Having
a "Positive Body Image" 12-10-15, 11:42 PM LambMommy One of our professors took a detour from class today and talked a little about mental health. She was especially adamant about striving to have a "positive body image" and encouraging others to feel good about themselves. She challenged us to come up with a list of ways to do that. It's not even really homework. Just for "our own betterment and well-being." So... Anyone want to help?
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Santa
Claus 11-28-15, 6:13 AM JenniAnn I hope everyone had a really great Thanksgiving and is still enjoying their leftover TLS (or the real stuff... just don't tell Adam). So... parenting question. How did you handle Santa with your kids? And if you don't have kids, how did your parents handle Santa and what do you think about it now? Andrew and I are trying to decide how to start that tradition with Belle. She was too young last year for it to matter but she's definitely cluing in now!
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Tell
me something good? 11-15-15, 11:54 PM AndrewAOD Hey everyone. It's been a rough few days. I'm back home now and will be for at least a couple of days. I thought it might be nice to focus on good things so... tell me something good?
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AI 11-9-15, 8:12 AM IvyLee I have another question inspired by a class. Violeta and I are taking an intro to philosophy course and the professor had a movie list and asked us each or in pairs, to choose a movie and then write a paper about what it tells us about self, truth, etc. and he had questions for each movie. Violeta and I picked Ex Machina... mostly because we recognized the phrase from theatre (deus ex machina). JenniAnn watched it with us this past weekend and I'm glad she did because... we needed a grown-up! With the questions, we only had to answer 2 of the 4 so we skipped over this two-parter: "Would it be possible for robots to have a soul? How would you know?" We already turned in our papers but this is eating at us. Anyone care to weigh in? Please.
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Demonstrations
of love 11-3-15, 11:12 PM Peter-the-Rock First of all... Congratulations to Kemara and Sean and welcome to the world, Joy and Ian! You're pretty darn cute. And demonstrations of love yourselves, come to think of it! I don't want to embarrass Emma which is why I'm letting her read this before I post it but I wanted to share something. Every year since Jaz died, I've gone to her grave on the Day of the Dead. My parents and Abuela came here that first year but, since then, I've gone on my own. I was debating whether or not to go this year when Emma broached the subject. Then she asked if I'd like her to go with me. And I really did. So that's what we did for part of yesterday: decorated Jaz's grave and then came home and went through a couple photo albums. It was really healing for me and actually fun. I've felt for a long time that Jaz and Emma would have been great friends and I feel that way even more now. I know it must have been kind of difficult for Emma but it meant so much to me. That sort of generosity of spirit is one of the things I love so much about her. So on that note... what's an off-beat sort of thing that someone's done for you to demonstrate their love?
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Best
teaching techniques 10-13-15, 4:08 PM ShaneWhoTeaches Hey everyone! So, as I mentioned at rehearsal, I've been asked to speak at my school's next staff retreat about best practices for teachers. I have some of my own ideas and I put together a survey for my kids to take. I also wanted to check with all of you since so many of you are teachers or students of some variety. What are some things your favorite teachers said or did that really helped you? Conversely, were there times when a teacher's techniques made things more difficult for you? Thanks all!
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Religions
and marriage 10-5-15, 12:11 PM LambMommy Hi! I have another question related to my classes. Our Theology class is doing an overview of Catholic sacraments and today's class was on marriage. The professor asked if we thought two people needed to be the same religion to have a solid marriage. Everyone started citing examples of couples they knew who had the same religion but a terrible marriage, ones who shared the religion and had an awesome marriage, ones who didn't and had a great marriage, and ones who had different religions and it just got ugly. So really we decided that we didn't know. But some people got really insistent on their particular stance. And I don't know what to write. I don't know anything about marriage and definitely won't be getting married! What do you all think?
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Halloween
costumes? 9-25-15, 3:15 PM JenniAnn So... gotta ask... what's everyone dressing up as for Halloween?! I've been a bit bummed this year with the plethora of "sexy -----" costumes but my lovely angel has agreed to dress up as a frog so I can be a (romantic but not sexy) princess and kiss him. I'm not sure if it was that or the idea of basically wearing a comfy green sweatsuit that convinced him. And we'll have two adorable fairy princess sisters with us!
