Miss Josie goes to Washington
Josie’s big adventure with National History Day reached its conclusion this week.
No debate about it, Josie’s headed to Washington
Josie is headed to Washington, D.C.!
Continue reading “No debate about it, Josie’s headed to Washington”
Upgrading the “Nail Station”
From the time she was little, Jadzia enjoyed having her nails done. She liked watching videos with Yoli to see different techniques and patterns. Then, one year, Nan gave the girls a “Salon Nail Station” made by “The Color Workshop.”
Spring Break trip to Hannibal
Josie tells the story:
Okay. So, full disclaimer here — I don’t claim to remember this trip perfectly, accurately, or entirely. Most of the time I was reading or working on my coloring book.
WELL. I guess I should get to the point. This Spring Break, we (me, Ludi, Mamá, Papá, and The Boy) went to Hannibal, MO.
The Very Big Christmas Show
Editor’s note: This year, Ludi, Josie, and Joseph all participated in “Miss Kathey’s Academy,” and performed in “The Very Big Christmas Show” in December. All of them did awesome. Josie in particular had a memory she wanted to share:
I am in Miss Kathey’s Academy. I didn’t really expect it, but Miss Kathey said she wanted a small kid to sing a solo called “Happy Birthday, Jesus.” She wanted someone 8 or under.
Me and my friend both went to Pastor Bob to try out. He chose me to do the solo! After that, we practiced once a month every month until December.
I was super-scared at our first performance. Even the tape that held the microphone on to my cheek made me scared. But when I got out on stage and looked at the audience, I realized I couldn’t just chicken out. I said my lines to Santa, the music started, and I began to sing.
Strings attached
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Ferguson offers a program called “Strings Attached” which offers students guitar lessons and the chance to earn a guitar if they stick with the program.
A spot finally opened up for Josie this year and she has worked hard. Like her older sisters, Josie often doesn’t want to practice, but she has pushed through, and performed in her first concert.
Here’s a video of Josie in action:
Josie's guitar concert from Josh Renaud on Vimeo.
Pie in the face
Our kids attend AWANA at Grace Church. AWANA emphasizes memorizing Bible verses so that the kids can hide God’s word in their hearts.
One of their teachers, Mr. Rich, has a very unusual way to motivate the kids in the Sparks club to memorize verses.
He willingly lets the kids who complete the most book sections throw a pie in his face! He has done this for many years.
Our little Josie has long wanted to throw a pie in Mr. Rich’s face. So this year she worked hard — and she won!
And boy did she make the most of her opportunity!
See for yourself:
Josie Throws A Pie In Mr. Rich's Face from Josh Renaud on Vimeo.
Thank you, Mr. Rich, for being such a good sport.
The space explorers fight over an asteroid
Usually I tell Josie and Joseph bedtime stories which star two space explorers named Josie and Joseph.
Tonight I decided to change it up. They laughed so hard as I told this story that I figured I’d share it with you, too.
Continue reading “The space explorers fight over an asteroid”
The space explorers meet the Borg
On nights when I am home from work, I tell the kids stories before bed. Because they are divided among two rooms, I usually tell two stories.
The first story is for Josie and Joseph, and usually involves me making up something about the two of them as “space explorers,” visiting new planets or meeting aliens or trying to escape from black holes.
The second story is for Jadzia and Ludi, who prefer to have an improv-style story in which they each pick a character for the story (like “a good dragon” and “a bad lamp”) and I have to make up the rest.
Occasionally, though, the older girls will overhear the younger kids’ story and ask me to repeat it for them. Tonight was one such night.