Warmth, sunshine, and a jig of joy

February 8, 2009

We can hardly believe it!! The sun has come out (we were beginning to think it didn’t exist anymore), the snow is melting and its going to actually be 57 degrees tomorrow! We are doing a jig of joy (you REALLY need to see Marisa’s jig-o-joy! It’s hilarious and quite entertaining!)

Alayna: Alayna was reaching for something by her bed last night, when she SHOULD have been going to sleep. It was dark so she didn’t see the bedpost and she slammed her head into it pretty hard. She has a nice little shiner on her eye this morning as a result.

Tyler: Tyler won a poster at school for reading 5 ICCA (Iowa childrens choice awards) books. He was pretty excited about it. I think he is trying to finish reading them all by the end of the year.

Kayla: Kayla had a band concert this week. When I came to pick her up from school that day, the wind was blowing really hard. Before she got to the car, her band folder opened and ALL her music went flying in the wind. Everyone in our car jumped out and ran to retrieve the music. One girl even ran down an icy hill to capture one. It was a pretty funny sight!

Marisa: She got accepted into the EFY session in Missouri (the closest one to us). She is very excited to go again. We hope to take her and Kayla to a BYU one next year. Missouri is a little too far away to do every year.

Bob and Kris: I was sick all weekend so we were able to catch up on 24. Man! This season is awesome and we love it. We were informed this week that Rockwell is laying 500 people off this month. 200 are supposed to be here in Cedar Rapids. Our fingers are crossed that Bob won’t be affected by this.


Coming up this week:
Tyler’s band concert
New beginnings for Marisa and Kayla
Marisa’s chamber
Our Survivor Premiere party
Valentines Day
and the boys fly out to Arizona on Saturday

PS- At our “Great to be eight” program, one of my friends sang the song “What Heaven Sees in You”. It was such a beautiful song. I am attaching the lyrics just for fun.


What Heaven Sees in You
Sent to this earth, you were saved through the ages for this day and time.
Child of great worth, child of promise, daughter of the divine;
Pure and holy, in a little white dress
You were held in a circle and you were blessed.
And the Father looked down and the angels surrounded that place.
They knew the truth—all that you could do
And you will too if you have eyes to see
What heaven sees in you.

Dressed in white once more, making promises to follow in God's way.
So much lies in store for the little girl who enters at the gate.
Pure and holy, in a little white dress
You were led into the water and you were blessed.
And the Father looked down and the angels surrounded that place.
They knew the truth—all that you could do
And you will too if you have eyes to see
What heaven sees in you.

Do you understand who you are?
Part of the Father lives in you.
And if you continue on this path
Every promise God has given will come true.

Heaven on earth, in the House of God so much fills your heart and mind.
Woman of great worth, woman of promise, daughter of the divine;
Pure and holy, in a long white dress
You promise forever and you are blessed.
And the Father looks down and the angels surround that place.
They know the truth—all that you can do
And you do too, 'cause you have eyes to see
What heaven sees in you.

Will you have eyes to see what heaven sees in you?

©2001 Doug Walker & Sherry Marks Walker

Ty's basketball team

Alayna with Whitney and Taylor

Just learned how to cross eyes

Dont worry! We warned her about them "sticking". :)

Middle Ages Festival

Derby Car

Back to Normal and the Epitome of Stupidity

January 25, 2009

Medieval Festival: Kayla’s team finally had their Middle Ages Festival after being cancelled twice because of the unbearable cold. J She was one of the “ladies” so she got to wear a beautiful dress. They had a King and Queen, guards, Lords and Ladies, and even peasants. They have a talents show and even do a procession through the school. They have a big lunch too. Kayla said it was so much fun! The pictures aren’t very good because each time I walked in, a whole bunch of kids would start yelling “Hi Mrs. Hart!!”, “Hey, look, its Mrs. Hart”. So, I had to sneak pictures so I wasn’t a distraction.

Geography Bee: Another teacher and I ran the school Geography Bee this week. It was so fun and all the kids did such a great job. We start Battle of the Books on February 4 and I will be running most of the matches. I am very excited about that too.

Pinewood Derby: Tyler had his final pinewood derby. He didn’t win, but he sure made a sweet looking car. He was so proud of it. It lasted over 2 hours which I was not happy about since my book was in the car but I wasn’t willing to go out in the -20 wind-chill to retrieve it.

Basketball: Tyler FINALLY had a game on Saturday!! Almost every game and practice this season has been cancelled because of weather. He made three baskets!!

Epitome of Stupidity: Ok, so here is my embarrassing moment of the week. I had to race to go to the bathroom between two classes (they only have a 4 minute passing period so you have to be quick) When I was done, my cell phone fell into the toilet!!! I gasped VERY loudly, grabbed it quickly and then freaked because I am a MAJOR germaphobe! I dried to dry it and clean it (as well as disinfect my hands about 20 times) but it was to no avail. It died a slow and agonizing death. I thought I would die the two days I went without one. I didn’t realize what an appendage it had become. I am proud to announce that I went and bought a new slide phone and am now back in the loop.

Dog-sitting: We babysat Whitney and Taylor again, this time for 9 days while their owners went to Cancun (insert massive jealousy). They are very well behaved and Alayna sure loves when they would run into her room to wake her up each morning.

Talk: Marisa gave a great talk in church today about the new YW value: virtue. You should ask her for it.

I guess that’s our week in a nutshell. Would LOVE to hear from everyone else!!!