Christmas with the Choir

Another cherised tradition.... The choir Christmas concert Lessons and Carols is always a highlight of the season. The girls sing with the adult choir and full orchestra. Next, the girls look forward to singing at the Christmas Eve service.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Play

Lily's Story:

We had just returned from our annual trip to Michigan and we were walking home from the pool. Anyway, Mommy mentioned that if we were interested she could take us tomorrow to audition for the Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Robyn thought that it would be fun but I had to consider it because I had never been in a real live play before and thought that it would be kind of scary. But I decided to go try it. Annie (our director) auditioned Robyn first. Annie had Robyn try out for Lucy and Mrs. Beaver, and me for Susan and Mrs. Macready. After that, a couple more people came and we all did group auditions. We decided that we'd like to do it. But the next time Annie had not decided who everyone would be so we just did more auditions. I think that on Wednesday Annie sent out an email that she would try to send out a cast list that evening, but instead she sent us an email for me to come to CERC (the place we practiced at) and read some Susan parts so I came and read the parts. After we were done Annie said to me "Congratulations Susan!" You got the part!" Annie and I told Mommy. Also she said that Robyn would be Lucy one night and and Jordan would be Lucy the other night. The cast list came about thirty minutes after we got home. Robyn and I eagerly read it and since Mommy and I had not let her know that she would be Lucy she was very surprised that she had gotten the part she had wanted. So as time went on, we got to know everyone and sort of grew into one big family. Time flew but every day we looked forward to Theater Class. Before we knew it we were doing our first dress rehearsal. I can't really remember much about it except that we didn't do it quite right and that Annie forgot the make-up. The next day and dress rehearsal in the evening we did a mock performance for the church youth group. It went well except that Father Christmas forgot to put my horn in his bag... but other wise it went smoothly. On Friday we had another dress rehearsal and a performance. After my make-up was on I got several compliments two of which were when Mr. Beaver said that I looked like the girls who looked really pretty and a girl said I looked like I was twenty. While the people were finding their seats, the Unicorn started crying, Robyn said she felt like she might faint and I had the worst butterflies you can imagine. Just before when we would go on stage you should have seen us; all of us kids were jumping up and down and dancing to try and get rid of our butterflies. It was hilarious but it sure helped. The performance went well except as Robyn tells about the three long pauses and I had a line that was, "Well no, sir, that's the strangest part. Normally I would believe Lucy before I'd believe Edmund." But what I said was, "Well no, sir, that's the strangest part. Normally I would believe Edmund." That was my only line mess-up. Also after the Father Christmas scene as I was going off the stage I stepped too far on a wooden step stool and it flipped over and made a hugely big bang. When the performance was over, Robyn and I got four roses each and one of our friends gave us a big beautiful bunch of flowers. On the second performance I didn't notice anything wrong but then again I wasn't in all of the scenes. We went to the cast party that evening and then came home and slept!!! On Monday we were supposed to watch the Cast A performance but there wasn't any sound on the video so we did the play in a weird way where we said the opposite of our lines. It was okay but the next Monday we watched Cast B performance and got all of our programs signed. And then... we said goodbye to our big theatrical family. And even just talking about that makes me cry. Mommy had to pick us up so everyone left but us and one other student, Dakota. But he was in a class so we couldn't talk to him. We were sitting in front of the big desk in front of CERC and there were people there so Robyn and I just put our programs in front of our faces so they couldn't see us cry. And then Mommy came and picked us up and we went home. If you think that story has a sad ending you are wrong because here is the end of it: Annie will be doing another play this spring and so if Mommy and Daddy let us, we will see our great big family again. And that is why my story has a happy ending.

Robyn's Story:

I loved being in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe...although, I think some of the practices went better than the real performance. I think the three things that went wrong in the performance were three long pauses. The first long pause was when the White Witch comes to talk with Aslan about how Edmund is a traitor and they agree to kill Aslan in Edmund's place. Well the dwarf came and told them the Witch would come without her want. Then the dwarf left to go get the witch but the witch didn't come! We were just standing there waiting! Edmund was standing there mouthing, "Where is the White Witch?" And I was looking around the corner trying to see behind stage. But finally she came. The second long pause was the scene where Lily and I (Susan and Lucy) find out that Aslan is gone from the stone table. So I (Lucy) say "Oh no! They might at least have left the body alone!" Then Lily (Susan) forgot a new line she had just been given, it was supposed to be "Let's go get Peter and Edmund." So we go off stage without the line being said! We were supposed to go up in the baptistery but we came in the wrong door! So our director Annie said, " The other door, the other door!" Well all this time, Aslan was standing on the stage waiting for us. So we went to the other door about a minute later.

The third long pause was when Peter and Edmund ask each other where Susan and Lucy are. The beavers were supposed to come in after the line "I wonder where they could be?" but they did not. It was funny because Peter didn't have is war gloves on yet and Edmund was mouthing, "Where are they?" Peter was putting on his gloves without another care in the world!"

Even with a few pauses, it was funny! It was fun! I really enjoyed it!

