Swimming Part 2

Rebekah finished another two-week session of swim lessons, and we are finished for the summer. This second session was quite a bit harder than the first. First of all, she had a new instructor to whom she had to learn to adjust, and secondly, the challenges were harder and put Rebekah out of her comfort zone. I had originally asked for Ms. Sandy, Rebekah's instructor from June, but she was unavailable due to personal issues, so Rebekah had to adjust to a new coach. Although Christina is gentle, she made Rebekah do a little more on her own the first day which scared her a lot. Rebekah was terrified to get into the pool, but after a talk with Christina and the director I felt much better, and Christina was able to work with Rebekah and help her through her fears.

On the first day Rebekah was afraid of swimming with a noodle wrapped around her chest and under her arms, but by the end of the first week she loved it! It became her favorite part of swim lessons. They also worked a lot on floating. While Rebekah never got to the point of floating on her own, at least for more than 6 seconds, much less 30 seconds for the required mastery of the level, she did make slow progress over the course of the 8 lessons. She did become more accustomed to lying on her back and relaxing in the water and would even do so only holding Christina's fingers at times.

While Rebekah was receiving her private instruction Joshua and I enjoyed some time in the pool as well. He and I participated in the Mommy & Me class the first week on Monday and Wednesday. On Tuesday and Thursday as well as a couple days the following week we just got in the pool together and practiced what he was learning. They ended up canceling the class since we were the only participants, but what little classes we received helped us to work on skills.

Joshua is doing really well reaching for and grabbing the wall. I can then grab one of his hands and he will reach over and give me his other hand while I stand a distance away from the wall. This was one of the skills Rebekah learned the first day of her lessons, so Joshua is preparing for next year. We have been working on him "falling" in the water (i.e. me pulling him in the water) and he flips over on his back. He is automatically flipping over on his own, although he is not floating yet and is not comfortable lying on his back for any period of time. Joshua is also working on reaching and pulling as well as kicking, although he's not doing them simultaneously yet.

I wish I had some video and pics to share of Joshua, but I did manage to get some of Rebekah her last two days of lessons. Although she has a way to go to reach that third level I am so proud of the progress she made. A big part of it is just becoming more comfortable in the water and not panicking so much.

Swimming with the noodle. This first pic Rebekah is swimming to, reaching for, and grabbing a toy.


Blowing bubbles




Learning to float




The very last day Rebekah slid down the slide. She took a while, scooting down slowly, until she finally fell all the way into the pool.

Swimming Video

On Tuesday and today I captured some video of Rebekah swimming during her lessons. This gives a good idea of what she has learned to do over the course of two weeks. As you will see she is still very hesitant to put her face in the water. She will blow bubbles, but she doesn't like submerging her face. She has done it a few times, and she has even gone completely underwater, but she doesn't like it much. However, she really enjoys getting in the pool, and taking baths has become a non-existent battle lately. We are unsure if we will have Rebekah take another two-week round of lessons in July or if we will wait until next summer. We are seeing that she is very tired by the week's end since she has been swimming four days each week. For now we feel like she just needs some pool time to become more comfortable putting her face in the water before she will be able to really move forward.

It is really exciting to see how much Rebekah has progressed in two weeks of swimming training. She is kicking really well, and she's blowing bubbles well also. I have been extremely pleased with her coach Ms. Sandy. It's obvious she loves what she does, and she is so encouraging. From day 1 she was having Rebekah give her high five's for every little thing she did right. I'm so glad we found a place that is giving Rebekah the tools she needs but where they understand her fears as well.

The Little Gym Shows

The kids had their last week at The Little Gym for the spring semester this past week. For the classes for ages 3+ the children have "Show Week" at which they put on a performance or recital with routines of things they have learned over the semester. Rebekah performed with her classmates with a tap dance, ballet dance, and some gymnastics routines.

This first set of pictures are from the tap and ballet dances.

Here is the video of their performance. Rebekah obviously loves ballet, much more than tap. She seemed to really enjoy dancing ballet a lot more during the performance.



Following are pictures of the gymnastics portion of the show.

