Day 5--Freedom

Today I am thankful for our many freedoms.  Freedom to express my opinions on this little blog or on Facebook.  Freedom to worship as I choose.  Freedom to choose where my children attend school.  Freedom to vote.

Today was not a big election in Apple Valley.  All that was on our ballot was school related.  A levy question and school board members.  I know Minneapolis and St. Paul were voting for mayor, and other municipalities were voting on city council members, but here in the Valley, we were pretty boring.  Thankfully.  I'm not a big fan of politics.  I have my opinions, but I {usually} choose to keep them pretty close to the chest and not broadcast my feelings all over Facebook or this blog or Twitter.  My friends usually know my stance on important issues, but I'm not looking for debates or confrontations wherever I go.

In the last couple of weeks I have inadvertendly raised the hackles of some friends and family members.  That was never my intent.  Today, I simply reposted something from the school district as a way to remind people to vote.  Yes, I think the levy is important, not only for my job and my sanity, but for the value of the homes in our neighborhoods and the well being of a community.  But, to me, I don't want to battle this out on Facebook.  Nor did I intend to bash jury duty when I posted about that a couple of weeks ago.  I don't mind serving on jury duty, it just makes a teacher's job very, very difficult! Planning for a sub takes at least 3 times as long as if I'm just going to teach the classes myself.  Plus the timing of my summons means I may miss the 1st week of a trimester.  I think the only thing worse could be missing the 1st week of a school year.  The first week sets the tone and expectations for the rest of the trimester.

So while I may not always be pleased with the results of our freedoms and who is elected or levies that pass or don't pass, or people that are looking for debates, I a grateful to live in a country where I do not need to live in fear.

Day 4--Medicine

If you are friends with me on Facebook, you know that our house had its fair share of illness this summer/fall.  Pneumonia came to visit and didn't want to leave.  Nevertheless, all of the family (except me) were able to get a prescription and fight it off at least once.  Access to doctors and medication are some things that I am extremely thankful for.

Unfortunately for Connor, he has inherited my migraines.  Tonight was Culver's night, which is one of my favorite nights, because it is a perfect excuse not to cook! We get to go out to eat and support TLO instead :)  About 20 minutes before we were to leave, Connor asked me to bring him some ibuprofen.  I guess I'm also thankful that he is old enough and aware enough to know when a headache or migraine is coming and can take medication, whether it is ibuprofen or Imitrex.  Connor knows that the best way to fight off that headache is then to go lay down.  That meant he missed out on going out to dinner, but he got in a nap!

I am thankful for the medications I take on a daily basis.  The ones that keep my emotions in check and the ones that keep the migraines at bay.

With the news that snow could be in our future, I guess I should be glad that the flu vaccine is also readily available.  When I see conditions in other countries, it is a reminder how truly blessed we are with all of the medical advances and treatments available so easily to us.

Day 3--Family Traditions

Today I am thankful for family traditions.  Those handed down from my family and those handed down from Jon's family.  Plus, those we have started as our own family.


Psalms 145:13
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

*The most important family tradition that we have continued in our house is the one of going to church and raising our kids as Christians. To us, that is an integral part of who we are.  Both Jon and I feel blessed to have been raised by Christian parents, been a part of loving churches, and attended a Christian college where we met and began the journey we are now living.


*Most Sundays after church we head to my parents' house for Sunday dinner.  We all have our unassigned, but assumed, tasks that we will perform when we arrive.  I set the table, Jon gets the fruit salad ready and slices the meat when it is ready.  Mom does the vegetables, and tells Dad and the rest of us what to do.  Dad gets the sour cream, milk, butter, pot holders and other things ready and put on the table.  When one of us isn't there, we forget things, and the whole system breaks down.  Yes, there's an analogy there to the body of Christ, but it really does work that way on Sundays!  You can imagine how my mom gets in a tizzy when Jon isn't there and she's trying to get the salad done, and I'm not doing things the way she wants....

This tradition is actually one that is fairly common in small towns (at least in Christian Reformed circles) and one that Jon grew up experiencing.  My brother and his family join us when they can; Jon's sister, Kirsten, used to join us a lot more often before she started spending more time with a special guy friend, and even Jon's cousin, Heather, joined us for about 2 years while she was finishing her Master's at the U and living with Kirsten.

*One of my favorite family traditions is the Sunday afternoon nap :)  Yes, we also get out and enjoy God's beautiful creation, but, I love a nap!!

*Both Jon and I grew up taking road trips with our families in the summer.  His family's consisted of a lot more camping than mine did.  But yes, Joyce did do road trips.  Usually to the same place (of course). It was to her parents in Washington State.  One of my favorite things on those road trips was when my Dad would pull over by a little stream and we would take off our shoes and dip our toes in the water.  It would be our little lunch stop.  We do that quite often now with our family, and have done it when we're on vacations with the extended Van Hulzen family too.  Alecia now says she thinks of me every time she sees a little stream alongside the road :)

By the Grand Tetons!

