and talk about the pictures and what will happen next. I feel sorry for those who have never experienced that type of connectedness with their child.

I'll redo my nightstand list as I add new books to the stack. Some may still be there for a while, and continue gathering dust.

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Dad has been confined to the house a lot lately due to recovering from bladder surgery and a freak Texas ice storm. So, while Mom is busy with her projects of sewing curtains and doll clothes, Dad is on a "write my memoirs" kick. I've read a few of his childhood stories and I have to say, they are a riot!

Now, he's asked me to write what I remember from my childhood, which is what I worked on a little with the biography assignment from my correspondence writing class concerning my brother, Wayne. I wrote quite a bit, but let it go to work on fiction and articles. Dad asks, "What's the first thing you remember?" I thought it might be a fun exercise for this posting.

I was born in Cameron, Texas, but I don't remember anything from there. I know from stories they've told, darling pictures and a tiny uniform that Mom saved that I was the mascot for the Buckholts Bulldogs.

My first memories are not much more than snapshots from Taft, Texas. I must have been about three or four years old. Things like, I was deathly afraid of thunder and would hide under my sheets frozen with fear even thought all I wanted to do was run to Mom and Dad's room. I don't know if I remember so much as I've seen photos of the aftermath of Hurricane Celia. Our favorite climbing tree was uprooted and the church Dad served at was demolished. We got a cool, two-story playhouse complete with a slide from the second story from the salvaged lumber. I have lots of good memories of that. It followed us from Taft to Kirby to the country, and we all spent many hours playing in it.

I remember being bored one afternoon, and sitting on the front porch trying to sell squares of carmel and water to passers-by, sort of like a poor man's lemonade stand. But there were no passers-by. I remember sitting on the kitchen floor Sundays after church in our underwear, so we wouldn't get our good clothes dirty of course, waiting for Mom to fix lunch. I bet I could draw the layout of the house, even. Did we ever re-visit after we moved away? I remember Michael Box had a black and white Boston Terrier named Suzie (I think). We did visit them once or twice after we moved.

There was a mobile skating rink that came to town and unfolded a wooden floor under a canopy. We had roller skates that attached to the soles of our shoes and tightened with a key. I remember challenging Dad to stop smoking if I stopped sucking my thumb. I finally did, but he kept on with his pipe. And I remember Mom washing Wayne's and my mouth out with soap for saying a bad word. Yes, it actually does happen. I bet it was Wayne's fault. He was always gettting me into trouble!

I remember more from our time in Kirby, a suburb of San Antonio. I started kindergarten there.

Monopoly

I loathe Monopoly. I never win. Bill is ruthless and Brendan is a chip off of the old block. However, it's one of the few games that they love to play. We got a new, updated version of the game for Christmas. And we like to play games on Sunday afternoon, so I suffer through quietly.

Yesterday, I beat Bill and Brendan at Monopoly! And let me tell you, they are sore losers! A few things changed. I didn't play the role of banker. I got to go first, and Bill kept hitting Chance and Community Chest. he got the worst run of cards I've ever seen. I tried really hard not to gloat. Once Brendan was out, Bill didn't want to play anymore. He just gave up the way he never lets me do when I'm losing. But it was enough for me.

We definitely need som new games. Brendan and I have been playing Rummikub,which we also got for Christmas, almost every night before bed. But I want to get the Settlers of Catan for Brendan's birthday. Becca introduced it to us while we were staying in Bandera, and we both really enjoyed it.

BTW - Bill interviewed for a job when we stopped over in Dallas on our way home for the holidays. He was offered the job and we seriously considered it. It was a way for us to get back to Texas. But after lots of praying and deliberating, we both agreed that it was a mediocre job, with mediocre pay, and neither of us was excited about moving back to DFW. So Bill turned it down. I know God has a plan for us. Something better will come along. I just have to be patient.

STRESSFUL

Other than feeling like we're in limbo and not knowing when we might move back to the US, I really don't have any stress on a regular basis. I do what I want and enjoy what I do, so it's not really what I'd call stress. But, yesterday I was THE governor-on-call to sit in front of the OFSTED inspectors and explain the strengths and weaknesses of our school and how effective I felt the governors were. This is a very important review for the school, which includes watching every teacher lead a lesson, going through the budget, evaluating how well the school takes care of the children and tracks their progress through the years. My part was miniscule, but I was so nervous about it. Mostly, I was concerned that I didn't harm the school's reputation, and hopefully could do some good.