Angela painted the backdrop of Cair Paravel.

Our Christmas Cookie Exchange

Can't believe this is the 8th year we've hosted a christmas cookie exchange and birthday party for Jesus here in TX. And even though there is still a deep, intuitive longing to go back in MI, there are cherished traditions and friendships we've established in our life here. Our cookie exchange and birthday party is an annual reminder of that reality. We always have baby Jesus puppet shows, music (This year one group wrote a new verse to a Christmas carol), games and birthday cake.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas....

LCCC Youth Christmas Party

This is the second year that Brian and I have coordinated youth ministry in our fledgling church. It's a great group of students! We had a progressive dinner Christmas party ending with desert and the movie "The Nativity Story". Landon--hope you're enjoying your bonnet. Chandler--how was that out of date blueberry creme soda? Jordan--did you give your mom the tea light?

Blizzard-- Texas Style

Thought you northerners would want to see a Texas snowstorm. It snowed for about 20 minutes and melted within the next half hour.

Grandma and Pop-Pop Visit

Grandma and Pop-Pop came for their annual holiday visit--arriving on Thanksgiving and staying over to see Lily and Robyn perform in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We read lots of books and played games. Grandma likes to play Webkinz with us. We baked candy cane cookies together too (with our neighbor Trey). We gave Pop-pop a special gift. It's the scrapbook we've been working on this year to commemorate his 70th birthday (last year) which has photos, memorabalia and written messages to him. He really liked it!

Thanksgiving

"They were poor in money, but rich in land and love, for the wide acres of wood, corn and pasture land fed, warmed and clothed the flock, while mutual patience, affection and courage made the old farmhouse a very happy home." An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott

I love Thanksgiving. It's so simple... Family sharing a good meal counting our blessings. This year we listed our blessings on the turkey feathers.

True Riches

Look at the riches,
Look at the worth,
Of the earth,
Gather some dollars and more,
Don't keep it, but give it to the poor,
Giving is a treasure,
It brings great pleasure,
Giving with a good attitude,
Will bring much gratitude,
That is true riches.

By Robyn.L.Webster

I shall forever more and ever after write,
And if you try to stop me I will bite!

I Love Books a Lot

I love books a lot
So I'll lay down on a cot
And enjoy the book
While the people look
As though they need
To see me read

Books take you to lots of places
Filled with mysteries and detective cases
If you need a friend
On books you can depend
So now you see
That books are the key

But there is only one great book
That takes more than a look
God's very speical Bible
That book is most relible
I hope you enjoyed my little poem
Now, I must go home

By Lily Webster
You see, I was a poet
And you did not know it

Hope's Favorite Picture Book--gotta read....

The Old Woman Who Named Things by Cynthia Rylant is a must read. I discovered our long forgotten copy under a peice of furniture while cleaning last week. Starla thought it was funny but it communicates an entirely separate storyline on an adult level dealing with processing grief and loss--kind of like the movie "Up" does--which I also consider a gotta see movie.

In the story, the old woman has lost all her friends to death and she responds to the pain with self-protection by naming only things that she's confident will outlive her--like her chair, bed, house and car. One day a stray puppy enters the scene and wants to be her friend but she refuses to take him in because then she would have to name him and she worries that he might not outlive her. She feeds him every day and sends him away. She does this for months until he stops coming. After several days, she goes looking for him at the pound and finds him there. At that point, she decides to take him home with her and names him "Lucky". Here is her explanation of the name. "The old woman thought a moment. She thought of all the old, dear friends with names whom she had outlived. She saw their smiling faces and remembered their lovely names, and she thought how lucky she had been to have known these friends. She thought what a lucky old woman she was." "Lucky ends up riding in "Betsy" (her car), sitting in "Fred" (her chair) shedding dog hair in "Franklin" (her house) and sleeping in "Roxanne" (her bed). And they both lived happily ever after.....

A Seed Sprouts

"The Promise" was fresh in Starla's mind with it's images of Satan, the crucifixion and the resurrection when I read this story, an allegory of Christ rescuing the people on the island from the entrapment of Satan, to her.


When we finished reading, I commented that someday Jesus would come back and His children would live with Him forever. She asked if she was God's child and I started to explain that to be God's child a person admits to God that they sin. They tell God how thankful they are that Jesus took the punishment for their sin and they choose to love God and follow His instructions in the Bible because they know with confidence that his death in their place demonstrates a love that can be trusted. She surprised me by starting to talk to God in prayer about her sin, her gratitude and her love for Him. It is a great joy to see this seed of faith sprout in her heart and we pray that it will grow and bear much fruit.

The Promise at Glen Rose

"The Promise" at Glen Rose is an outdoor drama production of the life of Jesus. It's held in an ampitheater under the stars on Friday and Saturday nights in September and October. It's a couple hours away from Dallas and our family had never attended until this year Halloween night. We were especially motivated to make the trip because a family from church with 2 sons who are in our youth group are in the cast. The professionalism was impressive as were the sets, music and acting. Starla enjoyed seeing the real camels, sheep and horses on stage. It brought back fond memories of the years when Angela, Lily and I participated in the Easter drama at Blythefield.


