The Kelsey's

Have you seen that symbol all over the Internet, but you don’t know what it means or what it’s for? Well I made a short (7+ minutes, short for me) video showing you what to do with it. I wasn’t able to add comments on that page (I’m still learning about this blogging stuff…). So here is a blog entry where you can add comments about what you think, and if I could’ve done something different to make it better.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Last week we went for a little sight seeing. Hannah’s piano teacher and her husband have put together a high tech light display. When we pulled up there was a sign by the end of the driveway that said, “Tune in to 90.3 FM for a message.” So we tuned the stereo in the van to that frequency and heard a welcome message. It greeted us and wished us a happy Christmas season. We were also told that there would be three selections for us to enjoy.

The first one began and the 10,000 plus lights that we saw flickering wildly as we drove up made much more sense now as we realized that they were synchronized with the music we were listening to. And if the FM micro station wasn’t enough, and the synchronized light show is just blasé for you – how about posting the light show up on YouTube so you can share in our experience from anywhere in the world!

Here is the first one:

This is called “Christmas in Sarajevo.” Did you check it out? This was actually the second song, but the first one isn’t posted on YouTube, sorry.

And if that wasn’t enough Christmas joy and you are wanting to see the third piece performed – check this out:

After each performance we applauded (inside the van with the windows closed, of course).

We hope you can get a touch of what it was like for us. We parked right in front of the end of the “Merry Christmas” sign in the front. This was shot by Mr. Partell from across the street. Let us know what you thought and Hannah can pass on your thoughts to her teacher when we resume after the break.

This is a first attempt at publishing a video on our blog. We are using Revver because it allows you to see some links to products – if you go there we will make a small commission. This will build up a fund to help the kids. They may even make a part time job out of videos, who knows. So don’t be afraid to try something new. This video is exactly that – something new (well at least for us).

He will watch things on TV, he will watch video tapes, he will bring you a DVD and ask, “Wanna watch Boo Koo Mommy?” <> We have two TV’s in the house and sometimes they are being used. (Not so much since the X-Box caught fire… more on that real soon.) So we will put a DVD on the computer for him to watch.

He loves this and has figured out how to get the DVD in the tray (sometimes with some scratches, so technically he’s not allowed to do it himself). And to keep himself from being distracted he has found a perch from which to enjoy the show.

There isn’t anything nearly as exciting as having the action right up close and personal. It takes some doing to get up to that vantage point. He needs to get into the chair. And sometimes it is a good distance from the desktop. No matter. It’s not worth climbing down to readjust. Besides, that’s too many steps. Instead he will get on his tippy-toes on the edge of the chair and stretch out until he can reach the desk and some how manage to transfer his weight so he can get up on the desktop. Just off from his right knee there you can see one of the speakers. This often needs tweaking. You have to try it at full volume, then silent so you can know the range in order to get to the most comfortable place somewhere in the middle.

He has such good posture. As you can see below, it looks like he’s trying to emulate Junior’s tractor technique. These are scenes from one the the more recent Veggietales videos called The Wizard of Ha’s. Maybe you recognize it. I home I’m not violating any copyright laws by publishing these revealing photos. I did give credit, so I think I’m in the clear.

I’m not sure if you can get some perspective on how close he is, so here’s another angle.

At least it’s not a CRT monitor with all that harmful radiation bathing over his little body. And I’m sure somehow having to follow the action by moving your head around in all directions can only help his core strengthening and give him superior reaction times for his reflexes. Besides, you can only imagine the fit he throws if you try to pull him back down to the chair. He’s at the age where things have to be done his way, in his order, to his particulars, or there is a melt down. Ritual is very important and to disrupt it is a gross violation.

These pictures were shot back at the beginning of November, but I’m still catching up with my blogging.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Whatever you do, don’t let it expire!

I renewed the domain and in minutes we were back, live, on the Internet.  It’s good to be back.

Powered by ScribeFire.

I try to go out with just one child from time to time.  We started this little tradition a few years back.  The first place we go is to the St. Louis Arch.

It would be embarrassing for them to have grown up here and not be able to tell people they’ve even visited our closest monument.  So here are some memories of that outing that happened last Sunday.

We started of taking the car to the train station.  Caleb’s got that GQ look going for him.

