Oak Tree in an Acorn: February 2010

Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Sky is Falling!

Well, not really, just THREE INCHES of snow in Georgetown, TX in February! Unbelievable! This may not sound like a lot of snow to some people, but I'm a South East Texas gal, and it was more falling snow than I have ever seen in my life.

No doubt, Olivia stayed home from school to play in the snow; it might be another 10 years before this happens again, and I didn't want her to miss sharing in this experience with her little sister.

Blooming Guitar Players

Olivia participated in a guitar concert on Sunday playing "A Gift to Be Simple". She did a really nice job and her hard practice showed. She has come a long way in a year and a half of lessons.

Genevieve decided to give us her own guitar concert (Laurie Berkner style) with her sister's old toy guitar. She says she would like to learn to play piano, but she might have a guitar in her future too.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day

The girls made melted crayon hearts for Valentine's Day again this year.

It's always interesting to see how all the different colors mix so beautifully.

Olivia designed a coloring sheet to go with the crayons.

Eve also sewed a lacing card heart all by herself for the first time.

We hope you had a lovely day!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

The Banister Happy Theater

Brian's mom made Genevieve a puppet theater curtain for Christmas, and it has proved to be one of the best presents the girls have ever received. They love using their puppets to create puppet shows for us. Here is one of their shows, and we expect to see many more!:

(Do you notice Eve's costume jewelry? They are beads from Grandmother Ferrell. Eve had to get decked out before the puppet show. Olivia even created tickets that she handed out to me and Brian.)

Can't shake that Christmas Spirit!

Forgive me for not getting this Christmas video made and posted until Feb. 11!

(The RC plane was Olivia's present from Santa. Brian is teaching her how to fly it and I'll post pictures of its first flight. Right now, they are just working on taxiing the plane.)

Why the title, "Oak Tree in an Acorn"?

Well, really it's all about perspective when raising the girls. It helps me to think about the grand scheme of parenting and remember that what we do now affects how our little acorns will grow. Like an oak tree, we want them to be strong in their words and deeds, be able to withstand life's storms, set and reach their goals, and be people that others can lean on and trust.

We have an oak tree planted in our yard that came from an acorn my dad planted in a pot. This acorn came from a huge oak tree that was planted in the backyard of my dad's childhood home. My dad's father also planted this tree from an acorn he found on his hunting lease in the early 1960's. Our tree is thus a family heirloom, a "family tree".

It was the year of Olivia's birth when we planted our little sapling. It looked so very sad that winter with no leaves; it was, basically, like a stick rooted in the ground. Five years later, though, it stands 9 feet tall, and we continue to nurture it and watch it grow. We hope one year it will produce acorns of its own, and we can continue to pass on this family heirloom. We hope to remember it's example of how each acorn has the potential to be an oak tree, and how our acorns, Olivia and Genevieve, will one day, with help from God, become mighty oak trees themselves.