Debate Tournament

Shannon participated in her second debate tournament today. As a beginner she was on the novice track at the Candy Cane Tournament. David went with her and helped judge several rounds.

At the end of the day when all the ballots were counted, Shannon and her partner Jacob won SECOND place! They had won all four of their rounds.

We are so excited for her and believe she will be moving up to varsity level soon.

Congratulations, Shannon!



Jacob & Shannon show off their camo Santa hats. (The resolution this year involves military policy.)



After finding her seat, Shannon is still surprised.



Shannon with her coach Katie


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Basketball Season

John & Shannon have joined a local Christian basketball league sponsored by the Golden State Warriors. John's team just finished playing against one of his best friends and his team. We found out today they both have a #31 jersey.







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It's Show Time!

Our little girl turns 12!

Here is a picture of the birthday girl

with her "twin," Titus Williams, on the morning

of the Baja team's departure.

You see, Shannon's birthday started with her brothers

getting all packed up and out the door

for a week of ministry in Baja, California.

Yes, Shannon's biggest gift this year

was to be an only child for nine days,

a gift that she really enjoyed.

The twins were born on the same day 12 years ago,

and we've tried to get a picture of the two of them

together each year since.

Take a look at how much they've grown in just one year!

We took Shannon and her friend Jessica Cunningham

out for dinner at Mimi's Cafe.

Here is a picture of the girls posing

in their beautiful Easter dresses.

One of the reasons Shannon likes Mimi's

is because of the mud cup desserts.

Jessica couldn't remember having one before,

so Shannon had to keep encouraging her

through each of the gross but yummy layers.

Chocolate pudding, oreo cookie crumbs,

and gummy worms--a kid's delight.

The next day, we visited Grandma Nancy,

and Shannon got to open more presents.

She was delighted with the warm microfiber blanket.

She had a great time shopping with me that week

and using the Target gift card

that Grandma & Grandpa Erwin had sent her.

Later in the month, Grandma Jodie came to visit

and gave her a precious painting

that has been hanging in the kids' bedroom

in her Morro Bay house for several years.

Birthdays are such a special time,

and Shannon is truly a special young lady.

We love you, sweetheart!

Crazy Kids

Having been inspired by Lynnette Kraft's blog entry today,

I decided to share some of the sillier pictures of my kids from 2008.

Here are Joshua & Shannon in a weightless condition

at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland.

Actually, they were simply jumping up

while the camera caught them off the ground.

A pretty cool feature of one of the exhibits.

The Center even emailed the picture to me afterwards!

John is just plain goofy sometimes.

He was simply putting a pencil in front of his face,

using his hood to hold it in place--that's all.

No interesting story.

Just a funny picture.

Just John.

We were having lunch at the IKEA cafeteria one day,

and David was insisting that the kids eat their greens.

They wanted us to take a picture to document the fact

that they DO eat (and love) their veggies.

Outside IKEA there is a huge sculpture

in the shape of a chair.

Here is their "Thinker" pose on it.

For John's birthday he received a pocket knife.

What it had to do with hijacking his sister's birthday crown,

I'll never know.

While I was out one day, David grabbed the camera

and shot a whole collection of pictures

of the kids making funny faces.

Here's Shannon's "Precious Moments" shot.

One of them all together in a truly nice photo!

...and then 3 seconds later...

John broke his finger a few days after his birthday

and had to have surgery.

I thought the little blue hair cap was adorable.

He didn't!

Of course, that's a 13-year-old boy for you.

After the anesthesia wore off,

he didn't care what pictures I took.

Joshua was desperately in need of a hair cut

but was enjoying the effects of some serious hair gel on his mop.

Here is his "scary" pose.

David's glasses indicate

that Joshua had pretty accurate aim!

One would think from looking at this next picture

that this is simply a sweet, adorable little girl.

Shannon was my helpful assistant for my 50th birthday tea

I was hosting at a friend's house.

She was so ladylike all day,

enjoying a fun book quietly in a corner

while the ladies chatted the afternoon away . . . or so I thought!

When we weren't looking,

she snatched my camera

and tiptoed into the back room

to make a funny video of herself

discovering treasures on shelves

and in the bathroom.