Rebekah has really improved this semester in gymnastics. She had taken a break from it until I felt she was mature enough to go to a class by herself, and she started soon after she turned four years old. She has amazed me with how quickly she has gained momentum and done as well as she has. She has great balance. Even on the bobbles she catches herself. I love how she jumps up and down excited over her accomplishment on the beam, which is one of her favorite stations. Here is some video of the gymnastics portion. The first five minutes is the warm-up, so feel free to skip to the stations if you'd like. The beam is at 6:00 and the bars at 8:40.



You can view a professional photographer's photos of Rebekah's class here.

This class at The Little Gym seems to have really boosted Rebekah's confidence. She is also getting great exercise, and she's having fun. Mr. Keith and Mrs. Nancy are phenomenal teachers, and both our kids just love them! I love how it is a non-threatening environment, the classes are fun, but yet the children are taking life-long lessons with them, even if they don't go on to be dancers or gymnasts.

Joshua also had his final class for the semester this week. He took a make-up class on Friday since he missed his Tuesday class due to our recent trip to visit my sister. Joshua finally really enjoyed the air track. Actually, the last time Mr. Keith pulled it out Joshua played on it for a couple minutes, and that was more than he had ever been willing before. I think a lot had to do with the adults getting off and letting the kids play on it alone, although part of it is just being more confident on it. Joshua still has a long way to go in this class, but he is getting better, and I see improvements in him in one area at nearly every class. I'm also including some pics from a previous visit to The Little Gym that I have not posted yet.

And you can look at the professional photos of Joshua's last class here.

Saying Good-bye

The end of the school year has officially come. Thursday was Rebekah's last day of preschool and Friday was graduation. I took Rebekah in to her classroom instead of dropping her off on Thursday so that I could make sure Rebekah gave her gift to Ms. Amy. Enclosed were the following:


Homemade photo frame (from a CD case) with a picture of Ms. Amy and Rebekah at orientation. Ms. Amy absolutely LOVED this and is excited to have her class make these next year.


Popcorn bag filled with microwavable popcorn, individual packs of candy, and a Blockbuster gift card for some movie nights with her family.


Homemade card from Rebekah

Front cover: Ms. Amy


Inside: I love you
Rebekah


Back cover: picture of Ms. Amy and Rebekah


I got a photo of them for the end of the year.


Before I left Rebekah got involved in the shaving cream fun.



Every time I take Joshua in to Rebekah's classroom with me it is difficult to get him to leave. He has so much fun! He is going to love starting preschool next year!

Friday was graduation for the Pre-K4 and Pre-K5 classes. We had the option of letting Rebekah walk or just sing, and since she has another year of preschool we decided to let her just sing this year. She still received a certificate for completing this year of preschool.

Here is Rebekah with whom she says is her "best friend" Ben.


She says she is going to marry Ben, and she will have 3 kids whose names will be Rebekah, Maggie, and Joshua. Rebekah and Maggie will be twins, and Joshua will be 2 years younger. She's practically got her whole life planned out! One day she told me she was going to be 64 when she got married and her husband would be 66, and she would be 72 when she had kids.

Anyway, back to graduation... The four-year-old classes sang 2 songs for graduation. Rebekah seemed pretty shy on the front row. She sang most of the first song, but she didn't sing much of the second song. She was rather bashful from doing the movements as well. Still, she was so cute up there!

Doing an arabesque before they began to sing. Can you tell this girl loves ballet?





Finally, here is some video. Be sure to turn off the music in the sidebar before you play the video. By the way, the first song takes me back to when I was a kid! You can also see the arabesque in between songs.


Next year Rebekah will be on a different preschool schedule. Part of me wishes we had kept our schedule because all of her church friends who attend the same preschool will be continuing the same schedule next year. They all would have been in the same class. I know Rebekah will make new friends, though.

Good-bye Mr. President

Wow! I just discovered this new song by Steven Curtis Chapman, and what an amazing tribute to former President Bush! As you probably well know, I am a big fan of SCC, and he has been an incredible testimony of the Lord living through him during such tough times in the loss of his daughter Maria. He lives out what he sings, and this song is no different.

