Outstanding Benchwarmer...Except for One Night!!

It is a blast to watch kids grow up.

I don't know about you, but for me there are times when I think that I know my child, and then something pops up in their life that just proves I'm still learning who they are as a person.  There have been many times throughout this year when I have felt this way with Lena.

Now, I am going to have to hide this post from Lena.  I don't want her to read it and get a big head!!  But, I am still going to write this post because I want to remember what a tremendous thing she did during her 7th grade year as a new student in Oak Hill schools.  So here goes...

Because of our jaunt overseas, Lena has not done much in the way of sports.  She has never complained about missing sports.  She has never pushed to be in sports.  We signed her up for Badmiton in France, and she seemed to half enjoy it.  I just figured she wasn't a sporty kind of kid.

But, then, we moved back to America.

And, then, we watched hours and hours and hours of the summer Olympics. :-)

I don't know which of those two things to blame (or give credit to), but being in American and being super charged up about American sports has yielded a great reaction in Lena.  Even though she had never played a sport before, she decided to try out for volleyball within the first 2 weeks of school this year.

I have to confess that I mourned the fact that 'maybe we moved back too late for Lena to get in' because sports switch from 'include everyone who wants to play' in elementary, to 'you have to try-out and make the team' in junior high.  But thankfully, for Lena, it has worked out alright.

Our 12 year old daughter declared, "I am going to try out for volleyball.  If I don't make the team, that is o.k.  But, I am going to go to try-outs and work really hard and try to prove to the coach that I can follow instructions.  And, I am going to have an awesome attitude, too.  Maybe they will give me a chance."

And that is exactly what she did.  She tried out for volleyball along with 20 other girls.  Only 12 were selected for the team, and Lena made the team!!!

As the season went on her love for volleyball grew right along with her skills.  But, that wasn't all.  Her desire to be a sporty gal was clearly solidified.

So, she decided to do it again in basketball.  Only, with basketball, the other girls had played for several years, but Lena had hardly ever dribbled a basketball before try-outs!  We took her to the IWU gym to show her basic shooting technique, but let's just say it wasn't enough to wow the Oak Hill basketball coaches.

Yet, she went to the grueling try-outs and worked hard and maintained a good attitude.

There were 12 girls competing for 10 spots on the team.

At the end of try-outs, the coach called each girl into a room one-by-one to let them know if they made the team.  (Can you imagine!  I heard there were dramatic tears from the ones who didn't make the team.)

The coach was honest with Lena.  She said she'd like to have Lena on the team, but she was clear that she couldn't play her in games this year.  She told Lena she'd give her a chance to practice and learn and then they could see what would happen over the course of the year.  Lena understood and said she'd still really like to be on the team, even if she never played in a real game.

And, so, my daughter with the awesome attitude and the determination to work hard has been the most outstanding bench-warmer for 7th grade girls basketball.  She has learned to be a fabulous cheerleader from the bench to this team.  And, she has learned that her place as a back-up, back-up player is important too, in it's own way.  There hasn't been a single hint of grumbling from this young lady.

But.....

Halfway through the season, the coach started putting Lena in at the end of the game if the team was winning by more than 20 points.  She has played for the last 2 minutes in perhaps five games this season.  Lena has been totally content with that.

But this is what has been so amazing with Lena's 7th grade girls basketball team...

There is no question Lena came into the season with the most to learn (and therefore, the worst player).  Yet, her teammates are her biggest fans - just like she is their biggest fan.  Each time she has been put in for the last 2 minutes of a game, all the girls on the bench have been chanting, "give the ball to Lena!"  They ALL wanted to see Lena make a basket in a game.  But, 2 minutes goes by really fast, and Lena hadn't been able to make a basket for most of the season.  Yet, who would have guessed that these girls would care so much about Lena!!  Who can predict the behavior of 7th grade girls?!?

Well, this past Wednesday night, the girls were playing a team that is truly just HORRIBLE at basketball.  By the end of the first quarter, they were more than 20 points ahead.

So...

The coach benched the great players and put 'guess who' into the game. Yes, LENA!  She got to play for three quarters of the game.  And, she made two baskets, scoring 4 points for her team.  Plus, she got fouled on a lay-up and shot two free throw shots (which she missed, but oh well).

