Stranger (s) in the Night Based on a true story- By: Stella Age: 10

You might want to read the story before looking at the pictures!


Girls at the Comfort Inn ;)


YIPPEE!



The dinner table at Grandma's house!


YUM YUM! CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!


~LYD~


~MO~


~LIN~


~STELLA~


~E~





This story that you are about to read was written by Stella Age 10. It is based on a true story-but I added a couple things to make it exciting. ENJOY!!!

STRANGER IN THE NIGHT

"OH! YIKES!!" said Lyd. "This water is COLD after being in the hot tub!"
The girls were swimming at the Comfort Inn for Stella and Lyd's birthday party. They were having lots of fun. They had been in the pool for a long time though, so Stella made a suggestion.
"Hey, E!" said Stella.
"Yep?" replied E.
"Want to get out? We can get dried off and then have chocolates!" suggested Stella.
"SURE! Let's just swim one more lap, ok? I'll race you!" said E.
"Want to join us, girls?" asked Stella, swimming over to the girls.
"SURE!" exclaimed the girls.
They swam one more lap and then, laughing, swam over to the stairs and dried off.
"Let's go in these locker rooms!" said Mo.
"Sure!" said Lin and Lyd.
"E and I will share this one." said Stella.
“Okie doke! We'll meet here when we're done. May we, Grandma?" asked Lin.
"Sure girls!" said Grandma.
The girls split up, got bundled for the February temperatures, and then met in the lobby. They slipped on hats, jackets, sneakers or flip flops, bagged up their stuff, and then walked out munching on chocolates as they went.
"MMM! These are good!" said Mo. "Thanks for bringing them Stella!"
"Yeah, thanks!" chorused the other girls.
"You're welcome!" said Stella. " just as long as we don't get too filled up before supper!"
"Now,” said Grandma to Lin, “we will have to split up for a bit.” “Your uncle Adam will be coming, and he will drive you and Lyd; otherwise we would have to double-buckle. Ok Lin?”
“Sure Grandma!” said Lin.
“Good! Now, here he is now. Bye girls!” said Grandma.
The girls split up and went to Grandma’s house. That was where the party was going to be.
“Wow, this looks SO YUMMY!” said Mo enthusiastically.
The girls ate the delicious supper of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, veggies and dip, strawberries and dip, and homemade ice-cream cake. The girls spread out to play afterwards. Finally, Grandma called everyone for gifts…
“Girls, TIME FOR GIFTS!!!!!!!!!” Grandma called.
“Ok, GRANDMA!” called the girls.
When everyone was seated the birthday girls (Lyd and Stella) sat down and started to gather the gifts around themselves. They happily opened each gift, enthusiastically thanking the giver with a smile.
“That was quite fun! Now it is time for us to go to my house girls!” Aunt Krista called.
“YAY!” said the girls.
The girls piled into a couple of the cars and then left for the house. When they arrived they laid out their sleeping bags.
“Who wants to watch “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs??!!” Mo asked.
“I sure do!” said E. “We just have to wait for the rest of the girls!”
“Yes!” While we wait, let’s look at our favors,” said Stella.
They looked at their party items, all of which fit the “summer in February” birthday theme and then finally settled down and got ready to watch the movie.
Some time later…
“That was an awesome movie!” said Lin and Stella, who had never seen it before.
“I’m glad that you liked it!” said Lyd.
They had some Go-gurts, then happily settled down to bed. Little did they know what adventure awaited them…
“WHOA!” shouted Lin, “what was that noise?”
“I didn’t hear anything,” said E sleepily.
“Wait- there it is again!” said Lin.
“Yes-yes, I hear it. What is it though?” asked Stella.
“It-it sounds like someone is at the door,” said Lin.
“Where is that FLASHLIGHT?!” asked Mo, now fully awake.
“It’s right here,” said Lyd. “Here, Mo!”
“Whoa! It’s twelve AM exactly!” said Stella.
“What should we do about the noise?” asked E.
“I don’t want to meet something scary, whatever it is,” said Lin.
“Me neither, but I don’t want to wake Mom and Dad, do you?” said Mo.
“Well then-I guess that we have to go see this by ourselves,” said Stella.
“Ok then, let’s go!” said Lyd.
“Ok. I have the flashlight. I’ll go first,” said Mo.
“The sound is coming from over there!” said Lin.
“Yes, there it is,” said Lyd.
Here the girls came to a halt.
“Lyd goes from here. She’s the oldest,” said E.
“Here, Lyd,” said Mo.
The girls peered out the window. What they saw made them gasp-then burst into giggles.
“IT’S ONLY CHRIS AND CURT!” said Stella.
“Wow, girls. We thought that nobody would ever let us in,” said the boys.
“Why are you laughing so hard?” they asked.
“It’s a long story!” said Lyd laughing.
“Yes, too long to tell now!” said Lin.
“Well, thanks for letting us in!” said the boys. “You deserve a good night’s rest!”
“Wow!” said E.
“That was exciting!” said Mo.
“I’ve had the most exciting birthday ever!” said Stella.
“ME TOO!” said Lyd.
“GOOD!” said the girls.
As Stella settled into bed, she suddenly said- “OH NO!”
“Oh no-what now?” asked the girls.
Stella said with a laugh, “If the night was this hectic, I wonder what the day will be like…”
“OH NO!” moaned the girls.

