Monday, September 03, 2007
We've Moved!
Well, after a serious hiatus from our blog we've created a new one to go along with all of our new changes. We've actually had it for about 3-4 weeks, but have been keeping it a secret until we could get it really going and keep up with it. We will be keeping this blog for a little while to give everyone a chance to catch up, but we do plan on merging the two together soon. So check out the Tulsa Spencers at www.spencersfive.blogspot.com
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
A little party.
We had a little party at the park last week for Sophia's friends to celebrate her birthday. There were balloons, dirt cake, gummy worms, gifts and a playground. The perfect recipe for a great time!
With the boys in the sandbox.
Jake, Lucy and Emma.
Best Friends!
We love our buds!
With the boys in the sandbox.
Jake, Lucy and Emma.
Best Friends!
We love our buds!Sophia is 3.
Lots of fun loot.
Some zoo fun.
For everyone of course!
The fortress that Mommy and Meemom built.
Waiting so patiently.
It's good to be 3!Saturday, May 12, 2007
First Ballet Recital
Sophie started ballet lessons in March. In hindsight I don't know that "ballet" and "lessons" together accurately describe the allotted 30 minutes with Miss Sarah. Since I was always working , I was told that at 4:15 every Tuesday, Sandy would take Sophie to lessons at the Reformed Lutheran Church in Brookfield. She left dressed in her leotard, tights, and pink Birkenstocks; hair in piggies. Upon arrival, I knew, ballet slippers replaced the Birks and the "lessons" began. My knowledge regarding what then happened at ballet then came from Sandy, who would arrive home around the same time as I, 5:30. She would generally come home and strongly suggest I take the girls. Generally anything was acceptable that removed Sandy and the girls from the same room and involved me reassuming "Mister Daddy" status (as Sophie calls it).
I would find out later from Sandy that ballet lessons were fine; nothing completely out of the ordinary. But you have to understand that as Sophie is a first child and we are her first parents (poor child); both of us are a tad more sensitive about her general behavior than we'll be with Lucy or the next child. So Sandy would first tell me about the other little girls who would "toe the line" or bar; do exactly as Miss Sarah asked, and leave class without much trouble. She would also communicate that Sophie really struggled with the idea of ALWAYS doing what the teacher asked. Some days were better than others; but Sandy would get a bit sensitive about Sophie putting her hands over her head, one leg bent, and spin around and around.....when she was supposed to be standing still pointing her toe. I completely understood Sandy's frustration (term used loosely) because I myself was Sophie at age 3 and know how I made my parents feel.
So when I had the opportunity to go to a lesson a few weeks ago; I saw first hand exactly what made these 30 minutes with Miss Sarah not lessons in ballet. I would more accurately describe it this way:"Ballet Teacher corrals 3 year olds in Tutus". I give Miss Sarah all the credit in the world for actually being able to correctly perform the ballet moves choreographed to the Little Mermaid's "Under the Sea" while prancing across the room chasing Josie, telling Sophie not to do somersaults, all the while showing the correct way to "make your heels kiss" (try it, you'll see what's intended). Some of the 3 year olds in tutus were genuinely good at following directions; but none of them ever did so for all of the 30 minutes. Sophie's direction following was 50-50. The point is that, again, these were clearly not ballet lessons; but who did Sandy and I think we were kidding when we assumed that after this 2 month session Sophie would be ready for Swan Lake. So our expectations were too high; but our daughter was gaining extremely valuable experience with disciplined tutelage of someone other than Mom or Dad; and all the while in a fun and social atmosphere. With the above written, today was Sophie's first ballet recital. The performance was designed around the above mentioned "Under the Sea". Sophie, as you'll see, looked adorable. She and I discussed multiple times over the past couple of days the importance of following her teacher's direction, being kind to the other girls, and having fun. Regardless of anything else acheived, these were key. Obedience, kindness, and some laughs. When Sandy and I left the house with our little mermaid I was pretty convinced we'd certainly see more of the latter two.
To move straight ahead to the end of the story. Sandy cried as Sophie ran to her after the performance. Sophie did have one "hands-over-head-spin-around" lapse (seen in the video). But overall she was a perfect little 3 year old ballerina. She even clapped for the other performers while sitting quietly and hugged her teacher at the end. Well worth every penny paid to have Miss Sarah chase our tutu-ed Sophie around during "ballet lessons" for 30 minutes every Tuesday.