But, most sadly, nobody from our family was there to see it!  Mark had to work late that night, and I took the boys to their programs at church.  We were so sad we were not there!

A part of me almost thinks it was better to have Lena tell it all to us rather than see it ourselves, because it was a total joy to hear her explain all that happened in great detail and excitement.  Plus, at the game Thursday night, we got to hear all the other parents talk about how well she did because they knew that we had missed seeing it ourselves.

I just marvel.

I marvel at Lena.

What a great thing she has done to just simply decide to try sports, even though she had never played before.  What a great life lesson that has been for her.

I am amazed that she figured out that she might be able to get on the team just by showing she can listen and obey the coach.    How did she figure this out at such a young age?  Awesome!

I am amazed that she understands that having a good attitude can get you places you never could go with a bad attitude.  What a fabulous life lesson this is too!

I am amazed that she has learned enough in one season of practices to be able to play in a game and do what she did!  She has had to learn over 20 different plays, among other things.  I'm shocked at how complicated basketball is, even at the 7th grade level.

Way to go Lena!!!!  You have done well and you have made us very proud!!!

I also marvel at this 7th grade girls basketball team.  They are truly a team.  The acceptance of one another and their encouragement of one another is breath-taking.  It has been wonderful to watch.  I told Lena, "You are very blessed to be on a team like this.  You have some amazing friends!"

One of her friends told her that she nearly cried when she saw Lena make her first basket.  Based on all that had happened in the other games, I asked Lena, "So, did the entire bench erupt in cheering when you made a basket?"  She said "Yes, it was pretty amazing, Mom!"

I can just see it.  These are Hollywood moments for a girl like Lena.

What a blessing.

So, now for some photos.  Lena is #40 in the blue.

Here's a photo of the whole team, along with coaches and managers after a tournament earlier this month.  Lena is back row on the right, with her arms crossed over her number.

Oh, and I finally got a photo of the girls through the window of the gym doors.  They are just finishing their practice here.  They gather in a circle and talk for a little bit and then pray at the end of every practice and game.  Is that not awesome or what?!?  (Lena is on the right in the purple shorts.)

So, basketball is ending soon.  If they win their game Monday, they play again.  If not, they are done for the year.  Each time they win, they earn the right to go on to the next game.   Either way, all will be done by next Saturday.

What will Lena do next? 

She has decided it is time to do sports she knows she is pretty good at already.  She's a decent swimmer, so she's going to swim for the 7th grade girls team next.  I am looking forward to how she will handle that.  Given what has happened in volleyball and basketball, I don't have a worry in the world.

After that, she is going to try out for track.  Turns out, her basketball coach also coaches the 7th grade girls track team.  She has been working on Lena the entire basketball season, telling her that she HAS to run track.  Lena is a good runner.  So, she is pretty pumped about running in track.

And, of course, the boys are about to sign up for baseball.  So, we are far from finished with our  hours on the bleachers!  And, we couldn't be more happy about that.

Go Pederson clan, go!!!

A Mini Celebration

Yesterday we had a mini celebration.  Why, you ask?  Because we have FINALLY returned to one bank.  Ahhhhhh.....what a relief!

I'll never look at missionaries with the same eyes ever again.  It is a very complicated life.  Our banking situation is an illustration of that.  Here's a brief snapshot of the banks that we had and why during our 'stint' as missionaries: 

Bank #1 - Wells Fargo - this was the bank we used before we went into missions.  We used it up until we left for France.

Bank #2 - Bank of Missouri - our mission agency STRONGLY suggested we open accounts at this bank because it was just down the road from the mission agency's main office.  If there was an emergency while we were overseas (which there never was), they could easily get money into our account - and fast.

Bank #3 - US Bank - we opened accounts at this bank because our parents both had access to a US Bank in their respective towns.  If they needed to get money to us (for instance, sending money for the kids' birthday presents), they could put it in our US Bank accounts and we could get the money while overseas through the ATM.  (It doesn't do a lot of good to mail a check from a USA bank to France.  We'd just have to mail the check back to a USA bank to cash it.  Having the US Bank accounts saved a lot of hassle for us all.)

Bank #4 - Bank of America - we used Bank of America for all of our income from America because we could withdrawal funds from this account in France without incurring any fees - NONE.  This saved us TONS of money. 

