To the Hobsons: Our Friends Forever!

I am forever mystified by God's abundant provision for our lives...have you ever felt that way?

About 6 years ago, Aaron & I joined a small group for the class "Growing Kids God's Way" with 2 other couple-friends from our church. Then we heard that another couple had called the church looking for a group and would be joining us. I still remember meeting them. All of us botched her name, but quickly adopted the "new couple."

As the weeks turned to months, we grew from sharing our parenting struggles with one another...and then, as quickly as it started, the class was over. Having never met her kids at that point and already feeling "connected" with my group of friends, I'm not sure that I ever thought we'd develop much of a friendship.

And then the following fall, we four women from the class took an overnight trip to a mothers-only seminar. That's where it all began...a true deepening of our connection and friendship.

Today, I can't imagine my life without them.

These are the memories we have to treasure...lots of piano lessons, a little crafting, sharing tea & goodies, visiting the zoo, "swing & dress-up," co-oping, gingerbread festival, Blue Man Group, watching the ballet, and just hanging out being friends.

Now we say, "goodbye" or at least "see ya later," as we move away to a new home.

We will miss each of you so much! Thanks for being our friends even at a distance!

Neglect? or Priorities?

Unintentionlly, I have neglected posting here since school started...one reason is we're EXTREMELY busy with our adoption paperwork and, as if that wasn't enough, Aaron took a job in Chicago for which he will leave tomorrow! Therefore his past two weeks have been filled with house projects...way to go hubby!

Another issue is that our computer basically crashed and I lost capability to download/upload my photos, but on the brighter side...God is blessing us big time.

Windy City--part V??

This morning Aaron got "the call." (The good call. The one we've been waiting on for 3 weeks.)

He's starts in October and we will join him later in the month...for a while. Until the housing gets settled we'll be back and forth a bit.

Now to make the dreaded phone calls to my local sister & parents.

Only God knows where we're going from here, but we're confident in him and ready to see him strong in our weaknesses. As my dear friend, Tara, said today, "It's bittersweet!" (Thanks for your love & encouragement!)

THE ZOO!

It's been a fun summer of zoo visits and instead of making LOTS of entries...I decided to sum it all up in this ONE post...I know I'm ahead of my time!

These are from our FREE boat ride at the Zoo-loo-au. It's a member's only party with hot dog dinner, blow-up jumpy things [moonwalks, we used to call them], an ice cream treat and a free ride in the zoo. This year we went at 4pm and got straight in the food line, then went inside to ride the train...the line was AWFULLY long so we skipped over to Austrailia to ride the boats, then back out to jump a bunch. We even saw lots of friends, new & old! (This is where we all met Ava Lan Sprunger.)

These are all from our trip with Missy & Timmy on July 25th:



After they left...Claire & I convinced Hannah to take our FIRST ride on the new-ish Sky Ride over the "coming soon" African Journey.

Take Me out to...The Chapel?

The girls had the opportunity to sing in a kids choir this summer at The Chapel in Southwest Fort Wayne. They met on Tuesday mornings for a little more than a month and were taught right from the first rehearsal to stand confidently on the stage. My girls (especially Hannah) really surprised me...they did awesome. They sang on a special Super Saturday evening service which ended with a Wizards night! There were hotdogs, cracker jack and of course baseball-themed games for the kids.

We had so much fun! Afterwards, Hannah said, "That was so much fun...it might even be more fun than our church." Ha!

POSTSCRIPT: Tonight we also met a little girl from Ukraine who is here for a 3-week vacation...her name is Katya. She is 10 years old and an orphan. We are praying for her and that God's plan for her life will come quickly.

Swimming at the POOL!

We had our first experience today at Northside Pool which is so close to our home that I hate to admit not having been there before today. My friend and her kids were staying after swimming lessons and so we planned to join them.

There are four main features to this water park:
1) A splash area for little kids.
2) 2 water slides that end in about 3 feet deep water.
3) A larger pool with a diving off to one end and an up to 4 feet entrance area.
4) A sand and water table...which Hannah couldn't get enough of!

Windy City-part III

After our full morning, we were ready to head back for lunch, so I said, "Okay, Hannah your turn to lead!" Since we left the park at a slightly varied location from our entrance, she looked a little shocked at first, but after I reminded her that the last thing we'd passed was the bike rental...she looked at the sign ahead and said, "Alright, this way!" She did very well finding our way back to the condo. Claire & I were surprised at just how well...future city-dweller?

