Making Friends
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No News Is… No News.
Those who know me already know that I am not an introvert. I enjoy going everywhere and getting to know new people. I like having new experiences every day. If you saw my family calendar you’d understand. At one point we lived near our cousins. They are much more homebodies than we are. They’d watch us go in and out of the driveway everyday feeling exhausted with the thought of such a busy life. That’s pretty typical for us. I intentionally fill my days with people, places, and adventures. If I’m home doing the “same old, same old” for more than two days in a row be assured that I…
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Our Decision to Homeschool
You read that right. We’re homeschooling. This past week Jess and Liz had their last day of public school. It feels like it should have been bitter sweet… but to be honest, it was just sweet. We have always made it a focus to have a stable home for our children. Once we made the decision to move to California to pursue acting, we realized that we’d have to change how we defined stability. Moving is often difficult; and moving in with my parents, we knew that, sooner or later, we would have to move again. But we figured we decided that wherever we are, as long as we’re together,…
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Flattery
One of my favorite things about doing background work these last couple months is the social aspect. While we do work plenty, there is also usually a fair amount of time where I get to just sit around and chat with the other background actors. I’ve met some lovely people. And they always make me feel good about myself; I’m constantly being flattered. My favorite part about it, however, is the shock factor. I don’t know why I get such a kick out of it… but I do. Here I am sitting with a group of people my age. We’re usually discussing acting and the jobs we have recently worked.…
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House Guests
Some people are gifted at entertaining guests. You’d think that as a performer that would come with the talent like a package deal. Entertaining, entertainer. Basically the same thing. I guess not. I struggle. There’s something about inviting people to my house that suddenly makes me very aware of anything that looks non-Pinterest worthy. Yes… it’s a problem. I know… Of my four girls, I have two children that are of the age where they can help with quite a few chores with very minimal direction (finally). I have one child that needs me to watch her and tell her exactly what to do step by step. And then… I…
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Making Plans
What are you up to Saturday night? Seems like a simple question… Just don’t ask it to me. Don’t ask if we’re coming to visit. Don’t ask if I’m planning on going to the park. Don’t ask if I’m coming for Christmas. I mean… you can ask all you want; it’s not like it offends me… I just won’t know what to tell you. The thing is, we genuinely don’t know. Ben’s work is, as we have already established in other posts, not a very traditional job. It’s not like he has a set schedule… ever. There’s no 9-6 job, with dinner and a bedtime routine. Ben loves singing the girls…
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Operation Bullyproof
While Jess still felt that her karate skills were more than good enough to handle the situation at hand, Ben and I decided that a bit of bully-stopping self-defense training was in order. (For the full story read this first – Girls Can’t Play Soccer). After discussing it together, we came up with a three step process to follow: Step 1: Keep a straight face and use a stern, strong voice to say, “Stop that. It’s not a game. I don’t like it.” Step 2: If they don’t stop, give them a second stern, clear warning. Step 3: If they still don’t stop, punch them as hard as you can.…
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Girls Can’t Play Soccer
For most people, moving in the middle of the school year isn’t easy. Jess, though… she took it all completely in stride. She has always been one to “just keep swimming.” As soon as we knew we were moving, we did our best to make sure the girls understood why we were leaving. It wasn’t just something that we wanted; they needed to know that God was sending us. There was a real purpose to it… not just for Ben and I, but for the girls, too. They just had to find out what it was. For Jess, that was enough. The day I dropped her off at her new…
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The Intro – A Sensible Life (Part 1 of 4)
I like to think that I’m my worst critic. I don’t care to find out if that’s true. I would love to look at my life and see something that makes sense, something worthy of praise. I know it doesn’t look that way at this point. We haven’t achieved any real financial stability. We don’t own a home. In fact… we don’t even currently live in our own place. We have four children- two more than most people would consider healthy. Believe me, I see it too. I’ve become the recipient of more than a few skeptical interactions. Let me replay one for you: New acquaintance: So, what brought you…