It's amazing that I've come to this. I used to give presentations to all levels of management and potential clients in a global company without breaking a sweat, and here I was stressing over a 15 minute interview. I prepared as well as I could, reading the last OFSTED report and getting input from the headteacher and chairman of the governors (who happened to be out of town on the day) and crammed like crazy before I went up to the school. I even worried about how I was dressed! I wanted to come across professional, respectible, credible for these people. I don't have much besides jeans in my closet anymore.

As it turned out, I waited for an hour, because they had fallen behind schedule, and I spent a quick ten minutes max with one inspector. And while I did refer to my notes a few times to be sure I hadn't missed any key points, the questions asked were subjective, and I mostly spoke from the heart.

Evidently, it worked, because the school did well overall, although I can't tell you exactly until the full report becomes public, and I didn't harm anything. Phew! Back to my jeans and flip flops.

Peace At Last

As much as I enjoy the holidays, I also like getting back into the routine afterward. Brendan started back to school on Thursday but he stayed home on Friday. He gave us a little scare.

Friday morning, as he was dressing, Brendan got a nose bleed. While he and Bill were in the bathroom stopping the bleeding, Brendan said, "I think I'm going to go to sleep," and fainted in Bill's arms. Thankfully, we were both there to reassure him when he woke up a few seconds later.

At ten years old, I wouldn't think I'd have to monitor what he ate and drank so much, but Brendan has complained of an upset stomach off and on for over a year now. He doesn't like to eat much for breakfast, and obviously didn't drink enough on the flight home. I'm not sure if it was the sight of blood or low blood sugar that caused him to pass out, but I'm watching him much closer now. He told me that he lost weight while we were in San Antonio, which seems impossible to me, since we ate so much wonderful food.

Now, he doesn't want to go to bed, because he doesn't want to wake up and faint. He doesn't want to eat because his tummy hurts, but he could pass out if he runs out of fuel. How did I raise such a worrier? More concerning, is there really something to this? I've put him on multi-vitamins, push fluids whenever he's at home, and stocked up on his favorite healthy snacks. If it happens again, we'll go see the GP.

So at least for today, I'm enjoying the solidute and a chance to have some time in front of the computer. Ask me tomorrow; I may be bored stiff.

Happy New Year

Since we were staying at our parents's houses and there were many people vying for computer time, I didn't get to blog while we were away for Christmas and New Years. So, I'll have to catch you up in chunks, as I remember them, with the aid of some photos.

We had an amazing time laughing, playing and eating with our families. Every year we are overwhelmed with hospitality and food! And we try to see and do and eat as much as we can in the amount of time we have.

Most importantly, everyone is healthy and happy. However, Dad is having another tumor removed from his bladder, plus some repair work, on Thursday. The doctor doesn't seem concerned, or a least Dad's playing it down. Please pray for him.

Bill and I came home with colds. I'm sure mine started with my moutain cedar allergy, and can't decide between settling in my sinuses or chest. Bill is running a fever with his, and stayed home from work to try to recover quickly.

We're beginning to feel almost normal again after the jet lag. I went to Tescos yesterday after showering and changing clothes, but I felt like a zombie. I ran into a friend who wanted to chat. I was so non-responsive. My body was there, but my mind was asleep. Sorry.

It's always a little disappointing to come home and have to take the tree down by myself. Brendan will be back to school tomorrow. At least the three suitcases of laundry is washed, folded and ironed, and we have food in the fridge. I'll put on some Christmas music and make it as festive a take-down as it was a put-up.

BTW - go out and find the January issue of Crafts 'n Things before it leaves the shelves! My Rustic Angel Ornament design is on page 25. So the first article wasn't a fluke. I just have to get moving faster to get published more. After receiving a handful of rejection letters, I got a bite from Philomel Books. They want to read my Dillon and Blue manuscript. Keep your fingers crossed.

(I'm not sure about copyright laws, so you have to buy the mag to see the instructions.)