Once back, we had our lunch and waited for daddy to arrive. It was taking a bit longer than I had anticipated, so that gave us time enough for showers and fancier clothes. See, we had told the girls that we were going to "find" American Girl Place and have a look around...something daddy had intended to do on one of his trips, but hadn't yet. Of course, we knew where we were going and took a couple turns to shake their confidence, but then we turned the corner and saw it...AGP. (Okay, now I know why they don't abbreviate it.)

Our sweet girls had NO idea, NO IDEA what was in store.

We casually went inside and took a look around (floor one-book store), then up the escalator and we entered another dimension...clothes, tents, food, chairs, beds, pets, anything a little "doll" could wish for...if she could wish. Aaron & Claire were off to the larger room with bordering displays of all the historical dolls from Addy to Julie. Hannah pulled me off to the side to show me the lifesize displays (I think I could easily have missed them.) and began to tell me all these details of the books she had read so far. [Confession: I didn't even know that she had read some of these books.] "Oh, mom, that's her sampler...it's just like the book said." "I haven't read about her yet!" [Yet-yeah!]

After sufficient time spent oggling over each doll's display and all of their extras, we took the escalator up to the Just Like You doll area. We also saw the doll of the year, Mia, and her fun ice skating stuff...I think that may have something to do with the olympics being this summer, but I may be wrong. At this point, we just about lost Claire who said, "It's really no fun to look if you don't have a doll." I know this sounds bratty, but she said it so sweetly. (And only after continually reminding herself, "We're just looking, we're just looking" downstairs!)
Aaron turned to me and said...we need to do it now. I quickly grabbed my camera and said, "Let's get a picture." Claire just about didn't bite, but then she moved over toward her sister. I got one picture off...

...and then Daddy told them the surprise! All I heard was "dolls" and the girls faces changed dramatically! That was the closest I've ever seen my kids to speechless.


It was all fun and frills from that point on. They both decided which doll they'd pick and we headed back down to the historical dolls (YES!) to pick up Kitt for Claire and Molly for Hannah. Notice: Molly has glasses, just like Hannah! And Claire just loves Kitt's short blond hair (I think she reminds her of...someone she loves very much. ha ha)


I have to admit that I was slow to jump on the band wagon of these dolls. I have friends who have them and others who won't (ever) and I wasn't sure where I stood, but it was a great experience and I'm glad that our girls were thankful and appreciative. Claire: "This is the most generous thing you've ever done for me." Hannah: "I just want to say thank you for the forty hundred thousandth time!" (Okay, we'll get back to our math next week!)

Windy City-part II

This morning, Aaron made an early commute around 7am EST. Post breakfast, the girls (clad in bathing suits and dresses) and I ventured out on our first "girls only" city tour. We made our way to Millennium Park and checked out the shiny, huge amphitheater. Next, we found signs indicating what new art projects were under-construction. Cool stuff happening there! Then on to "the bean" to finally let the girls TOUCH the thing we've seen oh so many times on our drives into the city. It was great.



Lastly, (or so we thought) we made it to our destination...the Crown Fountains. These awesome things show pictures of faces and once your mesmerized by their odd looking expressions, they "spit" water on you. Of course, it's only coming from the fountain, but it's a bit shocking when you're not expecting it. At first, Hannah & Claire were the only ones splashing around, but soon there were close to 50 kids having a blast in the VERY, VERY shallow water. (I was trying to do some sketching, but I couldn't keep my focus...they were all having so much fun!)


After this we found a sign indicating that there were Free Family Fun days under a tent in the park for all of July. These were sponsored by Target and the Chicago Children's Museum (the one at Navy Pier). So we meandered over there for a bit. The music was a bit preschoolish for the girls so they made puppets craft table. Then we all played with the blocks for a bit before heading back to the condo for lunch...see the next post for details of how we got there!

Windy City-part I

This week we FINALLY had a chance to join Aaron in Chicago after a long spring of anticipation. Since his travel schedule sped up in February and then slowed in May...we've been unable to find a "free" week to travel with him. This is one of the main reasons we have the girls home for school, but when you join co-ops and take dance classes, you run into those same schedule conflicts as those subject to weekly/daily schedules. BUT, this week we FINALLY had a chance to join Aaron in Chicago...one of our favorite locales! Especially since he had secured (as his home away from home while in the city)a FAB condo just between Michigan Ave & Navy Pier...great location.