Enjoy...
The performance begins.
Watching.
Watching intently.
Watching but not-impressed.
The bean bag dance. Celebratory for a job well done.
Running to Mommy and Daddy.
Proud to be a husband and father. Look at those two.
Miss Sarah
The real motivation.
I would find out later from Sandy that ballet lessons were fine; nothing completely out of the ordinary. But you have to understand that as Sophie is a first child and we are her first parents (poor child); both of us are a tad more sensitive about her general behavior than we'll be with Lucy or the next child. So Sandy would first tell me about the other little girls who would "toe the line" or bar; do exactly as Miss Sarah asked, and leave class without much trouble. She would also communicate that Sophie really struggled with the idea of ALWAYS doing what the teacher asked. Some days were better than others; but Sandy would get a bit sensitive about Sophie putting her hands over her head, one leg bent, and spin around and around.....when she was supposed to be standing still pointing her toe. I completely understood Sandy's frustration (term used loosely) because I myself was Sophie at age 3 and know how I made my parents feel.
So when I had the opportunity to go to a lesson a few weeks ago; I saw first hand exactly what made these 30 minutes with Miss Sarah not lessons in ballet. I would more accurately describe it this way:"Ballet Teacher corrals 3 year olds in Tutus". I give Miss Sarah all the credit in the world for actually being able to correctly perform the ballet moves choreographed to the Little Mermaid's "Under the Sea" while prancing across the room chasing Josie, telling Sophie not to do somersaults, all the while showing the correct way to "make your heels kiss" (try it, you'll see what's intended). Some of the 3 year olds in tutus were genuinely good at following directions; but none of them ever did so for all of the 30 minutes. Sophie's direction following was 50-50. The point is that, again, these were clearly not ballet lessons; but who did Sandy and I think we were kidding when we assumed that after this 2 month session Sophie would be ready for Swan Lake. So our expectations were too high; but our daughter was gaining extremely valuable experience with disciplined tutelage of someone other than Mom or Dad; and all the while in a fun and social atmosphere. With the above written, today was Sophie's first ballet recital. The performance was designed around the above mentioned "Under the Sea". Sophie, as you'll see, looked adorable. She and I discussed multiple times over the past couple of days the importance of following her teacher's direction, being kind to the other girls, and having fun. Regardless of anything else acheived, these were key. Obedience, kindness, and some laughs. When Sandy and I left the house with our little mermaid I was pretty convinced we'd certainly see more of the latter two.
To move straight ahead to the end of the story. Sandy cried as Sophie ran to her after the performance. Sophie did have one "hands-over-head-spin-around" lapse (seen in the video). But overall she was a perfect little 3 year old ballerina. She even clapped for the other performers while sitting quietly and hugged her teacher at the end. Well worth every penny paid to have Miss Sarah chase our tutu-ed Sophie around during "ballet lessons" for 30 minutes every Tuesday.
Enjoy...
The performance begins.
Watching.
Watching intently.
Watching but not-impressed.
The bean bag dance. Celebratory for a job well done.
Running to Mommy and Daddy.
Proud to be a husband and father. Look at those two.
Miss Sarah
The real motivation.Friday, May 11, 2007
Friends and Toads
Our friend Emma came to play this week. We had lots of fun playing play-doh and being outside. We also made a new friend...Mr. Toad. Mommy even picked him up for us. As you can see below Lucy and I thought he was pretty neat.
Mommy couldn't convince any of us to pick him up but I did touch his back!
One small spill, but Lucy was brave.
Mommy couldn't convince any of us to pick him up but I did touch his back!
Lucy insisted on being prepared for a winter weather emergency.
One small spill, but Lucy was brave.Tuesday, May 01, 2007
The Video Proof
(A little nod to our new friend Jonathan Bowie Grauke born 4-14-07. He has inspired the recent interest, or shall I say obsession with the name Jonathan. You can visit him here.)
