25May / 2014

Where God-given Talent can take you…

If you asked me to describe my oldest in just a word or phrase, I struggle. She’s an incredible young lady. Kind, empathetic, creatively smart, and wise beyond her years of youth.

When I say creatively smart… she does well with academics and responds to tasks with out of the box ideas. But that isn’t the true creativity in her. Her creative being shines through her artistry and music.

This spring there have been several celebrations of Embug’s gifts.

Her Artistic Talent

The celebration of her art was when she was showcased at the Northwest ISD Art Show.

Her Art teacher at Haslet Elementary, Mrs. Chelsea Rhoades, has been grooming Embug’s gifts since Kindergarten. While Mrs. Rhoades’ impact on Embug is far beyond her artistic growth, her direct impact on the development of her skills is evident.

You can see the influence of Georgia O’Keefe in the detail of her still life flowers and the spirit and essence of the process from artists like Vincent VanGogh. However, if you ask Embug she will tell you that there isn’t really one artist that truly influences her, except for Mrs. Rhoades.

The teacher does matter.

Her Musical Talent

This spring Embug has continued to spread her wings with her voice. She sang in her campus spring performance and did a rendition of “Amarillo by Morning” re-phrased for her principal called “Haslet Elementary.”

The same choir was invited to sing the “National Anthem” at the opening of a Northwest High School varsity baseball game.

Beyond her school choir, Embug has grown her talent through Cantare’ Children’s Performance Choir. This spring Embug has sung as one voice with this phenomenal choir, while also being showcased through ensembles and solo opportunities. Her confidence, stage presence, musical intelligence and gifted voice have flourished.

Events have included the choir’s performance at the Denton Art and Jazz Festival.

Mrs. Peggy the choir’s director has actively sought out competitive venues for Cantare’. That resulted in Embug and her fellow choristers performing at a recent Music Festival hosted at a nearby community water park, NRH2O. The choir received Superior ratings in all areas.

To top the spring season off, the Cantare’ choir did an incredible Spring Concert Showcase. It was amazing to see the pride, passion and professionalism that the gifted singers shared in their hour and fifteen minute performance. The adults that facilitate the Cantare’ Performance Choir opportunity continually push the envelope. They challenge each individual chorister to constantly improve and refine their gift. In each group and individual performance the precision and excellence presented at the Spring Concert Showcase was absolute perfection.

I hope to be able to share portions of the performance soon once a DVD is provided to the parents.

Coming Soon

Embug continues to amaze us with her talents, her willingness to work hard to improve and her eagerness to take risks. Soon she will be performing for the Music Guild of North Texas to showcase her talent in piano. The Cantare’ choir is going to be singing a difficult 4 part harmony rendition of “God Bless America” at the Rough Rider’s in Frisco, Texas on June 8th. Embug will also be part of the Northwest ISD Middle School Musical cast for “Little Mermaid.” Finally, Embug will continue to seek ways to practice her gift for artistry as we redesign her area of our upstairs playroom to better suit her needs for a full art studio.

As a mom, I couldn’t be or amazed or proud of the gifts Embug has been blessed with, nor the tenacious persistent attitude that she pursues and perfects these gifts. Embug recently said to me, “Mom, I really appreciate you taking me to all these events and appointments. I know it makes things really busy for everybody.” I was completely caught off guard, as I have never considered this to be anything but a privilege to create opportunities for her to access what she needs to develop her talents. I responded, “Honey, I love doing this for you. It is a privilege and honor to do this for you.”

And don’t you know… I would have gone to any lengths to provide her opportunities such as these, but her appreciation and gratefulness not only made my heart soar with gratitude, but you can bet this Mom has no qualms about being a taxi to events for as long as she wants me!

What a privilege it is to see God’s gifts in your children grow and develop.

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11May / 2014

11 Things my Mother Taught Me

This is the last picture of my mother, Mary Lou Huitink, and I together before I became a mother. I had achieved a huge personal and professional goal… my Masters Degree in Educational Administration. I was driven, setting my sights on my next goal and at the same time starting to think about starting a family of my own. Since that day 13 years ago I have had the privilege of becoming a mother of 2 wonderful children, Embug and Kritter. In that time I have realized some very important “lessons” my mother taught me but I did not fully realize until I became a parent myself.