So yesterday, after our last choir practice, we headed out for the city (not to be confused with The CITY) and, after dropping Aaron at his job in suburbia, made our way to...(drum roll)...IKEA! We had so much FUN! The girls always hope to spend an hour in Small Land. When we arrived they were full, but the great gal at the counter said they'd have room for 2 in just 10 minutes! Great, just enough time to go potty and redo 2 ponytails! So the girls had a blast (sans ball pit: under repairs) and I got to shop ALONE for a whole hour! The bonus was not having to drag Aaron through his not so favorite store--TERRIFIC!! Wanna see what I got?

Bicycling for Two!

This year we are enjoying our first summer with bikes for the whole family. Aaron decided last fall that if he ran...he was alone, but if we could all ride we'd be spending time together and getting (much needed) exercise.

So, last fall we all got bikes and the girls got training wheels. Since we live on an inclined street, the sidewalks are slanted in two ways...downhill and toward the street. So we began our weekend-ly routine of going SW to ride the trails. They are awesome and you can cover a lot of ground quite easily. Okay, "easily" if you don't have training wheels. Aaron would hang back with the girls and I would take off for a little BURN...then we'd switch and he'd have a ride off into the sunset. (Don't worry he always came back.) This was great for the fall, but come spring...Hannah was forewarned (if you know her, you know this was a necessary step)...that the training wheels weren't leaving their place of winter rest [read: the basement]! She was prepared for this and when we took our first "ride" this year...she was successful, but fast! I suppose this is usual for beginning riders since they have to keep moving in order to stay balanced, but frankly, I couldn't keep up with her. Thankfully, Aaron could trail her across a parking lot while Claire had a good old time--with extra-wheels still attached. (I played water girl.)

So now it's Claire's turn...she has been slowly improving, but she tends to hit the pavement more than I'd like. So, I hide behind the camera, say "Oooh!" and "Ouch!" This weekend we found a new spot to ride and I must say we all really liked it. Whispering Meadows elementary school has a gated parking lot (no cars to worry about) directly adjacent to their playground...there's also a huge map of the US painted on that lot! (I think it would make for a fun Geography game sometime!)
Anyway, Claire is improving each time we get out...

And Hannah rocks on two wheels!

Drama Class

During one day of Hannah's art class this summer, Claire asked if she too could take a class of some kind. Sure I wanted her to, but, you know me...I'm not ready to leave my 5yo just ANYWHERE. She was interested in Art (none to be found) or Drama (yes, I like that idea for you, my sweet daughter with momma's actress heart!) Well, once the idea was in her head...it was...in her head. "When is my drama class?" "How long until I take my drama class?" "I'm taking a drama class!" (Enough already...I'll make the call and sign you up...Oops, I missed the Community Arts sign-up date...Aha! I found one where mom can hang out and join in the fun.)


About the time I finalized the sign-up, Hannah decided that she too would like to take the class! With Claire's input they both had a fun week of warm-ups, vocalizing, enunciation practice, improv, character development & even puppetry. All in all...they had fun at drama class. I learned a lot, too--things that we can do in the car when we've heard all the CDs too many times and "my sister is bothering me" and mom needs relative quiet in order to drive through construction traffic! So, I'm glad that we stretched ourselves and found new ways to express our thoughts. Who knows, maybe they'll make it big someday...regardless...they already have with me!

(I'm sorry to say that I have NO pictures or video to share from this weeklong session. Maybe I'll get them to reenact some of the skits and put that on, but no promises.)

We're getting another cousin...make that two!

So about a month ago, I had the pleasure of watching my 18 month old nephew for an afternoon while his mom/my baby sister had a...I thought "routine"...doctor appointment. When she arrived home, however, she apologized for being so long and said, "but I've got pictures!" I totally came out of my chair...obviously I wasn't expecting that. She REALLY surprised me! So come Christmas time...I'll have another sweet baby to hold.