*Carving pumpkins with the Mellemas, going to high school plays/musicals with them and just hanging out with them :)

Old friends are the best friends.  Jon and Scott's friendship goes back to high school.  Heather's and mine goes back to college, although we are also related :)  Our Dad's grew up in the same town and share the same birthday (but my Dad's a few years older!).  Our kids have grown up together.  We can go weeks without seeing each other or talking much, but it doesn't matter.  We get it. Our lives are chaotic.  But we're not offended!

*One tradition I remember from way back was going to Holiday Bowl in Albert Lea on Thanksgiving and Christmas! What made it extra special was that only the older cousins got to go :)  That meant Mark, me, Heather and Matt.  It was always nice to get away from the crying babies for a while (at least that's what it felt like!  Sorry younger cousins!!)

*Thanksgiving.  Every other year we have very different traditions! With my family it is usually pretty quiet with my parents and my brother's family.  On the opposite years it is with the Geels clan.  We can have around 60+ people for Thanksgiving dinner!  This is Jon's mom's side of the family.  His Uncle Philip has hosted us in Galena, Illinois for as long as I've been married to Jon (except for 1 year when Grandma was too ill to travel, which also happened to be the year that Aunt Hermina passed away).  Talk about organized chaos.  Family members travel from Florida, Korea, Poland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, Minnesota, Iowa and DC to make it to the bi-annual event.  It is a blessing that our children have gotten to know the children of Jon's cousins.  When Connor has attended Dordt Discovery Days he is able to go up to them and say hi with no hesitation.  We can get together with them if they are in Florida at the same time as us, and the kids have fun swimming and hanging out with no problem!

Galena 2010

*Florida. My parents purchased their first Florida condo in 2002.  Elianna has spent all but 1 Christmas in Florida. (Spoiled little girl!)  We have been blessed to spend so much time down there.  While there, we are able to spend time with my parents, relax as a family, see Jon's Aunt Lori, and Uncle Gus and Aunt Adri and whatever other relatives may be happening to visit at the time!  We were even able to see my Uncle Ron and Aunt Tena along with their family when they were down a few years ago visiting my cousin David who was interning in FL at the time!

2012 with Aunt Adri, Uncle Gus and Aunt Lori

2009

2009 with the Prins family

2010 with the Stiemsma kids

*Camping. Jon's family did a lot of this when he was growing up.  We still go camping with the Van Hulzen clan when we can.  We've done some up at Uncle Glenn's cabin at Bog Hollow and the kids LOVE it up there!  Some of the family members aren't die hard campers and would prefer cabins, so we try to accommodate them too :)  One camping trip with my family that I remember (and there weren't many!) was in the mountains of Colorado with my mom's sister Linda and her family.  One of the highlights was our Dodge station wagon not liking the mountains and breaking down on the way to the campground and us kids climbing up the side of the mountain and getting as many trucks to honk at us as we could :)  I remember hiking around the campground and being deathly afraid of bears.  Watching a movie on a white sheet and thinking that was the coolest thing ever!  And swimming in a pool that was salt water and thinking that was the grossest thing ever and why would anyone want to swim in that kind of water? You couldn't open your eyes, and if you got any in your mouth, it made you gag!

A family hike while camping!

the kids enjoying some technology while up at the cabin!

But they also enjoy the outdoors!

One reason we don't like tent camping all the time.  Weather.

I know there are other family traditions I am missing.  I have 27 days left where I can mention some that I missed!

Day 2--TLO

Saturday, November 2nd was a busy day at the Van Hulzen house! I guess most Saturdays are that way.  In fact, most DAYS are that way.  That probably happens when you have 3 kids and they are involved in sports, church, friends and whatever else might happen to pop up that intrigues them.  Because of the chaos of the day, I was debating on what to be thankful for in today's journal. Good problem to have, right?!  Then I thought, hey, you have 30 days! Don't worry about it!

So, today, I am thankful for Trinity Lone Oak Lutheran School.  We have been a part of that school since Connor was in kindergarten in 2005. If Truman goes there (which he will, unless we move, but that's a whole 'nother discussion) we will have a student there continuously from 2005 - 2024.  Oh my goodness!!!

TLO is a small school.  Right now there are just over 100 students in grades Kindergarten through 8th grade.  People always say, "Where is that? I know I've driven past it." When I tell them where it is, they then exclaim, oh yeah!!

We initially found TLO through our good friends, the Gorters.  We knew we wanted our kids to go to a Christian elementary school to lay the foundation of their education in an environment where they could grow in their faith and where the teachers could speak freely about their love for Jesus. Connor and Elianna have flourished in their years at TLO.  It is hard to believe that Connor will graduate this year and head off to high school next year! (And no, we haven't made the final decision about where that will be yet...)