Our Friends, the Worms
Gross. That's all I have to say, gross. My two beautiful little GIRLS are now totally into worms. Pulling them out of the ground, playing with them, (I mean like they play with dolls), naming them, kissing them and, yes you guessed it, even sneaking a little one to snack on. (Insert mommy's horrified squeal and gagging here.) The evidence is all below and, though they will always look adorable for church, and like dolls and tea parties and pink, their daddy has tapped into their love for mud dwelling, slithering, slimy worms.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
A Peak at our Dresses
Daddy and Mommy bought us new shoes, dresses, barrettes, and dress coats and couldn't get us to pose for a single picture!
Pre- Easter fun part II
On Saturday evening we decorated eggs...
I wanted Daddy to help me do some painting...
Yay Daddy!
Lucy and I both wanted to taste the hard boiled eggs...
What do you think?
I wanted Daddy to help me do some painting...
Yay Daddy!
Lucy and I both wanted to taste the hard boiled eggs...
I loved them, but Lucy didn't!
What do you think?Pre-Easter Fun Part I
On Saturday we invited our friends, the Gibbins family, over for an Easter brunch and a fun egg hunt. Here I am with my friends Sam, Jake and Emma. (Now you may be wondering why we are all bundled up? Well, while the rest of the country is enjoying beautiful weather, we midwesterners are enjoying a mid April cold snap complete with snow.)
Here I am searching....
Found one!
By the way, Lucy isn't in these cuz she was too tired to hunt!
He Is Risen!!!!!!!!!
From Pastor Peter Leithart:
Exhortation, Easter Sunday
From beginning to end, from Alpha to Omega, God is a God of life, a God of resurrection. In the beginning, He called into being things that were not. He cried out into the darkness of the first day, so that light dispelled the darkness. He spoke again, and plants sprang from the dead earth and fish swam in the turbulent seas. He raised up Adam from the dust to become a living soul, and He put Adam into deep sleep, tore a rib from his side, and raised him up to meet his bride.
When the bodies of Abraham and Sarah were good as dead, He opened Sarah's womb and gave her a son. He brought Israel from the grave of Egypt, and rescued David repeatedly from the jaws of Sheol and wave after wave of enemies.
Through His prophet, He spoke to the dry bones of Israel in Babylonian exile, until the bones rattled and shook, came together bone to bone, took on sinews and skin, and were raised as an innumerable army. At the last, He will cry out again against the darkness, and will swallow up Death once and for all.
The resurrection of Jesus is no anomaly. It is not out of character. It shows that our God is utterly determined to defeat all our enemies, including the last enemy, Death.
The resurrection of Jesus was once-for-all, a unique event in human history. Yet, because of that event, resurrection life is leavening the world. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we have hope for the future, and hope for the present.
Every week, the Father calls us by the power of Jesus' resurrection from the darkness of sin into His marvelous light. Every week, He breathes new life into dead dust as we confess our sins. Every week, He strips off the defilements of Death and brings us to a charcoal fire by the sea, where He feeds us.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, April 08, 2007 at 06:45 AM
Exhortation, Easter Sunday
From beginning to end, from Alpha to Omega, God is a God of life, a God of resurrection. In the beginning, He called into being things that were not. He cried out into the darkness of the first day, so that light dispelled the darkness. He spoke again, and plants sprang from the dead earth and fish swam in the turbulent seas. He raised up Adam from the dust to become a living soul, and He put Adam into deep sleep, tore a rib from his side, and raised him up to meet his bride.
When the bodies of Abraham and Sarah were good as dead, He opened Sarah's womb and gave her a son. He brought Israel from the grave of Egypt, and rescued David repeatedly from the jaws of Sheol and wave after wave of enemies.
Through His prophet, He spoke to the dry bones of Israel in Babylonian exile, until the bones rattled and shook, came together bone to bone, took on sinews and skin, and were raised as an innumerable army. At the last, He will cry out again against the darkness, and will swallow up Death once and for all.
The resurrection of Jesus is no anomaly. It is not out of character. It shows that our God is utterly determined to defeat all our enemies, including the last enemy, Death.
The resurrection of Jesus was once-for-all, a unique event in human history. Yet, because of that event, resurrection life is leavening the world. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we have hope for the future, and hope for the present.
Every week, the Father calls us by the power of Jesus' resurrection from the darkness of sin into His marvelous light. Every week, He breathes new life into dead dust as we confess our sins. Every week, He strips off the defilements of Death and brings us to a charcoal fire by the sea, where He feeds us.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, April 08, 2007 at 06:45 AM
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