Welcome to the Wilcox Family weB LOG, your source for the latest Wilcox news, anecdotes, and rants; and, as Jack Benny quipped on his first radio show (March 29, 1932), “There will be a slight pause while you say, ‘Who cares?’â€â€
; "This is what it's like having Nichelle feeling better.")
This shows what it is like for us to have Nichelle feeling better.
For the record, this photo is what I said Nichelle should post to accompany her description of her health. I think the only reason she didn’t actually post the photo is that she wanted to play World of WarCraft.
…feelin’ fine. 🙂
(David be most excited about this one.)
From “How to Be Speakin’ Pirate-Like” (You’ll want to view the full page at their site; it includes vocabulary):
Startin’ Rules:
; "The New Wilcox Family, in the World of WarCraft")
Above (click to enlarge): The Wilcox Family has a new look.
Our friend Phil Luchon convinced us to get a trial subscription to Blizzard’s World of WarCraft fantasy-based MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game). The kids had begged for months, having used his account to play when he visited and brought his computer, but it wasn’t until trying it for myself that I realized WoW (World of WarCraft) goes way beyond wandering the game world killing monsters. Approximately 7 million other subscribers (as of this September) worldwide seem to agree.
The game world itself is huge. There are two main continents at present, and an expansion is promised later this fall that I expect will make the game world even bigger, and introduce new races to play. There are eight races, each with six different class types, such as hunters, rogues, or priests. You can pick different occupational skills—I chose engineering (of course), and can now build things like dynamite and bombs. David in particular loves to design characters; I still have the first one I created, but will definitely add more later.
WoW has an excellent social aspect as well. Quite often I team up with my friend Phil, or other people who regularly game on the server I use at the time I use it, and go out adventuring. Besides teaming up for quests, there are ways to set up official guilds of similar-minded gamers within the game, including creating one’s own guild insignia.
I love exploring. The terrain is vast and wonderous, and varies as much as the terrain on Earth. There’s an underground tram that runs between two large cities, and you can rent a griffin to fly on to get between most other major locations. The game has e-mail, banking (including safety deposit boxes), an auction system much like eBay, and quite a bit of humor.
Last night I set up NaNi’s in-game button bar to include some of the commands we normally type, like “whistle,” “train,” “silly,” and “dance.” (“Silly” makes the avatar tell a joke. “Train” is one of our favorites, as it makes any of the characters pretend to be a locomotive, including appropriate gestures and whistles.) Anyway, when NaNi was away from the keyboard, David walked up and started clicking the icons I set up for NaNi. She noticed, and yelled, “Hey! That’s my character!”
I’d write more, but I’ve been itching to play, and the kids are finally in bed …
; "The Wilcox Family's new look, continued.")
After nearly a month playing World of WarCraft, our appearances have changed somewhat. On the left is Nichelle’s Night Elf character, with much improved clothing/armor, as she nears level 14. Nichelle is funny, she hates the idea of leaving Teldrassil, the island plateau on which the Night Elves live, because it’s so beautiful.
In the middle I’m wearing the goggles I made for my Gnome rogue character. (Engineering rules!) I have discovered that I really enjoy the real roll-playing aspect of the game, having been awed by a character named Sinisterlady’s excellent roll playing skills and imagination. My regret is that more players don’t stay in character or treat the game world as “real” and behave accordingly, even though the server we use is designated a roll-playing one. Our friend Phil Luchon and I often quest together, and we’re both developing consistent personalities for our characters. We do quite a bit of dialogue where we trade humorous insults—many involving size—back and forth, and that has been great fun.
On the right Naomi’s character is wearing a new dress that Nichelle purchased for her and mailed using WoW’s in-game e-mail system. I have sent her another one, but she has to get to level 13 before she can use it. The boys and I have helped level her character up to level 5, because NaNi loves to walk around the game world, and she kept getting killed nearly immediately once she stepped outside of her starting location.
; "Isaac's pet bearded dragon, Dash, enjoys some Halo 2.")
:: sigh :: No more carefree days filled with playing Halo 2 for Dash …
Well, summer’s over, and we’re all back to school, except for Nichelle.
All?
That’s right.
While Isaac and David are in school, Nichelle is taking time each day to work on letter recognition, shapes, and other skills with NaNi.
