Going Batty--by Madeleine

Paul, Thomas, and two other boys found a bat yesterday afternoon! Since it was out during the day, which was unusual, and it was acting sort of wierd, we called animal control. They didn't reach us till it was dark, so we couldn't join in the Great Bat Hunt, but they didn't find it anyway. Thomas and the other two boys still have to get shots, though, because there have been several reports of rabid bats throughout the country this year and they actually touched it (the bat). The boys seem to be really excited at the prospect of really having rabies, which is strange to me. I know that if it was me, I would definitely not be excited. The minds of small boys are often difficult to comprehend. Thomas likes to walk around the house trying to touch people with his finger, while screeching loudly, "This is the finger that touched the bat! This is the finger that has rabies!" Gage, one of the other boys, the one who actually caught the bat, thinks that it is really exciting. He takes it for granted that he has rabies even though we don't know for sure until the bat is caught and tested, but that might never happen.

Greetings from Madeleine--October 1, 2008

Hi, y'all. Our life has resumed an appearance of order after a wild, exciting summer. I guess it's a little late to be writing about summer since it is now October and fall officially started, like, almost half a month ago. I'm already eager for another vacation though.
I am still playing the piano and I will have a recital in November, so maybe we can take a video and put it on the blog.
We are really enjoying St. Louis. It has a lot of neato activities and places for free. If you come to visit us, we could take you to the Art Museum, the City Museum, Forest Park, the Shaw Nature Reserve, or to the downtown restaurants and shops.
Elise and I are going to the Homeschool Network again this year. It's lots of fun to be with other kids our ages, and doing homework is (possibly) good for us.
The other day (while i was[happily{I assume} and cheerfully]thinking [a dangerous pastime{I know}]) I played some tennis. Tennis is (lots of) fun. Since there is a tennis court nearby our house, we decided that we should start using it. I really enjoy it and I find it a lot more enjoyable and interesting than running.
ta ta and cheerio!!!:)

Elise's Thoughts

:)Elise(:
This year we have been very busy. There are so many cool things to do here in St. Louis!
1. Races. I first got into running when our whole family decided to start training for a family 5k run, because you got a discount if the whole family ran. I liked running a lot so I kept on running with Mommy. Track, I am not very good at; I like crosscountry a lot better. So far I have ran in about 15 races. My best time for one mile is 7 minutes!
2. I really like the zoo. It has so many animals and buildings, like the Insect, Monkey, and Penguin(brrrrrr!)House. It is lots of fun, & it is all free.
3. St. Louis has different weather & wildlife than Norfolk. I was very excited when I found some deer tracks in the woods. None of the other kids were interested--they saw those every day. (I had never seen them before) There is a lot more snow here. I have really enjoyed that. Also, lots of cool birds live on or around campus: a hawk(we see him a lot), an owl, a woodpecker, & lots of other birds which I don't know the names of. Cottonwood trees grow here. When there is a breeze tons of little seeds with fluffy parachutes like dandelion seeds come floating down. It looks just like it's snowing. That looks weird, especially when it's summer!

Paul, unedited

This is Paul I don't know were to start so I will start with my surgery. One day I when I when't to the Orthodontist, he took an exray of my mouth and when the exry came out it showd an extra tooth in my uper gums that was pushing my two front teeth away from eachother. Meanwill the tooth that was inbeatween my canine tooth and my left front tooth got loos and fell out. [That all happend before the xrey] as soon as that tooth fell out my left front tooth moved over in that space so the new tooth came in pritty far back in my mouth. So that orthodontist sent me to an oral surgeon. In obout 1 week we whent to that surgeon and he said that I wood need surgery to take my super numerater tooth out. So on April 10th 2008 I sat in the wating room for what seemed like half an our. aftar the half our I herd someone say "Paul Gibson please come up". So I put down my book and follode the nurse into a meudium sise room with a chair in the midle of it. Obviosly this was THE SURGERY ROOM! The nurse sat me down in the chair and terned on the TV and started fliping thrue the channels ascing me wich channel I wanted to see. Then she hooced up a big toob with a hole the midle of it. She conecded it to my nose so that my nose was in the hole. And then she took a couple of wirs that had discse that were sticky on one side and stuck them in odd places on my body.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................the surgery was over I felt dizzy and tired. My mom and my littil brother walked in I tride to sit up but I couldent

THE END


Editor's note: Charlie asked me to post this without changes. While I find it highly amusing, it did solidify my commitment to change spelling curriculum next year!