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Opening
Up Bible Study 9-15-15, 7:56 AM AndrewAOD Hey everyone, I know some of us talked about this but I wanted to be sure everyone had a chance to weigh in. We're considering regularly inviting Eilish and the Al-Mitras to Bible study. The drawback is we'd all have to be careful in how we talk about Joshua since they're all under the impression he's just a friend of ours who playing Jesus in Superstar before Peter did. But we can imagine a whole lot of upsides. We don't want anyone to feel less... free in the Bible study, though. Thoughts? We've also set up an anonymous comment box in the Blue Room if you want to weigh in that way.
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Evolution 9-9-15, 7:54 PM LambMommy Hi everyone! I hope it's okay to post here when I have questions about my classes. I talked to Ivy about this and she thought it would be a good idea. Today in our natural sciences class, the professor was talking about Darwin and evolution and one girl got really upset because Fordham's a Christian school (Catholic specifically) and she didn't think he should be teaching that. But then a bunch of the other kids seemed to think it was weird that she had an issue with evolution and didn't see how she couldn't believe evolution happened AND believe in Christianity. People were polite but it was kinda tense. I have no idea how God created Earth. Now I feel silly about never having asked but I'm not sure He would have told me. I've definitely read Genesis but I guess I didn't realize you *had* to take it all literally in some people's minds. I mean Joshua tells stories all the time. Why wouldn't he have back then? And JenniAnn believes evolution happened and she definitely believes in Joshua... even before she met him. I hope it was okay to put that but I thought you brought it up once in Bible study, JenniAnn. You said you'd watched a movie about Darwin (which you wouldn't let me watch, by the way). Anyway, can someone explain why people got upset?
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Introducing
the cast of St. Genesius' Camelot! 9-4-15, 4:54 PM EmmaMM Hi everyone! Most of you know all this but I thought I'd post it for those who weren't able to be with us the past couple days. Arthur- Eric Lancelot-Peter Guenevere- Emma Merlin-Adam Nimue-Kylie Pellinore-Zeke Tom-Liam Mordred-Caleb Lords and Ladies: Andrew, JenniAnn, Sean, Kemara, Arthur, Monica, Max, Rose, Edward, Shane (we'll assign character names later on) I'm so excited and so is Peter! This is going to be a really big one as far as technical elements so BIG thanks to Owen, Crystal, Brittony, Cira, Eliot, Tim, Gloria, Jeff, Tyson, Neela, and Diana who have decided to stay offstage this time and will be helping with makeup, costumes, sets, lighting, and so on. HUGE thanks to Joshua who has agreed to let us use the angelic orchestra and thanks to Tess and Gabe for organizing them! And to a certain two individuals who weren't so sure about being onstage... I think you'll have so much fun! I can't wait to see you dancing with Andrew and Arthur during "The Lusty Month of May." And, yes, I just outted you two. Oh and we'd love to have the "littles" sing for "Follow Me" but we realize having them show up every night would be overly taxing. So we'd really like to maybe record something? I thought that might be nice, too, because then we could involve Doug's grandkids and the kids at Lily's Loot. More details on that later! See you all soon!
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To
our collegebound girls... 8-28-15, 7:45 PM Zeke Well... Diana and I just got back from getting our baby girl settled into her college dorm. Tomorrow morning Hailey's going to start her orientation and on Monday she'll start classes. It's feeling very bittersweet for us all. I wanted to start a thread to post our well wishes to our three university girls: Hailey, Ivy, and Violeta. If you've thought of any advice since Violeta asked back in May, please share. Girls, we'll be praying that you grow in wisdom, faith, and love as you embark on this adventure. Love, Daddy/Zeke PS- I'm going to go snuggle with Manny now. They grow up so quickly... Hug your kids, parents. Kids, consider yourselves hugged.