And, I’ve enrolled in a graduate certificate program in Software Engineering, offered by Boston University’s Metropolitan College, which should keep me busy enough to stay out of trouble. I’ll be taking two courses simultaneously for the next 14 weeks: Software Engineering, and Object-Oriented Object-Oriented Analysis and Design. In the spring I’ll grab another two. Best of all, the classes are taught on-site at Kronos, and the whole program falls under Kronos’ tuition reimbursement program.
In Software Engineering, I’m working on our class project with three co-workers I’ve worked closely with before: Stephan Arsenault, RaviShekar Gopalan, and Doug “JavaDoug” Ross. We’ve decided to build an online shared calendar program, tailored to families, and we’re building it in Ruby on Rails, probably with a MySQL backend. (I should get a BLOG up this weekend to chronicle that effort.) It’s going to be fun!
So far, Isaac and David are doing great at Tabernacle Christian School. Isaac’s attitude toward school and homework is much improved, and David is as eager and happy to be in school as ever.
What a blessing! At the end of July, we spent a week at the Varney/Tingley cabin in Moultonborough, New Hampshire. It was, quite possibly, our best-ever trip there.
; "Berry Pond, Moultonborough, NH, at Sunset")
We saw two different foxes, a huge heron, and a loon, all at or near the cabin. (My sister saw a bear last year, although we missed it, but we keep hoping and watching.)
; "The cabin in Moultonborough")
(Above) This is the cabin we stay in. It’s not very large, but has running water (from the pond) and a bathroom with a shower and commode, which to me makes the difference between roughing it and really living. I used to vacation here when I was young, and loved it. (The same family still owns the property.) It brings back powerful memories of my childhood, especially time with my parents. So much of the property remains preserved just as I remember it, from the beautiful interior woodwork on the doors and door frames, to the electrical wiring my father did, right down to the way things smell.
When we got there this year, I noticed that the water pump was running nearly constantly. The pump draws water from the pond and pressurizes it in a small tank to provide running water for washing dishes, showers, etc. I checked it out, and you could hear the water rushing back down the pipe after the pump would reach proper pressure, and in a few seconds it would start up again. Thinking the check valve at the bottom of the water line was stuck open, I went out in the Berri Belle 2 (a rowboat), and followed the water line back into the pond, discovering that it had a 3- or 4-inch split in it, though which the water was pouring out. I tried to remove the split section that night, but couldn’t get the coupling apart. The next morning I got a new coupling at the local hardware store, and was able to cut out the damaged section and reattach everything—and I didn’t even need to re-prime the pump. Everything was working perfectly. I was so proud, and kept thinking of all the things my Dad used to fix. (He used to barter projects at the cabin for the price of renting it. In fact, he and my Mom installed the original water system many, many years ago.)
But, I should have kept Proverbs in mind. About 24 hours later, I checked the pump itself, and noticed it was dripping, something it definitely had not been doing the day before. I couldn’t find the source of the leak, so I kept it under observation. By that evening, the leak had become a small spray, and we called the Tingleys. We agreed I could try to patch it, but if it failed, we would have to use buckets for the water. I bought some epoxy-like substance that was used for waterproof applications, and was thrilled that the patch held. It dripped a bit, but that seemed acceptable. Unfortunately, the split in the pump casing was getting bigger, and my first patch blew off the next day. I patched it again, and we ran the pump only when we were actively using it, although I had to prime it several times. The second patch lasted until the day before we were going to leave, at which point I gave up and started carrying buckets. The cowling over the impeller had split at the point it was seamed in manufacture, and would have to be replaced. (I think due to the age of the pump, 25-35 years, they ended up replacing it.) After spending so much time listening for the pump’s operation, I kept “hearing” it running in my imagination for a week after we returned home!
; "One of the (at least) two beaver dams that created Berry Pond")
(Above) This is the primary beaver dam that made Berry Pond. There are at least two beaver dams that created Berry Pond. When I explained to NaNi after one of our canoe trips that beavers made the pond, she replied, “Actually, God did.” Never argue theology with a 2-year-old.
