And so I have been at film school for almost two months now and what have I to show for it? I mean, in film school you make films right? They aren’t hard or anything. Anyone can do it on a weekend. The Lord of The Rings movies were a bit more complicated and took all of three weeks, right?

So for your viewing pleasure here are links to two shorts that I have been involved in.

Number One

Number Two

Also, I had the opportunity to work at an actual film job a week ago. I got paid for it and everything. The TV sots were a series of political ads for Congressman Pete Hoekstra. He is on the Compass Board and the spots were filmed right at Compass. I was in charge of running the slate (the clap board, “SNAP”) and I also powdered his head. Baldness is not kind under TV lights.

Here are the three spots

A big accomplishment

Lucy has learned a lot since my last “Lucy post.” She says Mama and Papa all day long now. “Mama, Papa.” “Mama, Papa.” But usually, it’s more like: “Mama, Papaaaaaahhhhh”. Papa is emphasized like a rock star. “Papaaahhhh.”

“Nana” is also becoming a daily word for Lucy. Every time she sees the computer she asks for Nana. Grampa – “Ga-Gah” has been said. And there have been hints of Granddad: “Dah-dah.” I may be reporting prematurely, but I fancy that I heard an Amy and some sort of Brad while she was flipping through her photos this evening. Will keep you guys updated as to if this was an actual recognition and verbalization.

Walk - “gock” – has also become a daily part of life. Always accompanied by the sign for outside (turning the wrist as if turning a doorknob). Which leads me to our biggest accomplishment lately: after twelve months of teaching, the girl has finally learned the sign for more and uses it regularly now. This has not rid us of the “ack-ack-ack” sound indicating I want, altogether, but it has significantly decreased the occurrence of the abominable noise.

Today Lucy put together her first signing sentence – at least, I think it constitutes a sentence. She ran up to me, handed me her sippy cup and made the more sign. “Get me more milk, Mama!” Couldn’t have been clearer. Smart girl!

Greek and mathematics are very well, but…

Perhaps more exciting than her communication learnings, Lucy is beginning to learn self-control.  This may not seem like a big deal, but my heart resonates with Louisa May Alcott’s insight. From Little Men:

Latin, Greek and mathematics were all very well, but in Professor Bhaer’s opinion, self-knowledge, self-help and self-control were more important, and he tried to teach them carefully.

Being such an alert, involved, I-must-figure-it-out-and-I-want-to-make-it-work child, Lucy gets frustrated rather easily. And her frustration tends to materialize in a fit of screaming, thrashing, throwing, biting, hitting and more screaming. Otherwise known as a tantrum. So, we’ve been working on self-control, which means when she starts to get upset, we remind her of her choices: 1) Calm down and let Mama and Papa help, or 2) Go throw your tantrum in your crib because we don’t want to hear it. (Thank you, Nana, for passing along your wisdom and experience in dealing with a strong-minded child!)

After many days with multiple crib times involved (not to mention an incident of abrupt cart-abandonment in Babies R Us to go sit in the carseat), I’m amazed that Lucy is actually choosing not to throw tantrums. If she does end up in her crib, she immediately settles down. But more often than not, she doesn’t need to go to her crib. After we remind her of her choices, she actually tries to calm herself down.

I’m amazed, first of all, that she understands us so well. And secondly, that she can find herself on the brink of despair and choose to back away from it. Being much like my daughter in frustration and intensity, I know what a hard thing it is to do. She inspires me, and I’m reminded of something I read recently by Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest (September 25):

God does not ask us to do the things that are naturally easy for us – He only asks us to do the things that we are perfectly fit to do through His grace.

Our daily life

All in all, we’ve been having fun lately – Lucy, me and Peter. We go for walks and Lucy fills her hands and wagon with treasures like leaves, pinecones and acorns (she’s a little collector – must always have her hands full.) We play chase around the house. Peter does daring acrobats with Lucy that cause her to fly through the air with the greatest of ease (and glee.) And Lucy’s newest game this week is closing bedroom doors on us and opening them up again to say “peek” – “peeeeeets” (her cutest verbalization ever.)

She also reads a lot and rocks (“gok-gok-gok”) too, as you’ll see next. New photos below.

Angel wanna-be

In Sigrid’s chasmere sweater

Reading with Gramma

“Goodnight…GORILLA!”

Again!

Budding Arsenal fan? Thanks Auntie Esther & Uncle Blair

Go, Lucy, go

The big girl

Reads by herself

Basket of warm diapers!

Ready for fall thanks to Auntie Sam-Sam

The big girl

Rocks, too

“You don’t know my dog!”

Loving the flannel nighty Auntie Cynthia made

I have to share this little jewel I found in Country magazine.

Country magazine is: “For those who live in or long for the country.” I, of course, fall into the “long for” category. I’m a city-dweller who stops to sip on any country memories that come my way. The hollow sound of Dad’s ax splitting wood. The cool dampness of a fresh-washed sheet on my face as I hang it over the clothes line. The crackle of gravel that softly announces a car coming down the road.