Here's a picture she took of herself

--a real close up photo!

I didn't know she had even done this

until I uploaded the pictures

from the day onto my computer.

SHANNON!!!!

New Year's Eve 2009

We typically spend our New Year's Eve quietly at home, watching a movie or visiting with family, and blowing on conch shells or noisy tubes at the turning of the year. This year we decided to try something different and joined a group at a New Year's Eve dance. The Quick Step Social Dance Club consists of a group of home school kids who have an interest in ballroom dance, and who share their talents with others. What a terrific time we had!

Our evening started with a one-hour dance lesson taught by Kirby Gowen and his lovely assistant and sister, Zoe Gowen. In a large circle around the gym, we learned the basic waltz, two-step, swing, cha cha cha, and polka steps with a few spins and twirls to boot. For many this was but a review while for the rest of us this was either new (Joshua and Shannon) or return to long-lost memories from high school or college (David and Liz). Kirby was an amazing dance teacher.

Each time we learned a new dance step, the girls would rotate to the next male partner in the circle.

Once the lesson was completed, the dance floor was opened up, and everyone got to practice what we had just learned.

John chose to spend the majority of his evening reading...

...and bending over backwards, it would seem, to stay away from the dance floor.

As 2010 approached, the bottles of Martinelli's Apple Cider were opened, glasses filled, and the countdown started.

Welcome 2010!

Here's a short video we made of the evening. Be sure to pause the Playlist at the very bottom of this page before starting the video.

Christmas Day 2009

We spent a quiet morning at home and then headed to Grandma Nancy's house in Berkeley. After a turkey dinner, we finished the opening gifts. Shannon was thrilled with the Webkinz each of her brothers gave her.

Grandma was delighted with the pumpkin spice candle that Joshua bought and carved for her.

Liz had crocheted a doll blanket for Elizabeth, Shannon's American Girl doll, to match the afghan for Shannon's bed that she finally finished a few nights ago.

Grandma has been busy painting the doll house and purchasing new furnishings and decorations. Shannon thoroughly enjoyed rearranging the furniture and laying down new carpeting in different rooms. They plan to get together to put up wallpaper and other special touches on the house in the near future.

Having just completed a couple crochet projects, Liz started a new afghan for Nancy using more homespun yarn which is so incredibly soft and colorful!

December

December 5 - Our Biology students prepared presentations about the experiments they performed at home and independently. Joshua F. taught the group about his osmosis experiment with the semipermeable membrane of an egg while Joshua C. shared about his enzyme experiment with pineapples. Both boys were able to use skills they learned in their speech class for their presentations.

December 10 - The Jubilate Deo Chorus sang beautifully for their Christmas Concert. Joshua joined two young ladies to sing "Mary, Did You Know," and Shannon sang along with two other girls for a beautiful rendition of "Silent Night." The entire choir did a fantastic job with all their solos and choral singing.

December 11 - Alaina Bigelow joined us for the annual Centerville Christmas Concert in Fremont. Once again the choirs and the orchestra heralded the Savior's birth with glorious music and celebration.

December 14 - The students of our school, Harvest Christian Academy, joined the residents at Rosewood Gardens in Livermore for an afternoon of song, speech presentations, and cookies. The FitzGerald children helped lead "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," and Joshua played his special piano piece.

December 15 - Liz and the children joined different families from Home Schoolers Loving God, our home school support group, for a trip to the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Since Joshua is studying World History this year, the King Tut exhibit fit perfectly with his coursework.

John attempted a kingly stance as he tried on a replica of the famous headpiece in the gift shop.

We went to the top of the museum tower where we had a breathtaking panoramic view of Golden Gate Park and much of San Francisco.

Right across from the museum is the California Academy of Sciences, which was recently completely rebuilt. The building has a new Living Roof. We are eager to visit the science museum again now that it has reopened.

We could see the top of the Golden Gate Bridge peaking over the top of the nearby hills.

After our tour of the museum, we headed over to Pier 39 for some lunch and fun.

December 17 - Shannon's new glasses arrived. Yes, our dear daughter is slightly far sighted and now sports a pair of glasses for most activities other than reading.