Madeleine's Update

Hello, peeps! This is Madeleine. Mama said that I could put anything on the blog: events, babysitting experiences, thoughts on life, etc.; but the most interesting thing that has happened lately is our trip to the Botanical Gardens yesterday evening. It was Wednesday, so we were able to go for free. There was also a jazz band (playing jazz, of all things!) and an AWESOME fountain that you could get wet in. Since we (meaning the kids) had our swimsuits on, this was fun. We didn't take any pictures, but if we go next week, I will try to bring the camera, because the fountain was not the only way cool thing there!! (By the way, I don't actually say "way cool" or "awesome" in real life) After all, we were in the Botanical Gardens, so there were GARDENS!! And they were absolutely beautiful! There were lakes and ponds, flowers, shrubs, a boxwood maze and several fountains and also plants like beans and corn. We also had some KFC for our picnic dinner and played in the water. Then, we took a walk, saw the gardens while catching fireflies, and watched the sun set. We stayed for a loooooong time; it was dark and close to 10:00 when we finally left.

Random Note: Today,I did an entire load of laundry by myself.

Learning to Lose

So much to lose, and so much to be learned about loss.

Elise placed fourth in a series of races sponsored by the St. Louis Track Club. It was pretty competitive in her age group. She trained hard and diligently and set a new personal best by a significant margin. We were so proud of Elise, it was hard to watch her disappointment. She managed to regain a gracious composure by the end of the awards ceremony. After a few weeks she got out for a run and then a few weeks later asked me to sign her up for another race! She'll be running in two weeks.

Thomas has lost his two front upper teeth. He has my favorite grin now. The last snapshot of babyhood. He turned seven last week.

In two weeks the girls are also competing for a financial scholarship at the music school where we currently pay for their lessons. Both of their teachers have informed me that the scholarships are usually awarded to slightly older students, but then they signed us up anyways. I think the teachers figure it will be a beneficial experience. So we are practicing hard, but I am thinking we'll not win...

Paul and Madeleine are having teeth pulled this week. Our dentist back in Norfolk told us they needed pulling last summer and we're finally getting around to it. Paul's is an extra tooth embedded in the gum between his normal front upper teeth, keeping them apart and leaving less room for other incoming adult teeth. He'll have general anesthesia for his first surgery!

I am learning how much loss I feel in change and transition, even when I truly enjoy my new surroundings. Our dear empleada and amiga Lucia had her baby last week and made sure that we found out that same day... We had an evening with fellow students that I knew when we were all children. Remembering our church, our estranged friends who were once so close, and realizing that we are now as our parents were then... I had a wonderful, but quick, weekend in Norfolk, uanable to see enough of everyone. My six-year-old niece's sudden tears as I said goodbye... Charlie lost another uncle, his godfather Tom...

Snow Day/Sick Day

How can it have been two months! I guess I can get homesick enough that I don't even know how to stay connected. Plus, there aren't very many stories of interesting places and cultural discoveries, unlike the past year's travelogue. St. Louis is a nice, family friendly city, and we are settling into a reasonably paced life full of blessing.

This month we are sending out a change of address/family picture postcard. If you have never received anything from us in the mail, if your address has changed, or if you know someone who would like to be included, please send us the address at cnrgibson@gmail.com.

As you can see from our photos, we made it to Montana for the holidays, stopping in Nebraska and Wyoming on the way there and back. Our trip was truly fun. We enjoyed every minute with Charlie's family--it was our first Christmas together! The children and their cousins got along very well, and we deeply enjoyed times of reconnecting with special family and friends. The kids got to go skiing for the first time. They were amazingly unfrustrated and could have handled a longer day than we had planned. This was even after Paul slipped on an ice patch while jumping on a pogo stick, giving himself a goose egg and a near concussion the morning before the ski trip. Our time in Montana was very full and warm, and we look forward to more road trips this year, returning to Montana and visiting other folks that seemed too far away while we lived in VA.