Bank #5 - Credit Agricole in France - this was our main bank in France for the first year or so.  But, then, we got a notice one day that they would no longer accept ANY cash deposits from us.  This was problematic since we were taking our money out of our Bank of America account at the ATM in France and depositing it into the bank in France in order to move our income into Euros and make it available for living in France.  Since they wouldn't accept cash any longer, we had to change banks.  BUT, we couldn't close the account at this bank because our renter's insurance was through this bank, so we had to leave it open. 

Bank #6 - BNP - I cannot remember what BNP stood for, but the "P" is Paribas.  Anyway, this was the bank where we kept our funds in Euros. 

So, as you can imagine, it was a bit nuts keeping track of all of this! 

And, during our transition to Indiana, we had to open another bank account in Indiana to begin life here!  Insanity!

This is why we had a celebration yesterday.  Yesterday, we closed the last bank account besides our local account.  All 6 of those bank accounts that you see listed above are no longer in existence!  Yeah!!!  Our lives have returned to normalcy again!!!

On top of all the banking complications a missionary faces, they also have to file taxes in two countries and manage retirement accounts and, in our case, handle a country's pension plan.  What a zoo! 

Needless to say, we are thankful to return to a calm, predictable, local, and entirely USA way of handling finances. 

Ahhhhh.....  I think I'll go eat a square of French chocolate to continue the celebration!

Random Thoughts

Random Thought #1:

It's so fun to celebrate Christmas again!  Here are snapshots of the kids by our Christmas tree (which smells AMAZING!).

I have to include this one too.  We have a photo of Lena at about age 3 kissing this dog ornament.  She remembered that, and decided to do it again.  There are lots of fun memories hanging on this tree!

It is just so much fun to get the Christmas photos and letters, to share gifts with friends and family, to see snow and play in snow again!  So fun!

Random Thought #2:

For some reason, I have been remembering things lately.

Remembering how Ryan used to be petrified of animals of all kinds.  Why was that?  Who would have guessed going to Camp Forest Springs would solve the problem forever.  I guess the Camp Forest Springs animal farm full of baby animals was the best place of all to lose all fear of animals.

Remembering when Todd was a baby and Lena was in Kindegarten in White Bear Lake.  I decided I wanted to walk, so I took the double stroller to the Mall of America to do laps.  Ryan was in the back of the stroller in the seat, and Todd was in the baby carrier in the front.  But, Ryan would NOT keep his hands off of Todd who was facing him, so I had to switch them and put Ryan in the front.

So, as I was walking around the Mall of America - trying desperately to get some exercise - Ryan was in the front of the double stroller swinging his body sideways as FAR as he COULD, again and again and again to entertain himself -- all the way around the Mall of America.  He was a big 3 year old.  His swinging with such force made it nearly impossible to push that double stroller!  What a little stinker!  He put an end to my walking single handed-ly.  Kids!

Random Thought #3:

A few weeks ago, I overheard a conversation between Todd and Ryan.

Todd: (He had the game Headbanz out, and he was holding a card with a photo on it.)  "OK, guess what this is.  Here's a clue.  It has an 'e' at the end of the word."

Ryan: "I have no idea what this is."

Todd:  "It has black eyes."

Ryan:  "I have no idea."

Todd:  "It has big stripes."

Ryan:  "I have no idea."

Todd:  "Guess!  I gave you 3 clues!"

Ryan:  "I have no idea.  It could be anything with an 'e' on the end of the word, black eyes and stripes!"

Todd:  "OK, it's a bee."

Oh, we laughed our heads off!!

Random Thought #4:

If we were in Paris still, we would have had a Christmas cookie bake with our friends last week.  I miss doing that!

Random Thought #5:

French in haunting me here in the USA.  Who knew that there was so much French here!  It is on tons and tons of labels.  Did you know that?  I certainly didn't, until I learned French.  If you buy a kitchen tool, almost certainly the label will be in French too.  Hair products, household items, some food (although you are more likely to find Spanish on food stuffs)...it is everywhere.

Just last week, I was in the bathroom at one of Ryan's basketball games, and this is what I saw.

Now look closely and what do you see?
 