To sit down with a Country magazine is like a long, cool drink at the end of my day. It isn’t fancy. But it gives enough tidbits and photographs to stoke my imagination and float me above the concrete and exhaust for awhile.

The issue I’m reading now, Oct/Nov 2007 (I get my issues secondhand from my grandma), tells how to hull walnuts, journals a week-in-the-life of a catfish farmer, and includes a recipe for venison tortilla lasagna (hmmm…what ethnic category would that go under?)

Of course it’s full of other stories and highlights too, including this little glimpse into a life that warms my heart:

Henry Dusek always loved fiddle music. So when Henry left the family cotton farm in 1946 to work in the oil fields, he ordered a $49.95 fiddle with his first paycheck. “It was the best one in the Sears, Roebuck catalog, and I still have it,” he says.

Years later, he found a book on how to make fiddles, and has since crafted instruments out of everything from black walnut to old doors to a mesquite tree that didn’t burn when he cleared some land around his Goliad, Texas home.

“When I was little, my mother would rock me while singing ‘Rock of Ages,’” he says. “When I finish a fiddle and tune it up for the first time, that’s always the first tune I play.”

There’s something special to me about Mr. Dusek’s tuning ceremony for his fiddles. He instills them with something valuable, something ancient, from the moment of their birth. They’ve been rooted and established in love before going out. What care he has for his creations. And, with such care does he carry forth that which was instilled in him.

I’ve had a memory resurfacing in my mind daily throughout the past few weeks. It wasn’t an earth-shattering moment in my life. It’s not of a tragic event, or even a precious one. It doesn’t draw up thoughts of a loved one, or annoyingly remind me of one of my flaws. In fact, it’s not about me, or anyone I know. I was simply there. It’s just a memory from one day-in-the-life.

Oswald Chambers writes: At the basis of Jesus Christ’s Kingdom is the unaffected loveliness of the commonplace. We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring. (My Utmost for His Highest, August 21)

Inspiring, it was. This instance in life made me smile at the time, and still makes me smile now.

It was an everyday morning working at Ameriprise Financial in downtown Minneapolis. Like most mornings, I must have had a hard time keeping my eyes open because I decided to treat myself to a latte at Caribou Coffee. I walked the skyway to the Caribou on the second floor of the Baker Building. It’s a little store and it was packed that day. You shuffle forward, order your drink, then squeeze into a space half your size between Him and Her, and wait for your drink to be announced.

As you wait, you hope that you can grab your drink before someone else thinks it’s theirs. You hope the barista got it right. Actually, you really just hope that it materializes at all from the haze of steamy espresso, frothy milk and whipped cream.

The Caribou employees were on top of it, and the barista delivered the drinks to each person by name. The barista this morning was a zestful twenty-something guy. He had eyes that sparkled and looked at people, rather than past them. Whilst his hands expertly sprayed whipped cream, sprinkled toppings and sleeved cups, he boomed:

“I’ve got a small skim, vanilla latte for Liz.”

“Medium white mocha, no whip, no shavings, for John.”

“Julie, your pumpkin spice latte – large – is ready for you.”

And then, he looked out over the crowd, held up a drink, and announced:

“A medium cappuccino for the woman with the name that saved the world…”

He paused. We listened. Offering the drink forward with a softer tone, he said:

“Grace.”

The first week of school is over.  So far it has been just a lot of lecture.  Engaging to be sure.  My Artistic Vocation class will be much fun.  We get to delve into the question of “why make films?”  The separation between the artist and the missionary.  How can (or should) beautiful art portray sometimes ugly truth?

As for the hands on part school…it is coming up.  I am really looking forward to it.  We are going to start playing with our cameras tomorrow.  I did purchase one even though it is not very good.  It will suffice for now.  Once I actually start shooting footage I will put up bits as they are completed.  I look forward to sharing my work. The camera I am really interested in does not yet exist, but if you are interested you can read a bit about it here.

Peace.

The first day has come and gone.  There were many speeches and much orientating.  As an odd note, at 30, I am officially the oldest student at the school this year.  I am even older than several of my professors.  They are much smarter than me however.  The youngest student is 17.  There are three married students and only two of us have children.  Their daughter’s name is also Lucy.  Quite funny, yes?  There are only two women students this year.  Please pray for them as that cannot be very easy.  At least I don’t think it would be easy, but please pray anyway.  I didn’t get a solid head count but I think the total number of students is at 22 or 23.

We watched Rear Window after the official sessions were over.  We were instructed that every movie we watched from here on out was to be thought of as homework (my kind of homework).  Every movie is to be viewed with a critical eye.  Look for lighting and framing.  Why did the director choose that to tell the story that way?  What was brought out by that choice of lighting or sound?

