The Redheads

Handsome in Uniform

The Redheads — Sat, 19 May 2012 05:00:28 +0000

This post goes out to all you OBA (OCA) students and grads.

When I (Sarah) was in high school, our private academy opted for uniforms, an obviously difficult adjustment for us poor freshman upon whom fashion had given its blessing…until this moment. Trading jeans and hoodies for tan or navy khakis and red, white, or navy polos.

The transition was torture.

But surprisingly, we made it through the tough times of change and still managed to have a great time.

Why do I reminisce in such a manner?

Because yesterday I was gazing at my oh-so handsome little toddler, and it hit me.

Did it hit you?

I called my mom and had a good chuckle about it with her.

My oh my.

Misc

The Redheads — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:04:39 +0000

SENIOR FLUTE RECITAL

Several weekends ago, we drove down to OSU to watch Erin’s senior recital. It.was.incredible! We always knew we had a great performer in the family (James’ mom is a fabulous flutist as well!), but this recital just blew us away! Corban did well listening and sitting *still* (not in the vocabulary of a one-and-a-half-year-old!) and saved his loud and long screech for after the applause was all over. One of the most fun features of this recital, however, was not the recital itself but the advertising for it. Check out the top right corner:

Haha! Thanks, Aunt Erin! We almost didn’t come due to Corban’s dog bite, but we’re SO glad we did!

On the four-hour ride home, we stopped for supper. We showed Corban how to use the apples with the yogurt dip.He used one apple slice for the entire dip container!

And then proceeded to drink the rest.

30 WEEKS

We have 10 weeks to go before Baby Girl makes her appearance. TEN! We’re getting sooo excited…and nervous! We’ve been given so many things and really only have a few things to purchase, some of which we’re still making decisions on. (Some of the purchases will be different if we’re in a house vs. an apartment.) I’m starting to feel a little tired but overall, really great! We’re truly enjoying these last few weeks as a family of three!

AGING

James’ eyes have been coming home from work tired and strained (so they tell him). So we decided to send him in for an eye appointment, his first in 15+ years! While the doc said he barely has a prescription need, he did since James sits at a computer screen 8+ hours every day AND since he’s actually farsighted, glasses would be quite beneficial. We picked them up yesterday, and James spent the better part of the evening reading things with and without his glasses, constantly exclaiming, “It’s not blurry! I didn’t even know it was blurry until I put my glasses on!”

We debated with some super trendy thick black plastic frames, but we both agreed this pair made a strong enough “I’m not boring” statement, while still matching his style. Doesn’t he look dapper?!

CORBAN IS TALKING

Corban’s vocabulary increases every single day! I took a video of a couple of his favorite mealtime phrases; thought you might like to see:

We went to the zoo!

The Redheads — Thu, 17 May 2012 23:54:22 +0000

For James’ Christmas gift this past Christmas, I pre-made/paid for 12 dates, one per month. While most of them were just for us, I did include a couple family dates, and May’s date was one of those! So last weekend we packed up the car (how much could we possibly need on a 4-hour excursion?? more than I’m willing to admit!) and made the trek over to the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo. It was absolutely the most beautiful day of the year, and we had the most wonderful time, one of our last as a family of three. Maybe this is sappy, maybe it’s silly, but there were just too many photos (and videos!) to post all here, soooo I made a movie. Cut me some slack; it’s only 3 minutes. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Indy Mini 2012

The Redheads — Sun, 13 May 2012 01:41:22 +0000

Though not my (James) proudest running moment, the race was bitter sweet. Bitter in that I ran nearly 20 minutes slower than I did two years ago and sweet because finishing a half marathon is a fete in and of itself. With 30,000+ runners the race is full of excitement at every stretch of the race—specially being able to run around the speedway. The first 10 miles were pretty solid at a consistent pace of 8:30/mile. My body shut down at mile 10 to leave me with my mind to drag my body the last 5K. I ended up finishing in 2 hours 11 seconds. After the race we hopped in the car and drove to Wisconsin for my 10 year high school reunion. Yes, I feel old. But at the same time, feel like I still haven’t grown up.

Corban fueling up before the big race

Wishing dad good luck before the race!

The support crew.

In Corall “G”. It took 5 min. and 25 sec. to get to the start line.

My amazing running buddy, John Ditmer. Couldn’t have done it without him. Seriously.

Click here if you want to see the professional shots of James during the race.

Photo post: Fun with rice

The Redheads — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:53:41 +0000

How life has changed

The Redheads — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:23:50 +0000

My piano is dirtier than ever before.
(Spring cleaning did change that…at least for the next week or so!)

Our computers have evolved.

Warm drinks are enjoyed in non-traditional mugs.

Our bottom drawer has a few, select items in it…

…while our top drawer is over-flowing with our “don’t let Corban touch this!” items.

My breakfasts are noisier.

