Time Vacuum--The Next Generation

As a follow-up to the Time Vacuum post, I am posting the video of the sons performing in their fathers' footsteps. I think perhaps Chet inherited Uncle Kyle's dance moves. This video was taken in 1998 at Camp Nicolet, having moved from Camp Algonquin where the original version was performed.

From left to right--Jared, Kip, Keith, Marty, Chet, Kaleb, and Joey (sons of Kyle, Kenny, Keith, and Marty)

Time Vacuum

Shane asked me to send him a clip of a video that we have on VHS. It's TWENTY years old. My four youngest children were not even born when this video was made!

It has been a favorite among all of them. A few of them remember seeing it performed live, the rest of them enjoy seeing the tape every once in awhile. That is how Shane remembers it, on tape. He was only 8 months old when it was made, yet he wanted me to send it to him so that Claire could see it, too.

Finding the clip on the tape was quite a throw-back in time. As I ran through it I saw my older children twenty years younger, I saw the self that is now me two decades past. It was definitely old school. Yet, I was impressed to see how little my husband has changed. With the exception of his hair style he looks just the same! (I feel kind of bad for him that the same is not true for me.)

This clip is a children's song written by Wisconsin artist Ken Lonnquist called Time Vacuum. It is sung by the five White brothers and their brother-in-law, my children's father and uncles. Some years later a group of the cousins of the next generation performed the song for another camp talent show. I'll have to look for that one!

Here they are, stuck in their own time vacuum of sorts.

Shane and Claire's Wedding Video

The wedding description is in the previous post. Maria, a daughter of the cake maker, accepted my request to run the camera for me. Claire was happy to just have it run and capture the ceremony, but Maria turned and zoomed when appropriate and separated the video into four parts so that the camera wouldn't do it's own auto-save and lose parts of the video. I just didn't want the song in part 3 to be broken up.

Part 1 highlights Dana's beautiful piano playing skills! But, all you will see are the family and wedding party entering.

In Part 2 Claire's music starts at the 1:00 minute mark and she doesn't come up the aisle until about 1 minute and a half later. The ceremony begins at the 4:00 minute mark.

Part 3 is the entire song (minus the last word) of Chet singing "I Will Be Here" with the lighting of the unity candle, signing of the license, and a surprise to the parents.

Part 4, the final word of the song, the tearful vows, the rings, the kiss.

Katie and Ryan Schouweiler's Wedding, January 24, 2015

For the third time in less than a year I got to coordinate the wedding of a beautiful young couple, following God's call for their life to be united in marriage. It was a pleasure to get to work closely with the girls and help make their special days go smoothly. I finally had the presence of mind to video tape the wedding last Saturday for my niece Katie and Ryan. Actually, it wasn't my mind, but the photographer who, during the rehearsal of the song with the bride, asked, "Is anyone going to videotape this?"

I decided I would! It's not high quality, but it captures the day. My camera stops on its own and saves the content about every 12 1/2 minutes and I tried to stop and start it so it wouldn't make breaks during important parts of the ceremony. I waited too long for the first break so part 2 is only 25 seconds long (the time between the camera's break and then the one I initiated).

Part 1 Welcome, Giving away the bride, Pastor's charge


Part 2 Pastor's charge continued


Part 3 The Pledge, the vows, signing the marriage license with Chet and Bryce singing "How Sweet the Sound" by Citizen Way


Part 4 Katie, Chet, and Bryce singing "Holy (Wedding Day)" by The City Harmonic


Part 5 Exchange of Rings, Introduction of couple, recessional to Chet and Bryce singing "How Sweet the Sound" and other songs as the guests are dismissed


It was a special thing for me to see four of my children participate in this wedding. Ellen and Dana are three years apart and Katie fits right in between them. The three of them have been friends forever and have literally gone through all of their life's highs and lows together. Chet and Katie are only only 4 months apart so he was the odd boy out in that age group of cousin/siblings. They started singing together in high school and I hope they don't stop. And Bryce, Bryce is just everyone's friend and finds a way to be a part of the lives of all of his family, close and extended, no matter what the age.

