Serving at the Banquet

Tonight, Mercy church turned out in full force (46 of our little community) to serve at our local soup kitchen (for lack of a better term) that serves meals to the needy in Sioux Falls.

I took Xander with me (Matt had to work and Maia went with a sitter), and our job was to clean tables and chairs after they had been used. They served 542 people tonight. We worked hard (some people for a very long time), and had a great time serving some very grateful people.

I got to pray with a guy that he would get a job soon, hear another guy's story about how he's been drug, alcohol and nicotine free for 8 months and got baptized 5 months ago. While he doesn't have a job, he sure has confidence in God and is brimming with blessings.

An older fellow wearing a flourescent pink flowered cap with "Miami" embroidered on it was proud to show off his diamond pin. (Dime And Pin- he had a dime with a hole drilled in it hooked to a safety pin on his shirt!)

One fellow told me he sings so badly he can shut the shower down!

Oh, and I almost got punched in the face. I'm not sure why I happened to be the one in the right place at the right time, but I broke up two guys who started a verbal fight and nearly came to blows. Sweet Dave from our church, (in his 50s and about a year into his journey with Parkinsons) was right behind me making sure nothing actually got physical. It's good to know he's got my back. :)

Later Dave says to me, "You must have scared your mother to death when you were a kid." Ha! I've never done anything like that before- EVER! Except breaking up my kids when they've gotten too insane. And to be honest, I used the same tactics and language.

All these big tough guys from church were like, "why didn't you let me do that?" I don't know! It was a act-first-think-later moment. I found my knees shaking for the next half hour or so.

I know, now you're saying, "You took your kid into that environment?!" He was perfectly safe the whole time, and knew the rule- stick by my side the entire time (unless I'm breaking up a fist fight). He did well, and he felt great afterward. I was really proud of him.

Catching up

OK, I only have 2 minutes, so here's all the things I haven't blogged about in the last 3 months:

We put down a new kitchen floor. Looks great!!!

I got a new car- that yellow bug I've been dreaming of. She's so cute. Her name is Maizÿ.

Our carpets are really clean- well, the were a week ago when the carpet cleaners came.

I'm now directing not only the All City Elementary school musical in March (the Pied Piper), but also the Kids Christmas musical at church.

Matt is well on his way to winning us an all-inclusive trip to Jamaica in March (right after the ACE Musical). We are REALLY looking forward to it.

I have an AWESOME group of students this semester. Interestingly, about half of them start with the letter A- and I have 3 Annas and 3 Erins. Weird random facts.

I'll be taking 4 students to the South Dakota Music Teachers' Association student competion next WEEK. Almost all of them are ready. (worrying about one of my Annas).

Maia's hitting a growth spurt

OK, I've been reserving my decision whether to send Maia to Kindergarten next year or not, but just this week, she's hit this intellectual growth spurt. I don't know if that's a real thing, but it seems an appropriate term. Yesterday, Maia started reading. She voluntarily spent an hour tracing letters while I was teaching a lesson last night, and today, she about wore me out wanting to learn new things.

She started piano lessons (found a great book for pre-readers in the Piano Adventures series by Faber & Faber) today, and I'm just amazed at the leap she's taken in the last few weeks.

I have to say, I'm a firm believer in preschool. WOW!