I was standing there, drying my hands thinking, "NO!!!!  That horrible verb 'arriver' (to arrive) is haunting me in my home country!  It should not be doing that to me here!"

I learned an enormous amount of French vocabulary while overseas and really enjoyed that.  But, the struggle of 'how to say things' was with me all the time.  I would say things in French the way I say them in English, and that just doesn't work.  French people don't think the way we think.  So, quite often they didn't understand me very well when I spoke, even though I was using French words when I was speaking.

This hand dryer is a good illustration.  In English, it says 'disconnect from power supply before servicing."  Simple, right!

In French, it says, "Unplug the arrival of electricity before all maintenance."

See!  I would never ever think to put it that way!  UGH!!!!!

And, this is why I am so, so, so, sooooooo very happy to be doing life in English all the time again.

But, why can't the French just leave me alone?  I want to forget how hard you are, French.  Go away!

Random Thought # 6:

Today was supposed to be the last day of school before the Christmas break, but we got a wonderful winter storm which caused a snow day today!  Yeah!  It is so nice to be home, looking out at the white outside, and enjoying an unexpected day with the kids.

Random Thought #7:

This past Wednesday, Mark's Mom had open heart surgery to replace a valve that has been malfunctioning most of her life.  We are so very thankful that the surgery was a success and that she is on her road to recovery.  We anticipate that once she gets through the recovery (not an easy process), she is going to have a whole new lease on life!  Praise the Lord!  What a great Christmas gift for Kathy!

Well, I think that's enough for today.  I am off to do fun things with the kids.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Pictures Tell the Whole Story

We moved when our daughter was entering 7th grade and our sons were entering 5th and 1st grade. 

For our youngest, there wasn't a ton of worry about his making friends.  First graders are still pretty accepting of whomever. 

However, for our 7th grade girl?  Well, we knew it was anyone's guess how that would go!

For our 5th grade boy?  We prayed sports would help him connect quickly.

So, how has it turned out?  These pictures tell the story best.

Lena among 7th grade girls who have already become great friends!  It is almost as if she has always been among them.  A total miracle!

Ryan chatting with some of his friends.  More are on their way.  Check out this next photo.

These boys have a great time together.  And notice, Todd, is right in there entertaining the lot of them.

We are just so thankful for the grace of God which has allowed our kids to find great friends - and fast!  God is good!

So proud of you, Todd!

I've been wanting to include the "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" photo of Todd for a little while now.  This seems like a good time to do it because in today's post, I want to write about how proud we are of Todd.

This fella has done amazing things.

Let me explain.

When we moved to France, Todd went to all day preschool in the French public school at the age of 4.  We had no choice as to which class he was put into or how long his day would be, he just joined the class where other kids his age would go for all day preschool.  As it turned out, he was young for his class.  Those full days of school in a foreign language really tired him out!

Our second year in France, Todd was in Kindegarten.  This was the year he really swallowed French.  (I just don't know a better word for it.  Swallowed is the best.  One day he just became fluent in French.)

Our third year in France, Todd was a 1st grader.  By the time we left France, he was reading AT GRADE LEVEL, along with his French classmates.  He had zero American accent.  He was getting all satisfactory marks doing school completely in FRENCH.

Then we moved to America.

In America, Todd would be the youngest person in his grade if we had put him in 2nd grade this year.  That, combined with the fact that he could not read in English, made it an easy choice to have him repeat 1st grade, but this time in ENGLISH.  To add to that, in Indiana the cut off for school is the 1st of August.  Todd was born on the 19th of August, so in Indiana he would be a 1st grader.  We said, that works perfectly for Todd!  Put him in 1st grade.

So, Todd began school this year on August 15th and a 1st grader for the second time.  He didn't know how to read anything in English except for three words:  "no", "I" and "zoo". 

Why he knew "zoo" is beyond me, but he did.

I looked at the list of sight words his new 1st grade teacher sent home and I began to worry.  There were about 60 words on the list and I knew Todd could only read two of them.  (Zoo was not on the sight word list.)

Since we were so consumed with figuring out our own lives, we didn't do much beyond send Todd to school and figure the staff there could work everything out.

It didn't take long before we woke up.

We finally remembered, Todd can only read in French when school began.  In fact, Todd has only ever done school in French.  Perhaps he needs a little help.

I started tutoring Todd after school each day.  We did his homework together.  We did phonics flashcards together.  Over and over, we practiced those tricky vowels which are EXACTLY OPPOSITE from French.  (In French an "i" is an "e" and an "e" is an "i".  This is VERY confusing to re-learn!)

I have to be honest and say there were days when I thought he would never read a book in English!  It just seemed like his brain had been too programmed in French.

We reasoned, "if he manages to get to 80% of where his classmates are by the end of this school year, we'll be pleased.  He'll catch up finally in 2nd grade."

But, no.  Todd didn't need a full year to reach 80% of his classmates level in reading.  He has caught up in just over 3 months of school!!!!  Who would have guessed this squirly, so-happy-to-do-anything-to-make-another-human-being-laugh goofball would learn to read in English in just 3 months?!?!?  He did it!

It is just pure joy to hear him reading in English.  It is just pure joy to see him read by himself, understand, and then laugh at the funny things Morris the Moose does.  It is such a joy to hear Todd comment on signs on the highway or in the stores - signs he never payed any attention to before but now he is reading on his own.

"Todd, you have done well.  You have joined the world of readers!!!  We are so very proud of you!!!"

And, a big thank you to Todd's teacher who is obviously doing several things right.  We celebrate this victory with you in our minds as well.

Ah.... one more hurdle passed and one more prayer answered.  Praise the Lord!

How Could We Say "NO"?

The dreaded happened.

Something terrible sneaked up on us as parents.

Our youngest, Todd, has been quietly saving his money.  His weekly allowances started to really add up.

However, in the midst of our chaotic life with each of us adjusting to life in this country, state and town, we didn't bother to ask the obvious question...

"Todd,  what are planning to do with all that money you have saved?"

One day, Todd just announced that he was going to buy a hamster.

The horror struck deep in my heart.

What?!?  You want what?

He made it clear.  All these months he has been carefully saving his money for one thing:  a hamster.

Not only that, he's been waiting patiently for the new PetSmart store to open in Marion.

Not only that, he had big plans to buy his new hamsters -- strike that -- his TWO new hamsters during the grand opening event at the PetSmart store in town.

How could we say NO?  (And, believe me, we wanted to!)

So, October 26th, during the grand opening event for the new PetSmart store in Marion, Indiana, we went to the new store with Todd.

Todd carried the $80 he had saved.

He picked out just the hamsters he wanted.

He picked out just the cage that he wanted.

He selected just the right food.

It was all his to do, because it was HIS money.

Before we knew it, we were walking out of the store with two new little critters to add to our home.

Can you believe it?!?

So, once again, I am eating my words.  I do distinctly remember saying I would NEVER in my life have a hamster in my home!

Oh well.... maybe some of my other "I will never" statements will actually remain true!  I can hope, right?

The Simple Stuff of Life

There are things you just don't get to do while living in the urban sprawl of a place like Paris.

This is one of those things.

What a gorgeous sight to see our tree turning colors, and then drop it's leaves -- right before our eyes and right before our house!

Raking!  I can't say we've missed it (thankfully we only have one reasonable sized tree in our yard).  But, really,  it is wonderful to jump in a pile of leaves again!  Everyone got in on the fun.

Here's another thing you just don't get to do living in an apartment in Paris:

DIG in dirt!!!

Ryan has been asking for a while to dig.  We need to start over with the landscaping around our patio, so we just let him 'have at it'.

Before long, we had all the kids in the neighborhood digging too!

They loved it.  They came back several times, and in a few days most of the stuff we needed to dig out was gone!  Yeah!

And, here's another thing you just don't do as a 7 year old in Paris.
 

Our neighbors got another toy - a kid-sized Razor scooter.  Check out Todd's moves!

After I took these photos, I told him he was NOT allowed to ride in the street anymore!  Only sidewalks for this boy and the scooter.

It is just a joy to revisit those simple things in life once again.  Raking, digging, riding in wide open spaces.

Ahhh....  Isn't Fall fun!?!

(Oh...and by the way.  We found out that we live in a neighborhood where scads of people come to trick-or-treat.  There were cars (and golf carts) bumper to bumper inching through our neighborhood for hours last night.  Eye-yi-yi!!!  We had WELL over 100 kids at the door.  Who would have guessed!)