; "All of us on the Swift River, Kancamangus Highway (White Mountain National Forest)")
One day we drove up to the Kangamangus (or Kancamagus—I’ve seen both spellings) Highway, which runs through the White Mountain National Forest, mostly parallel to the Swift River. To our delight and surprise, Eric and Kate Neville’s path happened to run across ours while we stopped to play in the river and have a picnic. Eric and I worked at MediVation over five years ago, and we’ve stayed in contact, but not seen each other since. What an amazing coincidence, especially considering how little time each of us spent in that particular location! Eric took this picture for us.
; "Clowning around on the Kancamangus Highway (White Mountain National Forest)")
Nichelle did almost all the driving all week, including the trip there and back, even at night. She loves driving, and hadn’t been able to do it in a long time, so she was eager to see how much she could do. When I got home, it actually took me a while to get accustomed to driving my car again.
; "Naomi and Doug at Clark's Trading Post in the Bumper Boats")
We love Clark’s Trading Post. (Above) Here Naomi and I attack Nichelle, who was standing on the side, from our bumper boat. Naomi hated having other people squirt her, although she very much enjoyed attacking them! Clark’s even has stand-alone motorized squirt guns set up along the sides of the bumper boat pool, so those not in the water can join in the fun.
; "Isaac gets a bear hug")
; "Isaac climbing the rock wall at Clark's Trading Post")
I can’t quite believe Clark’s charges only $12 for admission. (Above) Isaac tried their climbing wall well over 15 times, something that most places would charge $5 a pop for. He didn’t make it to the top, but really loved it. I tried it too, but couldn’t steel myself to go any higher than Isaac. Next year …
; "The Wilcox Family with the steam engine at Clark's Trading Post")
Of course, one of the best things about the whole week was that Nichelle was feeling good for the first time since November, and was able to be active and participate in everything we did all week. What a thrill. It was not many weeks ago that Isaac broke down crying, when he realized (based on her condition for months) that Mom wouldn’t be able to do anything with us on our vacation. We praise God He has allowed Nichelle’s recent good health. It possible that the vitamin D deficiency causes her problems, but we won’t know until many months from now.
; "Naomi playing dress up at Clark's Trading Post")
(Above) Clark’s has a costume photo studio, and Nichelle and NaNi love it. (The boys weren’t interested, as usual.) This was the first picture of Naomi that Nichelle picked out. Later on, she had me come back to the photo studio because she couldn’t decide if she should have gotten the more serious picture of Naomi. After some haggling, we bought that other one as well, and it has become our favorite.
; "Isaac and David in the paddleboat")
The boys and NaNi love the paddleboat. (I thought it was great the years we used it as well.) We did almost flip it over once when David, Isaac, and I were all switching places and standing on the back.
; "Naomi and David with a seaplane parked at the edge of Berry Pond")
(Above) This seaplane landed on the pond while we were there, which surprised me, because it was my understanding that the town prohibited that, which was why motorized craft aren’t allowed on the pond. It took off again as we were packing up to head back home.
We don’t watch television while we’re there, although I was tempted to turn on the TV and demonstrate to the kids what television in a mountainous area without cable is like. When we’re not outside, we read or play board games. Scrabble was very popular this year. Nichelle taught Isaac and David to play. One big difference, though, was that Nichelle, who normally destroys her opponents in Scrabble, lost five games in a row (four of them to me). After years of getting demolished by her, I finally seem to have “caught on” to the game, and was able to score some major victories by strategic word placement.
; "Inspired by the Seyranyan Family Circus, the kids did some acrobatics of their own.")
Inspired by the Seyranyan Family Circus, the kids did some acrobatics of their own in the days following our trip to Clark’s Trading Post. The Seyranyan family, from Moscow, is a must-see performance (they don’t perform on Fridays, so plan your trip accordingly). (Above) The kids invented this four-person pile-up one morning.
; "Naomi learning to row")
NaNi learned to row—sort of. I have a picture like this of me and my Dad, somewhere in a photo album my sister Joyce gave us.
; "Naomi swimming in Berry Pond")
We all spent a lot of time swimming, especially off of the raft that’s placed out in the deeper (about 12 feet) water. Naomi was no exception, swimming for hours at a time with her training ring, and occasionally using just a noodle (with very close supervision) or her lifejacket. She even jumped off the raft a few times.
; "David with the first fish he ever caught.")
