Special Nights

It hasn't been very long since we started this new habit of having special nights and times with certain members of the family, but I thought I'd give you an update on how it's going so far.

Lent, Day 5

Today was one of those days that made it a little bit tougher to think about thankfulness.  That's why it was so very important that I stayed alert and watched for joy moments!

J woke up, feeling sicker than yesterday, still running a fever (and by this evening, she started vomiting -- to tell you how bad she's feeling).  C was already at church for worship team and needed to be there to sing for both services.

Meanwhile, due to sickness, I've missed the last few weeks at church.  Today, C had a special song he was performing, so I definitely did not want to miss that.  I asked for a volunteer to stay with J so I could go to the service.

Well, Z volunteered immediately.  And then decided he wasn't up for the job.

Christmas on TV

I don't know about you, but I love Christmas movies.  We don't get too many gloomy winter days here in New Mexico, but it does get dark early and it's fun to cuddle up on the couch with a kid or five and settle in for a holiday classic.

I was thrilled to find out that ABC Family has posted their Christmas movies for the month in an easy to save or print PDF file so we can be sure to record and watch some of our favorites.

Check it out HERE.

Movie Review: Wreck-it Ralph

Yesterday afternoon, C was obligated to go cook a meal for a church event that I was not involved in.  He took S, Z and O with him as "helpers," and so I just had H and J at home with me.  Nice!

While I could have easily just caught up on some emails and blogging and left them to lay around and watch television, I thought we could use our small number in the group to go do something fun that might not be as possible with all the kids.  We decided, among other things, to go see a movie that wasn't playing at the dollar theater.

H and J both chose Disney's Wreck-it Ralph, so I wasn't going to break up the happy agreement between siblings -- even though other movies might have sounded better to me.  I didn't even look to see what else was there because I didn't want to be tempted to sway them into disagreement.

I always try to avoid too many spoilers when I talk about a movie, but for those who like to know nothing, consider this YOUR WARNING.

A Gift of Love

Some husbands lavish their wives with jewelry, flowers and chocolate -- or so I've heard -- and while my own husband has given me set of sapphire jewelry once (my favorite & birth stone), gives me flowers on occasion and definitely knows my chocolate preference (dark), his gifts usually lean towards the more practical and unique.

Movie Review: Chimpanzee

I took the kids to see Disneynature's Chimpanzee today.  It was playing at the cheap theater, so it was a good opportunity.

I like Disney's nature movies so far (the recent ones, I mean).  We own Oceans, on DVD, and have watched it repeatedly.  I like that they don't cross the evolution vs. creation bridge.  They sort of leave that argument alone.  They don't support either one.  Let the families decide which to believe, I suppose, is what they're going for there.

Please note:  There may be minimal spoilers if you continue reading.

Movie Review: Brave

So, most of the time we avoid the newer movies that come out because it's simply too pricy to get all of us there.  But I wanted to do something special with all the younger kids who didn't get to go to camp this week AND because we were down three kids, it automatically made it more affordable, which is why we went to see the movie, Brave. 

I did look for the best deal, which meant the 10:30am showing so we could get the Early Bird rate (cheaper than matinee prices even), and we didn't buy any concession stand goodies this time to keep the cost down even more.

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you my thoughts about the movie and it's family friendliness, themes, etc., in case you want to go see it and are wondering what a regular(ish)-mama kind of view on it is.  NOTE:  There are limited spoilers below, so if you don't like any, don't read my review.

Courageous

Our church held a showing of the movie, Courageous, that was out in theaters probably some time last century.  But we don't get to the theater that often, so for us, it was a first time viewing.  For free!  Well, mostly free.  I did buy some popcorn and nachos for the kids to help out the youth group who were selling movie snacks to raise money for camp.  All for a good cause.  So if you haven't seen the movie yet because you were waiting for it on DVD, this review might be helpful for you.  If you have seen it, you can read and see if I'm a lunatic and way off base in my opinions here.  Whichever.

Ok, So Neat!

I took Z to his audition today and while I have no update to give you on that (he said it went well) because we had to verbally agree not to disclose anything about the audition to protect the integrity of the film, I will write about the audition location.  It was such a nice side-surprise to this day!

Wh-What?! Another Direction, Indeed

So today, I started a new part-time job.  I'm now providing childcare for two of my little nieces.  It's been a fun adventure so far, figuring out how to accomplish all that I try to do in a day with an infant and a preschooler in the mix.  There were many reasons for taking on this extra job and the Lord has been blessing me all day with responses to the situation that give me a new enthusiasm and energy even though now I'm here at home (and taxiing about) with seven kids, not just five.  Anyway, so far, it's going really well.

Auditions Followup

I've had several people -- people with very high-hopes for us, I think -- still asking me if we ever heard back after the casting call.

Post-Auditions

Okay, so thank you so much for the prayers and for those of you who checked in with us afterwards.  I'll try to give you a short version of what happened yesterday.

Off to Auditions

We got word via J's dance studio, that there is an open casting call for a major motion picture being filmed here and in Texas.  I really don't have my hopes up that any of our kids will get the part(s), but it seems like fun to give it a try this evening.  I'll let you know how it goes later, but if you read this -- say a little prayer for us that all goes smoothly and that none of our kids are wrecked by disappointment if/when they are not chosen.

And above all, God's will be done!  If this is what He wants for our family, then let us be able to handle the schedule, pressure, whatever and continue to give all glory to Him.

Thanks!

P.S. No, I have no idea what movie it is yet -- the casting call says, "A Family Movie."

Thoughtful Thursday: Playing Hooky

My thought today is that sometimes, it's good to play hooky.  Despite all the best intentions to follow my lesson plan for school or to get chores done, sometimes, it's important to take the opportunity to skip out on all that and spontaneously do a different plan.

NetFlix for Families

Not long ago (maybe a year), our family decided to try out the new wave in movie rentals: NetFlix.  The cost and convenience is really worthwhile for movie people like we are.  In addition, we purchased a Roku box so we could instantly watch movies on our television (without the Roku, you can watch instantly on your computer, but we wanted to transfer those movies to a larger screen ... hence, the need for Roku).

Movie Review: Soul Surfer

I've shared a few book reviews with you so far and after taking our family to see Soul Surfer last night I thought I'd give it some publicity here on my blog.