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Tunnel
teacher assignments 8-21-15, 3:23 PM Owen-Tunnels Hey everyone. So we had a meeting with Principal Vincent earlier today and there are some changes to the Tunnel class assignments. I thought I'd post them here because I know some of you volunteer with us sometimes. This might help with knowing who to contact. Literature- Vincent's still going to be heading this up but Rose is going to take on the class 2-3 times a week. History- Vincent Religion- JenniAnn Art- yours truly Dance- Kemara (until she goes on maternity leave) Writing- Even during her leave, Kemara's going to be staying busy by helping the older kids with papers, college entrance essays, etc. Math/Finance- Sean Sciences- We still have a rotating group of Helpers handling that. As the weather allows, we'll be moving a lot of that to Dyeland where the kids can observe the weather and environment, do experiments, etc. Languages- As always, we have assorted Tunnel dwellers and Helpers handling those, too. Thanks, Peter, for offering to take over Spanish. Consuela is very happy to retire after fifty plus years! Shop- Eliot With the extra time he'll have thanks to Rose, Vincent's going to focus on a new pre-K program with Omar and Belle and a few Tunnel little 'uns. Additionally, thanks to the generosity of our friends in L.A., we have a bunch of new computers set up in Dyeland's newly renamed Asterian Academy. The older kids will be using those to complete online classes on a variety of subjects. I think that's it! As always, we appreciate all of you who volunteer your time to help our kids!
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A
very welcome blast from the past 8-14-15, 6:13 AM AndrewAOD Hi everyone. Yesterday was a pretty amazing day here at Willowveil. As some of you have heard, Belle found her long-lost Uncle Behnam. JenniAnn, Violeta, and I had a few moments of sheer panic when Belle went missing but that fear turned into a whole lot of joy. Behnam is Badriya's younger brother and the fellow who helped Adam locate Max and me when we were lost in Afghanistan. I always wondered what became of him and prayed he was well. I never imagined that he and his family would one day be guests in our home! Behnam is married to a very sweet girl named Isra and they have two little ones: Aiyla and Omar. Belle is already completely enamored with her two new cousins and JenniAnn and I have had a great time getting to know the family. We look forward to all of you meeting them at Max's adoption party next week. A couple things: Isra converted to Christianity from Islam during the family's stay in Florida after they immigrated to the U.S. Near as I can tell, they seem to be raising Aiyla and Omar as Christians, too. Behnam very much believes in God but is uncertain beyond that. None of them know about Joshua and JenniAnn, Violeta, and myself don't have any inkling that we're supposed to tell them about him. They do realize that the paintings we have are of a friend who played Jesus in JCS. So please be careful what you say about Joshua around them because I think we all know those realizations have to happen in God's time. I'm... wow... incredibly moved by His work here.
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Vacation
reflections 7-27-15, 7:13 AM Caterpillar-Kylie Hi from Albany! I still haven't gotten used to waking up here and being able to walk outside and into the fresh air! Love it! So what were everyone's favorite moments from vacation? Let's see... For me: --You all surprising Clay and me with that adorable cabin. So sweet! Thank you all again! --On the theme of surprises... JenniAnn on her birthday was so cute! So glad Allison and Robert could join us! And I'm still dreaming about that lasagna. --The Parkway. Maybe I was just feeling lazy but it was so nice to see all that scenery from the comfort of the car! Who's next? How did
everything go for those who stayed in town?
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Trip
itinerary 7-10-15, 8:42 AM AndrewAOD Hey, everyone. Wow. We've been spending so much time together that I guess we just haven't had much reason to use this forum. It's been really great and I'm looking forward to our trip to North Carolina. I thought I'd post our itinerary here so those not accompanying us could still be in the know. I've got some contact notes at the bottom, too. Of course, weather and other unexpected things could change it but for now, here's what we have: Sunday, July 12 - Leave from NY. Spend the night halfway in Harrisonburg, VA. It'll be about a 5.5 hour drive to get there. Possible attractions include Luray Caverns and the Firehouse museum. Monday, July 13 - Arrive in NC. Our cabin is near Asheville. After getting groceries, we'll probably stay "home" for the evening. Tuesday, July 14 - Biltmore. That should take a whole day just by itself. Wednesday, July 15- We'll do some shopping and other activities in Asheville. Thursday, July 16- Trip to Pisgah Forest/Sliding Rock. Friday, July 17- At that point, we'll likely be needing a day at the cabin to recharge. Saturday, July 18-Western NC Nature Center Sunday, July 19- This might be another cabin day. We'll decide whether to find a church or hold our own service. The adults can watch Last of the Mohicans in preparation for going to Chimney Rock. We have to remember to grab a few movies for the kids. Monday, July 20- Chimney Rock Tuesday, July 21- The Parkway Wednesday, July 22- Hendersonville shopping Thursday, July 23- Day at the cabin. Some of us might be watching Dirty Dancing. Friday, July 24- Laja's birthday! Lake Lure dinner. Saturday, July 25- Start drive back, stay over midway in Harrisburg again. Sunday, July 26-Return home. ---------------------------------------------- Big thanks to Dot and Randall for holding down the farm so Clay, Caleb, and Edward can all join us. Dot, we hope your ladies' Bible study group has a fruitful retreat. Tiva and Rabbi Yakov, we're sorry you can't join us but be sure to text or call someone as soon as that new grandbaby of yours arrives! Fr. Mike, we all wish you could get away. We'll try to catch up a few times on FaceTime. Call any time you want to talk! Vincent and Catherine, thanks for being "on call" in case anything happens in Dyeland and thanks to all the Tunnel dwellers who are helping out with watching over our pets. We're a little worried about how Belle's going to handle being away from her grandparents! Also, just a note that Basil and Azalea didn't want to take any more time away from Lily's Loot so they're still in town. Please give them a call if anything is going on with St. Genesius'. Eric has a family reunion that he didn't want to miss so he and Neela will also be in town. He said not to hesitate to call him if anything's needed there in New York. We'll see you all on the 26th or shortly thereafter!