I am really looking forward to this school year.  Even more so now than before.  I can rattle on about why story telling is important and what methods I think work best and these guys understand and rattle back in a like manner.  “A pig in slop” would be a great way to put it.

Dear Lord, thank you for this gift and please grant me grace to not squander it.  Now is not the time to bury the talent.

We have a quick break during orientation so I thought I would make a quick post.  I am really going to like this year.  The staff and students, so far, seem to be quite wonderful.  Given the drama that I though I have gone thorugh I have learned that I hae had it easy.  One student only first heard about Compass last Thursday.  Another student only made the decision to attend at 4pm yesterday.  He lives (lived) in Indiana and drove up this morning.  His wife will follow soon, but last minute is a bit of an understatment.

God is good.  All the time.

Now for bagels and cream cheese.  Yum.

So I have more photos of our apartment – the living room anyway. I haven’t posted them because I keep meaning to get the bedrooms too, but it hasn’t happened. So I thought I’d just post what we’ve got. Got some cute photos of Lucy, too.

It’s Saturday morning. Got up with Lucy at her normal 5:30 time this morning. I laid around while she played for an hour and a half, and then we both went down for naps. Now Peter and I are enjoying our hot morning drinks (tea, coffee) and Lucy is being a monkey. Right behind my back, she climbed from the chair up and into her highchair. She has really wanted to help me on the computer. Finally got her distracted with an empty box. She’s sitting inside trying to close the flaps over herself.

We’ll most likely walk to the farmers market this morning. It’s not like we need anything – we’ve already been there twice this week. But it is just so fun to go walk through it. It’s really my favorite activity here in GR. That, and cooking. After a First Trimester eating mostly Dinty Moore Beef Stew and canned pears (everything else was revolting), I’m enjoying food more than ever.

Well, must get the monkey child outside. Enjoy the photos.

Living room (from front door)

Living room (toward dining room)

Mantle

Living room (from dining room)

Blue-eyed girl

Peter’s heirloom pasta sauce

Lucy in Auntie Sam Sam’s dress

Baby dolls: the favorite toy of now

Lighthouse in Grand Haven

Lake Michigan at Grand Haven

Ah, Peter

Lucy in Grand Haven

Sharing with Mama

We

love

Michigan’s peaches

Our drive to Grand Rapids started at 5:30 in the morning. As we drove over the gentle Wisconsin hills we rolled up and down through morning mist. Cows lounged in the fields. Daisies bobbed by the roadside. I wanted Lucy to go back to sleep for awhile, so I started setting some Robert Frost poems to music. She never went to sleep, but seemed to enjoy the poetry. Here are some of the songs, for those interested in learning some Robert Frost poems.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (Song tune: “O Christmas Tree”)

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Gathering Leaves (Song tune: How Firm a Foundation)

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.

I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.

But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.

I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for color.

Next to nothing for use.
But a crop is a crop,
And who’s to say where
The harvest shall stop?

A Passing Glimpse (Song tune: Be Thou My Vision)

I often see flowers from a passing car
That are gone before I can tell what they are.

I want to get out of the train and go back
To see what they were beside the track.

I name all the flowers I am sure they weren’t;
Not fireweed loving where woods have burnt–

Not bluebells gracing a tunnel mouth–
Not lupine living on sand and drouth.

Was something brushed across my mind
That no one on earth will ever find?

Heaven gives its glimpses only to those
Not in position to look too close.

Lucy in Saugatuck

On Tuesday this week we decided to go see Lake Michigan. We drove over to a small town called Saugatuck, which is only 45 minutes from here. It was everything the girly-girl in me wanted it to be. Unique little shops on small streets with hanging flower baskets, art galleries, cute old houses, even a hand-crank ferry to get across the river. We enjoyed going in and out of shops. Ate at an outside taco stand. Bought (and ate) chocolate at a candy shop. Then we headed out to the beach.

We went to Oval Beach, which is truly amazing. National Geographic Traveler magazine named it one of the top two beaches in the United States. Conde Naste’s Traveler Magazine calls it one of the 25 best shorelines in the world.

To get to Oval Beach, we drove through a little, hilly forrest then came out on top of the sand dunes, with the big blue water stretching as far as we could see. The beach is all sand – the softest sand I’ve ever felt. At the water’s edge are smooth little earth-tone colored rocks, and white shell bits that chink and tinkle as they tumble over each other in the outgoing waves.

The water was 68 degrees, so we got in and enjoyed it. Lucy was a little hesitant, but smiley the whole time. She mostly enjoyed traipsing through the sand after the seagulls, playing with some other kids’ shovels, and burying her legs in the sand – after she watched another boy do it. She sat down right next to him (a teenager/pre-teen) and starting doing the same thing.

Oval Beach

Little Baby Bump

68 degree water

So much to see

Little foot!

So much to do

So little!

Lake Michigan rocks

Tired beach girl

Lucy in Saugatuck