There are many more lessons this but these particular ones rise to the top when reflecting on my mother’s “Mom-isms”:

1. Take the time to listen when your children share with you… when you listen with little things they will come to you about the big things.

2. Provide your children exposure to many creative pursuits, i.e. piano lessons, quilting, crafting, book clubs, baseball, soccer, gymnastics, etc. This exposure may determine their future occupation and/or avocation.

3. Encourage your children to try again when they fail, and when I mean encourage… strongly push them. In other words, when your children fall off the horse, make them get back on it.

4. Don’t give them everything they want. Make them earn it.

5. Lead your children by serving them and your spouse. Stress that they learn to serve one another and those around them.

6. Model that everyone is deserving of respect and kindness. Every job, role, person is of value. Value each person as God does… as His creation.

7. Let their dreams be their dreams. Don’t let the hopes and dreams you have or had become their responsibility. They are uniquely and wonderfully made for God’s purpose, not yours.

8. Teach, model and practice the art of worship. Talk about God’s mercy, kindness and unconditional love. Share your favorite hymn or praise song. Celebrate the stroke of his hand in the sunset, rainbow and beauty of a fresh snowfall with them.

9. Pray with them and for them.

10. Spend special time with them and only them. This provides time for them to share their dreams, for you to share specifically why they make you so proud of them, and, most of all, assure them how much you love them.

11. Laugh with them and teach them to laugh at themselves.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom. Thank you for the wisdom and lessons you have taught me that I have put into practice with my children.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the other mothers and grandmothers that may read this. Please feel free to post the lessons you have learned from your mother or other mentors that have helped you navigate the job of parenthood.

Honored to be a Mother of 2 wonderful kids and the daughter of an amazing woman,

Kirsten Wilson

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05May / 2014

Spur of the Moment Spring Break Road Trip

Spring Break started off with no plans to go anywhere and lots of plans for house cleaning and organizing. Not what Embug and Kritter would declare exciting, by any means.

Thanks to my somewhat addictive relationship with Social Media and a recent re-connect on Facebook with my former student Lance Carpenter, an unexpected road trip was planned to Northwest Arkansas. Just before spring break I learned that Lance Carpenter would be performing at a local bar in his hometown, Ozark, Arkansas… the first town Eric and I lived in as a married couple and where we had our first jobs out of college.

With this event happening at the end of the Spring Break, it was a perfect reason to make a trip to our favorite haunts in the Northwest Corner of my home state. We left Texas and started this adventure by stopping just inside the Arkansas/Oklahoma border for dinner at LaHuerta Grill and Cantina on Garrison Avenue in Fort Smith, Arkansas. A favorite authentic Mexican Food Restaurant for Eric and I. Their white cheese dip and cheese enchiladas, while unattainable in Texas, were all I craved when I was pregnant with Emmarie.

We spent the next day at the University of Arkansas. Eric met with colleagues at the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, while I dusted off my “Orientation Leader” skills and gave the kids the “real” tour of the campus. We met my best friend from High School and College Roommate, Michelle Parks for lunch at Farrel’s where Kristopher, to his amusement, had the “Hangover Burger.” I think he still giggles when we recount the outing.

After lunch we were lucky enough to catch my Cousin Bret Bielema in town. He graciously made himself available to show us around the Razorback Football facilities. It was an amazing and awesome experience that I catch myself doubting it actually happened… it almost seemed too good to be true!

After our tour of the Football Athletic facilities we stopped for a custard at Andy’s Frozen Custard and then on to my sister’s family in Farmington. There we met up with my parents, niece, nephew, sister and brother-in-law to celebrate my nephew’s 10th birthday.

Kristopher loved his time with his cousin, we watched “Nacho Libre” and sang Happy Birthday to a boy it seems like I was holding in my arms in the hospital after his mother’s long and trying delivery just yesterday.