THE END

This Week's Humor...

Maybe it's the confinement of the winter months that spins their imaginations into high gear, but for some reason the cute quotes have been pouring from the Rus lately...

Rus (age 4): "If Lydia doesn't watch this movie with me, it will DESTROY my time!"

"Mom, someone is missing from our family!"

"Look what Aunt Grandma gave me for Christmas!!"

"Mom, you'll stay like this for a little bit; then you'll get big and be a grandma."

When we were reading the story of Adam and Eve, Rus commented, "I wouldn't have listened to the serpent because he has a CREEPY voice."

"My little brother has a tummy like Santa Claus!"

Coming back in tears from a sledding mishap, Rus wailed, "MOOOOM! Would you tell Ethan not to put a tree in my way?!"

"The Bible says that the SEA of the WOMAN will crush the servant's head!"

When we were studying the letter "B," we took turns calling out words that begin with that letter sound. Rus exclaimed, "BIG BUM!! Just like yours, Mom."

"I'm talking so much that it's giving me gas!"

Looking on the globe for Great Grandpa's state, Rus was reminded that Great Grandpa Hake now lives in Heaven. Very seriously he put aside the globe and opened his children's Bible to "Revelation" in search of Grandpa...

Mom to Rus: "I'm having a hard time today..."
Rus to Mom: "Well, I'm going to make it a GREAT time!"

Stella's New Dress By: Stella Age: 9 1/2

This is my new dress from Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Ron Piercey! I LOVE my new dress! THANKS SO MUCH, GRANDMA, GRANDPA, AND UNCLE RON!

Mater Leaving ;( By: Stella, Age: 9 1/2

Hi! By the post I suppose that you are quickly scrolling down to see what I mean! Well, today, Saturday, January 15, 2010 Mater is going to a funeral. It is her grandpa's funeral. Everyone is sad to have her go, she will be home tomorrow afternoon though! We are excited to have her back and missing her already! Mom got some chocolate donuts to celebrate-"her leaving"! We love them and can't wait to have a half fun weekend!
Here are some pictures of this morning...

Donuts, yum YUM!

Silly moment... ;)

(He's trying to make a sad face with a bagel in his mouth!) LOL! :)

Suitcase packed... Check, check, check... Ready to go!

Mater made a list for us of what we have to do. We sure miss you Mater and hope that you will come home post-haste!