It is a beautiful snow day today. The snow started yesterday in the late morning and continued all day. The seminary closed at 3PM yesterday and is also closed today, as are the surrounding schools. We have a terrific sledding hill just around the next apartment building and an igloo under construction at the top of the hill. The sun has come out this afternoon as have neighbors of all ages. Everyone is sharing sleds--it's a great representation of living in community (the campus dwellers also like to share childcare, grill time, DVDs, and yard toys). The girls and Paul are beside themselves. They have been outside as much as they are able.

What about Thomas? He came down with a fever and cold yesterday and has been sick enough that he has not once mourned or begged concerning the snow! Charlie has been almost sick on and off all month and truly sick this week. He has had to miss class and to sleep during the day. I've been sick and functional. There are so many levels of sick. New photos as soon as Charlie is well enough.

If you come visit us, we will take you to the most fun playplace ever--the City Museum--or to the Third Degree Glass Factory where once a month they have fire juggling and swallowing, plus artists working as you watch and answering questions.

Love and miss you all!

Cooking & Climbing, Sitting & Singing

Can it be December already? Tomorrow "Thing #1" (see The Cat in the Hat) turns thirteen!

News Flash: Madeleine and Elise are gaining experience and confidence in the kitchen. I have found it best for me to set them up, answer questions, give reminders, and then leave the apartment altogether. If I stick around, I micromanage. So far they have made eggs (fried, scrambled, omelets), granola (from scratch), bread dough, pretzels, brownies, rice krispy treats, jello, and play dough. Additionally, last month Madeleine selected a recipe (mushroom pie, see photo), put the necessary ingredients on the shopping list, and then made the whole thing (crust included) by herself!

Our newest athletic endeavor was a trip to the rock climbing gym provided by Jason Dausman. We loved it. Everyone, except Thomas, made it to the top of the wall several times. Thomas went up many, many times to about the halfway point and then belayed down, happily bouncing off the wall all the down. I really think this was the main reason that he didn't make it higher. Rappelling down was too fun. He wasn't a bit sore the next day! We had to leave after two hours and no one was ready to go.

Our second 5K was run by me, the girls, and Paul. It was Paul's first 5K, and probably only the second or third time he had run that distance. I hit my goal time. Charlie is enjoying telling everyone how I finished first for my age group, but I have to add that it was a VERY small race. There were three women in their thirties including me...and several women in their forties and fifties beat me. The kids were very proud of me and excited by my medal. Paul got a ribbon for second place in his division--men under 19! Elise won a dozen Einstein bagels.

The girls are learning how to babysit. Again, better that I'm not there! They've both had serious experience in poopy diapers now. Elise babysat a seven year old who is bigger than she is. Madeleine is figuring out which families have the best libraries and what to do when she hasn't brought enough schoolwork and the baby is napping. Elise has interesting games for the kids, like "zoo," "run away from home," and "make tunnels out of the sofa cushions." Sometimes she comes home very tired.

Last month both of the girls had the opportunity to serve in church by playing with the worship team. It was a milestone for them musically, and a special chance for them to prep and rehearse with Claudia. Another special chance: Charlie and Madeleine are singing in the chapel Christmas choir this week, directed by Claudia who is also giving Madeleine voice lessons.

Well, that's our news, meaning what is actually different about life for the Gibsons these days. Really, things feel pretty much the same. The boys would probably want to tell you about their explorations in the woods out back, finding a cave/tunnel, and parts of a decomposing rabbit. They've also figured out how to climb a tree in our yard though it's getting too cold to hide in it, waiting for unsuspecting passersby, as they were originally. Paul, Thomas, and Elise also developed a new game in the stairs and landings of our apartment building. It was a version of "Marco Polo," played with a box over "IT"s head. That only lasted one morning. That was the same morning that Paul and Thomas popped out of bed early and did all their school workbooks, only to have Madeleine wander out at breakfast time and tell them that it was Saturday!