Away on Holiday

We'll be away for a few days. We're packed, we're ready to go. Be safe, be merry, and have a wonderful Christmas!

Fairland Students Named for Leadership Seminar

December 17, 2008 @ 12:00 AM
BILL ROSENBERGER
The Herald-Dispatch

PROCTORVILLE -- Fairland High School sophomores Jenna Hannon and Hannah Adkins (Tanner's Homecoming escort for Court) were named the HOBY ambassador and alternate by a committee of teachers and staff. The Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Seminar is a program designed to further develop the leadership skills of students in the 10th grade.

At Fairland, ten students were nominated by teachers, and seven chose to apply for the HOBY ambassadorship. "Those seven were outstanding," guidance counselor Tim Flesher said. "I couldn't be prouder of them. They all took it seriously." The students were required to develop a resume emphasizing their leadership skills and activities that included school, church and community relationships. They also had to write an essay about why they wanted to be the HOBY ambassador.

A panel of three staff members selected Hannon as the ambassador and Adkins as the alternate. The other five finalists were Amanda Cooper, Robert Hinshaw, Lauren Lewis, Zach Rankin and Tanner Schenewark.

Meet My Reindeer

This is Ranger. He's a good reindeer. No red nose, no pokey antlers, just a small digging habit that's hard to break.

And, he even lets you snuggle if you're very soft and gentle and small, and not feeling very well.

End of a Five Year Drought!

This is Sawer and Miller's first snow, and everyone's first snow since going to Texas five years ago. Notice how little there is on the ground and how big they can get their snowmen pieces - they worked long and hard!

Sorry there's no finished snowmen pictures - it was destroyed in a snowball fight.

This is a great picture of Porter's snowball coming towards our window!

Do You Need to Check Your Batteries?

It was fairly pleasant yesterday, I believe it got up to 60 degrees. As a result, our heat never really kicked on. After dinner I was beginning to get a little chilly, and went to check the thermostat - it definitely needed to be bumped up a little. In so doing, I detected a faint smell of natural gas. I don't have much experience with natural gas. I cooked on a gas stove in California, but this house has a gas stove and gas furnace. I remember Tanner mentioning Sunday how he could smell natural gas outside. A few alarm bells started to go off in my head so I thought I would call and ask the gas company a few questions. "Columbia Gas, what's your emergency?" I don't have much natural gas experience but I'm smelling a little bit of gas when I turn my heat on coming through the vents. Is this okay? "Don't touch the phone, don't hang up when we're through, don't turn off lights that are on, don't turn on lights that are off...evacuate your house." That was a bit of jolt. I had two children already asleep and it was COLD outside. We evacuated to the car and waited 90 minutes outside, and then 90 more minutes in a neighbor's house. Turns out we had a carbon monoxide leak through the furnace, and would not be here this morning without following the promptings we received. I'm extremely glad to be awake this morning!

The Dreaded Day is Hair

There's not too many days I dread, but there is one that comes up about every six weeks: haircut Saturday. I know I shouldn't complain, after all it does save at least $70 to do it myself, but it's NOT my favorite thing to do. Fortunately, my husband is always grateful enough to do the cleaning up. I complain after seven cuts, I can't imagine doing this full time. Hats off to stylists.

One of My Little Elves

Sometimes my little elves try to trick me, like playing switcheroo with the phone...

Sometimes my little elves try to be sneaky, like drinking out of the milk jug...

Sometimes my little elves are just plain naughty, but more often than not they just want to have fun...

And every once in a while, when Santa (Mom) is gone, they're a little sad.

My Little Santa

Although he's a little unsure about what a Christmas tree is for, or what the guys in red suits are all about, he does know there's a little extra excitement in the air. He was the hit at Jarrod's work Christmas party at Marshall University, even if he went into his "I'm shy" look.

Middle School Quiz Bowl

Fairland Quiz Bowl has answers

Published 10:35am Monday, December 8, 2008

With a 14-0 regular Quiz Bowl season, the team at Fairland Middle School is going into this week’s tournament with confidence.

Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 teams from the eight school districts in Lawrence County will compete in a double elimination tournament where a team will have to lose twice before it must leave the competition. The event is sponsored by the Lawrence County Educational Service Center and will be at Ohio University Southern’s campus.

Fairland Middle’s coach is again Jim Roberts, who teaches sixth grade science at the school. He has watched the students’ interest in participating in Quiz Bowl increase over the years.