(Above) David caught his first fish in three years. We discovered that live bait (worms) just can’t be beat for catching sunfish. (I don’t know much about fishing, and the kids have enjoyed learning as we go.) He caught this fish just after introducing himself to one of the families who lives on the pond. They were pulling fish out right and left, and invited him to have a try. I am always impressed with his social skills.
; "Naomi with the first fish she ever caught")
(Above) Naomi caught her first fish this year. She was absolutely thrilled. She caught 17 sunfish in about an hour and a half, all by herself. Isaac and I baited her hook and helped remove the fish. At one point, she turned to me and said, “I couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you, Daddy,” and gave me a big hug. She can be so sweet it melts my heart.
; "Isaac's biggest catch of the week")
(Above) Isaac insisted this was a pike, but it appears to be a pickerel. (He’s not often wrong about biology or zooology—or in this case ichthyology.) It was Isaac’s big catch of the week. Right now it’s at home in our freezer, waiting for Nichelle to prepare it. We let the kids keep one fish each year to eat, although David’s sunfish were not eating-worthy, so he has accepted a single bite of Isaac’s fish when it is ready instead. I am also glad Nichelle is willing and able to gut, clean, and cook the fish, because I’m not sure I have the stomach for it. (If I ever travel in time, I will be sure to go forward, instead of into the past, because I have zero nontechnological skills.)
; "Berry Pond, Moultonborough, N.H.")
(Above) This part of the pond, opposite the beaver dam, we hadn’t explored before, although we’d been through many of the channels the beavers keep open to the east of there. The morning I found the dam I went out in the kayak, and got really close to the heron several times. (I wasn’t trying to bother him—he kept flying ahead of me and perching along the route I was taking. Sadly, I hadn’t brought my camera. Herons are huge, and surprisingly graceful in what appears to be a flight in slow-motion.
; "Berry Pond, Moultonborough, N.H.")
Berry Pond is absolutely lovely, especially on a clear day or at sunset. We also enjoy going out on the water at night, especially when the bats are out hunting. When it’s clear and one can normally see our own spiral arm of the “Milky Way.” (Personally, I think that’s a stupid name for our galaxy; if I ever travel to another galaxy, I’m going to tell them I’m from Andromeda.)
Several times a week NaNi announces, “I want to go back to the cabin!” as do Isaac and David. It’s a sentiment we all share.
; "Naomi, at age 2.75, Playing Dress Up, at Clark's Trading Post, Summer 2006.")
Hauntingly beautiful is a phrase that has gotten me into trouble before, but I can’t think of a better description for this photo of NaNi, taken at Clark’s Trading Post during our vacation last week. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)
For the past several weeks I had been longing to take Naomi—the boys, too—but especially Naomi, to the farm/petting zoo in Candia, N.H. Well, today, just three hours before they closed, we got everyone together and headed to Charmingfare Farm.
We had been there in the past for their hay rides and bonfires on a couple of church activities. This time we were able to explore the whole farm. That’s right, I said, “we”! I made it through, and saw all the animals, too, I walked the whole way. Of course I was a bit sluggish by the end, but it was worth it. We had a great time. We were also able to get tickets for a pony ride for each of the kids. They loved that. We have loads of pictures and video on all that took place. Watching the kids feed the animals was great as well, especially the goats.
On the way home, I suggested to Doug that we call the Sohmer family and see if we can visit. It’s so rare that we make it up to their area. So very glad we were able to drop in and say hello. I was thinking it was going to be a short visit, but we ended up hanging out until 9:30. How impressive is that! We got to meet their newest family member, Gabriella Danielle Li Ying Sohmer. What a sweetie. Doug took lots of pictures of her, too. She’s newly adopted, just two weeks or less now, from China. What a wonderful story they have to share. It was indeed a great blessing to be with the Sohmers again. Thank you guys for your hospitality, too. Love you.
Not so bad for me, it’s nearly 11 p.m. and I’m doing quite well, and for all of that the praise goes to God. What a blessing to be able to do more than just the “little things” again. For all that have been praying for us, thank you. 🙂
Sunday morning came and I was able to join the family and go to church even after a busy day on Saturday. Last week and also today, I decided to go to junior church with Doug and help teach. What a blessing! I haven’t been in class with the kids in many, many months. Hearing their sweet voices singing praises … how I’ve missed being with them, too. I had hoped to go on another shopping trip this afternoon, but the pain was back and said to me, “Yeah, right.”
