The Committee will Decide.....

Hmmm....another strike against public education.

My parents are trying to drop an AP European class that my 15 year old sister is currently enrolled in (for the upcoming school year) for a normal 10th great history class. Their repeated attempts at this have been denied. (Yes, they have told my parents she is not allowed to drop an AP class to take a normal state required class.) So today my parents went to see the Vice-Principal who also denied this request but here is where it gets really good. The Vice-Principal told my parents that she would send it to the committee to review. At that point the committee would decide "what's in the best interest of the child." Hmmm....my father at that point said, "I am the father. I decide what is in the best interest for my daughter."
The Vice-Principal kindly disagreed.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out...I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: The committee decided after 2 seperate meetings that it was "in the best interest of the child" to let her drop the class....hmmmm....thanks.

7 years ago today...

7 years ago today, Peggy and I had our first date. I'd like to tell you a little about it....

...A few weeks prior to that 1st date I spoke the now "famous" (only because Peggy tells everyone about it) pickup line, "Do you have a screwdriver?" I was a computer technician and she was a nursing something or other. We were working summer jobs during college. We met, we talked, we ate lunch together. Well, truthfully, I did most of the eating and I probably talked with my mouth full of food. But somehow I managed to convince her to still go out with me.

Believe it or not, I do remember our first date. I wore light khaki pants and a shirt that I still own (I should probably throw it away now). We ate at the Outback Steakhouse and we had chicken. I don't remember what we had, but I always get chicken there for some reason.

Anyway, there is one humorous part of the evening. When I arrived at the Catt (Peggy's maiden name) house, I had been there maybe 5 minutes when I was quickly ushered into her parent's bedroom. I don't remember all the details of how they got me in there, but it had something to do with a computer question. At this point, I found myself talking to her 8 year old sister. It's amazing how little we had to talk about, but she sure tried to keep me busy.

Well, I later found that Peggy's old boyfriend had shown up to try and stop her from going out with me. If I remember correctly, she was embarrassed and afraid of running me off, but this only built up my pride. I'm thankful sanctification (and maturity!).

Well, needless to say, that first date went well, and this year we will celebrate 5 years of marriage on August 18. Our marriage has been one of many sources of great joy in our lives. Thanks be to God for His love, mercy, and grace!

Deep Thoughts by Peggy Hutchinson

Rick says I always write fun blogs and he writes serious ones so we are switching this time:

Rick is responsible for finding teachers for our Sunday School class. we have the typical quarter system which means we have to find 4 different teachers a year(sometimes more for various reasons.) It is often difficult to find teachers who want to teach anything but "application". It's interesting that people basically don't want to teach unless they can tell you what you should do in different areas of your life. what happened to teaching the word of God and letting the Holy Spirit convict and apply. I know the word of God transforms only when the truths are applied to our thoughts and actions, but my concern is that we are confused on how this occurs. I must say that we have had great practical teachers who do a great service to the Lord. It is just interesting that we appear to have many more of those type teachers in the church.Basically I don't really know where I am going with all this....but just thought it was interesting....there are a plethora of practical teachers and few doctrinal teachers...what does this say...what does this mean...is this growing trend...i don't know...but it does seem that fewer and fewer people are "doing" holiness so is this application teaching really working?I am thankful for teachers of the word of God. I am also thankful for men who will present God's word and allow the Holy Spirit to convict and apply for it is the Holy Spirit that renews our minds.

Wufoo

I used wufoo.com for the first time this week. It allows you to create a quick survey and post that survey on any website. I used it to allow people to signup for a team in Sunday school (the teams will organize various aspects of the class).

It worked really well and was simple. Go to http://hutchinsonfamily.googlepages.com/home to see it in action. The form is at the bottom, and it took me all of 5 minutes to setup. I can access the information as an excel export or in the wufoo gui.

But of course, as a tester, I must point out a bug I found. A phone number of 234-555-6789 displays as 234-55567-6789. I love web 2.0, but the "no testing" and "perpetual beta" aspects will start to drive me crazy at some point. Software must work to be useful. End of story.

Pictures from Hilton Head

I've been FIRED!

