Uncle Marty and Aunt Kathy

Uncle Marty and Aunt Kathy celebrate Christmas with us.

Antonio enjoys his Lego's

Crystel made Marty and Kathy a snowflake that doubles as a kitty mask.

Crystel likes the scarves that Jody and I received.

What to do when your sister is scared?

When your sister is scared and you're afraid she might ask to have the movie changed or shut off - you do what you have to - move over to her chair to make her feel safe - assuring that you'll be able to finish the Ben 10 movie.

Kindergarten Gingerbread Houses

The parents - helpers waiting for the children Antonio's class receiving instructions on how to make a Gingerbread House. Antonio is the child with the red tie. The only child with a tie. On a few occasions he has insisted on wearing his tie to school. This is a good problem - not even a problem. The fact that he is okay being different and that he likes to look nice is very okay with Jody and I. Leaning in to clearly understand how to place the candy on the house. His friend Jacob is next to him. Jody and I both volunteered that day. We divided the time between children and classrooms. Crystel's class operated a little different. They put on art shirts and piled the candy on. I didn't see them receiving any instructions at all. What was apparent is that without instruction they were far ahead of the other class in decorating.

Crystel with her masterpiece. Andy - her friend - is behind her. Andy knows English and Spanish. Crystel is such a great observer that she can mimic how he looks and his voice. I have her do this for me at bedtime. I laugh and laugh.

Andy pointing out his gingerbread house. I can't tell you why Crystel is wearing her hood. Expect it is her quiet way of saying, notice me.

Antonio finishing up his gingerbread house.

And there it is!

Just another day in the life of a Volunteer

How many five and six year old children can you fit in a post office? 40 - it turns out. The children are asking the postman if he is Santa. This is just before holiday break. The teachers can't wait.

Here we are - in a line - looking at the stations where mail is sorted. My job is to keep anyone from escaping the front of the line.

This is the post office lady - way up front - talking about how a letter gets to Santa. We are dressing for the trip to the Post Office.

The classroom. Such nice, quiet children.

Santa came to our house! We have PROOF!

Two cookies and milk left out for Santa. Carrots for his reindeer. Antonio and Crystel wanted me to leave the camera by Santa's plate so he could see pictures of our family. I thought that was a great idea. And guess what happened? Scroll down a smitch and you can see that Santa has a sense of humor. He took a picture of himself! What magic!

I saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus

Antonio took this video of Crystel at her dance recital. Now, it's not perfect. But -it was better than the video I took. So - he gets the post. Crystel is the six year old in the Santa hat. Happy Holidays to family and friends from the looptylu di Grazia family.

Crystel's purple belt form

Crystel's purple belt form. She did a great job. I wish I wouldn't have gotten such a close video of her. If I had done it normally you would have seen how she was the only purple belt testing - while two adult black belts were behind her. She held her own on the floor, stayed focused and completed her form. Look at that dash back to the wall to sit down! Wow!