One of the most powerful aspects of the production was the portrayal of Satan. In each of the scenes, this sinister looking, red caped, slithering sort of man loomed in the background participating, inserting himself, looking for opportunities to capitalize on. Starla was tracking with Satan's every move. Robyn felt afraid of him. I was especially impacted by the scene below where Satan moves in on Judas and eventually wraps him up entirely inside his cape. For me, it was such a powerful visual of spiritual warfare. Satan lurks in the scenes of my life and yours looking for opportunities to wrap us up in his cape.



The grand finale was the resurrection. Jesus conquered the grave and is alive. I don't have a photo of it but Jesus actually lifted off the ground and ascended into the clouds at the end of the show.

For A Laugh...

Lily's having a great year in school but everyone has those moments--especially when doing Abeka grammar.

School isn't fun
And I can't wait until it's done
Almost every day
And I can say
School isn't fun.
by Lily Webster

Sweet 15!

On her birthday, Angela sewed a skirt for herself and made her favorite pie--chocolate pecan. Every year, she has a stack of presents that all look like books. Wonder why? This year she was pleasantly suprised when a large, heavy gift was unwrapped and revealed a portable easel. She'd admired Aunt Nerine's on a trip through IL this year and hoped she'd have one of her own just like it someday. Her someday wish came true sooner than expected. She's already putting her easel to good use.


She invited her close friends Hope, Grace and Mollie to spend the night and they cooked one of her favorite dinners--meatloaf and mashed potatoes. They designed cards for martyrs in prison in other countries and sewed parachutes for attaching Bibles and distributing them in the hostile jungles of Central America. They watched an old movie based on the French Revolution--The Scarlett Pimpernel. Good girls, good times!!



Angela's date with Dad this year was a trip to the Dallas Symphony. Angeal thought the conductor was fascinating to watch and drew this caricature of him.

Birthday season is now officially over at the Webster house.

Robyn turns 9

Robyn and I spent a quiet Sunday morning together on her birthday as she recovered from the swine flu. We cuddled up together and admired her baby scrapbook. She was an adorable baby! Her favorite present was the electric typewriter Angela and Lily bought for her at the neighborhood garage sale the previous day. She'd been dreaming of a typewriter ever since she watched the "Kit--An American Girl" movie and aspires herself to become a girl newspaper reporter.


She also received a deluxe magic kit. The key to magic tricks is good stage presence, quickness of the hand and distracting the eyes of the viewers. Robyn's a natural. She is preparing all her favorite tricks for a show when Pop-Pop comes to visit later this month.



Her birthday party was a "movie making" theme. In advance our girls painted sets, prepared costumes and wrote a "loose" script based on the classic story "The Basket of Flowers" by VonSchmidt. In 3 hours, they filmed what turned out to be a 15 min. movie which Angela edited and polished. (Countless times we have been grateful to the Zainea girls who first taughter Angela the fine art of movie making.)

The birthday celebration concluded with the annual date with Daddy. What a fine looking couple!

The Year--by Robyn

January's frosty cold, crocheted blankets many sold.
February's nice and cool, lakes will glitter just like jewels.
March brings sunshine very bright, it's still quite light even at night.
April's muddy from the rain, but we like it just the same.
In the month of May, it's Mother's Day I say.
June plays a part of the year, the sun is so bright it brings a tear.
July brings starts and stripes, and fireworks light up the night.
August is a happy time, the green grass is as green as lime.
September brings the colored leaves, it's getting cold--time to wear long sleeves.
October brings great delight, it's so peaceful and the leaves are such a sight.
November brings the cold and snow, it bites the hands and makes them glow.
December brings the sleight bells cheer, Christmas is very near.

Soccer Season is over--until Spring

Brian and Lily polished off their second soccer season this morning. They played a tough team--bigger, older, more experienced but they are a hardworking, scrappy bunch of girls and they did great! Lily barely limped off the field with 2 knee injuries and getting the wind knocked out of her all in 1 game. She plays like she lives and it scares her mother. The girls learned alot from Brian about strategy on the field and we look forward to having most of them back on the team in the spring. Here's our end of season team photo.

Northern Pygmy Owl

We have recently discovered that a Northern Pygmy Owl has taken up residence in one of our porch supports. Sir Speckles as he is called comes at about 7:00 pm and leaves at seven in the morning. He is diurnal and sleeps the entire time he is here.

The State Fair

I guess it's become a tradition now to go to the State Fair. I think we should win the award for "cheapskates". We go on $3 Dr. Pepper day with our empty can on pop. We almost always park blocks away and walk through "the hood" to get in. (Although this year, I broke down and paid.) We bring a sack lunch in our wagon and we only enjoy the free stuff--no chincy carnival rides for us! This year we went to the dog agility show, the african acrobats, the wild bird show and the marionettes performance. We also took in the butter sculpture and the arts and crafts building. The bird show won our "Favorites" poll this year. Scott went with us and we met a family who are friends of ours from choir. It was a good day.