Then we took the train downtown (not that we needed to, it’s part of the fun).  After arriving, we walked along the Mississippi and then came to the stairs going up to the arch.

When we got there it was about 11:00 am.  The earliest we could go up in the arch was 1:10 pm.  So we spent time in the museum.  Caleb filled out the requirements to become a Junior Park Ranger.  We learned some great stuff about westward expansion and what things were like around here about 200 years ago.  We even saw what the pioneer’s cattle looked like, see?

The time finally came when we could go up.  The elevator looks like a regular clothes dryer, with chairs.  The place was so crowded that we couldn’t get a picture of Caleb in the actual car.  But they had a practice one next to the ticket counter and we took a picture in there so you could get a feel for the place.

And, of course, he finally made it to the top!  Up in the arch, Caleb had no fear.  He was climbing all around the tilted windows.  He would practically sit on the windows.  I had a hard time leaning out to look through them.

We were tired, but it was a fun day.  Then we topped it off with dinner at Sweet Tomatoes (complete with ice cream!).

Powered by ScribeFire.

I would rather just let my 40th birthday come and go as days typically do.  But Laura went through much preparation to have a surprise for me.  We went to a social at the church and they had divided off a section of the hall and decorated it and added some “over the hill” verbiage for me.  Here are some snapshots…

This last picture is of me and a church friend who shares the same birthday with me.

It was a great surprise and a wonderful birthday.  By the end of it all I was beat.

Powered by ScribeFire.

The beauty of blogging is that you can stay current with events that happen.  However, sometimes the events of the day have to be reflected upon and commented about later.  This last weekend was like that.  We had a number of events taking place.  At church we had Honey and Pal visiting.  They watched all the kids for a week while Laura and I went to the Peacemaker annual conference (probably need to post some about that too!  Getting behind is so un-fun).  Then they were here for another week with us.  And at the end of the week we had a couple of events.  We started early in the church service by having Nathan dedicated.  What I mean is that Laura and I have taken vows to do our best to raise Nathan (and all four of our children) to serve God and build a Christian home for them.

In addition, Hannah was baptized.  Here is the first picture.

This is as she was looking out at special friends and teachers who stood as witnesses for her.

Then she made a quick preparation.

Although the picture is blurry, Hannah’s excitement and joy is evident.

And after it was all over, she gave her Pal a big hug and headed off to contemplate her big decision.

I believe that baptism is one of the three biggest decisions you can make in your life.  Here they are in the order I think they should be considered:

1. What will you do with the man, Jesus Christ?  Who is He?  Should he be followed or forgotten?
2. With whom will you share your life?  Have you carefully decided who you will wed yourself to?  Will you stay with your decision for life?  Will you determine to make that decision count?
3. Having those out of the way you can ask – how can I best serve?  What can I make of my life?  What should I do?  What career should I follow?  What is my God given vocation?

Most people these days face these questions in reverse order.

Powered by ScribeFire.

I have always wanted to be older. When I was about 5, I wanted to be eight, when I was eight, I wanted to be ten, I was happy when I was ten. It was double digits, so, that made me feel a little older. But then, I wanted to be eleven. I thought being elven would be so cool! I thought it meant getting cell phones, laptop computers, and other stuff you get when you turn, like, fifteen. Now, I’m eleven, and I want to be sixteen. Thats because I really want a cell phone. I’m pretty sure when I get one, for a while it will be unbelievable and I’ll use it all the time. But when I get the bill, also the excitement will have worn off, I’ll probably think: Why did I want this so badly? It’s just phone I can take places. But, that’s just me! 🙂

Powered by ScribeFire.

I have a best friend who lives about 2 hours away from me.  We used to live about 10 minuets away, but she moved away when I was in first grade.  My heart was broken because we did everything together,  from sleepovers to school to birthday parties.  Now, a few years later, we have gotten used to it, found some new people to hang out with (but not to replace each other), and e-mail and write letters to each other.  We are also on a few online clubs that we can get together on.  Today, I was on one of our clubs, when she messaged me to tell me she was on.  I messaged her back and we began to chat.  Then, the subjects went to boys and other teenager things.  I realized almost immediately that my best friend was changing on me.  That’s one disadvantage of being almost 2 years younger than your best friend. That made me feel pretty disappointed.  But I know we will always be Best Friends Forever, no matter how much we change.