“The first year I had 35 try out. This year they were 85,” he said.

Roberts had to pick only 15 out of that number for the team at auditions held at the school. Then team members rotate with five participating at a time.

What Roberts says he looks for in a strong competitor is someone with intelligence, the ability to think quickly and a broad range of knowledge.

“Most of the kids I have, the reason they are so good at this is that they are good readers,” he said.

The team was chosen in mid-October and went into regular season competition right away at South Point Middle School. Lunchtimes were spent practicing.

Roberts finds Quiz Bowl participation advantageous for the students in a number of ways.

“No. 1, they are learning to cooperate with other kids while they practice,” he said. “And they are learning social skills.”

Remembering

I've always wanted to visit Hawaii for one reason, to go to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Miller was born on this day, and it's a bitter sweet reminder for me. Ground zero isn't so much about remembering those that died, but why they died.

Joseph B. Wirthlin

Tonight we watched the First Presidency Christmas Broadcast. I love listening to the Christmas messages and music. Elder Uchtdorf spoke of a German tradition I just learned about this week, from a friend's comments (December 1st). As I thought about the prophet and apostles we're so privileged to hear from, I remembered one who passed away this week, Elder Wirthlin. He visited our little ward in Ashford, CT when Tanner was a baby. At the conclusion of the fireside, we worked our way up front, and asked if Tanner could shake his hand. He sweetly complied, and told us that now Tanner had shaken the hand of a man who had shaken the hand of a man who had shaken the hand of the prophet Joseph Smith. That endeared this man to me, and I will miss him. Each prophet and apostle touches our hearts in different ways, but all of them leave a hole when they're gone.

The Bug

Stay away. Don't come by. Do not drop off.

No mail being sent from here, no more blogs or emails.

It's very contagious, nasty, and I would be so sad if you got it from us.

You've been warned.

I've heard there are a few viruses going around.

This is the virus that beats all others - hands down

(or up if you're looking at the picture).

Miller began, then Sawyer. Then Tanner and Porter. Now Cooper.

Hunter's holding out strong. The only one in school today.

Tanner hasn't missed in five years. Until today.

Fever, croupy cough, sore throat. Day upon day upon night.

Parafluenza. Cousin to influenza.

Enough said.

Heard this was the year to get the flu shot.

If this is any indication - count me in...the arm, that is.

Frosty

Frosty the Snowman, was a jolly, happy soul...

Until he got under the lights, and remembered all his woes...

that is, the throwing up woes. Thumpity, thumpity, look at Frosty go! Just joking, Cooper did great, the only things flying from Cooper were songs and a hat. It was refreshing to go to a school program, and amidst reindeer, trees, sugar plum fairies, toy soldiers and lots of snowmen were children's voices singing about Christmas. In our culture that seems to be a banned word, replaced instead with happy holidays, kwanza, and other words that wipe away the real meaning of Christmas. I heard the first graders did a nativity play, and have done so for the last thirty years. Where else but here I guess would that be allowed? I love my community.

Boys and Trees

When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy's been swinging them.
But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay
As ice storms do.
Often you must have seen them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain.
They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow crust--
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.
They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break;
though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves...
But I should prefer to have some boy bend them...
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away
Clear to the ground.
He always kept his poise
To the top branches, climbing carefully
With the same pains you use to fill a cup
Up to the brim, and even above the brim.
Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish,
Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.
So was I once myself a swinger of birches.
And so I dream of going back to be...
I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.
---Robert Frost

Ode to Hillbilly Hotdogs

Sonny's the weinie man, he owns the weinie stand, he sells the best weinies in town...

Sherrie's his weinie wife, she has the spice that's right, Hillbilly hotdogs day and night.

Porter's the weinie boy, he sings the hotdog song, he likes to get his weinies free,

They ate on the weinie bus, can't say they touched that much, but Hillbilly Hotdogs were so great!

Sharing Traditions

We have some fun traditions we've accumulated through the years, but one of my favorite childhood traditions was the yearly gingerbread house. I MADE six kits this weekend, and pulled out all the Halloween candy we'd set aside that was appropriate for decorating. As I was enjoying this tradition with my children this weekend, I realized that it was more meaningful for me because we were sharing it with somebody else. When we were first married, and enjoying our first Christmas, I made gingerbread houses to decorate and I shared this tradition with my husband and his mother. That's one memory of her I'll always treasure. What fun traditions do you have, and do you have plans to share them this year?