All of our faithful readers (Ha!) will know that a few weeks ago, I posted about my new job...cutting Rick's hair. You'll remember I did NOT want to cut it but because I'm a submissive wife, I did it with a smile on my face and a song in my heart (HA-again!) Well, the first week or two after I cut it, Rick commented almost daily how much he loved it and how it looked just like a professional cut it. This past week though, the comments from Rick are still daily but a bit different. Now they are "Is this part too long, Is this part too short, Is this part too weird", etc.
So apparently the joy of the hair cut is gone and so is my new job! YEA!!!!!

Kate-19 months old-7-22-06

My dear Kate,

You are 19 months old today. What fun you are! Your favorite song to sing is "Happy Birthday." I'll sing the song (and you'll try to sing along) and then I'll stop at the part where you say who's B'day it is and you'll say someone's name. It is really funny. Your favorite person to sing Happy Birthday to at the moment is Daddy, so we sing Happy Birthday to Daddy all the time.

You have known for a while now how to say "please" (peas) and "thank you" (ta chu)but in the past 2 weeks, you've started to say "thank you, you're welcome" (ta chu u welkum) at the same time. It is very funny. I'll give you something and you immediate smile and say "thank you, you're welcome." I guess you are just extra polite.

We were on vacation this past week and we all slept in the same room and you decided that you'd like to wake up every night at 2am. Well, normally I wasn't very happy about this, but one night I awoke at 2am to you talking and yelling at Claire, "wake up baby"(week up bebe)! Thankfully, Claire did not wake up but I had a good laugh in the middle of the night.

You still mostly call Claire "baby" (bebe) but one of the first times I heard you say her name on your own was also when I first saw some jealousy. I was holding Claire and talking to her saying "hey claire" and you came up to me and said, "No Hey Claire" (no hey clee-o) Another time Claire was in her bouncie seat and I left the room to hear a scream from Claire and I came back in the room to find you laying down completely on top of Claire in the bouncie seat! But about 99% of the time, you are as sweet as can be to her and love to touch her and say "hey baby."You still sleep from 7pm-7am (except on vacation I guess), take a 2 hour nap in the afternoon and sometimes will still take a nap in the morning (I still try to put you down everyday though.)You are a joy to us and we love having you in our family.

I love you now and always,

Mommy

Conversations from the car

On our 8 hour trip to Hilton Head Island this past week, Rick and I had some interesting conversations. We left at 3 am so you can imagine how tired we were...

Rick: Are donuts the only food you can eat for breakfast and dessert?
Me: (thinking for a few seconds) Yes
Rick: They should make more of those

Me: You know how when you are driving and you are so tired that you need to close your eyes for a few seconds....
Rick: Pull over...

Kate: music, music (what she says when she wants to listen to her CD)
Me: Not now Kate....
Kate: (screaming!!!) MUSIC....JESUS LOVES ME THIS I KNOW!!!!!!! (translation by Me)

Educating Children - Discussion of school options (Part 2)

It is interesting to look at the various groups of people seeking to push their way of thinking through the school system. I remember "Channel One" coming to our school when I was in middle school. Channel One provided televisions for each class room in exchange for having us watch a short program each morning. The program contained information about current events and was paid for by advertising.

The idea is genious, if carried out properly, especially in today's world since many children run the household dictating purchasing habits for the family. The people introducing this concept know the power of reaching the children of the world. Not only do they produce revenue for today, but the advertisers gain adherents to their products for years to come. This is what many groups seek when they try to push their message through the school system.
Let's look at one example. The DARE program is widely used throughout schools and it seeks to build self-confidence in children in hopes this will keep them away from drgus and other things. The goals seem good. Although I never participated in the program I did read part of the DARE curriculum for a local school system (it's available online). The concepts never mention God (of course). How can one build self esteem apart from God? DARE teaches children to have confidence in their own abilities looking within themselves to build self-esteem. Without recognizing sin in the individual and reliance on God as the giver of all abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and change, one will delve into a man centered self gratifying lifestyle that neither glorifies or pleases the Creator.

So, often the end goal of public school programs seems generally good, but when looking at the details of how those goals will be attained glaring faults arise. The people leading the programs aren't evil or seeking to corrupt the children, but many have bought into the false hope that these concepts are truth and will work. This is concerning. And one must wonder what can be done about it.

