Finality

This is a year of many endings in the Parton family and with endings comes new beginnings. Sunday was Alex's last time on platform in the main sanctuary with the youth group for a Youth Sunday. Although she'll sing with the group throughout the summer on Wednesdays, when the next fifth Sunday rolls around she will be away at college.

After church the whole gang headed down to mother's house for one last time to finish getting the last of the stuff out of the house and pull a few perennials from the garden. I was glad to have everyone with me because I don't think I could have done this last run on my own even though trips prior I worked solo. It was an odd feeling to see the place completely devoid of personality. I know it's just a house but it was a house mother loved and made many ammendments to, a house I cleaned for years, a house the boys did chores at for gramma, a house where we had meals and played games around the dining room table, a place I did my computer work from while she did activities with the boys. We enjoyed the community pool with gramma and all the community events downtown, the kids trick-or-treated there, we went to free concerts, and just loved running up to Starbucks or Kroger. My family had an emotional investment in that place because it was connected to mom/gramma and it kills me to just let it go to the bank. Yes, it's just a house but it is full of memories that thankfully are also recorded in my heart and mind as well as my kids' and husband's. Out of all the harrowed years I've been through with my mother the years she lived there were probably the best we'd had.

Before loading up and locking it down for good we had a toast with a bottle of Sparkling Cider and each went around to say a thanks to gramma, the memories, etc. Even Jake came with us, he loved taking walks around the neighborhood and being spoiled by gramma. No where else was he allowed to sleep on the bed!

I'm not sure which stage of the grieving process I'm on. I don't seem to be running through them in order but I do know that if it weren't for my kids and a husband who is doing his utter best to be supportive and understanding during his own grief I'd be going absolutely nowhere right now. I forget that Rob had a connection to Judi as well as I did, he respected her very much and loved to debate with her. She was one of the few people that could hold her own to his strong set opinions and one of the fewer still that could shed a new light to make him see things differently, albeit not often. Wednesday is Alex's high school graduation, it will be a bittersweet day. I'll try to keep my chin up for her because she's worked hard and is excited to be done and moving on to bigger and better opportunities at GVSU but there will definately be a void in the festivities.

Closing the door on an era and waiting for a window to open....

Swing Out! - GVSU Orientation

Lately I've been turning down a lot of sub jobs because I'm trying to get an editing job done. But Wednesday they were in a pinch in a special ed room that I had been in before and had a great time. However, this day I felt like the worst sub ever. If anyone has ever worked with impaired kids they know that taking them out of their routine is a very tricky thing to do. Since the teacher left quickly and didn't leave a lot of instruction the aide and I did our best but we had many tears, attitude, and lots of bosses. Somehow we made it through, thank goodness for an open computer lab, we took the group down and let them all have some free computer time and that finally chilled everyone out. Go figure. Below are a couple shots of my new little buddy Maddy and me as we waited for her bus to arrive. She has CP but it doesn't slow her down a bit, she is a delight to be around and actually quite smart albeit her physical limitations hold her back from displaying it fully.

After school the boys and I went to watch the kids swing out.

We waited anxiously with slushies in hand on an extremely hot afternoon.

Finally we could see the band!

Then all the seniors, without their robes because of the heat....

There's our girl in the middle of the picture with the plaid top.

Yesterday was Parent/Student Orientation at GVSU. It was fabulous, I am so excited for Alex and she is pumped too. It definately paid off to get it done early as she got an awesome schedule for her freshman year. NO classes before 11am, none on Fridays for the Fall and only one from 11-11:50 on Friday in the winter. She passed out of the university writing requirement because she did the English AP test which was cool, and did not have to take the Math placement exam. She also found out she'll be in a suite and not traditional housing which she is very glad about and she got the names of her suite mates to make contact with over the summer.

Freshman Classes: Math 110, Intro Psychology, Environmental Science, Intro Communications, Roman Civilizations, Creative Writing, Spanish 101, and Logic. She may still add into a choir class too but has to check into when they are offered. She also applied for her on campus job, so we're off to a good start.

Her BFF texted her when we got home and told her she got her cords at the Class Night so her final GPA is apparently over 3.0 and she was also awarded a Michigan Competitive Scholarship which is $625 per semester. The financial person that spoke with us at orientation however, said they have not received word if the state is going to honor those scholarships yet so I don't know if the high school knows something GVSU doesn't or they just went on automatic.

The fun never ends!

Greetings all, so what hasn't been going on lately? We are all into baseball games, they started out a little shaky but kicked some butt in last Friday's game. Hopefully they'll start using Ethan on the infield more instead of leaving him out in the field just because he's got an arm and can throw the ball back in; a strong first baseman is crucial. I think Ethan is the man for the job. Found a Junior Golf Camp for Ethan to attend this summer at a course in Davison which isn't too far. It's one day a week for a few hours and at the end they get to play the course. He's pretty geeked about it since he's been wanting to do more with golf. Ben finished soccer last Saturday, they ended on a great note with Ben making 2 of the 9 goals scored. Way to go!

Fox is done with track season also, there's an Invitational Meet this week but he wasn't invited, no great loss for him, he was ready to be done. His mile has been a consistent 6:40 and the 200 around :45 usually. