Looking East at The Frist

New word for the day: Japonisme! 

Today we took in the "Looking East: Western Artists and the Allure of Japan" art exhibit at The Frist Center for Visual Arts in Nashville with some homeschool buddies and it was really neat to see!  Ever the blogger, I was wishing we were allowed to take pictures inside the museum.  We stood inches from original Cassat, Monet, and Van Gogh pieces as well as other notable European and American artists and observed the influences of the Japanese ukiyo-e prints and scenes and content beside them. A docent guided our groups around the exhibit and I was surprised by all that the kids learned.  I must have had low expectations for their attention spans.  Bad Mommy!  After that, we headed upstairs for the kids to try their hands at it as well at ArtQuest. 

  
Anna, feeling inspired, declared that she will be an artist all her life.  No surprise there. 

She was COMMITTED to her drawing of the model, so much so that her little buddy Mallory was in tears waiting for her to finish so they could finally go paint. :}

Noah tended toward more of the constructive types of art stations - stop-motion movies, blocks, lantern making, and print making. 

Noah made the rounds in a separate group than the one I was in with Anna so I have less to say about his day. :S  Except I was told he asked the docent a lot of questions, so I THINK that is a good sign that he was paying attention. :} 

Revive Me

Spending some moments in private study and worship lately and wanted to share this song that is the perfect backdrop by Jeremy Camp.  I love the Lord so much; he is so GOOD.  And these words just get me every time - they make a beautiful prayer. 



"Revive Me"

Consider my affliction and please deliver me
Plead my cause and redeem me
Salvation is not for the wicked
For they don't seek your word
Great are your tender mercies Lord

Revive me, according to your loving-kindness
Revive me, that I may seek your word
Revive me, according to your loving-kindness
Revive me, oh Lord

You give me understanding according to your word
Great peace for those who seek your face
I long for salvation
My lips shall praise your name
I rejoice in the treasure of your keep

Revive me, according to your loving-kindness
Revive me, that I may seek your word
Revive me, according to your loving-kindness
Revive me, oh Lord

For all my ways are before you
I let your hand become my help
My soul longs and adores you
Let my cry come before you oh Lord

Revive me, according to your loving-kindness
Revive me, that I may seek your word
Revive me, according to your loving-kindness
Revive me, oh Lord

Oh, Revive me
Revive me

What in the World

WHAT in the world is wrong with me this month?  I don't think I have ever posted so little!  So bizarre.  Just stopping in to say so.  :}

Anna, Meet Bob

On this third day of our three-day weekend, Josh escorted Noah to a Lego Movie birthday party, and I escorted our Raggedy Anna to the pediatrician to address the 3+ week old stye in her eye. We picked up a prescription for an antibiotic while there as well as her shot record that I know Union Elementary is gonna need here soon.

On the way home, we swung through a salon for a much anticipated haircut.  Anna's been tired of her easily tangled locks for awhile, but I made her wait until after the Daddy-Daughter Dance to cut it.  

So today was the perfect day to take care of this little piece of hair business since it was just us girls.  Fact - she grins like this at doctor's appointments, too.  She just adores the attention.  Too funny!

I handed the sylist this pic and asked for something like it.  In the end she thought we should try just this new length first to get used to it and make sure her hair would fall right.  If it suits, we can go back and add the layers and more angles later. Good plan, I said!

 

Fifteen minutes later, my girl emerged from the chair with her new bob.  It's the shortest she's ever had.  We love it!!  Don't let the raised shoulders fool you, it's actually shorter than it looks, not reaching her shoulders at all.  All day since, I keep adoring her little cream-colored neck that I can see now.

Makes her look so much more grown!  Her new bouncy 'do had her literally bouncing off the walls while I paid.  New look, new energy apparently.  She even gathered all her cut locks off the floor and ATTEMPTED TO THROW THEM IN THE AIR like confetti.  Embarrassing.  And less-than-grown-up behavior. Ha!

Anyway, coupled with her updated shot record for registration in April, we'll call this cute-yet-sleek haircut - Kindergarten Sophisticate. ♥  Now if we can just make that stye disappear!

Lego Magazine Submission

There's nothing left to do but print these pictures off and send them to Lego Magazine.  Noah and Anna are quite proud of this Brown family original.  And by Brown family original, I mean Josh, Noah, and Anna original. :}

 

 

 

Correction ... printing is not ALL that's left to do.  There's also praying that they get picked to be published. Wish them luck!

Valentines Stuff

This month, I tried a Pinterest idea leading up to Valentine's Day for the kids.  In little hearts on their door, I would add one thing every day that we love about them or that is true about them.  To me, it was just a cute activity, but I was amazed by how my kids DRANK IN the kind words, eagerly checking their door each morning and comparing their compliments and reading them over and over again.  I do believe we will just leave these things up for awhile.

Anna's door when all was said and done.

Noah's door by the end.

Shame on me for not taking a picture of the sweet Valentine surprises Josh picked up for all of us.  We don't put a lot of energy into the event that is Valentines Day, but Josh sure put a smile on the kids' faces with the balloons and little surprises he left out for them.  I even got some chocolates to enjoy. :)  Chocolate is always welcome here.

On the actual Valentine's Day, the kiddos and I grabbed a couple sweet surprises for Josh on our way home from a fun little Valentines Bash with a homeschool group we are a part of.  Noah and Anna had a real blast!