Claire-3 months old-7-19-06

Dearest Claire,

Today you are 3 months old. Your father and I love you and are thankful for you. You love to smile and talk to us. You can hold your head up well too. Also, this past month you've started sleeping from 7pm-7am which is great of course! When you cry, you will almost always stop if I place you in front of Kate...apparently, she's fun to look at! You are still an easy baby and you love to be held. I am writing you these letters and taking a picture of you each month to one day compile and give to you. I don't know how long I'll do it monthly but I hope to keep writing to you until you leave our home. I want you to see how you've grown and know all the things you've done as well as tell you things that are on my heart.

The bible charges your father and I in Deut 6:4-9:
"Hear, O Israel: "The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

We love God's word and will do what it tells us to do. When you are all grown up and leave our home, we hope you will be a woman who worships God and obeys His word. Sometimes it will be hard for us to be diligent in teaching and in discipline. It will sometimes be hard for you to learn to obey but we will continue in our work because we love you...but most of all, we love Christ. We will remain in His word so we can learn to love Him with all of our heart, soul and might and so we can learn to teach and love you as we should.
Know you are a blessing and a gift.
I love you always,
Mommy

Zephaniah 3:17

17 The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

Unfortuantely, I have a new job.....

.....as a "hair stylist."
How did this happen? It went something like this:

Rick: I want you to cut my hair.
Me: WHAT?!?
Rick: I want you to cut my hair.
Me: WHY??
Rick: Well, we'd save $15
Me: But I don't know how to cut hair!
Rick: would you rather me pay someone $15 to cut it or do you want to cut it?
Me: I want you to pay someone $15 to cut it!
Rick: I want you to cut it....

So, as you can see I cut it and I think Rick actually likes it. So unfortunately, I think I have a new job. :)

Crazed Obedience

When a person steps outside of their normal way of life in service to God, several questions go through their mind. Some of those questions may look like this:

• Is this really what God wants me to do?
• How will this change my life?
• What will other people think?
• Am I strong enough to do this?
• Does this conflict with my other things I want to do?

Sin corrupts our understanding of God, our communication with Him, and our desire to worship Him as our Creator. Christ has defeated sin in those who trust in Him alone for salvation, but sin lingers in us until we are glorified in Christ at His second coming. This lingering sin causes us trouble as we seek to shine as stars in a crooked and perverse generation.

One thing I've noticed about sin is that it makes all obedient people crazy (from my perspective at least). Why on earth would anyone want to go to the jungles of Ecuador to share Christ with Indians known for being killers. Why would a group from our church want to go start a church in a foreign country? How could missionaries go to Iraq in the middle of a war? Why would anyone desire to be a missionary in the Philippines where the Abu Sayyaf hunt for people to kidnap? The answer is that all these people are crazy. God knows this as obedience, but with sin corrupted eyes, I am tempated to look upon these actions as crazy.

God moves within each of us to do things He wants done. He does not give everyone the same desires, and since we lack perfect communication with Him and our fellow brethren, we often cannot fathom why people would desire to do the things God calls them to do. If you are contemplating an action in obedience to God and have questions about whether or not to do it due to a fear that people will think your crazy, that may just be an indication that God is indeed moving within you.

Granted, this cannot be the final litmus test for determining God's call upon our lives, but it does make me wonder if I do anything appearing crazy to sin-ridden mankind. And if not, should I?

From the No Child Left Behind Act report

The no child left behind act is supposed to make our children smarter by making our public schools more affective. I found a report on the "Center on Education Policy" website and I found the following information interesting in the summary of the report.

Scores on state tests have risen in a large majority of states and schools
districts, according tothe state and local officials we surveyed.

Seventy-one percent of the school districts we surveyed reported that
they have reduced elementary school instructional time in at least one other subject
to make more time for reading and mathematics—the subjects tested for NCLB.
In some case study districts, struggling students receive double periods of
reading or math or both—sometimes missing certain subjects altogether.

Regulatory changes may also affect percentages proficient. Many states have
also taken advantage of additional flexibility from the U.S. Department of
Education (ED) to make policy changes that may result in more students being
counted as proficient. These changes include testing some students with
disabilities against modified or alternate standards and counting passing
scores from students who retake a test they previously failed. It is not
clear to what extent state policy changes have contributed to rising
percentages of students reaching proficiency.

So, basically, the solution to our children not learning anything in school is to teach longer on the few subjects they will be tested on, and then lower the standards. Is this the new American way?