TLO is a family.  The teachers love and pray for our children.  The secretary is truly the hands and feet of Jesus on a daily basis.  The principal drives our kids to school every day :)  For that I am soooo grateful!!  We have grieved with each other over the loss of Connor's 4th grade teacher.  What a site it was to see the class sitting together, all the boys in their shirts and ties and Annika in her beautiful dress.  Then again this fall, we grieved together when Annika's mom passed away from breast cancer.  Annika left TLO this fall because of her mom's illness and the transportation problems and multiple other reasons, but the TLO family took up at least 5 rows at Kristie's funeral.  Again, the boys (not all of them, but as many that could make it) were there in their shirts and ties, and Annika looked beautiful.

The family had requested guests to wear pink in honor of Kristie.  And the boys have pink ribbons on their shirts as well.

The flowers from the 8th grade class.  12 white roses for the boys and 1 pink rose representing Annika.

The garden stone from the 8th grade class.

The students at TLO are also grouped into "families" which is something I LOVED as a parent of a kindergartner!   The students across grade levels are divided into "families" with 7th and 8th grades "in charge".  They eat lunch together on Wednesdays and then have mileage club during nice weather where they walk or run around the soccer field and see how many miles they can add up per family and for the whole school.  The 7th and 8th graders are out there counting each time one of the students comes around another lap.  Those families also are a group on the last day of school when they do fun activities and obstacle courses.  Each of those older kids are paired with a kindergartner or 1st grader that are in their family group as a chapel buddy.  They sit with them during chapel on Wednesday mornings and help keep them in line :) It melted my heart to have kids of all grade levels saying "Hi, Connor!" to this little kindergarten boy when I would see him walking in the hall ways :)

Connor and Elianna are receiving an excellent education.  When looking at their Iowa Tests of Basic Skills scores, you can tell that they know what they need to know, they are doing homework at home, they are working on projects, and they {usually} enjoy what they are doing!  They have a science fair at the end of the year. They are both playing trumpet in band.  The 7th and 8th graders play handbells.  All students participate in choir.  Sports are a part of the school in grades 5-8 and sometimes grade 4.  How great is that?  Driving a long ways sometimes stinks, but they get to play with their classmates.  They love that!

Okay, time to get ready for church.  I could continue, but I think you get the point.  We love and are grateful for TLO!

--An addition
I never completed the circle of my thoughts on this post.  Part of the chaos of yesterday included things related to TLO.  The 5th and 6th graders had a lock in on Friday night with the wonderful Mr. Huonder, 4th grade teacher extraordinaire.

Would you want to be stuck in a school with this crew?

So of course, Elianna was extremely tired on Saturday! A cranky, tired 6th grader? No fun!

Then, Connor went with the JR Youth group to Feed My Starving Children in Eagan and their fabulous and fun (and fun to tease) youth director David Taylor. This is the jr. high youth group (7th and 8th graders) from TLO church that also includes the kids from the school. Connor has a great time with this group and all the kids love Mr. Taylor! 

As many of you that went to small Christian schools know, the teachers wear many hats.  They are the teachers, recess and lunch supervisors, coaches, athletic directors, musical directors, field trip planners, party planners, lock-in planners, volleyball referees, marathon volunteers and so, so, so much more!  As a public school teacher, I know I'm not in it for the money, but for private school teachers, they DEFINITELY are not in it for the money!  But thanks be to God for the difference you are making in lives of all the children you touch on a daily basis!!

Month of Gratitude

I have been absolutely horrible at blogging.  Probably because of Facebook.  I can't tell you how many posts I have written in my head, though!

I'm going to try to write on the blog daily during the month of November.  It will be my gratitude journal.

Today I am thankful for the Box Tops for Education program.  I helped get the box tops ready for TLO and brought them to the post office tonight to make sure they were postmarked by 11/1! TLO will be receiving $763 because of this program!

It has been a mini service project in our house.  The coordinator for our school has had some illnesses in her family and has not been able to keep up with the box tops.  The drawer at school was overflowing.  I had started trimming some of the box tops 10 minutes at a time when I would pick Truman up from preschool and before the older kids were done with school.  Then, I started bringing bags of them home.  Elianna and Jon joined in the fun almost nightly.

We even recruited our friends from TLO when we went to their house on Halloween.  They supplied a great supper and then fun trick or treating for the kids, and I repaid their hospitality by bringing box tops along for us to trim, count and make sure we didn't keep the expired ones.  What a fun dinner guest I am, huh!  Invite us for dinner, we bring you work :)

It took a lot of time, but the rewards for the school, students and teachers are worth it!