Bruce's Band's Big Debut

There was a talent show at our church last night in which Bruce and his garage band buddies made their big debut. The program showed that just the children of all the band members were going to sing a medley of songs, but after they did the first verse of the first song the curtains opened to reveal the real act. It's hard to tell because of the wigs, but Bruce is the drummer (Aaron Mehrley is playing guitar and Matt Neddo is doing vocals). The video is somewhat choppy but it is already quite large and better quality would have made it ginormous. Yes, it is a little long (about 7 minutes), but if you persevere the singer gets a better microphone, there is a great little bit when Bruce drops a drumstick, and a bunch of kids come on stage for the last song. While I may be a bit biased, I must say that Emmarsyn steals the show.

(In the interest of full disclosure, it is me butchering "Give Said the Little Stream" on the piano. It was all going so well until about two lines in when I started thinking to myself that I was already half way through and hadn't messed up once. Then, of course, it all fell apart. But at home when no one else is listening, I can rock that song.)

"Hurry, Get the Camera"

Whenever I hear Bruce say these words, the disappointment sets in almost immediately. 99 out of 100 times, the magical moment that prompted the words will be over long before I arrive with the camera. But a few days ago the 1 in 100 odds paid off and we got this great candid shot of Matthew and Emmarsyn. Matthew had been lounging in the Elmo chair while watching a movie. Em was on the couch for most of the show but at some point moved down and made herself comfy. I'm not sure how long they stayed like that, but I loved the way they seemed so perfectly comfortable with each other.

Gettting Into the Spirit of Labor Day

Here is a brief recap of Bruce's Labor Day weekend...

• Took boys to a minor league baseball game.
• Went to Home Depot, didn't find what he needed.
• Went to Lowe's.
• Bought a shed to store all of our bikes, bike trailers, and random other items.
• Assembled the shed until midnight (only stopping when I convinced him that losing the drill's screwdriver bit was a sign that it was time to let it go for the night)
• Fixed the leaking bathtub faucet (yep - same night)
• Broke the shut off valve when turning the water back on after fixing the leaking bathtub faucet.
• Got up every hour and a half to dump the bucket of flood waters from the broken shut off valve
• Went to Home Depot, didn't find what he needed.
• Went to Lowe's.
• Ripped out some wall and cut away part of a 2x4 to get to the broken shut off valve.
• Fixed the broken shut off valve.
• Helped a neighbor with a computer crisis.
• Put up half a dozen rain gutter bookshelves.
• Finished assembling the shed.
• Moved furniture out of Spencer's room.
• Is currently ripping out the old molding in Spencer's room.

Since it is Labor Day, I just thought I would take a chance to say "Thank you, Bruce!" He is one of the hardest working people I know and I am very grateful for all he does for our family and many others.

(We are going to a friend's house for a BBQ tonight so Bruce will get some time to relax.)

Encouraging Reading - One Rain Gutter at a Time

Recently, rain gutter bookshelves have shown up on several of the blogs that I watch. I love the idea of displaying children's books in such an inviting way. I get a lot of my books through the Scholastic catalogs sent home from school. It is a good way to get some excellent books for about $3 each, but the downside is that they are paperback and hard to keep track of on a traditional bookshelf. We have several great books that we hadn't read in a long time - out of sight, out of mind.

Family Room (The bags underneath hold all of our dress up clothes.)

So we decided to go ahead with the rain gutter bookshelves and we love them. Now, with one quick glance we can see all of our reading options. It is also VERY easy to put books away. Emmarsyn spent some time pulling books out to read in her bedroom and put every single one back on her own - I didn't even have to suggest it. Besides the functionality, I think they look great. The big, empty wall in our family room has become a fairly dramatic focal point. (And a lot of nail and screw holes have been completely hidden!)

The price is great too - it was right around $5o for all the materials. Enough for the family room, each child's room and the floor puzzle holder in our toy closet.

If you are interested in making some, you can search for rain gutter bookshelves and find plenty of links. Click here for one of the best step-by-step tutorials that I came across. Or you can just ask Bruce. He has become an expert. (One tip - get your gutters at Lowe's. Home Depot only carries the kind with brackets that wrap under and in front of the gutter. While our brackets aren't completely hidden, I prefer the cleaner look of the Lowe's gutters.)

Matthew's Room (Spencer's room is currently under construction, but he will also get a shelf.)

Emmarsyn Enjoying Her Books

Rain Gutter Puzzle Holder in the Toy Closet