Tag Archives: Birthday

I gave thanks for my daughter’s upcoming birthday in church yesterday during our congregational prayer time. Everyone in the congregation applauded. I was sitting in the choir pews on the platform. My daughter was sitting in front of me. With our former pastor’s daughter gone, my daughter is often the youngest person in the congregationContinue reading “The Cloud”

Today, my daughter entered the labyrinthine world of Dairy Cow Showing, but she wasn’t entering alone. My wife has blazed a trail for her. So significant is dairy showmanship to my wife’s identity that Alex Trebek asked her about it on Jeopardy in the show’s obligatory get-to-know-the-contestant segment. A cloud of family witnesses surrounded myContinue reading “Into the Labyrinth”

My daughter is back at school. Give thanks. Send up prayers. We were away for the four days leading up to the semester, which meant no parent/teacher conferences. All that we knew was that my daughter’s best friend from kindergarten would not be in her class. I feared the early morning battles, the struggle toContinue reading “Back to School”

My daughter’s a mom. For some time now, she’s been calling her favorite stuffed bear her daughter. This summer, she’s taken the conceit to another level. Tuesday, she held a birthday party for her daughter. This included party guests, cake, wrapped up presents (with cards…and gifts from grandpa and grandma), and many other party-related ephemera.Continue reading “Summer Dispatch 3: Toys”

My daughter graduated from kindergarten today. She and roughly 100 other kindergarteners shared what they learned in five areas this morning. She had the privilege of introducing her unit, a parade of animals. This afternoon, she brought home a couple of certificates and what functions as a kindergarten report card. Her certificates praise her readingContinue reading “Graduation”

My wife’s old high school put on a production of Beauty and the Beast. My daughter really wanted to go. On Friday, she announced that we just had to go that night: “It’s the last show! Tonight at 7:oo!” I told her that if the last time to go to the show as that night,Continue reading “The Play and the Poster”

Tonight, my daughter solved her first Encyclopedia Brown case. She solved “The Case of the Blueberry Pies” and explained the solution to me before we heard the solution on my audiobook copy of Encyclopedia Brown Gets His Man. She intuited that something was up: two twins had pulled a shenanigan at a pie-eating contest. TheContinue reading “The Case is Solved!”

Yesterday, my church celebrated its women with a special service organized by and featuring women. My daughter sang a solo as “special music” at the service’s beginning. We decided on Christian kids’ music classic, “I’ve Got the Joy.” I added the occasional, “Where?!?” and sang with her on the chorus. She was fantastic. She sangContinue reading “She’s Got the Joy”

My daughter has gotten a bevy of star cards the past week. The cards have complimented her for being KNOWLEDGEABLE (2), a THINKER (2), and BALANCED. The comments on the back of the cards said this: “Great sentences on your morning work!!” “Meeting expectations all morning!” “First one at Readers’ Workshop!” “You make a greatContinue reading “Star Cards”

My daughter is in love with her voice and image. She records herself at least once a week and calls the results a “podcast.” Today, she was in rare form. She made an hour’s worth of Bible podcasts: a compilation of Bible stories and prayers. Then she started making short movies featuring herself as aContinue reading “A Podcast of Her Own”