I last posted to this blog in 2012. Below is an update on what the kids are up to, a few recent photos, and then a compilation of funny things they have said since 2012 and various pieces of advice I have posted on Twitter and Facebook.
Update on kids May 2018
Ryan is a 7th grader and playing recreational soccer, basketball, baseball and ultimate frisbee, Boy scouts, church youth group, set and lights for school musical, playing saxophone, riding his bike, riding scooter, reading, playing Wii U video games and games on his phone (a little–we limit these), babysitting, and wants to build a tree house. With friends, he bikes to the lake and swims and also goes and sleds on his own with his friends. He plays infection tag with kids in the neighborhood.
Jacob is 4th grader and playing recreational soccer, basketball, and baseball and likes riding his scooter. He is also playing trumpet, Wii U and games on iPad (a little–we limit these). Jacob and I are about to finish the Harry Potter series reading it aloud. Jacob likes reading Big Nate. He likes drawing. He likes listening to music on Spotify including Weird Al.
Allie is a 2nd grader and playing recreational soccer, basketball, and softball and likes riding her scooter and jumping on the neighbor’s trampoline and loves swimming. She is also in Brownies. She loves listening to audiobooks: Doll People, A-Z Mysteries, Boxcar Children, Wayside School from the library’s Overdrive service on an old iPod. She likes making crafts for friends and family. She plays imaginary games with friends. She likes listening to music on Spotify including The Greatest Showman.
Here are some photos from March – May 2018.
Sometimes I still tweet parenting things at:
https://twitter.com/AndyRowell
Here are some tips and observations I posted on Twitter (2013-May 2018):
Miscellaneous:
Peanut allergy: https://twitter.com/A
Tree house: https://twitter.com/
Justin Roberts: https://twitter.com/
Tidying up: https://twitter.com/AndyRowell/status/777244844359987201 Kids have existential block with regard to cleaning up toys / desks but if parent helps by the end they are inspired to play in clean space.
Fathers: https://twitter.com/AndyRowell/status/818700274466516992
Wallace Stegner: “The dominant figure in your life probably is your father, if you have one, and if he happens himself to be mixed-up . . .
irritable, and frustrated, and to feel himself many times a failure–those things do bounce off a child’s head and leave knots.”
I enjoyed Wallace Stegner’s novel The Big Rock Candy Mountain (1938). America. The West. Fatherhood. Restlessness. American Dream. Stories.
I read Wallace Stegner’s The Big Rock Candy Mountain on Eugene Peterson’s recommendation in his book Take & Read.
Movies
Movies: https://twitter.com/An
Inside Out: https://twitter.com/AndyRowell/status/625760399204286464
Greatest Showman https://twitter.com/An
Books
Wingfeather: https://twitter.c
Harry Potter: https://twitter.com/
Manga Bible thread: https://twitter.com/An
Book recommendations: https://twitt
Moby Dick: https://twitter.com/Andy
https://twitter.com/AndyRowell/status/975580552819601409
Parenting tip regarding love of books. 1. Look up some good books for the child’s age and request 20-30 from the library. 2. Begin listening to the audiobook or reading aloud the first chapters with the child. 3. Permit child to go on without you. You can catch up later or not.
https://twitter.com/AndyRowell/status/864918472790290437
In my parenting I have emphasized nurturing the love of reading. However, there are a lot of unhappy writers who read a lot as children.
https://twitter.com/AndyRowell/status/871802290352652288
Three forms of hyper-parenting:
(1) Micromanaging, home schooling, family-centric.
(2) Local-mission, public school, neighborhood, PTA, rec sports coach, school volunteer, birthday parties, friend-centric.
(3) Private school, travel sports, private language, music tutors, achievement-centric.
Facebook replies to people about books:
5/5/2017
We have paid a lot of library fines over the years because we check out tons of books from the library and then need to be conscientious about renewing them and have to go to the library once a week to return things and pick up what we requested so it also takes a lot of time. Our kids are 12, 9, and 7 now and all read a lot.