The next day we left the Fayetteville area and headed for Ozark. We stopped at Ozark Upper Elementary (Go Hillbillies!) where I taught the first 4 1/2 years of my career. We also visited turkey growers Eric had provided support to as a Flock Serviceman and showed the kids what it was like living in a small town. We spent a large amount of time at the Roxin’s farm where we got to meet several friendly dogs and hold puppies from 3 litters of French and English Bulldogs. I still am not sure how we managed to NOT walk away with a puppy picked out to take home once it was weaned!

We finished the afternoon excursion by going by Post Winery in Altus, Arkansas to pick up some of our favorite wines and grape juice. Since it was close to dinner time we decided to take the kids to a local Irish Pub called “Kelt’s” where Eric and I used to have “date night.” The dark, candle lit metal fabricated make shift building that houses the restaurant that serves traditional Irish dishes made for the perfect end to a rural Arkansas day.

The next morning we took the kids through the intricately winding roads of the scenic Highway 23 to the trail-head of the Ozark Highlands Trail north of Ozark. We hiked down the side of a hill to a stream. It was so good to be back breathing the Ozark Mountain air, steadying my feet along the path as I walked, and sharing what is a part of my inner fabric with my flatland Texan bred children. There is such a peace in the woods and rolling hills of my home state. To share this part of me with my family completes me in a way no other adventure or excursion does. It seems strange to travel away from what I now call home and when I go to describe it, to want to call it home… I guess it is truly where my heart is.

After our hike we met Marty and Penny Baker and their children for a late lunch at Cracker Barrel. Marty went to school with Eric and I, came to Ozark and worked in the same department as Eric when we were first married. Shortly before we moved to Texas, Marty met and married Penny. Hard to believe that was 15+ years ago!

After heading back to the hotel to clean up, we then met up with one of my former students Erin (Warden) Hamilton and her family. Such a wonderful sweet family and what joy it brings me to see my students full of joy, passion and happiness. So good to see your former students successful in life… and full of contentment!

Finally, Erin watched Embug and Kritter, who enjoyed playing with her boys. Eric and I went to see Lance Carpenter. Lance being the whole reason we did this spur-of-the-moment-road-trip.

I apologize for the length of this post, but I wanted to share our adventure. A few things I have realized after reflecting on this adventure:

1. Planning sometimes ruins the fun.

2. Sharing your past with your children by taking them to the actual locations… even if the physical building is no longer standing is the most powerful way to share your memories.

3. Holding tiny warm wiggly puppies on any trip makes a good trip great.

4. Being passionate about something (like the Razorbacks or Springtime in Arkansas) can only become a family passion if everyone gets to experience it.

5. Good food, ambiance and time for stories is what brings a family closer.

6. The fabric that makes you who you are isn’t made just from your experiences and successes but in the leisurely hikes and the natural beauty around you.

7. Reconnect with your past, share your present with your past connections and make those past important connections part of your future.

8. Every road trip needs a great playlist… your 80’s music is your kids Disney Movie’s soundtracks!

Road Trip Top 10+Playlist:
Ice Ice Baby- Vanilla IceBilly Jean- Michael Jackson
Legs- ZZTop
Devil Went Down to Georgia- Charlie Daniels Band Final Countdown- Europe
Dreams- Cranberries
Hungry Like the Wolf- Duran Duran
Kick start my heart- Motley Crüe
The Sign- Ace of Base
The Tide is High- Blondie
Wannabe- Spice Girls

9. Be sure to talk with accents in the car as you travel… sounds crazy, but trust me it makes everyone giggle.

10. Everyone needs to take a spur-of-the-moment trip at least once a year that requires driving across at least one state line and an overnight stay with enough time to make unforgettable memories.

Who knows when our next spontaneous adventure will occur, but I am so glad I fought my tendency to need to plan and jumped at the chance to take a trip… unplanned.

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26Mar / 2014

The Modern, Growth Spurts and Lego Movie…

Spring break comes early in Texas and often it isn’t very “springy” yet. Usually a trip out of town to warmer climates isn’t doable with Eric’s schedule. So, we find ways to enjoy our much needed week off right at home in Cowtown.

