We came, we saw, we schmoozed!
The 9 of us attended last night’s opening ceremonies, and had a blast! The speeches fairly flew by – really, there was very little of that, and the very little was well done, as usual. Doug Phillips has a talent for making long speeches feel short, and the short ones are done almost before he starts.
During the break that followed, we saw old acquaintances (some with new young acquaintances!), put faces to new blog-friends, and shook new hands. Carmon found us (how did she spot us? Could it have been the cloud of little girls about me?). I look forward to seeing her again, as she was just on her way out last night.
I got to meet Mrs. Hayden and several Hayden children, besides Caleb whom we are already privileged to call a friend.
I met most of the Serven clan, a delightful family whose CDs will be helping our family to learn Psalms in 4 part harmony.
I also had the pleasure of metting Jennifer McBride of Old Paths. She made a great comment on my blog here, which I immediately adopted into my own thinking. After meeting her and talking about large families and such (Jennifer is the oldest of 8!), I went home and read her comment and realized I had been quoting her! I guess great minds think alike…

Next we were treated to a performance by Charlie Zahm, an authentic Celtic balladeer, who performed in an authentic kilt. Although he strategically made us wait until the very last song for The Blacksmith of Brandywine (which is included in this collection from Vision Forum), the entire performance was beautiful and exciting.
About 10 minutes into the show, my 4 year old nudged me and asked in a stage whisper, with her brow deeply furrowed, “Mom, what is he wearing on the bottom? Not his shirt.”
I answered, “That’s called a kilt. That’s what men used to wear in Scotland.”
She looked a little relieved, but did remark, “Well, it looks like a skirt when he wears it here.”
I hear that my husband fielded similar questions from the 7 and 8 year olds. Apparently we’re a little weak on Scottish culture in our house.

By the way, if you’re ever looking for an image of kilt (to use in your blog, for example, when you’re talking about Mr. Zahm), I don’t recommend searching Google Images, even with the Safe Search feature turned on. Apparently they really don’t wear underwear with kilts. Ahem.

We also witnessed Mr. George Sarris as he performed a word-for-word dramatic recitation of the entire book of Esther. It was riveting, humorous, reverent, and unique – at least in our experience. We have never seen anything like it, and several of us were literally on seat’s edge throughout the performance – except when he was Vashti or Esther, or the royal advisor quoting the women of the kingdom. Then we were rolling on the floor with laughter.
Using nothing but a red scarf, he cycled through characters and scenes convincingly and effortlessly (well, it seemed effortless). It was simply amazing. We can’t wait to see what else he has up his sleeve this weekend!

We made it home around midnight, let the poor dog out, and crawled into bed without setting the alarm. Tonight we do it again!

OK, now that you’ve read my account, you might want to take a look at The Harris Boys’ recap of the evening. That’s Harris, as in Greg Harris of the homeschooling movement. His sons have plenty of photos and a detailed description of the entire evening, along with a running account of the young filmmaker’s school that took place earlier this week. These boys are good!

Did you get your new Vision Forum catalog yet? They’re out!
If not, request your catalog and My Hardworkin’ Man will see that you get it.

If you did get, open it and look at the staff photo inside the front cover. Hi! Can you see us? Look for the dark handsome guy in glasses, holding a baby and surrounded by girls of all sizes. The ones in khaki and white
I’m the woman to his right (that’s his right, not yours) with the long dark hair.

There’s a story behind the staff photos, at least for us. Both this year and last year are worth recounting, so have a look if you have the time and interest. Be aware, both years involve vomit. Doesn’t every good story?

While everyone is looking – yes, I know you’re out there – I want to insert a shameless plug for Vision Forum. I believe the first shipment of brand new catalogs just went out. I wonder if I’m on the A list?
My own Hardworkin’ Man runs the warehouse, and was at work until 9:00 last night rearranging best-selling items to get ready for the initial flurry of catalog orders.
He has high hopes for the Vision Forum line of dolls (Liberty and Evangeline) this season in light of the vision that American Girls is now promoting.
Check out the American Family Association article on this if you haven’t heard. For my part, I’ve always been distrustful of anything so popular with mainstream America. When we previewed the American Girls books years ago, we thought the main characters had a bit of “attitude” that made them unsuitable as role models. Yes, so does Laura Ingalls, but she rebukes herself – these American Girls seemed saucy, a little rebellious, and proud of it.
Some may say that we are straining at gnats by making an issue of all this, but we must be very careful of the role models we set before our daughters. We are especially leery of the subtle influences: it’s easy to rail against what you deplore, but so many books, toys, etc. are pretty good, or mostly good, or just not that bad. This is what we must guard against. This can be where our children begin to drift away in worldview.
We don’t try to shield our children from every hint of sin in the world around them. But we do feel it is our God-given duty to shape and form their worldview, to protect them, and to help them develop the discretion to make the right choices themselves as they grow and mature. Proverbs admonishes us repeatedly to choose our companions with great care – books and dolls are certainly companions!
The objections being raised against American Girls are not just about what they support in the sidelines. The issue comes down to the worldview behind the whole product line, which is subtly being communicated to every child who loves her American Girls dolls, books, magazines, club, etc. There is a whole culture built around these dolls, and it has set itself at odds with Christianity.

Today was the day of the Annual Vision Forum Staff-and-Families-Photo-Shoot. Maybe I should mention that we missed being in last year’s catalog because we arrived a little late for last year’s photo shoot. Becca got carsick on the way, requiring a frenzied-and-not-so-brief stop to clean her up.
This year, I spent several hours scouring the thrift stores and goodwills for matching khaki skirts and white button-down shirts in 8 sizes. Just hours, not days. I also spent a significant amount of time whining about how hard it would be to find the requisite uniform on such short notice. But God is gracious, and I had to take back all my whining when I found everything we needed in the first 5 stops. Sometimes it’s nice when God makes us eat crow – it’s always fun to brag Him up when He provides the little things that feel so important to us.
Saturday afternoon I made a few alterations: I had bought Kaitlyn a lady’s skirt that was easily taken in on the sides, so I knew hers would need a little work. But Lydia had the shortsightedness to be sick for 2 days, ending up even skinnier than usual (if you can imagine that!) so I had to take in her skirt as well. All in a day’s work – at least we were outfitted and ready!
And then the night before the photo shoot, the girls stayed up late and drew straws. Well, I’m assuming they did. They had to choose who would get sick this time. Apparently it was Rachael’s turn.
So at 6:30 this morning, 15 minutes before we were supposed to leave, the show began. Rachael jumped the gun a little and started throwing up before she was even dressed, but she played her part with true flare. The vomit was noisy and abundant, hitting the floor with a grand, sweeping “Splat-at-at-at!” and her range was admirable. She instinctively seemed to understand that a 45 degree angle would give her the greatest distance, and she aimed accordingly.
I wavered, but Perry was undeterred. We decided to carry on, and she did it again after she was dressed. But by now our resolve was strengthened, and we were determined. We grabbed a couple of extra dresses for Rachael, an extra shirt for me, the last clean towel and an over-all bib, and strapped her into her carseat wearing nothing but a diaper.
We held our breath for the 90 minute drive, but God rewarded us for our courage and there was no more vomit. Well, no more vomiting this morning. Rachael slept peacefully for the entire drive, and was content to fast until nearly 11. When we arrived, I dressed her and hastily replaced the bib. I carried her facing outward, ever mindful of where I pointed her, and took off the bib when the camera started rolling. The photo shoot went off without a hitch. Thank you, Lord!