Then last week, on my way to coffee with girlfriends, I decided to place a call to my (hardest to catch) sister and, to my great surprise, she answered the phone! It was great to chat with her, but as I pulled in to my parking spot, I tried to gently end the conversation with something like, "It was great talking to you. I'll let you get on with your math lesson," when she interrupts with, "Well...do you want the red pill or the blue pill?" I quickly recognize the "Matrix" reference and, forgetting which is which, say, "Tell me, tell me!" This is how I found out that she is having her 4th child in January. (Funny, I wasn't surprised by this news at all!) She has a soon to be 10yo girl, nearly 8yo girl and almost 6yo boy...they are THRILLED, as am I.

I love being an aunt...it's the (second) best job in the world.

Claire writes!!

I found this in Claire's art journal...it is so cute!
(Translation: Today I found fossils. I had fun with my friends. Next year I will move to a different state?)
I guess she is thinking about what may come...I didn't realize she knew what a question mark was or how to put it in a sentence!

Family Date Night

Aaron & I took the girls on a Family Date Night last Saturday to hear the Voices of Unity. They are a youth choir and one of the boys from our middle school worship team sings with them. It was fantastic. This performance, "Midnight Train to Georgia," was a Tribute to Gladys Knight and the Temptations.

We thought it would be fun to get dressed up and, of course, take pictures!

Skatepark?

This morning Aaron & the girls were playing legos (I was actually scrapping!!) and he came up with a half pipe & skateboarder! So cute. Had to show off his "mad skills!"

Studio 149..."Praise HIM with dance!"

This year our girls danced with Studio 149--a local Christian dance company. My favorite part was that they use worshipful music and seeked to "praise HIM with dance" which is from Psalm 149. It was a fun year of weekly lessons in ballet for Claire; ballet & tap for Hannah. Fortunately their classes were one right after the other which made for a consolidated evening of lessons.

Claire had 2 teachers, both teenagers, who were terrific dancers in their right. They were so sweet, kind & kid-friendly and she just adored them! Their warm-ups were so fun that the girls would practice them at home and for family & friends.

Hannah had 2 awesome moms as her teachers along with a teenage assistant to each. I loved to watch her stand at the barre and practice her positions...such poise and patience (the latter a much needed skill for life with me).

The year ended with a recital and, of course, adorable costumes. I have so enjoyed watching my girls learn the basics of ballet/tap. I hope they'll have opportunties to use their skills to praise Him with dance!

(pictures to follow soon?)

Art Seminars

This spring we were fortunate to attend a 3-day seminar with Gary Stebbins, a christian artist that teaches all ages across the US. He hadn't been to Fort Wayne in 10 years and we were so glad to sit under his instruction.

He suggested that we have a journal/sketchbook and draw each day. The girls were excited to get theirs and got started right away. I took a little more time, but soon I was hooked as well. Since our experience, we are all drawing more and finding joy in it.


These are both from Claire's sketchbook. The hand belongs to her daddy and the "rocker" is from a (teenage boy band) concert we attended. Thankfully she wasn't that into it!

This past week, Hannah attended a 5-day Art class, sponsored by ArtLink, held at St. Francis University. It was a great experience for her...and for me. It's really the first time I've left her for that much accumlative time in a classroom environment...she was enthusiastic & learned a lot. Each day she would share the techniques from class and practice more once lunch was finished. (Thankfully her Grandma Weiss had set her up with art supplies 2 Christmases ago.)



These are Hannah's: She sculpted "Monet painting waterlilies," scratched her self-portrait on the black paper, and used pastels for her mermaid (my favorite).

Getting going again...

I'm feeling a little slow at getting our 2nd grade curriculum off and running. Now remember, when I say curriculum, I don't mean a packaged thing. I'm what you might call eclectic...it's a nice way of saying I'm unorganized. I am creative. I'm not organized. I'd like to be, but it seems I'm always searching for some way to help tackle the challenge.

I have a friend who uses a packaged curriculum and it works GREAT for her. Lately I've been wondering if it would be something that would work for me. Or would it be great for a couple months and then become something that I dread (or put off) doing? Would Hannah be interested enough to do it everyday? My friend's daughter thinks so.

I'm still undecided, but would love to be decided.

2007 School Year projects

These are some of our favorite school projects from the 2007 school year.
Science: Simple Rolling Machine
Bible/Art: Baby Jesus, Wise Man and the gifts
History: Cuneiform carving
4-H: Papier Mache Dolphin
History/Science: Dinosaur Egg
Art: A children's park