November Thankfuls 2013

There is a lovely tradition on Facebook of daily posting something you are thankful for throughout the month of November. Here is what I am thankful for this year:

11/1 & 11/2 Thankful November time! I am starting a day late, so I will do two today. I am thankful to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and to have the freedom to worship true to my faith.

11/3Where would I be without my family? I am so thankful for my children and their spouses, my grandchildren, and extended family. Love you all!

11/4 Having a job that you love is a real blessing. I am thankful to have a teaching position that makes me excited for each new day!

11/5 With two knees and a hip now made of titanium, I am soooo thankful that I can walk without pain. I will never, ever take going up stairs for granted. 

11/6 Cancer is scary. I am thankful for my brave sister, Leslie Martin Conwell, and how she is winning her fight with it!

11/7 I am thankful for furnaces in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, and open windows in spring and fall!

11/8 I am thankful for a garage that keeps my car frost-free. No scraping for me!!

11/9 I am thankful we have "quads" on the way - four grandchildren are expected in 2014! (And I can FINALLY open my mouth and share!) Cole & Emily, Jessica & Andrew, Kyle & Ashley, and Curt & Vanessa all are expecting. Three girls and a mystery gender - can't wait!!

11/10 I am thankful for the lovely leaves we've had all Fall - it has been beautiful! (And that Lisa Isenbarger raked ours for us!)

11/11 I am thankful to those who have served or are serving to protect freedom, especially my father. This is Dad in one of his Navy uniforms during World War II.

11/12/13 Good co-workers are a real blessing in my life. I have worked with many wonderful teachers, aides, paras, custodians, office staff, etc. Thankful for all my Hershey and Yankee Ridge folks, past and present!

11/13 Saw a bald eagle yesterday morning as I drove over the Wabash River. I remember when bald eagles, wild turkeys, etc. were scarce around here due to environmental damage and am thankful to live in a cleaner place, one where the wildlife is returning and thriving!

11/14 I love my in-loves, the spouses of my children! I am thankful they joined our family. Todd Coleman, Andrew Mitchell, Ashley Weaver Isenbarger, Vanessa Isenbarger, and Emily Isenbarger this is for you! 

11/15 How could I not be thankful for my horse, Abby? When I sold Indy when Cole was born, I never thought I'd have horses again. But I do, and I am grateful to have my rescue horse in my life!

11/16 I am thankful for my son, Cole Isenbarger. He is a man of dedication - to his wife, family, and religion. When he served as a missionary in Russia and Siberia, I did some of the most praying I've ever done in my life! (First photo taken in Siberia; it was -55F. )

11/17 I am thankful that our youngest daughter, Lisa Isenbarger, became a teacher. She has a wonderful way with kids and makes learning fun. She's also my horse buddy and enjoys hanging with the herd and with her mama! 

11/18 I am so thankful to have internet back after yesterday's tornados, but even MORE thankful that we and our loved ones are okay! (And praying for those whose outcome wasn't as good.)

11/19 I am thankful for my son Curt Isenbarger. A smile is always on his face, and he is famous in our family for the Curt lunge, a staple in family photos. A good man who loves others and includes everyone regardless of differences. 

11/20 Thankful to have been married for 37 years to this guy! Happy Anniversary, Craig! You're the best!! 

11/21 Need to someone to count on? Look no further than our daughter, Sarah Isenbarger Coleman. Reliable, trustworthy, super mama and wife... Is it any wonder her students feel like this about her? So thankful for her!

11/22 My REAL Thanksgiving sweetie pie - Jessica was born Thanksgiving morning! I am so thankful for what she has brought to our family. She has a super sense of humor, loves others, and has been a blessing to us all. 

My oldest son, Kyle Isenbarger, is a rock of faith. A father of four, he has a lot on his plate as he cares for his family and serves others. And, he makes time to call his parents every Sunday night! I'm thankful for the good man that he is.

11/24 I am thankful for the kindness of strangers or others who do kindnesses anonymously. Having been the recipient several times, I can tell you it makes a real difference. Thank you to whoever you are, and I will pass your thoughtfulness on.

11/25 Grandchildren!! Need I say more as to being thankful?? Love these kiddos so much!

11/26 Books, books, and more books. Science fiction, children's classics, religious tomes... So thankful to have books and the ability to read!

11/27 I am thankful that I can get up early and bake before school this morning. I love that feeling of preparing for Thanksgiving - it's my favorite holiday.

11/28 The house is quiet as all are sleeping but the smells of Thanksgiving dinner are in the air at 5:00 AM. Thankful for this day and that so many of my family are here with us!