Although I did not agree with every policy George W. Bush made I thought he was a great president, and I appreciated his desire to seek the Lord. He stood firm behind his convictions and didn't allow the world to sway him of what he knew was right. He received a lot of undue criticism, but he didn't back down. No one is perfect, and no president is either, but I thank the former president for serving and leading our country.

Here is a quote that was found on Steven Curtis Chapman's website back in November:

"Whether you voted for him & love him, or you’ve disagreed with all his policies and dislike him… Could we all agree on this? We owe President Bush a sincere thank you. As the historic Inauguration of President Elect Barack Obama approaches, StevenCurtisChapman.com pauses to thank our outgoing President for his service to our great country. This Thanksgiving weekend, we hope you’ll enjoy a new song by Steven written in President Bush’s honor."

Scroll down to turn off the music then watch the following slideshow featuring "Good-bye Mr. President".



The lyrics are as follows:

Good-bye Mr. President,
I guess the time has come for you to,
Pack up all your things and turn the page,
So I was thinking as you left,
I’d try to write a song to tell you,
What so many of us want to say.

For all those sleepless nights,
I am sure you must have had,
For all the prayers I’m sure you prayed,
For how you tried to lead us when the way was so unclear,
I am sure it wasn’t always evident,
But thank you Mr. President!

Good-bye Mr. President,
You will not be forgotten,
All the courage and the hope you helped us find,
I can’t imagine how it felt,
To stand where you were standing,
And to try to make the calls you thought were right.

So for those sleepless nights,
I am sure you must have had,
That put those lines around your eyes,
For how you carried the weight,
Even when the lights went out,
I am sure you’ll never know how much it meant,
I thank you Mr. President.

So for those days ahead,
When they write about the past,
And everybody has their say,
From all of us who know,
You gave us everything you could,
We hope you will remember this,
Thank you Mr. President!
Good-bye Mr. President.

- by Steven Curtis Chapman

An Historical Day

I've been reflecting today over the uniqueness of today as Barack Obama became the President of the United States of America the day after we recognized the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr. Although we still have a long way to go, we have come a long way to elect a man to lead our country who is an African-American. Who would have imagined that our country would be ready for this so soon? But, we have.

Although I disagree with much of Obama's ideas and am praying for him and hoping he will govern more from the middle than the far-left, I am proud of our country for tearing down walls and seeking to fight against racism. Today was a day to not focus on Democrat vs. Republican nor liberal vs. conservative, but to come together as a country and unite as Americans for such an historical day.

Because I was out all morning I missed the Inauguration. I didn't think to record it ahead of time, so I hope I can find recordings of the event because today marks a very historic moment for our country. I was sad to see former President and Mrs. George W. Bush leave the White House, board the plane, and take off, but it is also time for a new era. God is in control, and He has raised up Obama for such a time as this. I didn't agree with all of Bush's policies, but I admire him for his faithfulness to do what was right, particularly on moral issues among others. I was pleased to see such warmth between the former and new presidents and their wives as they hugged and said their good-byes. It was a proud moment for me as an American to see two of our nation's leaders who disagree on issues to put their politics aside and leave us with such a scene.

I will continue to pray for Obama. He has a great task ahead over the next four years. It has been amazing to me to see the enthusiasm he has inspired, and I hope that he will not only reach out to all peoples, but that he will seek to do what is right first and foremost.

This past week was Sanctity of Human Life Week. What an awesome time to remember the unborn and to call on people to pray that Obama will recognize these children as human life and to fight for them. He has promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act which would eliminate restrictions on abortions all over the country. I pray he has a change of heart and will not sign this bill that would make abortions even easier to be made. Each child is made special and unique by our Creator and is life.

Candace shared this video on her blog, and I thought it was so appropriate at this time. Be sure to scroll down and turn off the music before you watch the video.

Christmas Morning 2008

***Be sure to scroll down and turn off the music before you watch the video.***

Elf Yourself Disco Style!

My niece Taylor has been added as well.

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