March 3 – “Day off”

Friday was Daddy’s day off at the Waco Vaughan’s house.  Not that he had much time to relax.  The day started off with a rousing pancake breakfast courtesy of Christi.  She even had some karo, my personal syrup of choice when it comes to the pancake/waffle genre.  Not that I mind the maple syrup taste, understand.  There’s nothing quite like some cold Mrs. Butterworth’s on a piping hot homemade waffle.  The landscape guy came over shortly after breakfast to take a look at their back yard.  They want to have some work done to bring the yard more into line with something little boys can spend a lot of time in safely.  They want to have it leveled out, fenced in, and maybe made to look somewhat prettier, although functionality is certainly more desired than beauty.  Their back yard has a rather precarious drop into a ravine, so the fence is a must.  As long as it has a gate for access.  You can’t beat an unsullied ravine for exploring. 

After a Mexican food lunch (We had to do Mexican food.  That became somewhat of a tradition when they lived in San Antonio.  The food is not quite the same in Waco, but the tradition remains), we managed to connect with Lanny.  He used to be the worship leader at Seaside, and he is by far one of the most amazing pray-ers I have ever met.  He and Josh have always had a special connection anyway.  It goes way back to when Lanny agreed to be Josh’s prayer partner for the MasterLife discipleship course he took.  It was great to touch base with him, but it was even better watching the two of them pick up where they left off.  And I was sure glad to hear that he was still praying for me. 

Once again the creative play of Zak and Caleb held me in its grasp.  They are big Star Wars fans, so inevitably there had to be a light sabre battle of some kind (using pool noodle light sabres, of course).  This one, though, was … unique.  Zak came up with the idea, but Caleb incorporated it seamlessly.  Zak announced that the battle was actually between him and … himself (in the form of Caleb).  I understood right away what he was talking about.  After all, I have been watching some episodes of Dr. Who, and that fits perfectly with the scheme of the show.  I wasn’t sure if Caleb would pick up on it though.  Boy, was I ever proved wrong.  Every time a sabre made a connection, whether with a hand or foot or neck, both boys would dramatically reach for the area on himself and cry out in anguish.  Look out, Hollywood.

The day ended with a back stage view of dress rehearsal for Zakary’s children’s choir musical.  The actual presentation was to be on Sunday night, so we were pretty excited to get to see the rehearsal.  It didn’t start out much like any dress rehearsal I have ever been a part of.  It was the first time the drama team and the music team had actually practiced together, and it really showed.  They had to get the blocking down and deal with the inevitable glitches that only show up when you are on the stage itself.  They worked through it, though, and by the time of the last run-through it looked and sounded great.  As it turned out we heard that the performance had to be postponed last night.  Too much snow and ice on the roads around Waco.  They’ll try again Wednesday.  Break a leg, guys.

1 Timothy 5:1-2 says, “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”

Father, help Zak and Caleb maintain their light sabre battling, brother connection as they grow.  And show them how to include Luke in it when he arrives on the scene.  Amen.