11/29 I am thankful for the technology that allowed us to see and talk to our daughter Sarah Isenbarger Coleman yesterday. Not only was it Thanksgiving, but it was her birthday as well, and she was unable to be with us here in Indiana. Seeing her and hearing her made it feel as though she were with us.

11/30 Today, I am thankful for the shoes in my front hallway, toys scattered in various rooms, dishes in the sink, and other evidence that we have a houseful of family with us now. There is nothing I love more than to be together.

Ella Again!

In a lot of ways, Ella is the face of the Chicago Red Stars. She's accessible to fans, an excellent example to youth players, and a real team player. Even though she's from Urbana (two hours south of Chicago), she is seen as a hometown hero.

And again this year she is being used to advertise tickets for the coming season.

Ella-noise!!

Thanksgiving Preparations

Thanksgiving fast approaches! I have a houseful (Cole, Emily, Jessica, and Andrew have joined Craig, Lisa, and me, plus Curt and Vanessa are spending a lot of time here, too) but we are still getting the holiday preparations done.

Last night after dinner, I sat down to polish the silver, and Craig grabbed a polishing cloth and pitched in. We were done in about thirty minutes.

Thank you, Craig!

Before going to bed, I set out the bread for the dressing, planning to tear it up today, but when I got up this morning, it appears that Santa's elves made an early appearance and helped me out!

Thank you, elves!!

I am going to make two pie shells and a cheeseball before leaving for work, and the other family members will cook their dishes for tomorrow as much as is possible while I am at work. Then tonight I will make cherry pies, stuff the turkey, do some laundry, and set out the appetizer table. Jessica and Andrew are cooking dinner, so I don't have to worry about that.

My favorite holiday of the year is almost here!

I Made Amazon! Sort Of

I love to write. Getting my thoughts down on paper is fun and relaxing for me. I also like to think and reflect on education issues, and to do research. And, I've been fortunate enough to be able to pull those loves together and submit and then publish four papers in research journals.

It is my fourth paper  that has gotten the most attention. It was written after I followed the research-based advice of Delpit and Dowdy on accepting black vernacular in the classroom, and how my experience with my African Amercan parents showed that black parents (at least where I taught) felt the polar opposite of what Delpit and Dowdy said was best for black students.

I wrote and reflected about that experience and how it informed my teaching, and the paper was published in The National Council of Teachers of English's journal Language Arts in November, 2006. My co-author was Dr. Arlette Willis, a black professor, at the University of Illinois.

The volume in which our paper was published.

Dr. Arlette Willis, my co-author.

Since it was published, I have become aware that many universities now use it in their curriculum for teacher education, and have even gotten emails from people asking questions or sending me papers they have written in response to mine.

Last year, Arlette emailed me and said that a professor at Stanford University, Dr. John Rickford, was asking if he could include our paper in a book he was writing. He was pulling research papers on African American dialects into one source, and was seeking permission to include ours.

Needless to say, Arlette and I were happy to agree, and the book is now out and on Amazon.

Not that I can afford it, but still!!

This part of the description made me smile as the title of ours is similar. It reads, "More than 50 years of scholarly attention to the intersection of language and education..."

Our paper is:

An Intersection of Language and Theory: Accepting the Language a Child Brings into the Classroom

(Click on the link to see the paper via California State University Northridge's web site.)

While it is nice to find your work valued and used, ultimately the goal, the purpose of all that work that goes into research and writing, is to better educate children. I hope that is what Arlette and I achieved.

The First Pies of the Holidays!

In Chris Van Allsburg's classic, The Polar Express, Santa hands a sleigh bell to an unbelieving boy

 and proclaims, "The first gift of Christmas!" while the elves madly applaud.

It's Thanksgiving, not Christmas; nonetheless, I wanted to say something similar Sunday as I measured flour and salt into a bowl.

 I realized that this was just the beginning of 

 the first pies of the holidays!!

I don't get wild applause when I bake pies, but I do occasionally get excited exclamations. (One of my favorites was the time a barely awake Braden stumbled into the kitchen early one morning, saw what I was doing, and promptly rushed back into the living room crowing, "Pies!! She's making pies!!")

Happy Birthday, Jessica and Andrew! Enjoy your lemon meringue pies!

The Decision to Marry in the Temple

One of Craig's former students is a fairly new convert whose family was dead set against her joining the Church. It caused a lot of angry discussions, silent treatment, and hurt feelings, so much so that she did not tell them for quite some time that she had gotten baptized.

After graduating and finding employment, she is now engaged to wed. Marrying in the temple is causing more strife in her family, and she has been emailing me with her concerns and struggles.