(And if you're wondering, my daughter Ellen (the bridesmaid on the far left), is 8 months pregnant.)

Gabe's Football Debut

Gabe has had the joy of being the high school football JV2 team's honorary captain and sideline entertainment for the past month. Tonight, Coach Apfel suited him up in his own jersey, helmet, and pads and let him field a kick-off. The official game had ended, and even though it was the last game of the season and the Hodags finished with a tough loss, the boys all eagerly took the field to give Gabe a chance to run the ball.

The opposing team (Mosinee) wasn't even sure what was going on when they saw the Hodags back on the field. Their coach yelled, "Run the kick off and don't tackle him!" They did just what their coach said to do and when they realized what was going on they really got into the spirit of it, making flying missed-tackles all the way down the field.

Even the Mosinee fans joined in and at the end of the clip one can be heard chiding the players for missing their tackles.

Go Gabe!!

Amazing Talent

As a mom, one of the greatest joys I have is to see my children's talents grow, develop, and blossom. It is astounding to watch a child grow into something that you know was not of your making. I can look at every single one of my children and see something in them that is way beyond me and my capabilities. I marvel at what they can do. When they use those gifts to bless others and bless the Lord it blesses me.

Bryce's "thing" is anything musical or dramatic. Besides a few beginner lessons with his sister, Dana, ten years ago, he has never had any formal piano training. He hears something, over a speaker or in his head, and he sits down and plays it. I can't even comprehend that talent. My 7 years of lessons amounted to, well, a lot of wasted money and nothing that anyone would ever want to hear. Bryce plays from something within. His mind imagines and his fingers produce.

Last Sunday night Bryce performed two original songs for the high school talent show. The duet placed first and the solo (which he laughs about not being based on a personal experience) placed third.

Basketball Season

Shane is playing in his first season as a Beaver for Bemidji State and Owen and Lisa are bringing home ribbons from their own traveling team tournaments. Gabe is an attentive spectator who's preparing for his own day "on court".

One last basketball shout-out

The weather is warm, unseasonably warm. The snow is gone, the ice is gone, and spring bulbs are coming up. Appropriately, high school baseball practice starts today, in exactly 2 hours.

But I have one last note to share on the winter basketball season. Shane's team ended up winning the Regional title before falling to Antigo in the sectional semi-finals on that Thursday after his fateful ankle sprain. Shane played in the game but was just not able to play up to his usual potential. It helped a little to see Antigo lose their next game decisively to the team that would breeze through and capture the State Division 2 championship, Onalaska.

Shane received a unanimous all-conference first team selection and is preparing to start practice with a summer team in just 2 weeks. His coach has put together a highlight video from four of his games this year if you want to see the best of his best. This is the last post I'll do on basketball...until next season. I promise.

Shane is number 14. In the beginning he will be in white, then switch to green, and by then you'll get the hang of which one is him.

Thanksgiving Weekend Entertainment

My description of this year's Thanksgiving weekend--a fabulous, fun-filled, friend and family frenzy. We set a record for the number of people gathered for dinner (56) and even added a few more for pie. Our habit for decades has been to open our home for any family and friends who want to gather and/or don't have any family in town. We were thrilled to have so many join us this year! The weather was perfect for the annual football game and gave everyone a chance to get out and run off the meal. I suspect, however, that the old guys were calling huddles just to catch their breath. (Light and Mendo, you remember how cold it was when you were here that we even had trouble keeping warm by the bonfire--this year was warm and I didn't even wear a coat when I went out to take pictures!)

For some people it is strange that anyone would not live near their relatives and for others it is the norm. We discovered that out of the 9 couples present (18 of us) only 2 were actually born in Wisconsin. Even more surprising was realizing that 7 of us were born and/or raised in California. We felt like a real example of the mobility that is available in our modern society.