Of course ideas are solicited from all “stakeholders.” Embug didn’t hesitate to remind me of our trip last spring to Fort Worth’s premiere modern art museum “The Modern.” As luck would have it, “The Modern” (normally closed on Mondays) had opened with free admission on the Monday of this wonderful Spring Break week.

Both Embug and Kritterman loved viewing the artwork. Some works are part of the permanent collection that they enjoyed revisitng, and some works were new. We especially enjoyed the multimedia visiting works on display from Fred Tomasellli and the rich and folksy qualities works of showcased Texas native David Bates featured on nearly the entire second floor.

Spring Break Visit to “The Modern”

The next day over breakfast I announced it was going to be a day of shopping. One thing that I wasn’t prepared for was the immense growth spurts both Embug and Kritter went through this fall and winter. Since last year this time
Embug’s foot has grown from a 5 to a 7 1/2. Kristopher quickly moved from a 7 to only briefly visit size 8. If there wasn’t a quick intervention he would be sporting the ankle pants only popular in women’s fashions.

Of course the two “growing weeds” were less than excited about a shopping trip… that is until I baited it with an afternoon matinee to “The Lego Movie.”

The shopping was tolerable for all at best. But the movie was surprisingly enjoyable for all. I even inappropriately laughed really loudly at a scene… and got “the look” from my kids. I highly recommend the movie and it will more than likely find its way into our permanent home movie collection.

We made it home with a lot of new “one liners” from the movies and a sufficient wardrobe for both to make it into the summer. What they weren’t expecting is that our relatively un-eventful Spring Break was about to get exciting. Stay tuned for the next episode in our Spring Break adventure.

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17Mar / 2014

Heroes are found everywhere…

Embug has talent. She is our package of musical and artistic genius. She has an appreciation for the arts that most adults never cultivate. She desires instructors that are sound in theory, practice and methodology. She bonds to those that demonstrate profound knowledge and expertise in their field. And sometimes she loses patience with those that have been given the responsibility of teaching the arts but show lack of precision in their instruction and even disrespect for their own field of study. She is a sponge for learning all she can about music and art.

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Recently the Northwest Children’s Choir (a select group of 5th grade students across the district) gave their culminating concert after attending weekly Monday night hour and half long practices for five months. For Embug she embraced the learning, appreciated the dedication of the instructors and learned that not all that sing well are passionate about the music.

The concert was great. The performance was dynamic, passionate and well-rehearsed. Details like a percussion accompaniment and cellist added a layer of artistry most elementary choral performances lack. What was more, Embug saw before her possibility.

Embug starts Middle School in the fall. She will continue with her select choir, Cantare, after school and is hoping to develop as a performance artist through the electives of orchestra and theater arts. She hopes to be a cellist as well.

She sang her heart out, while she began making plans for her future in her head. She valued the experience that the co-directors, Mr. Garza and Mrs. Pitts provided. However, what rang true was to see Mrs. Blankenship, the cellist enhance the voices of the choir with an instrument Embug hopes to someday master, she met her future… a hero of sorts that made her dreams a possibility.

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Mr. Garza and Mrs. Pitts, NCC co-direcctors

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Mrs. Tonya Blankenship, Cellist and Hero

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13Mar / 2014

Techno Expo… a window into the future

Recently my district and specifically the Instructional Technology Department, which I am a team member, hosted a Student Technology Showcase event called TechnoExpo. Over 1,000 products and 500+ presentations took place at this even on February 27, 2014.

Both Embug and Kritterman presented.

Both of their products stemmed from our summer venture with Genius Hour– Summer Camp Style a.k.a. Mom’s plan to keep us challenged and learning.

Kritterman struggles with writing. He’s wiz at math, loves science experiments and inquiries, powers through thick fantasy chapter books with unparallelled speed, but give him the task of writing more than a sentence and he is like a 4-wheeler in a freshly plowed field after 2 days of rain. So when Genius Hour began and he chose to explore his passion for Minecraft, I saw the perfect opportunity to marry a passion with a personal challenge. How would he take his passion and recast it to fill a need for others? Through blogging.