Unlike me when I had to make a similar decision, she is not close to her mother and family. But that does not mean she does not love them and feel badly that they are hurt at the thought of being unable to see her marriage. I know that pain - I still feel a knife in my heart when I think of leaving my mother behind in the foyer of the temple.

Yesterday she asked how I had come to my decision so I sat down and wrote down the process. (One other point not included in what I wrote was that I also believe in being obedient, and if the Lord says to marry in the temple, then I should.)

The way I made my decision was that I tried to have have eternal perspective. And my thoughts went this way:

I realized I was standing on a balance point of sorts. One of parental/husband love, one of pre-marriage/post-marriage, one of nonmember/member life. Having this perspective REALLY helped me.

Then, my thoughts went like this:

I loved my parents, and did not want to hurt them.

I loved Craig and wanted to be with him forever.

I hoped to have children who loved the gospel, valued it, lived its principles, and held on to the iron rod.

That was my tipping point. My future children and their eternal welfare.

First, I wanted them to be born in the covenant and have that swaddling them from their very first moments. Yes, I could marry civilly and then go be sealed, but what if I should become pregnant before that happened? I did not want to take any chance that my children would be born outside the temple. For their own welfare of being born in the covenant, and for the security of knowing they were mine forever.

I wanted them to marry in the temple, so I felt I should set the example for them so they'd know that, even if things were hard, it was a "pearl of great price," so valuable that it should be the priority.

I wanted them to know that I loved them SO MUCH that I would do what was necessary to ensure their well being. Even if it meant sacrificing and not having my parents with me in the temple, even if it meant it caused difficulty in my relationship with them. My priority would be to my children, my family, and their future. Not that I did not love my parents and respect the past; I just realized that I was responsible for the future of my own family.

And that was the decision maker for me. Ensuring the welfare of my future family. Showing them that the gospel was so important to me, and that I understood the ramifications it held for them - my children. My grandchildren. And those who follow.

I married in the temple.

And years later, my mom said to me, "You know, your joining the Church was the best thing that ever happened to our family."

She isn't a member, but she is now a friend of the Church. And obviously she sees its value, not only in my own growing family, but extending into my relationship with her, my siblings, etc.

But you know what? Even if things hadn't smoothed out, I still would feel that I made the right decision. When Sarah was born and I held her in my arms that very first moment after birth, I had the strongest flood of gratefulness for the temple and that she was ours forever. I will never, ever forget that rush of emotion, that spiritual reassurance of the rightness of a temple marriage. It was very, very humbling and very poignant.

And that's how I came to my decision.

My mother and father loved me and they, too, saw the bigger picture. They may not have fully understand why I was doing what I did, but they understood it was important to me and stepped back and allowed me to make that choice. (Thank you, Mom and Dad!!)

It is a decision that continues to bless my family, and will throughout the eternities.

My Rocker

Babies have been on my mind lately. With four grandbabies on the way, how could they not? As I have thought about the next generation of the family and how it is growing, coupled with the fact that we celebrated 37 years of marriage this past week, I have done a lot of reflecting on my own babies, my children, and their past, as well as the new family members-to-be.

Those baby-memories often center around this:

 My cherry rocking chair.

It was our first piece of furniture as a couple, purchased in 1976 with money my Grandma and Grandpa Honeywell gave us for our wedding. Comfy as well as comforting, I have spent many hours in it, soothing a fussy baby, easing the ache in my back that pregnancy caused, or just holding a child while rocking and singing.

It has quite a history from its time with us. One time, when Kyle was a newborn, Sarah and Jessie were rocking together in it as I fed Kyle on the couch. They tipped too far forward, overturning and sending the top of the rocker through the plate glass living room window. This trapped the girls underneath the rocker while I frantically tried to unlatch Kyle and get to them before they cut themselves on the glass. (They were fine, and our neighbor, Alex Kriculi, fixed the window that day and refused payment for his trouble.)

As the kids grew older, they used the rocker to make tents. They'd flip it forward and drape it with blankets, then climb underneath, snug as a bug.

As time passed, somehow a slat was broken out of the back of the rocker. (I think it happened when Curt went over backwards and broke it out.) I had the two pieces, but Craig was unable to mend them. Finally a friend's husband went to Menards, bought a broom handle, carved a new slat, stained it, and replaced the broken one! I have to look closely to see which slat it is as he did such a good job.

Fitting (although just a coincidence) that the kids' baby pictures hang over it as it waits in the corner of our bedroom for more babies who need rocking. And those babies will be arriving soon.

I love this chair.

Oh, the Love!

Wednesday afternoon, Miss I popped into my classroom to wish me a happy anniversary. Naturally, my students were all ears and the beans were spilled. The class then proceeded to sing a few rounds of "Happy Anniversary", and I thought that was the end of it.