Written by:
*Stella
Age: 9 1/2
Grade: 5

Christmas 2009 By: Stella Age: 9 1/2

Hi everyone! I'm sorry that I'm late posting these pictures and a writeup on our Christmas! I hope that you had as good a Christmas as we did! Here is my post and pictures:
On Christmas morning, we woke up at about 4:00 a.m. Unfortunately, Mom and Dad, had said that we had to stay in bed till 6:00 a.m. So, we waited till about 5:00 a.m. and then we listened to two Adventure in Oddysey CDs. When it was finally 6:00 a.m. everybody burst out of the doors into Mom and Dad's room. We all went into the kitchen and had a couple of snacks, some munchkins, Mom's homemade Pumpkin Choc. Chip Muffins, (mmmm!!!) and cookies. Then we went into the livingroom and opened our stockings. We got lots of awesome stuff! We waited till Uncle Adam came to open our big presents! When he came we had lots of yummy stuff for breakfast! We had some bacons, sausage, eggs, smoothies, and truffles! MMMMMM!!!! Then, we went and watched a bit of our movie, Miracle on 34th Street! Finally, it was time for big gifts! We all LOVED our gifts and had so much fun on Christmas! We ended it with our family traditon of the Red Apple Buffet! It was a wonderful Christmas! Thanks so much Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, (Piercey and Zobel), Uncles, Aunts,and everybody else who made our Christmas sooooo special!


Now, I am going to post some pics. and write a little bit about them on the way...

*Stella and Leo dressed up!
We started Christmas by going to a Christmas Eve Service at our church! Everybody dressed up nicely!

Rus and Tert dressed up!

On Christmas morning everybody got up. (Still in PJ's as you might notice... :/ ;)

We took lots and lots of pictures!!!

Uncle Adam LOVES his new shirt!
We got a smores, and tent kit for Christmas! We 'camped' in our basement, with Grandma Z's (thanks so much!) nice flashlights! We had an awesome time!
Well, I think that is about all I can write right now. I'll write more soon!

By: *Stella
Age: 9 1/2
Grade: 5

Smiling...

It has happened again. I have piles of sticky notes and old grocery lists with my kids' funny quotes that need to be put in one place. Here they are...

Rus (Age 4) comes out with the winners. These are his:

When I invited him to do preschool with me, he answered, "Let's do it at the table, Mom. It's more stable here."

He woke up early from his nap while I was wrapping Christmas gifts. His explanation was, "Mom, I wanted to get up to supervise you."

"Mom, I just misspeaked!"

"I don't like those oranges, but they taste lovely to the kids!"

"I did my independent work, so I was very impressive."

As we were heading out for evening church, "Mom, are we going to worship God ONE MORE TIME?"

"Can I sleep with Sis; I think she needs to be comforted."

Heading to Grandma's, he asked if his baby brother would be watching him there. I said "okay," and he looked so relieved.

"Mom! The fire is in the red. You should have closed the dampers!!"

Big sis was humming the song, "If You're Happy and You Know It..." He blurted out in an incredulous tone, "God doesn't help with HAPPINESS!!"

"When my face is red, I go zoomin' to the potty!"

"Mom! I did big poops, little poops, male and female poops..."

Commenting on my friend Kathy and Artie's recent visit, "Kathy was kind of his wife. All adults need wives because wives love adults. Now I want a cheese stick."

"His first name is Uncle, his last name is Adam, and he is kind of like a cousin."

"Jesus is God's ONLY FORGOTTEN SON."

AND A COUPLE FROM THE OTHER THREE...

Leo (age 8) recently told me about his stuffed animal from Stephen's childhood...

"Curious George has been passed through the generations!"

After the dog's bath, "Mom, will Cora mildew?!"

And from Stella...

When Stephen scolded her for rolling her eyes, she replied, "Daddy, I was just shifting my gaze!"

Baby Tert was calling me from his crib, "Mama! Mama!" Eventually he lost heart and began to call, "Ora!! Ora!!" (for Cora, our dog)

His favorite phrases are, "I'll show you!!" and "Yes we can!!"

Christmas 2009

Here are some highlights from our Chrismtas - beginning with Christmas Eve service and continuing through our brunch with Adam on Christmas morning and a time of family worship and present-opening. We are so thankful for the blessings of this day, and, most of all, for the gift of God's son for our salvation.