He still struggles with the writing, but he loves to see the “traffic” on his blog. He has since learned to do YouTube tutorials using Screencast-o-matic on Minecraft and loves it. We are working on a trade off between YouTube posts and written posts.

Either way, he has something he is proud of, presented at the district TechnoExpo and in the process developed new contacts via his presentation. When the comments showed up on his blog to moderate… he was so excited he could barely contain himself, and now he is constantly planning his next post.

(please note my phone ran out of space during the recording)

Then there was Embug. This young lady is a worker-bee. She grasped hold of the philosophy of Genius Hour and embraced it with abandon. She is DEEPLY passionate about Greek Mythology. That is great… until you Google it. So what our Embug, little genius that she is, decided was to create a “kid-friendly” Greek Mythology website so that other kids that share her passion have a safe place to explore and learn about Greek Mythology.

Now to some of you this may seem like an interesting task for an eleven year old. But for a dyslexic, this was a huge undertaking. You see, her eyes play tricks on her. So not only did she write all of the text in “pages” first before copying and pasting into the Wix website builder to help her self-edit due to the spelling challenges she faces. She also had to learn some basic HTML code. Now for those without the challenges of dyslexia the forward slash, back slash and every symbol in between can make a person go blind, so imagine if you were trying to modify HTML code and were dyslexic. What may have seemed too much trouble for some, was only another reason for her to push forward. She had her eyes set on a goal. Nothing, not even some difficult HTML code, was going to stop her achieve what she set out to do.

She practiced multiple times in the mirror. Asked for critical feedback from her dad and I. And shared her passion with anyone that would listen, including a high school Mythology teacher that was so impressed that she got Embug’s information and plans to contact our gal to come speak to her High School Mythology Class.

When she presented her website that night the room housed a small crowd, but every member of the audience was in awe. Young middle school men, planning to present after her, shook their heads in approval. Parents of other students were amazed at both the content and the savvy-ness of her tech prowess. She was a goddess of knowledge and expertise.

(this video was a smidge better but my phone still cut things short)

We couldn’t be prouder of our two tech savvy kiddos pursuing their passions, and overcoming their own learning obstacles. I can’t wait to see what they do next.

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10Mar / 2014

Bucket list item realized…

When you read my Twitter bio it states “I’ve become a runner at 40.” And that’s no lie. At the end of June 2012 I was sitting on the beach in Gulf Shores and very aware of the goal I had set of being a certain weight by my birthday on August 4th was not going to happen, at least not in a healthy way.

So I wallowed a bit in self-pity and then did what any mom does to take her mind off her own shortfalls, grabs the camera (or in this case, my iPhone) and planned to start taking pictures of my kids playing on the beach. After grabbing a few pics I uploaded them to Facebook. That’s when I came along a post promotion for the Buddy Run 5K that was being organized in honor of a local father and runner in our community after he was tragically killed in a hit and run early one morning while training for an upcoming marathon. Tragic as that was, it was a strange coincidence, to me, that the run would be on my 40th birthday.

I decided then and there… that was my new goal. I would run a full 5K on my birthday. I signed up, added the GoCoucht05K app to my phone, and mapped out my training schedule. Even more beneficial was a colleague of mine, Sherri Daniel, that committed to run that 5K with me. Keep in mind I have never ran before this.

Sherri met me at the start line, ran with me, and then did what any good friend does, asked me minutes after I crossed the finish line,”So when is the next race?” Since then we have run several 5Ks, a few 10Ks and 15Ks, and two half marathons (13.1 miles). But the big challenge and bucket list item was to complete a marathon.

February 24, 2013 we ran the Cowtown Half Marathon. By the time we crossed the finish line we had committed to come back to the Cowtown 2014, but to double the distance.

Cowtown Marathon 2014 with Sherri Daniel

I don’t know if I will ever train for another marathon. I will run other races and most will be along side my committed running buddy, Sherri. But for so many reasons, I am glad I did this most difficult and rewarding challenge. You see, running doesn’t come easily for me. I am not a natural athlete. I don’t get the famous “runner’s high.” What it has taught me, though, is a huge appreciation and understanding for those that struggle daily with a challenge. Each day they face the world with a smile on their face, a kind word for those around them and a can-do attitude. So every time I run, to train or for a race, I put a smile on my face, thank God I have the ability to run, and give myself a ‘can-do’ pep talk and just do it.