Not so! TM arrived yesterday with a gift bag (blue) and inside she had made several booklets (orange and blue) wishing Craig and me a happy anniversary.

My favorite page? This one:

That little, "Oh, the love" cracks me up every time I read it! So sweet, and so innocent.

Nice to know that, despite our ages, someone still sees us as a romantic couple instead of two crotchety old geezers!

37 Years = Contentment

We celebrated our 37th anniversary yesterday. I think it was one of our best anniversaries ever.

I can't quite explain why. It wasn't a milestone one. We simply exchanged cards and went out to dinner, so there was no big celebration, no presents, just quietly eating a meal together and talking.

There is something about being together that long - you know each other so well to the point that you are usually thinking the same thing, and can finish the other's sentences and anticipate their needs. You have a sense of closeness and comfort. Common goals which have been accomplished or are well underway. A lifetime of shared experiences. Contentment.

Happy Anniversary, Craig. There is no one I would rather be with than you!

19 Tornados and Counting

Ever try to do a patriarchal blessing when the tornado sirens are blowing? Not once, but for three separate warnings? Makes things a bit distracting, to say the least!

Sunday afternoon was a wild ride. Forecasters earlier in the day put out a PDS notice - "particularly dangerous situation." They were right - nineteen tornados have been confirmed just in this part of Indiana alone! (Including an EF3 in south Lafayette, Dayton, and Rossville.)

Of all the tornado warnings on record in November, half of them happened Sunday. Half!!

Peoria, Washington, Pekin, Gifford, and Flatville back home in Illinois received significant damage.

Washington, Illinois.

Tiny Flatville and Gifford have been wiped off the map and Washington is nearly gone.

Gifford, Illinois.

By comparison, we are very lucky. 

Here in West Lafayette, power is still off in parts of town, but the damage is far less devastating. My nephew, Eric, had his front, back, and bedroom doors blown off and water damage. Friends lost siding, windows, trees, and a car. Subaru lost its roof, and a smaller manufacturer in south Lafayette was destroyed.

And two of TSC's schools were severely damaged.

Southwestern Middle School.

Southwestern Middle School.

Mintonye Elementary School.

Because of the power outages and two damaged schools, TSC canceled classes yesterday.

 The two schools are unusable, and closed. Their students have the week off as teachers gather things and prepare to open elsewhere - Mintonye at a local church, and Southwestern is moving in with Wea Ridge. (Woodland is also closed as it has no power.)

Thank goodness it was a Sunday and no children were in the schools!

Damage by Hobby Lobby in Lafayette off Creasy Lane.

We got the patriarchal blessing done - I sat in front of the TV in our bedroom monitoring reports of warnings and poised to interrupt Craig if a tornado approached and we all needed to get into the tornado closet.

The final tally of just how many twisters hit is incomplete as officials are still assessing damage, but my guess is it will rise.

I wonder how it will compare with the Palm Sunday tornados from the 1960s?

Addendum 11/23/13
The official count as of this morning is 5 tornados in Tippecanoe County  (EF-3, EF-0, EF-2, EF-2 and EF-1) and 27 statewide, 20 of which were in our area of Indiana. That number may go up as officials from The National Weather Service continue surveying damage.

The Class Clown

Just about every class has a class clown, one who makes everyone laugh, often in an effort to get out of doing work or to deflect attention from the fact that he (or she) is unprepared for class.

But how many classes have a student who grows up and becomes a real clown? My high school class did.

Last night our dinner group went down to Indianapolis to The Milano Cafe's dinner theater. One of the cast members looked vaguely familiar, but I didn't think much of it. Seriously, who would I know that would be performing in an Indy dinner theater?

But he sure did look familiar. It niggled at the back of my mind all evening.

It wasn't until the very end of the show that things fell into place. As he juggled some balls he began sharing stories from his days as a clown with Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. 

Joe Strange, a classmate from high school, had gone on to be a circus clown after graduation from high school and Purdue University.

I turned to Loni and murmured something about that, and she said, "That's what he said his name is; Joe Strange."

Somehow I'd missed that, but everything then clicked and I knew it was Joe - he's on Facebook and I had seen recent pictures of him and was able to make that final connection.

And, he's a married-in relative to Craig - Joe's mother (a Spanish teacher at our high school) has a sister who married into the Pechin branch of the family, so some of Joe's cousins are also Craig's cousins. As a further interesting connection, another of Craig's relatives via the Fairchild line is P.T. Barnum, one of the founders of the Barnum and Bailey Circus!