Antonio's red belt form

Antonio's the little guy in the middle. A story to go with the video. This was published by SLAB LITERARY MAGAZINE in April, 2008. Antonio has done awesome in Tae Kwon Do and Spanish Immersion Kindergarten. Things have changed tremendously since this story was written. I credit much of his growth to Tae Kwon Do. Of course, parenting is important too. I KNOW THAT I'M GOING TO CRY I know that I'm going to cry. Puffy cheeks, red bloated eyes, throat squeezed and my chest too tight. "Bye, Mama Beth," Antonio says. His right hand beats the air, back and forth, back and forth. Bringing his palm to his mouth he smacks loudly, creates a wind tunnel with his pursed lips, zooms a kiss with a full-throated exhale. A two thumbs up sign and wide smile stamps his goodbye. Oh, oh, this Tae Kwon Do class is in trouble, I think. Raising my eyebrows I acknowledge him with a crisp wave of my hand. Leaving the large narrow space I glance back at the eighteen children, four to twelve years old, sitting meditation style. Antonio and Crystel sit one behind the other licking their palms. They are pretending to be cats. Immediately, I know that, although it might not be obvious to others. They spend hours at home being a cat and dog. I give my two five-year old children a pained smile. Master Lindeberg's office is down the hall. I walk in and just as I start to speak tears roll over one another before I can finish my first sentence. Tall and fit, Mr. Lindeberg pulls his well-balanced frame upright and shuffles paperwork aside. "This isn't about Antonio?" I nod. Taking a seat, I pause until I can talk through my tears. Leaning towards me, Mr. Lindeberg rests his forearms on his desk, folds his fingers together. Finally I'm able to say, "Antonio's the biggest goof in class. We don't know what to say or do with him anymore. Jody and I have tried Tae Kwon Do classes at different times of the day, classes with and without his sister. We are starting to question whether he has ADD or ADHD." He rests back in his chair, crosses his arms. "Well, I'm not a doctor or anything but he seems pretty normal for his age group. Don't get me wrong. I get frustrated too." Wiping at my tears with my shirtsleeve, I say, "You should have some Kleenex in here for the moms." Breathing deeply, air fills my chest. My throat is opening up. Mr. and Mrs. Lindeberg have 150 students, children and adults, and have been teaching Tae Kwon Do for twenty years. They know more about five year olds than any book can tell me. This isn't the first time my partner, Jody, and I have sought out their assurance. He laughs. "We usually do. Oh, here are some napkins." I sweep away his next comment. "I'm concerned about you," he says. "The problem is that parents come in and they get tunnel vision and all they see is their child." "But, he's the biggest goof in class," I argue. "When he is supposed to be at attention he has his foot up on the wall. When he's supposed to be listening he's falling down on the floor. He does cartwheels to get to his place in line instead of walking like the other kids." I rush on, "I worry about the other parents. They paid to have their children come and learn and the kids who are black belts can't teach him because he won't pay attention." Mr. Lindeberg touches his brow, straightens his glasses. "He listens to me and the other adult teachers, doesn't he?" Rocking my head side to side, I relinquished a yes. It is easy to admit that in the year Antonio has been taking Tae Kwon Do lessons that he has changed. He used to jump on the older kids and hug them. Once he shocked an eleven-year-old boy by kissing him on the cheek. "The light comes on for kids at different times. Antonio's an orange belt. He's still considered a beginner. I want you to know that there are some kids who don't listen because they're just plain defiant. Now I don't like those kids. But I go on gut feel. When I see Antonio I'm happy. He's always has a big smile on his face." Tears gush from my eyes. I hold up a hand to stop him from saying more, dab at my eyes with the napkin. "See that's going to make me cry, too." Before children, I was unable to access my tears. I had to go to a movie theatre and in that darkened space I could cry for someone else. Today in any given moment, I will be teary-eyed. I knew that change was imminent shortly after meeting the babies in Guatemala. Brushing their heads and faces with a light touch of my fingers, tears fell silently down my cheek. How do people do it, I wondered. Have such emotion all the time? The children are curious about my tears. One night at bedtime while reading Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, I tell Crystel that I am going to cry. We are at the same spot we always are when my chest fills up, my eyes bloat, and the leaking starts. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, and he sang her this song: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my Mommy you'll be. "Let me see," Crystel says. She lifts up my glasses and touches my tears. "Read it again, Mommy, read it again." Mr. Lindeberg likes to squat lift more than he weighs. Free weights and other exercise equipment fill the second story of his building. He's a runner as Jody and I are. Stuffing the napkin in my pocket, I say, "I have a hard time watching him in class. I need to go for a run or something. His behavior bothers me. I can't stand it." "Well I think you should. Just leave him to us for an hour. The one who needs to not give up on Antonio is you," Mr. Lindeberg says. "I can give up. Antonio can even give up on himself. But you need to not give up on him." His words stick in my mind. At the next Tae Kwon Do class I open the back door, step out for a 45-minute run. Maple leaves float down, tangoing with the sun striking my back. I circle a park three times before heading back and note the flock of geese preparing to head south. Prairie grass that surrounds the small lake are past peak color, but the wildflowers that dot gardens are still in bloom. I'm his mother. I know how to not give up. I never gave up on myself.