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College
advice 5-31-15, 4:24 PM LambMommy Hi! I hope everyone's week is starting out well! I'm still super, super happy about Joshua getting me into college!!! {{{}}} He said that it was the best way for me to learn more about what it's like to be a human and the different ways humans do stuff and think and believe and... everything! Eventually, it'll make me an even better AOD. So that's what I want to do! But even though I know that's the big thing I want to get out of college, I don't know about the smaller goals and experiences I should have... and not have. I mean I know certain things, of course. (No drinking! Unless it's Joshua's wine and I'm at home. And then only one glass.) But not everything. And I thought Ivy and Hailey might like some advice, too, so... What's your best advice for incoming college kids???
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Thank
you 5-24-15, 9:59 PM Kemara Hello all, Sean and I want to thank all of you so much for your love and support over the past couple of days. We've been doing a lot of talking - with you, each other and Joshua - and we agree that we want Joy and Ian no matter what their "problems" might be. We're still scared about what's ahead, but knowing you're there for us, is a great comfort. All our love, Kemara and Sean
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Triggers 5-23-15, 4:33 AM EmmaMM Hi everyone, Seems like we've been seeing each other so much lately that we haven't had a lot of reason to use this. But I guess, for me at least, some things are still easier to discuss this way than in person. At least to start. But before I get into that I just want to let Sean and Kemara know that Peter and I are thinking of and praying for you. Kemara, if you need a break or anything and would like me to cover your dance classes, please let me know. The reason I'm posting is I've just been kind of out of sorts since the recent news story about sexual abuse. I don't really see any reason to get deep into a discussion about that particular case because enough people are doing that and it feels wrong and in some cases very disrespectful to the victims. I guess what's shaken me most is some of the commentary because it seems like a lot of people believe stuff that could be harmful to so many people. I probably shouldn't have but I couldn't keep myself from reading more about what that particular sect believes and it's odious. But worst still, people not even in it seem to have internalized the same victim-blaming or victim-minimizing beliefs. At the same time, it also scares me that a lot of people are acting like those beliefs are the only reason that happened. I came from a pretty run-of-the-mill church. No priest was preaching about the glories of "Christian patriarchy." But it still happened to me. And the whole forgiveness and not being judgmental thing... I really do believe "Thou shalt not judge" but surely that's not the same as saying "You've done something very wrong and you need to pay for it and you definitely shouldn't be in a position of influence," is it? I'm sure I'll say more later. I just had to get that off my chest.
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Swap
Shop 4-6-15, 8:54 PM Kemara Hello all! Sean had the great idea of setting up a swap shop in a room at Willowveil for mom and baby clothes, toys, furniture/car seats, and bulk items like diapers and wipes. With Belle, Manny, our twins and hopefully many more littles to come, we think this could save everyone some money. JenniAnn and Andrew, what do you think? Would setting up something like this work for you? I don't know how much room we'd need to start off. Maybe just a bedroom with a walk-in closet would do for now. Later, I can see us needing more space maybe. We could keep a running list of what's available - I volunteer to handle that. And as new babies arrive and grow, families can contribute to a "diaper fund" so we can buy supplies like diapers and wipes in bulk. I'd like to include the Tunnels as well although I'm sure you folks already have your own system set up. Opinions, thoughts or suggestions?