On Friday, we planned some meals, activities, and game times for our immediate family and one of the highlights was having Bryce produce and direct some lip sync videos. Most of them will remain private and be enjoyed only by the ones who are now regretting letting their inhibitions run away with them. This one, however, shouldn't embarrass anyone and was our favorite of the bunch.

Family Baseball Bash Weekend

As a family grows up, adding spouses and another generation, it gets more and more difficult to get everyone together. You fall into the "holidays, weddings, and funerals" routine. But those are never good times to just relax and be together, having fun, and living normal crazy family moments.

We made the "normal" (which is now everything but normal) happen last weekend. It was opening day for Little League (and no child wants sibling fans more than a Little League player). There was also a high school double header and nothing else on the calendar for the day. Invitations went out and it actually worked out for everyone to come home!

We hired a babysitter to stay with the three toddlers at Keith's house so the adults could reminisce late into the night. We spent our first evening telling baseball stories from the past. I made a baseball memory collage for each player/fan and we passed the photos around to help jog rusty memories. When it comes to sports, and baseball in particular, these people needed no help in jogging memories. They remembered scores, counts on the batter, placements of pitches, fielder errors, opposing players, and everything in between.

Our children represented 18 years of baseball/softball, 60 seasons, and innumerable hours of fan bench time. Here are some of the memory lane highlights.

Little Troy Wanna-be ball player

Little Shane Wanna-be ball player
Keith's high school team trying to hurry spring along

Ellen, one of many family catchers

Bryce, practicing for a future catching position

Joey and Keith with coach Dad (who is in his 16 year of coaching) with their team at a Woodchucks game. Keith is sporting the stylish red shorts and Joey is immediately behind him and to his right. Those wide, flat-billed hats are coming back.

Joey, our sole south paw pitching.

Troy and his glove were inseparable
Chet, flanked by high school batboy brothers

Four boys were on one team that year, Keith and Chet as players, Bryce and Owen as batboys.
Dana, our fifth child and fifth left-handed batter. Joey taught them well.

We've decided that the high school coaches look at the last name of our kids on the roster and say, "White, OK, outfield." Perhaps for good reason. Chet showing how it's done.

Shane spent hours in the backyard pitching against the brick shed wall. He and Troy played whole series against that wall.

Lisa had her first practice and team pictures on our Baseball Bash Saturday. She's finally graduated from fan to player.

Another highlight in the lives of the spectators was to run the scoreboard, and they took it seriously!

Chet--most likely stealing home in some unorthodox situation. His favorite challenge was the suicide squeeze. A few younger brothers got in trouble trying to imitate him.

Joey and Owen cheering on Chet's state tournament Little League team.

Going to the state tournament brings the news. My older boys all know this reporter's name and said he's now a big shot sports announcer for .... a Chicago station? I love Troy in this shot. The little brother crowding in to be part of the big brother's success. In his younger days Troy was known for his "gawking"--no better way to learn than to keep your eyes open and pay attention.


Saturday's weather was cool, windy, and rainy--about as miserable as baseball weather can be for old fans and babies. Our high school field added a beautiful facility that has indoor ringside seating with huge windows and heaters for the less weather hardy. We had an indoor picnic and spread our group out between the comfy seats and the outdoor stands. The team won both games, the second win came with a walk-off double, the win being the first time we led in the game. Troy and Shane didn't have their best games but they enjoyed the motivation and cheers from all of the added voices.

We had planned to have a photographer take an outdoor famiy picture after Owen's Little League game, but the cold weather was too much for our little ones and we headed home to try to get a decent picture with my non-professional camera.

Carson was crying, the other babies and Gabe were looking everywhere but the camera, and one of the teens (wonder who that was) keeps claiming he "didn't know that was the real thing".