Tae Kwon Do defensive move

As part of the Tae Kwon Do test - Antonio and Crystel are required to show a defensive move.

Tae Kwon Do Breaking Boards

The story behind the story. There are two tales going on here at once. Crystel's many, many attempts at breaking a board and Antonio's level of energy. In the mirror and at times standing next to his sister you can see Antonio whispering advice to her and checking with the fellow behind him to see what Tae Kwon Do move he will be required to make in breaking a board. Crystel earns a star for fortitude and Antonio a star for not imploding. After Crystel breaks her board you will see Antonio breaking his with one strike before he is even instructed to start.

Antonio performing red belt form for Tae Kwon Do

Tio Scott and Tia Anna watched with Jody and I as Antonio and Crystel tested for their next belt in Tae Kwon Do. The three videos on the blog today were taken by Tio Scott. He is excellent with his camera and encourages me to borrow from him. Many of the wonderful pictures we have of the children and our family are from him and Tia Anna. We are thankful. Once in awhile I even take a picture of the two of them. Once in awhile I remember. In the next few days you will see my videos of the kids. And you will see why we appreciate Tio Scott.

Crystel performing Basic Eight in Tae Kwon Do

Breaking Boards the short version

Can you eyespy the squirrels?

They are on the gazebo trying to figure out how to get to my feeding station. I spend my days attempting to outsmart them. Guess who wins?

Can you eyespy the cat in the picture?

Can you find the cat in the picture? That would be Angel. Antonio and Crystel decorate the Christmas tree by themselves every year. As they are getting older the tree is becoming more Charlie Brown like. There is even a dog toy for Snoopy. They don't mind as you can see from this pose.

Our first holiday concert of the season

Angie in the back row - holding a song sheet - is the person we came to see.

There she is. The one with the song sheet towards the back. I let the kids take all the pictures. Really, it doesn't make any difference. Except for this picture. Crystel dressed her hair for the occasion. Snowflakes from our Christmas tree. You can't imagine the things a girl can hang from her hair.

Rollerskating

One of our favorite activitees to do in the winter is rollerskate at Rollergardens in St. Louis Park. I was very impressed with Antonio and Crystel. Crystel insisted on being on her own almost from the start. Antonio, being much more cautious, waited until there was about a half hour left of the evening. He was very pleased with himself. As well as he should be. He would pause for a pose each time he went by me. Yes, I was sitting. I had fun sitting and watching.

Here's the group minus two teenagers. Peg is next to me. Mary and Jen are next to Crystel. Jen's daughter and Peg's nephew were typical teenagers and trying to escape the camera.

And when they did get their picture taken - it had to be goofy. Or what fun was there?

Jody, Antonio and Crystel do the Limbo. Amazing. That would be Crystel with the headband and Aunt Mary following her.

Crystel had her own technique. Though Aunt Mary kept telling her to bend down like an old woman so she could keep her balance. So this is the old woman technique.

Ah, it was nice when she had a moment of balance.

And not so nice when she didn't. It was a good thing Crystel didn't have far to fall. By the end of the night she had learned now to fall lightly, gracefully, and dancelike.

Oopsy, doopsy.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was at Aunt Pat's. What a wonderful spread. The children took this picture of us. Of course, there were other people present but we didn't photograph them. I don't know why.

Angie is behind Aunt Pat. Batman came along to Thanksgiving. Crystel also adorned herself with a red soft thingy.

Angie was very happy to see that two other children had come for dinner.

Antonio and Jody

She gets more pretty every day and he more handsomer. I don't know how they do it. Doesn't that beat all?

Happy Thanksgiving from our dancer

Crystel's friend, Allie, is to the left of Crystel. They both go to Spanish Immersion school.

Crystel LOVES dancing. She tolerates Tae Kwon Do.

Ah, Bliss.

I've never seen her smile so much!