Every couple of months, I request a whole slew of books at a time online from the library: from the Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease or Boston Globe Horn Book Award winning Picture Books http://www.hbook.com/…
Our kids also use Overdrive from the library to download books onto our Kindle but I had to set the settings to exclude them playing games as that is too tempting for them.
Our kids have also been pretty into audiobooks downloaded from the library through Overdrive or checked out from the library as CDs–especially prior to second grade when they read more fluently on their own. They have listened to lots of audiobooks of: Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones, A to Z Mysteries, Boxcar Children, and Wayside School. Audiobooks build up their vocabulary a lot so reading is way easier once they start reading on their own. Little kids can also check out books with CD’s from the library with the page turn signals so they can read along and turn the pages.
5/8/2014
With our oldest, we read lots to him (Jim Trelease – Read-Aloud Handbook recommendations) and he is now a great reader but the younger kids haven’t gotten the same attention so are not as interested I’m afraid so we probably need to ramp that up. Ideally, I think it is more fun and probably effective long-term for them to develop love for books and higher vocabulary by listening rather than drilling the mechanics and skill (but there probably is some place for sounding out things, spelling, etc.) With our first, we read lots and lots of picture books with great illustrations–lots of Horn book award winners:http://www.hbook.com/
Funny things the kids have said that I have posted on Twitter (2013-May 2018):
Ice-skaters: https://twitter.c
Big Nate: https://twitter.com/Andy
80’s: https://twitter.com/Andy
Bible stories: https://twitter.com/A
Doctoral studies: https://twitter.com/A
Good Samaritan: https://twitter.
Bonhoeffer: https://twitter.
Facebook highlights of kids from May 2018 – January 2013.
Parenting Today 2018: A video game where you keep your child avatar from being swallowed by screens without losing lives by hitting burnout levels.
This is quite a powerful article on youth sports development, particularly soccer. Ted Kroeten argues against tryouts because of Relative Age Effect and argues the best players emerge late (age 15) after developing creatively by playing for fun.
https://www.poweredbyjoy.org/single-post/2018/02/13/The-revolution-will-not-hold-tryouts
Our ten-year-old has a closet category called “retired jerseys.”
Our 4th grader asked the main (adult) objections to Christian faith at breakfast today. “People died even though we prayed they wouldn’t. Aren’t other religions just as likely to be true? God does not seem physically present now. How do we know the Bible is not fiction? Was Jesus a real person?”
So, a lesson is if one is old enough to read Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, then one is old enough to talk about these questions. For what it’s worth, I think Christian faith has more plausible rational responses to these questions than other points of view. And I think there are some other questions not mentioned above where Christianity is particularly persuasive: Where does one receive moral direction if there is no God? If there is no God, there is little hope.
I think generally with kids and adults it is a better approach to constructively teach the stories of the Bible and how the logic of Christianity works, rather than focusing on the most difficult borderline questions for which neither atheism nor religion have complete answers. When one is wearing Christian glasses, life and the world come into focus and make sense.
As for resources, we facilitate the Alpha course which allows and encourages any and all questions like this. There is also a youth curriculum. I liked Tim Keller’s latest book Making Sense of God. We also like Peter Enns’s Telling God’s Story curriculum for families. We also recommend the Narnia series and Harry Potter for moral and spiritual formation. Most important for thoughtful reflection on these issues and moral formation is attendance and involvement at a great church. At a good church, one should not be left with the impression that Christianity is totally farfetched but that it is helpful and useful and practical and pro-science and healthful. As I say this I’m conscious that it needs to be said over and over: Yes, too many Christians claim to be Christians and don’t look much like Jesus. Christianity that does not look like Jesus is not Christianity.
See also on Steve Jobs’s questions: https://twitter.com/AndyRowell/status/557955255787614209
Overheard: “Now that it’s not Dad’s birthday, let’s do whatever he doesn’t want,” said this person hiding behind the cereal box.
We bought a house! The neighbors refer to it as the Up house, the gingerbread house, the Easter egg house, the Vikings house, the Crayola house, etc. We’re working on it for now and move in August 5th. It is 4 blocks from our previous home. Come by and distract us from painting and give us your advice on a million home improvement issues.
12-year-old woke up and said he had a dream that he got a phone. 9-year-old: That means he should get one. Me: That’s not really how it works. 9-year-old: Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream!
Friday afternoon. 1st-grade-girl, “Halloween is coming! Let’s make scary decorations!” 6th-grade-boy, “Let’s play some pranks!” 3rd-grade-boy: “Let’s go buy some candy!” Old tired father: “How about we go to the library, clean up the house, and do laundry?”
Camped this weekend. Great outdoors makes you appreciate great indoors. Upon returning to internet range, googled “lightning while in tent.” Highlights were 6-year-old daughter volunteering to paddle in canoe and climbing 100 foot fire tower with “no forcing.” 11-year-old: “I just love fire.” 8-year-old: “I just can’t stop myself from looking for good rocks.” Also finding dropped key in gravel lot, a dry tent, no allergic peanut reaction to accidental Mr. Goodbar bite. Sliding van door was stuck open in middle of nowhere. Cut door wire with 8-year-old’s pocket knife and it shut. Honda dealer, you’re welcome. Pretty apparent when camping which campers are nice and which are not. I started out as latter but became a little more of the former as time went on–and this is why you go camping I suppose. Some illustrations in comments below.
8-year-old-Jacob:”When you grow up, can you do more than one job? Basketball player, basketball announcer, illustrator, art teacher, DQ employee?”
“Did anyone comment on your Duke shirt today?” Jacob: “No, I don’t think any of them celebrate March Madness.” Some families observe certain religious holidays, others are non-observant.
Giving advice to 8 year old Jacob about dealing with a situation at school and he retorts angrily, “A lot has changed since the 80’s.”
Help. Children wanting to use hose to reinforce snow fort and do experiments with household chemicals. These children need jobs (with no holidays) or school to start again!
Public Service Announcement: When the temperature is below freezing, children don’t realize they have to go until it is too late.
8 year old Jacob on being bribed with food to stay up late with me to watch the Cubs (win!). “Why are we doing this again?” Because the Cubs lost in 1984 and 1989. “Oh yeah.”
Brother Jacob (shakily) filmed Allie biking here.
Picking up 8 week old beagle puppy Copper
61 degrees so time for the sprinkler. / with Amy Steinfield Rowell
We let the boys stay up until 10:30 to watch Duke win but they were mostly inspired to play basketball themselves on our little hoop next to the TV which is good I guess but I kept saying, “You can play basketball tomorrow. We’re letting you stay up to watch the game.” After the win began the decision-making about whether to wear their Duke shirts tomorrow to school. “Some of the tough kids are big Wisconsin fans.” These things must be considered carefully. (We went bananas cheering but we usually cheer for the underdog so understand the many annoyed. My take is many of these tournament games are close and the players are kids so: luck and low expectations).
4.5 year old Allie and 7 year old Jacob reflect on the superiority of The Hardy Boys over Nancy Drew.
4.5 year old Allie’s first attempts at hockey.
“Jesus isn’t here so my animals will blow out his candles.” — Allie (with Amy Steinfield Rowell)
Our book choices. 1 vote for Laura Ingalls Wilder and 1 for Barbie.
I turned 39 today and told 6-year-old Jacob I shouldn’t eat cake so my pants will fit. He said, “Just get some 40T ones.”
Amy Steinfield Rowell preached today at City Church for the first time. I didn’t notice the four-year-old’s dress was on backwards.
6 year old Jacob: “I’m cheering for the patriots in the Revolutionary War because the New England Patriots are one of my favorite teams.”
Family update: We are excited that Amy Steinfield Rowell will start as Pastor of Community Life at City Church in southwest Minneapolis on August 11th. We are renting a house a few blocks from the church building and moving this Sat, Aug 2nd. I’ll still teach at Bethel Seminary but have a 25 min commute. Unfortunately, the boys (Ryan 4th grade, Jacob 1st grade) will have to adjust to a new school (Burroughs Elementary) but it is a good school. We are sad to be moving away from our Arden Hills and Shoreview friends but excited to be joining this new community.
Our 4-year-old Allie is pretty brave. with Amy Steinfield Rowell, Brenda McDonell, Bob McDonell
(dipping face in the water).
We are enjoying World Cup highlights at the ESPN website but the kids always beg for the 2010 song with this soccer highlight compilation.
4-year-old Allie batting today with her tiara under her baseball helmet–beautiful and tough like her mom Amy Steinfield Rowell. Happy Mother’s Day as well to my mom Brenda McDonell. We miss Amy’s mom Nancy Steinfield as well today.
Allie working on her swing with Batman mask. — with Amy Rowell
A family photo from this week: me, Jacob (6), Ryan (8), Allie (3), and Amy. It was chilly and this is the second spot where we posed so Ryan isn’t thrilled. I just checked and the current weather is -2°F feels like -19° and yes, it is March. We’ve had six days of school cancelled in Jan and Feb for extreme cold or heavy snow but we are enjoying the sledding, ice-skating, and are thankful for a two-car garage, a short commute, down comforters, and the indoor Shoreview Community Center playground. We signed up for baseball today–games begin in May!
On the Olympics: 3 year old Allie on a couple ice dancing. “That man is trying to keep up with that woman.” Also: “Snowboarding is the dangerousest.” 6 year old Jacob: “Do they have boxing on skates? That would be cool.” – with Amy Steinfield Rowell
“People who smoke could just drink hot chocolate to get warm.” — 6-year-old Jacob
This is one of those days that the weather is different in MN (-6°F) from NC (69°F). We hadn’t felt much difference until Thanksgiving. But the kids are loving the snow.
“Mommy dropped us off at school and there were even kids who arrived after us!” — Kindergartner Jacob.
Allie (3) Princess, Jacob (6) Captain American, Ryan (8) Jedi. – Halloween 2013.
Why I am not letting my boys play football and why we have stopped watching it. I’ll be glad to be wrong because I love football. “By the fall of 2012, McKee had examined the brains of 34 former NFL players. Thirty-three had CTE.”
League of Denial excerpt in Sports Illustrated.
Our kids were with Grandma this week. Here are the photos. The kids arrived last night in St. Paul, MN–thanks to Kathi McDonell Valentino and Joe. We still have lots of boxes and no internet but are getting there. The townhouse will work ok–decent shape, mostly soundproof we think, a little small, nice grounds. Kind people–everywhere–it is impressive. Beautiful weather. Lots of construction and traffic. Lowes/Home Depot/Menard’s: 20 minutes away–too far! Lots of family stuff everywhere: indoor waterslide in hotel. A couple anecdotes: Left the frog at Red Robin restaurant last night but the employees have the bowl and him and Kathi is going to bring it to us Monday on her way back to Illinois. First morning today in the house: Jacob said: “I want to go back to our old house.” Allie said: “You’re never going back there!” He punched her.
Goodbye Durham friends. We will miss you! From earlier today before church. — Amy and I, Ryan (8), Jacob (5.5), and Allie (3).
Amy, “So who are some of daddy’s friends?” 5-year-old Jacob, “Well, there’s David Miller and Bonhoeffer.”
“Allie, what did you learn at VBS today?” 3-year-old Allie: “An angry mom was chasing Paul!” [Acts 17:5 “a mob started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul.”]
Looks like we have a townhouse to rent in Arden Hills, MN 4-7 minutes from Bethel Seminary, which will give us a chance to get to know the Twin Cities a bit more before we buy. The boys will be going into 3rd grade and kindergarten at Island Lake Elementary School in Shoreview, MN. AND we’re thrilled to have sold our house to great folks! We’re moving out of Durham, NC around July 23rd.
Big news for us: I am taking a position as Assistant Professor of Ministry Leadership at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, MN. Our house here in Durham, NC closes July 24th. We would be glad for your advice about the Twin Cities. We are excited!
Our 8-year-old Ryan giving leadership advice to his friend about chasing the girls at recess.
5-year-old Jacob listening to a gospel choir from Mt. Level Missionary Baptist Church at a combined service with Blacknall Presbyterian Church tonight: “Are they making a CD of this?”