Drinking tea has become a happenin’ event.

This gets me excited.

Great {Un}Expectations

The Redheads — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 11:08:58 +0000

We didn’t expect to love the house as much as we did.
We didn’t expect it to scream our names in its design as loudly as it did.
We didn’t expect that meeting the home owners themselves could be so enjoyable.
And we certainly didn’t expect that Corban would stick his hand through the privacy fence
and that the aggressive Husky-like dog on the other side would chomp down
and not let go
for quite a while.

See how swollen it is?

Decent abrasions on both sides of his right hand.

Even above his wrist was in the dog’s mouth.

The blood really freaked him out.

Of course our nurse was a friend from church (love small towns).
She gave him this tiger (of whom he has yet to let go).

I have a feeling he’s gonna milk this for all it’s worth.

We prayed for Corban to not have bad dreams last night.
He didn’t.
I didn’t either.
In fact, I dreamt that the home owners accepted our offer
and that Corban and the dog sat down and ate a snack together.

Now, that’s unexpected!

Art Gala 2012

The Redheads — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:00:25 +0000

This year’s Art Gala was held in support of

Jared & Megan Hood, going to Tanzania, Africa
and
Jordan & Tirza Cone, going to Cameroon, Africa.

Carrie and I set up art stations to corral the kids while their parents bid on art.
Enter the chaos:

Do you feel stressed? Almost 50 kids!

There was even chaos on the ground level!

It was organized chaos.
You’ll just have to trust me on that.

Station #1: Using fabric transfer crayons, kids designed their own t-shirts.
This was inspired by the cotton industry in Cameroon.

We then ironed the designs right onto the t-shirts.
They turned out great!

Station #2: Masks, inspired by the Bamileke peoples from Cameroon.
(That’s Cute Carrie in the black.)

Station #3: Using popsicle sticks, the kids designed a flag from either country.

Station #4: Be a Missionary NOW bookmark.

A nice and easy coloring breather in the midst of all these intense projects.

Station #5: We found a Tanzanian rock artist, who inspired this station.

The kids etched into plaster of paris and painted it with earthy tones.

Station #6: Kids dyed rice as they chose,
inspired by the rice grown in Tanzania.
We baked it to dry it out and let it cool.

Then kids chose six different items to place inside
a mason jar and covered the items with their rice,
creating a seek-and-find game.

A little breakdown of what the items represent (because I love intentionality!).
This will help the kids use the game they’ve created as a prayer tool, as well!

Pennies: we can support missionaries with our money
Frogs, Lizards, & Wooden Beads: different cultures, different daily experiences
Wiggly Eyes: pray for the missionaries (and us!) to be looking for opportunities to share Christ
Army Guys: we are soldiers for Christ; missionaries (and all of us!) are fighting a battle for people’s lives!

Video & Snack Station:
While we watched a movie about famous missionary Jim Elliot,
we ate bananas sprinkled with coconut and cinnamon, in honor of Tanzania…

…and Cocoa Coconut Balls, in honor of Cameroon.

Corban’s lifelong station: Going up the steps and down the slide just will.not.get.old for him!

Believe it or not, we had an entire station that we didn’t
even get to, since we just didn’t have enough volunteers!
We had large photos printed of each of the missionaries
with quotes to spur the kids on in their quest toward Christ.
They were to create mosaics with construction paper,
like this boy did here with Tiger Woods.

But we decided we were plenty busy with the stations we did have.
(I heard that amen, volunteers!)

While we in the kid department didn’t raise money
(although, we had some pretty great artists, if I do say so myself),
we did allow the parents to be freer with their wallets.
Wanna know how much they raised?
Over $7,000! Praise the Lord!

Kite Flying Weather

The Redheads — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:03:53 +0000

We had a nice blustery day this past weekend.

So James pulled out his most beloved kite

and shared one of his favorite pastimes with his son.

Corban loved it!

He didn’t even know that the wind wasn’t completely cooperative.
(I’m sure Murphy was involved in some capacity. Ugh.)

Matching Games

The Redheads — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:00:30 +0000

Do you have any friends who are always doing kind things
(like watching your kiddos) and never accepting anything in return?

I do.

So I had to get ~~smart~~ crafty.
What momma turns down things for her kids?

I made little Miss M here her very own fabric matching game.

Aren’t the fabrics SO fun and gorgeous??

Poor Mr. D was wondering what was in it for him.
Patience, young one, your turn is next.

Since I was making a simpler set for Mr. D,
I decided to go ahead and make one for Corban as well.

I don’t know how much they get it just yet, but learning’s gotta start somewhere, eh?

Little coordinating drawstring bags (inspired by this one) and everything!

There are those people that come into your life that you’re just so thankful for.
Sweepstakes-winning Amy and her beautiful family are just one of those blessings.
Thanks, Amy!