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JCS-
Lessons learned, insights, interesting
questions, etc. 4-6-15, 6:34 PM Peter-the-Rock Happy Easter, my friends! Wasn't yesterday beautiful? I really enjoyed getting to celebrate Joshua's resurrection with all of you for the second year in a row. Even though we've been talking about it, I thought this may be a good place to discuss this year's JCS production. Did anyone have any audience feedback they wanted to share? Or anything about your own experience that might help us for next year or that you just want to put out there? Thanks!
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Hello
from Ireland 3-20-15, 5:32 PM Kemara Dia dhaoibh go Éireann! That's "Hello from Ireland" for those of you who don't speak the language. Our flight got here yesterday about 8 local time, and it took us another half hour to drive out to the cottage. It really is in the middle of nowhere - a tiny village on the west coast with nothing more that a pub (of course) and a church (again, of course). The cottage is small, but fully equipped - I think the beach house needs radiators...they're wonderful! We got groceries and spent the rest of yesterday sleeping. We got up this morning and drove around the area and got a map to plan what we might want to visit. Sean wants to climb Croagh Patrick, but I'm not sure about that! The weather's supposed to be in the upper-40s for a the next few days with the usual showers. Tonight, we're going to the pub after dinner to mingle with the locals and hopefully find some music. I know we skipped out early on Tuesday, and only saw some of you before we left Wednesday. So we want to say thanks so much for celebrating our wedding and helping make it such a wonderful day. We love you! Sending best wishes that all goes well with JCS! Keep us updated!
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Relationship
"Rules" 2-25-15, 5:47 AM Diana Hi everyone! We've been spending so much time together that we haven't needed to connect much on this forum! But Zeke and I thought of a topic that we think would be good for everyone to discuss, especially when we have so many couples who have taken big steps with their relationships! So here it is: what are some rules, stated or simply understood, that you have with your loved ones? This doesn't have to be betweent romantic partners only although it could be. If you have a "rule" with a sibling or friend or child... please share it! People might learn from you. To get the ball rolling, here's one Zeke and I share: Always kiss each other good night. It doesn't matter if we fought that day. It doesn't matter if we're exhausted. That kiss has to happen. And I think it's working for us! Anyone else?
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Submission 2-6-15, 10:33 PM JenniAnn Hey there, Friends! So... it's been an interesting start to the weekend at Willowveil. Andrew and I had a family wedding to go to in NE (so glad it wasn't snowing!) and left our lovely Violeta at home, babysitting Belle. After Belle went to sleep, Violeta took to reading some of my old Theology textbooks. We came home to a lot of questions about "wives, submit to your husbands." So... Andrew, Violeta, and I had a nice, long talk but Andrew and I feel like Violeta would be better informed if we opened the question up to all of you. I know this is a sensitive subject which is partly why we're bringing it up here and not waiting til Bible Study night. We wanted people to be able to think in the comfort of their own homes. But we really would appreciate any insights and we'll recap what we discussed, too. In fact, Andrew will do that shortly. Thank you! Hugs!
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Blizzard!
Plans 1-25-15, 8:12 PM EmmaMM Peter and I just wanted to recap some conversations we've all been having in bits and pieces. We're not letting a little (okay, a lot) of snow get in the way of rehearsals! If anyone would like, you're welcome to camp out here at St. Genesius' during the storm. Just bring a sleeping bag! Of course, we understand that those who choose to stay home probably won't be able to get there in the evenings and that's not a problem. Just stay safe! Andrew and JenniAnn are more than happy to put anyone up if you'd prefer that (they've also volunteered use of the kitchens and showers at Willowveil/Serendipity for anyone staying at St. G's). Also, for anyone who thinks they absolutely will have to report to work on Tuesday or Wednesday and are worried about getting there, please contact Vincent. He's offered to let anyone who needs/wants to stay a safe place Below. Quite likely, there's a Tunnel entrance that would get you close to your work place without having to travel on trecherous streets. Oh and Beth and Mick are offering tours of L.A. for the sun and warmth deprived. Finally, the threat of the weather has meant larger than usual crowds at True Light so Arthur would welcome any extra help. We think that's it... Stay warm, friends!
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50
Shades of Blech 1-25-15, 9:52 AM CalebtheCowboy So am I the only one who is skeeved out by the 50 Shades trailer? Just asking...
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