My Favorite Weapons By: Leo, Dictated to: *Stella* ;)

Leo with his toy gun. It is an airpressure gun and knocks down fake bottles! NEAT!
I have three favorite weapons these are musket, bow and arrow, and also knives. First I like muskets. Because I like to feel that throw when I, cock it, line it up to the target, and BANG!!! The bullet is off at a breathtaking speed of more than a mile per second. Second, I enjoy the bow and arrow. This weapon is neat because I can hunt and do target practice. Finally, I enjoy knives. Knives are awesome because I collect them, throw them at a foam target, and use them to cut and open things. I enjoy using these weapons because they help me learn skills. I might even need them to support my family. Whether or not this is true, I will be prepared.
By: Leo
Age: 8
Grade: 3
Dictated to: Stella
Age: 9 1/2
Grade: 5

Why I Think my DI team Should do the You're Gonna Flip Challenge By: Stella Age: 9 1/2

Hi! I'm just going to give you some background on why I wrote this. It is a persuasive essay to try to convince my team to pick this challenge. Really, my DI team and I DID pick this challenge, so my mom and I thought it would be FUN for you to see what my DI team is doing for a challenge this year.

I think my DI team should do the "You're Gonna Flip Challenge." It would be the best challenge because all of the skills we're good at are incorporated into it. There are MANY benefits to this challenge but I'll just list a few.
One of the many benefits is that we would get to practice the skill we like and do best at: ACTING! In this challenge we will get to write a skit with a main character in it. The main character will have a point of view change(a FLIP!). Another benefit of doing this challenge is that we would study and build a puppet! Puppets are amazing. You can make them do lots of interesting moves and have fun while you're at it. A third benefit of doing this challenge is that we would put our talents to good use. The boys on our DI team like building; there's the puppet to build and visual art (such as origami, a picture, etc.) We girls like writing the skit.
We would easily be able to combine our skills and come up with an awesome skit, nice sidetrips (which are extra parts of the performance such as music and artwork). The challenge requires two sidetrips, puppets, and visual art.
I think there are MANY advantages to this challenge. We would get to practice what we like doing and, most of all, have FUN! This challenge DEFINITELY would be the best for my team this year!

By: Stella
Age: 9 1/2
Grade: 5
Persuasive Essay
WA #12

Benefits of Owning a Dog By: Stella* Age: 9 1/2

Our sweet, little Cora!

Growing up!

We recently went to a breeder in MA to pick up our first family puppy dog. There are many advantages to having a dog in the home, and here are three: I can have responsibility for an animal, experience the fun of a pet, and learn to persevere through challenges and see the good rewards of training.

One of the reasons I like having a dog is that it provides me with the responsibility of owning an animal. It gives me a real sense of satisfaction to feed, brush, and bathe my dog, Cora.

Another reason I enjoy having a pet is because of the fun and companionship it brings. I love greeting Cora every morning and patting her HUGE ;), fuzzy ears! I also enjoy her company when I take her on walks. Our family loves letting Cora out in the house. She always seems to be on the go, so we have to keep a close eye on her! (Actually, really more like TWO eyes on her!)

Finally, I enjoy having a pet because it is a challenge, that results in benefits. It was a little hard at first when we had to clean up Cora's puppy accidents and walk her every 20 minutes! Then, after a while, she learned. When she stopped having accidents we could leave her home for longer and longer periods. Life returned to normal, and I felt satisfied with all that I had taught her. In all, I think there are many wonderful reasons why everybody should have a dog.

Even though there are many hard times along the way, it really pays off in the end to have a loving friend in the home. Some people say, "A dog is a man's best friend!", and I agree!

By: Stella
Age: 9 1/2
Grade: 5

Scavenger Hunt By: Stella* Age: 9 1/2

On Monday, we went on a scavenger hunt. It was for our Destination Imagination Class. We went on it so that we could see all of the possibilities of materials for our challenge that we picked. We are doing a theatrical challenge this year. Last year our team got 60 points out of like 80 for our skit that one of my team members and I wrote! (YEAH!) ;)
We went to Home Depot. At Home Depot we got a list of things. Here is an example of what we might have had to find in Home Depot:

1.(E) List some ways of changing one color into another color.
1. (Example answer that my team thought of): Stained glass window
We would have to find as many ways as we could. We had an hour to look for a list of 18 things, (I think it was 18!) We teamed up into groups. I was in a group of two other girls. We have two instructors. One of the instructors went with me and my friends, Mom went with Leo and some of his friends, and then our other instructor went with two other kids. We also then went over to Michael's and did the same thing. At the end of the Home Depot Scavenger Hunt we got prizes. My team tied with the third team. Leo's team came in close behind. (All of the different teams that paired up were from our DI team.) The prizes were M&Ms, skittles, etc.
We made a chant that represents our team. We present ourselves to all of the other teams at the challenge. One of the girls on the team has a little sister who is going to be our mascot. She is going to be in a M&M costume. This is our chant:

2-4-6-8-PEANUT M&MS ARE GREAT, AND SO ARE MY DI TEAMMATES!

