Movin' On Up

Last week, Garrett and Hannah were thrilled to be able to do something they're been waiting for since the first day of school. They moved into their new school building.

Back in September, Covenant School moved from their Barboursville location into Christ Temple Church in Huntington. This was a welcome move for our school. It's alleviated some of the financial burden the school has been under as well as give our students an amazing new facility to use. They simply didn't have room to house they 7th through 12th grade, so they built a new building that houses classrooms, a kitchen and a gym. Rebecca started school day one in the new location, but the new building for the older kids wasn't ready. After several delays, the building was finally ready to be occupied last Thursday. Saying goodbye to the old building was actually a bit sad for me. I have so many vivid memories: visiting the school for the first time, Rebecca's 1st day of kindergarten, planning class trips, school plays and Christmas programs. The kids have learned how to diagram sentences and write essays in that building but they've also memorized scripture and learned a great deal about the Bible there. Having said all that, I know that Covenant School is far more than a building. One big benefit to our move into Christ Temple Church is that their church school, The Academy, was absorbed into our school. So our family is even bigger.

Last Thursday, Garrett and Hannah put on old clothes and headed to "Old Covenant" for moving day. They emptied their lockers, packed trucks with desks and boxes and headed downtown to their new location. By the time I picked them up, everyone looked exhausted but happy. Kids were running around from room to room, giggling. The choir teacher gathered students into a room where they sat on the floor and sang. The biology teacher grinned as he hung a huge poster of the chart of elements while the assistant basketball coach "encouraged" everyone to take off their shoes when going new the beautiful new gym floor. Garrett even posed with the newest addition to the biology classroom- Morty, the skeleton. I can't wait for all the new 'firsts' in this building.

Another rite of passage happened this week in the Gaunch household. Hannah Grace got her learner's permit. That's right... we have two student drivers now. She was so proud because she only missed on question on the test. She even 'doesn't hate' her learner's permit photo. And when she stood against the wall to measure her height and it was 5' 2 1/2" (2 1/2" taller than me) she couldn't help but gloat- just a little. Her goal is to be 5 feet 5 inches. All I can say is, good luck. Our family is vertically challenged! So... this weekend, we'll probably venture out for the first time. (Sigh)

Thoughts on Veterean's Day

Today, I attended a Veteran's Day assembly at Covenant School, where all three of my children attend school. Garrett had called and invited my dad, an Air Force veteran, to come. I knew Hannah and Garrett would be singing and that there would be a speaker. As she left for school this morning, Hannah mentioned that she actually would be singing a solo.

I had no idea what I was in for. It was moving. All of it. The choir sang several beautiful songs, but Hannah's was by far the best. The song was based on the poem "In Flanders Fields" which a man wrote during World War I after presiding over the funeral of his 22 year old friend. She boldly sang these words...

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row, on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

The younger children had already had time alone with the speaker, so after the singing, they went back to their classes. Then the speaker, Jared Shumate, an Army veteran who was in Iraq and Afghanistan, talked to us about what it means to be a veteran. He spoke about the liberty we enjoy as Americans and how a heavy price was paid in blood. He went on to explain to these 7-12th graders that the liberty we enjoy as Christians - an eternal liberty- also cost a heavy price and was paid for in blood.

He was a good speaker and joked a lot with the kids, too. I went to the assembly this morning mainly out of obligation and not expecting to recieve anything. But as usual, the Holy Spirit met me there, softening my heart and speaking truth to my soul. And reminding me once again of a scripture that I discovered years ago and still dearly love...

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!" 2 Corinthians 3:17

Farewell to October

They say that the holidays are the busiest time of the year, but it always seems that for us, October is even busier! Maybe it's because of the ages of the kids and activities they're involved in, but this month has flown by and I want to take a minute to catch you up and show you a few fun pictures.

October 24th, Louie celebrated his 40th birthday. That just seems hilarious for me to even put in writing. Are we really that old? (Well, not me... yet) We went to dinner with his family and had a great time. His sister baked a cheesecake and we all sang to him- since we were at a Japanese steakhouse, his mom decided to try to sing Happy Birthday in Japanese... I thought Louie was going to crawl under the table. But a good time was had by all.

One thing the kids have always, always loved to do is carve pumpkins. And they're funny about it. Garrett's always has to be kind of humorous. Hannah always picks a really intricate pattern. And Becca was old enough to carve her own this year without (hardly any) help. Becca also really dislikes scraping out the pumpkin. Hannah, however, has no trouble with the nasty 'pumpkin guts'. This year, Becca decided she could handle it-but she didn't have a very good look on her face!

We live in a neighborhood where everyone likes to come to trick-or-treat. And it's understandable... if you live out in the country, it's impossible (and dangerous) to go door to door. So about 30 minutes prior, we start to see cars lining up along the road. Louie and I walked around with Becca while Garrett and Hannah passed out candy. I knew they would run out of candy before trick-or-treaters, but I thought I did pretty well- I bought over 100 pieces. Well, they were out of candy in 30 minutes! Becca always trick or treats with the same buddies from her Sunday school class that she's known since kindergarten (some earlier than that). They were a strange crew this year... they dressed up as Michael Jackson, a WVU football player and my personal favorite- a blind referee. Becca, my sweet little angel, was a cute little ladybug last year. Not this year. Her exact words were "I don't want to look cute". (Sigh) So instead, she was some kind of scary zombie girl.

Garrett and Hannah are in the youth praise band at church and twice this month they were asked to sing at church events. Last weekend, they sang at a conference for teenage girls. There were over 300 in attendance. They did so well! There are some really talented musicians in their group. In a few weeks, they're going to sing at an FCA rally for a large crowd again.

Let's see what else... Hannah's volleyball season wrapped up with a loss (unfortunately). She didn't seem too broken up about the fact the the season is over- actually I think she's tired!

Hannah and Garrett had a costume party last Saturday evening for their friends. It was pretty funny. They ate, listened to music, and played games in the youth room of our church. Hannah was some type of woodland fairy and Garrett dressed up as Edward from the Twilight book series- with a steak through his heart. It wasn't until 2 days before the part that we realized one of the the real reasons for the party was to invite a boy named John who is 'smitten' with Hannah.(John's mother's word)

Then tonight, our school was having a fundraiser. It was Mc Teacher night at Mc Donalds and Becca HAD to go see her teacher bagging french fries. Hannah's journalism teacher took their dinner order and the headmaster delivered our to go order with a smile. Each teacher was being assisted by a Mc Donalds employee. The funniest part was when we got in the car, Becca pulled out a fry and said, 'This takes just like a regular Mc Donalds french fry'. I have no idea what she was expecting!

We are a little more than halfway through the New Testament Challenge and I'm really enjoying it. As we read through the NT, I've only gotten behind once- so far! It's funny- as I'm reading, I'm noticing so much more emotion in the writer's words than I have before. These were real people living out their faith in real life. And I have a lot to learn from their words for my real life.