We resorted to having everyone clap and cheer to amuse the babies and then quickly strike a pose and see what happened.


This was about the best we could do, but with 22 people, empty stomachs, 4 babies, etc. I was pretty satisfied.


We ate, goofed around, and took more pictures.




Keith jr., the big Brewer fan, gathered everyone who was wearing Brewer gear for a photo.

Joey, a rival Cardinal fan, had his own team support.


We managed to get the four babies lined up together. I call this one, "Best used before November 2011". Lord willing we will have 2 more to add to the grandchildren photo then.


While Carson, Keira, and Vince were heading to bed a group gathered around the piano to sing. I didn't take very many pictures because I just wanted to enjoy the time. I did grab the camera and caught about a half a minute of an impromptu acappella song.






Our final activity was a game of telephone pictionary. As we finished the round and each person's stack of papers came back to them we all read through our papers. Joey started to laugh then the laughter turned to shrieks and tears. I didn't have a video camera close by but I recorded the group review of his papers later.





Joey later commented, "I don't remember when I last laughed so hard." Jamie reminded him, "It was when you were home with your family."

There's something about family that lets us "let go" and relax and be comfortable and really laugh. I think maybe my new favorite holiday is going to be whatever our last impromptu gathering was. Thank you to all of you for making it home and being together!

Merry Christmas!

I've never heard of another family whose Christmas tradition includes a talent show. But, for many years our extended family has gathered at Keith's sister's for a meal, goodies, and a talent show. I guess we're a bit odd. Here's Bryce and Ellen singing a rewritten version of Jingle Bells that we rewrote again and customized for Daniel and his truck.

"When I Say I Do"

I took a video with my camera so I could capture a bit of the wedding and Chet playing and singing. They caught me a little by surprise.

Thanksgiving Humor

Bryce, Owen, and Lisa put this song together for a homeschool Thanksgiving talent show last night. Leave it to them to figure out a way to infuse humor into a show geared toward giving thanks. I think today they're just thankful it's over. Keith and I had ballroom dance lessons last night so Chet took them to the event. When they came home and I asked how it went Bryce asked me, "Do you know what the words 'epic fail' mean?"

The karaoke didn't work, there was only one microphone, the stage lighting was red, and things were set up in a way that didn't quite work with some of their choreography. The talent show version ended up being done without the motion, acapella sounding like a solo by Bryce, and skipping the last half of the song. They'll be able to plan better next time.

Here's the video I made of their "dress rehearsal" at home (so they could see how it looked before going on stage).

Out on a limb

High school, some of the most peer-pressure-filled years of your life. Many of us survived those years rather than lived them. Fitting in, figuring it out, and getting through are common goals. Troy's high school talent show performance, singing Chris August's "Starry Night", last weekend didn't exactly fit those goals.



Two years ago Dana laboringly convinced her sophomore brother, Troy, to get on stage with her and do the Ryan and Sharpay High School Musical song and dance routine to "What I've Been Looking For". He must have REALLY looked up to his senior sister to agree to the possible humiliation in his inaugural weeks at the high school. It was quite a limb to step out on--microphone in hand, singing in front of the entire student body, and dancing. They placed second.

Last year Troy took the microphone again and sang a solo, "By Your Side" by Tenth Avenue North. It's a song about God's love for his children but you have to listen to the words to apply the meaning and know Who it's talking about. He placed first.

This year, Troy went out on a higher limb. His desire was to share his faith in a bolder way, and he did. He didn't show a hint of disappointment at not placing. Rather, he radiated with joy.

Finding a public niche to express faith is not an easy thing, but especially not for a teen who is still working out personal relationships and communication skills and ...life. One of the greatest joys of parenthood is to see your child work out their relationship with Christ in a tangible way, overcoming sin and self and,by faith, going out on the limbs that God challenges them with and sets before them. It is also a joy to see the time come when my job as the mom is to just step aside in wonder and watch Him work.