Let me explain why that is peanut M&Ms! You might say,"Why not M&Ms?" Well, we were going to do that but one of the girls was like, "But I HATE M&Ms! I like peanut M&Ms though!" ;) I said, "Then how about this, "2468 Peanut M&Ms are great..." One of the boys finished with, "...and so are my DI teammates!" Then it stuck!
;)

By: Stella
Age: 9 1/2
5th Grade

Reptiles on the Move By: Leo Age: 8 Dictated to (and pictures posted by): Stella* Age: 9 1/2

WHOA! CATCH THE TURTLE! "Oh, nice ummm... Taurus!" ;) (WINK)

If you look hard you will see Taurus! This is the boa that Leo wrote about liking in his post.

Struggling to CONTROL A SNAKE! Right after this picture was taken the snake started going down poor Leo's SHIRT!

Stella, posing with a turtle!

On Monday, I went to a library program. At the program we learned a little bit more about reptiles. One of the reptiles was a boa constrictor. A boa is my favorite type of snake. I enjoyed seeing the American Alligator. A while ago I did a report on Florida. The most common alligator is the American Alligator. My favorite type of alligator is the American Alligator. We learned about differentiating a male from a female snake. We also learned about differentiating a male from a female lizard. A male snake has a skinnier, longer tail, and a female snake has a larger, shorter tail. A male lizard has larger lumps of skin under his legs. A female lizard has smaller less visible lumps. I enjoy going to reptiles on the move because we get to see ancient and non-native reptiles.

Confucius vs. James By: Stella Age: 9 1/2

Confucius vs. James

Confucius writes that, "The gentleman is said to be slow in speech and brisk in action." Ch. 2 Vs. 24

James writes in James 1:19, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and should not get angry easily."

Confucius suggests that we are to be slow to speak and quick to act. I don't think James is encouraging the same thing. James is saying that we are to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. If we are "brisk in action" as Confucius says to be, then we might do something in haste without thinking about it. That often triggers the other person to say something back. We are acting according to our own desires. James teaches that we should act according to God's word. Here are some passages that explain that:

James 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well.

James 2:10: for whoever keeps the whole law but fails at one point has become accountable for all of it.

Confucius and Jame's sayings are similar in some ways because both teach that we should be slot to speak. Confucius is trying to point out that we should be slow to speak. Confucius is trying to point out that we should be slow to speak, but if we are brisk in action then that might mean we aren't giving enough thought to what we're doing. James' advice is to really think about how we respond and what out actions accomplish before we respond. If we aren't careful we might hurt someone.
If you put a gentleman (according to Confucius), and a godly man (according to James) side by side you would see a lot of differences in their character. For example, a godly man is living according to God's word and the Confucian gentleman is living to please himself and display his goodness and draw attention to his behavior.

By: Stella
Age: 9 1/2
Grade 5

Filial Piety By: Leo Age: 8 Dictated to: Stella Age : 9 1/2

(This is a paragraph Leo wrote on filial piety. He got this Confucian saying from his history book:)
"Nowadays, to provide for parents is considered filial piety. But dogs and horses are so provided. Without respect, what is the difference?"

Leo's Report on this saying:

Everyday you throw hay to an animal. What is the difference between this care and respect and honoring your parents? When you throw hay to a horse it is not respect. Real respect consists of loving; it is not just caring for everyday needs. In a book I've been studying there is an apprentice who shows a very good example of filial piety. (Title: Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze.) He cares for his mother with genuine love and care. This boy was living in China. The children in China were taught to honor their parents, and wake up early, beat blankets, sweep the court, and prepare breakfast. That is real respect. I think respect is important not only because GOD commands us to honor our parents, but because God has put our parents over us. In these days it is starting to look like filial piety is out of date, but really it is as important now as it was in Ancient China.

School Pictures 2009