And we wrapped up the night with a new favorite board game.  This week, as I tried not to dwell on how annoying the forced ritual of Valentines Day is, I also couldn't help but smile deep down to know how full my heart is on a daily basis for so many little, everyday things. 

So thankful for these people and these times.  I will take my EVERY day moments over Valentine's Day fuss ANY day of the year. Blessed!

Dancing Queen

Last night, Anna had a truly wonderful evening dining and dancing the night away with her daddy and many little girlfriends at her third Daddy-Daughter Dance.

Can you see the twinkle in her eye?  She THRIVES on one-on-one quality time like this.  She couldn't wait!. And she was well prepped.  She and her date practiced several dances that they knew to expect at the ball, especially the Cha-Cha Slide.

 

She was not only lovely for her night out.  She proved herself tough, too.  She claimed the boots felt too tight and the cuffs of her dress were itching her. :S  All things that would have been helpful to know the LAST time she wore them.  At this point, it was too late to change the wardrobe; we had NOTHING else!  I told her "Beauty is pain, my love," and crossed my fingers that would buy us one more night with her darling red boots.

A kiss from Daddy to make it better?

Or worse?

By this point, Anna forgot about the tight boots and was ready to head out.  Phew!

First stop, a dinner at Rafferty's with Claire, Emma, and their daddy-dates, James and Craig - all dear friends from our small group bible study.

I just love this shot. :) Thanks for the photo assist, James!

Next stop, the dance.

 And dance, my love did a LOT of ... like frenzied and energetic and entirely committed to the moment dancing.  At least that's what Josh tells me.  He says it was something to see. :}

Aren't little girls the sweetest?

Sugar and Spice, I tell ya!

Anna has a special connection with another little friend that came to the dance, Emma Love. 

Once she spotted Emma Love that night, there was no going back.  Josh said these two were very amusing together.  I will have to take his word for it.  All I can see is how Anna's hair situation was desperate with a capital D.  Ha!

Some footage of Anna getting footloose...

Chicken Dance, I assume.

With the girls...

Conga line, perhaps?  At any rate, it looks like fun!

Anna came home around 9 which is the longest she's lasted in her three years at the dance.  This was apparently the best year yet in terms of snacks, set up, and Anna's ability to just BE ALL ABOUT IT and shake her groove thing with abandon.  ♥  By that time of night, the little girl Josh brought home was droopy tired, gray under the eyes, and had red marks on the tops of the arches of her feet ... from those dang boots that she told me were too tight.  :}  She had only the energy to stand there while I pulled off the dress and tights and helped her into her pjs.  As I tucked her in, she let me know her favorite part of the dance was the little pink cookies.  Of all things that night, she went to sleep murmuring about cookies?!

 
Ah well, we'll just chalk that up to fact that little girls ARE made of sugar and spice. 

Bits and Pieces Lately

I seem to have lost my blogging oomph for a couple weeks there!  Oy.

Well, lately we have been...

- reading Harry Potter with the kids and keeping pace with the book via the corresponding movie scenes.

- contemplating letting Noah have another year in 2nd grade to mature into.  We could call it year 2.5?  Josh is SOLD on the plan; it is taking me some time to convince myself, however, of what I really already know to be in his best interest.  : / 

- feeling socially withdrawn, yet feeling so encouraged when I consider the overflow of goodness the Lord has shown me over the past few years in terms of real, authentic friendships. I am humbled and thankful for these women specifically - Emily, Amy, Yesi, Carol, Cindy, Susie, Cathy, Kristin, Karla, Andrea, Jennifer, and Jill.  I count each of them when I count my blessings.  These are women that I feel so at home with.

- nursing my cut finger.  I sliced off a little chunk of the tip top of my thumb while I worked on wrapping Noah's Valentine box for co-op.  Josh saved the day with his first-aid kit and this handy-dandy protective wrap around it.  On the upside, it's served wonderfully as a thimble while I pin and tag clothes for a consignment sale in a couple weeks.  Haven't stabbed my thumb yet.  Ha!

- taking a full week off running.  I feel so runnerly saying I have a knee injury.  BUT, it is feeling better, so I am ready to get back to stepping!  Even more so because I finally got me some new kicks!  Most I have ever spent on shoes in my life.  :S  They are pretty much gonna be treated like royalty in this house.

- holding our breath for snow and mostly coming up with empty-handed dustings and/or ice.  But this weekend, one glorious morning, enough snow fell for some Saturday morning romping ... that I completely slept through and Josh took NO pictures of.  Once I woke up, I scrambled to at least take these shots as evidence of the snow fun that must have been had.

- signing up for the Teach Them Diligently homeschool conference here in Nashville next month at Gaylord Opryland Hotel.  We even splurged and booked a room there for two nights. :)

- visiting a nearby children's science museum for FREE on an Educator's Night event they put on.  I took awful pics of the kids at different exhibits, which I will spare you from,  except this one of Anna and Curious George, who is still well-loved in this household.  So it was just downright delightful that there was a Curious George exhibit going on at the time, too.

And also, this fun shot the museum posted on their FB page. :) 

Look Out, Hollywood!

Noah wrote the story - 3 chapters worth, I edited, Josh directed,
Noah produced, Anna acted,

Noah revised a little more, I did a little voice-over consulting from the next room, and Anna assisted on the Josh/Noah production team.  It was truly a family affair.  Behold, Noah's first ever stop-motion movie.

The Flying Car