To be with my church family, to hear preaching (in person), to give prayer requests and to take those that are shared, to give praise and to hear how God is working in the lives of other members, to be able to give and receive a hug and words of encouragement, to be a blessing and to receive one. To all of those things, I give thanks and praise to God for each opportunity that I am able to partake in a service.
[Note from Doug: While Nichelle was feeling better, I was worse than I’d been in years. More on that later … We’ll try to get pictures up tomorrow night.]
Another great day on Monday. Last night at about 10:30 I finally layed down to rest a bit and realized that I had gone the entire day, even with a much earlier start to my day and worked and cleaned without the need to nap. I’m of course thrilled. Keep the prayers coming. 🙂
Here are a couple of recent anecdotes involving singing:
Naomi does seem to have a good ear for music. It may be a little too good. The other night I was tucking her into bed, after our quick bedtime prayer time together, and asked her if she wanted me to sing with her. She responded, “No, Daddy, when you sing, I see monsters.”
A week or so ago after church on the church playground, Naomi and Isaac were on the swings, Isaac on one set and Naomi on another. They were both singing a beautiful praise song, and my heart was full of joy. Then, after a few minutes, Naomi decided she wanted to sing all by herself: “Isaac!” she screamed, “Let me sing by myself!” It wasn’t quite as praiseworthy.
Editor’s introduction: Beth’sMomToo is one of the most energetic “amateur” students of the Bible we’ve ever met (including knowing enough Greek to shame most pastors). She is also supremely knowledgeable about ancient Egypt, so much so that I would now refuse to attend the MFA without her. The Wilcox Family is honored to have her as a guest author on our BLOG.
I recently read a book sent to me concerning “Women’s Ministries.” Now … I find myself appalled by most books written on this subject. They are usually saturated with the world’s ideas and have very little to say about God’s ideas. But this one caught my attention in the first line, “The subject of this book is not women; it is the Church of the Lord Jesus.” Good start! While the book was heavily steeped in the particular denominational beliefs of the authors, overall I found it to be quite encouraging.
But when I leafed through the Appendix, what did I find, but the same old, same old. Buy our material, read our book list. An article entitled, “How to Evaluate Bible Study Materials.” How about studying the Bible instead of “materials” about the Bible? And this line killed me, “You are not to teach a lesson. You are to facilitate a discussion based on an assigned chapter of the book” (i.e., the material you buy from them).
We just finished our Ladies’ Study on Philippians. We didn’t skip ahead and spend all of our time on the application. We didn’t read a verse here and there out of context. We didn’t read what other people thought the book said. We read the Bible, in context, the book as a whole, repetitively. We did analytical charts; we did word studies; we found the themes in the book; we divided up each chapter into subject groups and titled them; we outlined the entire epistle and paid attention to how Paul developed his ideas. We looked up cultural practices, enlightening a few areas for us. We read companion passages in Acts concerning Paul’s establishment of the church at Philippi and his subsequent relationship with them. We studied the history of the city of Philippi and the Roman Empire as it applied to what we were studying. We found out more about the people and places mentioned within the Epistle. We looked at the ruins of the city as they appear today, learning a little archaeology on the side. (You know I had to fit that in somehow!) 😉
We studied the Word! Why are Christians so eager to “study” the Bible any possible way, except … to study …the … Bible?! And what was the result of all this effort? Amazing! Week after week I saw “light bulbs” pop on as they really began to understand what the text was saying and what the implications were! I saw women convicted by God’s Word. I saw women who were excited about studying God’s Word. (One of my favorite moments was when one of the ladies ran up to me one week after the Sunday morning sermon, her Bible open, and asked, “Is this a Granville-Sharp construction?” and wanted to discuss the implications!) She was getting more understanding out of what was being preached because of her own practice studying God’s Word … from God’s Word! That is exciting stuff, people!
I tell you … there’s just no other way to go! Why are so many Bible teachers so intent on keeping people away from their Bibles? Why do we want to focus so exclusively on the “doing” that we completely miss the power behind the “doing”? The Word changes your heart and mind as you immerse yourself in it, and then … the “doing” becomes the fruit that emerges!