I was always surprised that Joe went into a profession that required so much social interaction. I did not know him well, but I did have a few classes with him. He was shy and very quiet, and sometimes picked on by other kids because of that or due to his last name. His body language said, "Don't notice me" and he always sat in the very back row in class, keeping mostly to himself. 

I introduced myself after the show and mentioned we had gone to school together and who I was. It was clear he did not remember me. I imagine that he had to do some thinking back after the show and maybe look at Facebook to make his own connections to his former classmate - it certainly took me a while to figure out who he was. 

An odd and unexpected connection with my high school class's REAL class clown!

My Kind of Wreath!

My religious faith is very important to me; it and my family are the two things I value most in my life. And so, I love and anticipate  the holidays. Thanksgiving is a wonderful combination of being grateful for your blessings and family (plus food ::cough cough::) while Christmas is a celebration of the Savior's birth coupled with family visits (and more food.)

Certainly I value other things that are in my life, too. Education is a whopper. The welfare of children. Friends. Music.

And, of course, horses.

Charis Bean Duke, a musician and composer friend from my opera-singing days, sent me a picture yesterday via Facebook accompanied by a note that said, "Lynn, you must have this!"

Oh, Charis, you know me so well!!

I followed the link to see if I could purchase one, and orders are closed. Drat. Okay, maybe I can make one? I've got access to the materials, but I am not sure what was used for the frame. 

My sister-in-love, Cindie, has a degree in horticulture and does beautiful floral arrangements. (The ones she did for Leslie and Rick's wedding were absolute stunners. (In the photo currently at the top of my blog, Craig is wearing a buttoniere she made.)

I already have an email out to Cindie to get her advice on the frame. Stay tuned - our door may be sporting a different sort of holiday wreath this year!

Snowy Day

The Carpenters (my favorite singing duo) have a song on their Christmas album called "The First Snowfall of the Winter." You can bet I started singing it yesterday when I woke up to this sight!

 We had an inch of snow overnight!

 My hardy little volunteer snapdragons were hanging in there, but they sure looked shivery.

 As did the pink gentian along the front walk.

 One of my copper pony garden stakes was dappled with snow that clung to its sides.

Normally early snows melt away quickly, but there was still snow on the ground when I went to bed that night.

Icicles formed off the room outside my window at Hershey. Brrrr!!

Just a few short days ago, this was what it was like outdoors!

I wonder if we're in for a tough winter.

A Letter to My Sons

Watching news reports about Typhoon Haiyan which decimated the Philippines a couple of days ago prompted this letter to my sons.

11/12/13

Dear Kyle, Curt, and Cole,

Yesterday, the news reported that 80 missionaries and 1 mission president were unaccounted for after that terrible typhoon that hit the Philippines. My heart dropped - all I could think of was their mothers and how worried they must be about their missionary sons and daughters.

By the time I went to bed last night, all but 24 had been found. Better, but still devastating nonetheless to the moms of the missing 24. (And the dads, too, for sure.)

I went to bed praying for the missing missionaries' safety and that their families would find peace as they awaited for any news about their family member.

When I awoke this morning, one of the first things I did was check the news reports. This time my heart leapt - all missionaries were now accounted for! I actually cried as I said a prayer of thanks.

How does this apply to you? Well, my deepest fear, the hardest thing for me to do EVER (no, not ride in an airplane...) was to say goodbye to you and send you off to unknown foreign countries. I knew you were in the Lord's hands, but I also knew that missionaries sometimes die and don't come home. I pleaded with the Lord every day you were gone that He would bring you home safely. And He did, to my everlasting gratitude.

As I drove over the Wabash on my way to work this morning, I thought of those missionary moms and began praying. I often pray while driving to work, and as I thanked God for their safety, the tears that had been so close to the surface spilled over and I began to cry. Still praying (and driving), I looked up and to my surprise, saw a very large bird winging its way to the river. A flash of white and I knew what it was - it was a bald eagle.

I couldn't help but smile and feel uplifted. After all, the Lord knows how I look for them, and how I had prayed and prayed that my mother would see a bald eagle in the wild before she passed away. (And she did.)

The timing of the bird's appearance has had me thinking all day. Was it just an accident of timing? After all, you don't see them very often. Or was it a tweak from the Lord, a little "I love you and be at peace now" from Him? I lean toward the latter.

I hope you know how proud I am of you all, how grateful I am that you sacrificed two years of your lives and thousands of dollars to serve God and your fellow mankind. I admire and respect you for that, and am very proud of you.

And, I am so thankful the Lord preserved your lives and brought you home when you finished, safe and sound.

Just thought you should know.

Love,

Mom

xoxoxox