countdown x 2!

In all of the pre-holiday rush I forgot to post last Monday! I'm going to catch us up !

As of today Dan has 26 weeks left in his fellowship.

Leah is 14 weeks old!

Merry Christmas to all!

what color is your belt? -or- one proud mama

Maybe the site of his birth had something to do with it - Daniel has always been excited about karate. He started taking classes when he was in preschool. He has had the goal of earning a black belt for years. (I've always thought it was cool for such little kids to be introduced to goal-setting! Think of the possibilities...)

Yesterday was Daniel's black belt test (junior black belt, first degree).

The history portion was administered firing-squad style - orally. The students were expected to know several typewritten pages of karate history, ranging from its origins to the lineage of Adamsons' karate dojos.

The physical conditioning portion of the test included 50 perfect-form push-ups. (Let that sink in...whoa.....). There were other exercises too, but none were as feared as the push-ups.

In front of a panel of about 30 black-belts, the students demonstrated seven different kata routines (the karate equivalent of a dance routine - each a minute or two long, it's a series of fluid poses to be performed with an attempt at perfect form). One of the katas included nunchucks, which you can imagine was not popular with mom for indoor practice!

The final portion was three forms of self-defense demonstrations. Could you quickly take down a series of 'attackers' that come at you one at a time? What if the guy chasing you has a club (made of foam, mercifully!)? What if there were three attackers coming at you at once? Add in the fact that the test had been going on for more than three hours before this portion even started. I was exhausted at that point and all I'd done was hold the baby and pray!

After months of spending both weekend afternoons in 3 hour-long boot camp classes (along with weeknight classes, seminars and independent study) we made the drive to Adamson's Karate dojo in Avon, IN. The test was a nerve-racking 4-plus hours long. Here are some photos...

(Photo below caption)

Daniel is visible in the near-left window as Shihan Adamson (in the dark suit) makes his way up and down the line asking history questions.

Action shot during a kata routine. Don't ask which one - I have no idea. I should, considering I'm the one who has driven Daniel to 99.8% of his karate classes over the years. The katas all have Japanese names. (Despite living in Japan I never learned more Japanese than what it took to say hello, excuse me and I'm very sorry thanks to our three small children at the time. )

Here Daniel stands in front of the panel of 30 black-belts awaiting judgment on one of his kata routines.

The big announcement is made - Daniel passed! They ALL passed this time around--how cool is that? It does NOT happen every time. Some of these kids have tested before - multiple times. What a feeling of elation (and relief!) filled the room!

The real, custom-made black belts -- complete with each child's name embriodered in Japanese kanji-- will arrive in a few weeks.

Daniel, Michael and Noah - these guys trained together, carpooled, and studied while we parents wondered when OUR black belts would be awarded for our time and trouble. Sensei Paul Adamson, who's been Daniel's Sensei since he graduated from the preshool program, is standing behind them. (He was awarded his sixth-degree black belt recently!)

Fantastic job, Daniel! If you can do THIS when you're nine, I'd say you don't have any excuse not to set goals and stick with them in the years to come!

countdown

Noah and Daniel, 2002 (Man, these two look like Leah and Luke !)

On to our countdown...

Leah is 12 weeks old!

Dan has 28 weeks left in his fellowship.

Have a great week, everyone!

debate

The kids have discovered a love of texting Daddy. They all jockey for turns with my cell phone to send him messages. It makes it challenging when Dan and I try to text one another since several children run to the phone to read the message when the chime sounds.

Yesterday Dan texted me that he was stuck at work - probably 'til midnight - again. Our favorite phrase for events like this is shortened to one word - s*cks (rhymes with trucks...) as in, that s*cks.

Because it does.

We don't use this phrase around the kids because, you know, it's not very nice.

Noah, who's a first grader, was the first one to grab the phone the next time Dan responded. He glanced at the screen, saw the word s*cks, and asked if that word said SHUCKS.

Uh huh - sure does!

Shucks all over the place.

The next time you're tempted to say that something s*cks, think of Noah, my fib, and say SHUCKS instead. Works surprisingly well...

I really hate parenting debates like this. Which is worse...fibbing or teaching our 7 year-old a rude phrase?

I'm so thankful for a fresh start each day! God knows that I certainly need it in this job He's given me.

late fall

I don't know where the last few months have gone. Baby Leah's arrival this September was such a gift! Time never goes more slowly than when I'm pregnant...and never goes faster than when I have a newborn. I've been sifting through our family photos from the last few months and found some good ones that haven't made the blog yet.

Emma is so thankful to have a sister! Leah brings our household so much joy. She's also brought with her a whole lot more PINK than we've seen in years!

Noah lost one of his top front teeth...I just love that! We're happy to report that he lost this one the traditional way. No older siblings --ahem-- assisted with this one.

For weeks the kids said Leah looked "surprised" (confused?) all of the time. We're glad that she has some new expressions now!

Here is Daniel playing in our front yard. This is the first year we've had enough leaves to play in! (One tree produced these...our subdivision isn't very old!) Noah dutifully raked these into a pile...then we did nothing with them. Now they're covered in snow. Good thing we don't live somewhere with mature trees or we'd be buried.

countdown

Leah is 11 weeks old! She's becoming very conversational. The kids love it when she sticks her tongue out at them.

Dan has (drumroll)....29 weeks left to go! We've made it into the 20's! That's something to celebrate!