Sculley Family 2004 – 2005
Sculley Family Frequently Asked Questions
Q. So, what’s up with a Christmas letter in February?
A. Time flies when you’re having fun! Plus the photos took way long to develop 🙂
Q. How does a young man start a fan club?
A. Ride your bike next to a daycare center and watch ‘em congregate. Just ask Peter!
Q. Do you run a daycare center?
A. No, they’re all ours, and me & Bubba learns ‘em good at home.
Q. What’s the longest possible route from Atlanta to Brisbane, Australia using frequent flyer miles?
A. Atlanta – Detroit – Minneapolis – Tokyo, Japan – Seoul, South Korea – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Brisbane. Both ways, he visited a grand total of 5 countries and 4 states!
Q. How long does it take an Amtrak train bathroom to clog up?
A. About halfway between here and Boston.
Q. How many cousins fit on a couch?
A. 10 if they’re extra cute and squirmy like the gang that got together in August.
Q. What is a synonym for sheer terror mixed with fun that appeals to our 54-inch and up crowd?
A. That would be “Sheikra”, a 70-mile hour freefall rollercoaster at Busch Gardens Tampa that simulates the flight of an eagle (thankfully minus the talons part). (Cascade is 54 inches exactly!)
Q. How did you qualify for a surprise visit from two guys with guns strapped on their ankles from the Department of Homeland Security?
A. Opening the door to discover 4 years after our adoption that some of the players were purported international money launderers, complete with photo lineups! (a bit of a shock, let me tell you!)
Q. If you tell your girls to give you a kiss, how long does it take?
A. Regular kiss, butterfly kiss, Eskimo kiss, Thai kiss, cave kiss (both ways), regular kiss
Q. Where do you like to shop?
A. “Old Lady” (It will take Paul a long time to live this one down!)
Q. Who earned “perfect patient” awards not once, but twice in 2004, for lying very still while getting stitches, both times near her right eye?
A. Guess who? (rhymes with the capital of France and has 2 modes of operation, “max” and “asleep”)
Q. Why is it easier to get an internet connection in rural Arkansas than Orlando, Florida?
A. Chalk it up to another one of those unsolvable mysteries of life.
Q. Where should you not sit while hiking in Indiana, no matter how tired you are or how soft it looks?
A. Where we did, and met our little itchy friends, aka “chiggers”
Q. How did your 4-year-old twins endure that 6-1/2 mile hike?
A. grapes, apples, chocolate, granola bars, “it’s not long now!” and sheer bribery
Q. Why are all your movies less than 15 minutes long?
A. We sit down to watch a movie together; suddenly I feel really rested, then closing credits appear! At first I thought there our DVD player was broken, but the same thing happens at movie theaters 🙂
Q. What does Paul do between contracts?
A. Study, family time, & home improvements! He’s recently renovated us a fabulous math club room, and redecorated our bedroom, including a gorgeous new duvet!
Q. What new addictions have you acquired this year, Karen?
A. Paul’s Frappacinos, prayer retreats, “Yes, Minister” & “Yes, Prime Minister” reruns, Poirot mysteries
Q. How do you relax and engage in a noisy and dangerous activity all at the same time?
A. Hang out at our fire pit when we’re burning off bamboo.
Q. How long does it take for leaves to cover your driveway?
A. About 20 minutes after we finish cleaning it off with the blower.
Q. What’s the best way to deal with a raccoon that eats your cat’s food?
A. Forget assuming a natural fear of man. Let him eat it, then buy a trap & release cage on ebay.
Q. Where exactly is Karen’s desk?
A. I can’t find it either, but I know it’s got to be under all these books somewhere.
Q. What do you want to do when you grow up?
Paul: I want to stop growing up; Karen: so much to do, so little time! Peter: dad, computer game designer; Jonathan: architect, engineer, scientist, dad; Michael: pastor, dad; Cascade: ballet dancer, mom, doctor, police officer, cleaner, fire fighter, missionary to China, orphanage director (“I want to have 5 kids then adopt 20”) (“I think that’s all I can fit into my schedule”); Karis: mom, pastor’s wife, nurse, deliver papers; Esther: mom, baby sitter, ballet dancer, pastor, teacher, shopping
Q. What’s the meaning of life?
A. It ain’t 42, though Paul & I think that’s a great age to be! It’s really Jesus — John 3:16
Q. How can I save money on my car insurance?
A. We love those ads.
Q. How many boxes of Caramello Eggs and action figures can you fit in (or near) a bedroom closet?
A. We’re not sure either, but ask Paul Maurer. We miss you, Paul (Dave, too!)
Q. So, what have the kids been up to lately?
Peter (14) . . . stands eye-to-eye with me now; enjoys hanging with the neighborhood guys, soccer, piano, computers, physics, Java (computer language), reading. Had a Christian bar-mitzvah to mark beginning of manhood last year (age 13), also a special father-son trip to ski in Colorado, his own bedroom, and no more bedtime curfews! We give him a piece of real armor each year from age 13 so when he’s 18 he’ll have a representation of the full armor of God! Earned national award for high score on the SAT at age 12; perfect score on the AMC-8, an international math contest in Nov (77 perfect scores out of 150,000 contestants!).