Bucket list items aren’t meant to be easy… otherwise everyone would do it. And for my brother, Scott, who posted on my Facebook race results that he wanted more evidence because the sister he knew wouldn’t even run to the mailbox… here’s the proof in the pudding.

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02Mar / 2014

There’s a Ringmaster in all of us…

When I drove Kritterman to Mansfield last Saturday so he and his Destination Imagination (DI) team could compete against 40+ other elementary teams from all over the Dallas/Ft. Worth region I had no idea what was in store. Sometimes being the taxi driver can be a bit mundane… but this day turned out to be a proud mama moment worthy of a post.

See, Kritterman is the little guy at our house. He has a sister, a dad and me who constantly keep him focused and on task. Not much opportunity to lead, even if we don’t intend to do that, it’s just how it works sometimes in the dynamics of a family structure where you are the “baby” in the family design.

What I didn’t expect is how much he exceeded my expectations beyond how awesome I already knew he was. His DI team is composed of two second graders, and three first graders. Three of the group are very ACTIVE boys (including Kritterman) and two very VOCAL girls. In DI the rules are that the adult coaches are only allowed to supervise, they cannot suggest, make or direct the team on how they will create the theatrical presentation that answers the challenge. That has to be done by the five mentioned before.

Now I don’t know the process in detail that brought them to the day I got to witness, but it truly was amazing how this little troop worked together. At their helm was my guy. I saw him coach, direct, be firm and compassionate in the same motion. I am teary as I reflect how truly amazing he was as a person and as the LEADER of his DI team. Oh, and did I mention that one of the teammates is visually impaired? If you were observing from the outside you would probably miss this detail, because the whole group seamlessly supported one another including the one whose vision might have hindered some groups, but not this team… it was embraced to the point no outsider would have ever known.

Now I would be remiss to not give the Coaches Jennifer and Andrea credit. Anyone that can step back and let kids refine a product without any input and simply provide the supervision needed as well as the raw supplies is amazing. It makes me wonder how many times as adults, teachers, parents and coaches that we step in too soon and squelch the creativity of a child that could have resulted in amazing final result. Time to step back and provide the environment for growth and stop placing too much structure on “genius leadership” in the making and let kids discover the “ringmaster” inside.

Here is a video from my phone (it ran out of room to video the whole thing… but it is too cute not to post a sample of their work).

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19Feb / 2014

Starting a family blog…

Most people have been blogging about their family for years or their journey through a personal challenge. I, on the other hand, chose to start blogging a year ago about my professional interests or passions. It’s not that I don’t love my family, but sometimes I think my family tires of my continual posts of them on Facebook. To blog about my family is like taking Facebook and putting it on steroids.

But what I am finding is that more and more people are becoming busy with their own families, challenges and lives. Time to pick up a phone and catch up with one another isn’t always doable… especially when you are in two very different time zones. So this is why I decided to branch out and share the humble, silly, sometimes serious stories of the Wilson Family on Razorback Ranch.

Our family stories are pretty ordinary, but you will see themes. Themes of love, passion, persistence, faith, Arkansas Razorbacks and celebration. I love this family that God blessed me with so completely that when tragedy strikes those around me I lose my breath and shudder. I hope you enjoy the stories that I share and I hope my family forgives me for the transparency with which I tell our tales.

The family: Kritterman, Eric, Kirsten and Embug (fall 2013, Spoofers Stone, Old Main Lawn, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas)

~Kirsten (Mama Razorback)

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Newer posts →

The Wilson Family Stories from Razorback Ranch

Where God-given Talent can take you…

11 Things my Mother Taught Me

Spur of the Moment Spring Break Road Trip

The Modern, Growth Spurts and Lego Movie…

Heroes are found everywhere…

Techno Expo… a window into the future

Bucket list item realized…

There’s a Ringmaster in all of us…

Starting a family blog…

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