Jonathan (12) . . . another giant in the making; enjoys people, pottery, soccer, art, sound tech (for one of our Sunday morning worship teams at church), piano, Spanish, Java (coffee :)), biology; also wins math awards frequently. Continues to create masterpieces of construction from K’nex, ropes, pieces of wood. Discovered an ancient Indian spearhead while digging in our woods! Brought home some 2nd degree sunburn from a retreat (ouch!).
Michael (10) . . . quiet but joyful tall slim guy; enjoys reading (conquered the whole series of Narnia books this year), handwriting, piano, math, soccer, group activities. Devours Hardy Boys books, and always carries dinosaurs in his pocket. Best hugger in town. Survived and thrived on a week-long camp at Zoo Atlanta last summer.
Cascade (8) . . . passionate dancer, writes prolifically (songs and stories), loves to talk, reads a lot (recent favorite: Pippi Longstocking), another math whiz. Has many friends of all ages everywhere she goes. She was given the high honor of being invited to participate in an invitation-only ballet class that is a precursor to a premiere worship dance company she hopes to be a part of some day. Cascade lost her first tooth this year!
Karis (6) . . . world record holder for endurance, enthusiasm, humor & mischief; enjoys ballet, soccer, runs, jumps, climbs, touches everything, and is a competent reader. Can work a room in under 5 minutes. She likes to “have gum!” Karis quotes – “We need to forgive Jesus for the things we did wrong.”, “He never changes His heart, but He changes our hearts.”
Esther (6) . . . takes life pretty seriously; loves to read, draw, color, play dress-up, loves to crochet a chain, takes care of her babies. In a discussion easing her concerns about who she would marry, after hearing that when she’s all grown up, God would show her (and us :)) who her husband would be, and then they would get married, Esther remarked, “Maybe he will be friends with us, too!”. Went on every ride she was tall enough for at Sea World and Busch Gardens, putting on a brave face since the rest of us seemed to be enjoying ourselves. Esther loves to pray for people. She likes to “have my own lipgloss!”
Q. Who comes up with the funniest quotations around here?
A. That would be our ka-ka-doodle-dandy / khaki (American pronunciation). Sample quotations: “Eat, drink, and be married!”, “Don’t burn your bridges before you die”. She regularly prays for the “druglers” and “Christianaries”. At a monastery, she feared there would be monsters. When Cascade told her that God would be with her every step of the way, she said “I do everything on the steps.”
Q. What are some more Esther quotes?
A. “Maybe if you gave me two braids tomorrow morning, if I rode my bike, I’d look really cute” (she wants to ride her bike so badly, and thought if she looked cute enough, it would work); “Thank you, Lord, that Johnny is our pastor and that he does good with it.”; “Lord, help me to grow up so I can do math club”; In answer to the joke line, “when is a door not a door?” she said “when it’s a can” [instead of “when it’s ajar”]
Q. Can you summarize 2004 / 2005 in a few brief words?
A. Brief? You’ve got to be kidding! 2004: Atlanta Vineyard, friends & family, Arkansas / Indiana road trip, math clubs, soccer field, ballet studio, basketball court, the neighborhood gang of 6 boys, prayer ministry, Christmas production, kids’ ministry, Vineyard conference, Sea World, Busch Gardens, 19th anniversary, “The Passion of the Christ”, piano lessons with Mr. Jonathan, worship team, Unveiled, Peter’s beach retreat, Paul / Peter / Karen’s live programming contest, Redemption tournament in our basement, Tuesday morning fun, art classes, Jonathan’s pottery, Star Trek, reading aloud at dinner, emails, surfing the net, Java, our digital world, Peter’s cat “Slippers”, Jonathan’s fish, Sculley Academy, boys’ & girls’ forts, Paul & ebay & gadgets, “Vinco” (Bingo in Latin, well, it means “I conquer” and has 5 letters, so works), Spanish, Atkins’ diet, library, Walmart DVDs, double IHOP evenings (one is pancakes, the other is prayer), home group
2005: Our 20th wedding anniversary, friends & family, Atlanta Vineyard, Karen’s fire pit party, Massachusetts / D.C. Amtrak adventure, rock climbing, math clubs (Newtonians, Euclideans, Fibonaccians), soccer field, En Pointe ballet studio, prayer ministry, Unveiled, prophetic roundtable, kids’ ministry, Jack Frost conference, visit from our Aussie-Thai friend Amy, prayer retreats, VineyardPrayer, Sea World, Busch Gardens, piano lessons with Mr. Paul, worship team, beach retreat, reading aloud at dinner, email, ebay, Java, our digital world, Peter’s cat “Slippers”, Jonathan’s & Paul’s prolific African ceclids (fish), Sculley Academy, boys’ & girls’ forts, library, Netflix, art classes, Frontera, Sonny’s, Bugaboo Creek, Chik-fil-a, Macaroni Grill, Chuck-e-cheese, IHOP (pancakes) & IHOP (prayer)
May you discover more this year of God’s infinite love for you through His precious gift, Jesus!
Love from all the Sculleys—Paul, Karen, Peter, Jonathan, Michael, Cascade, Karis, Esther & our critters
(2004 photo below)
DCF 1.0
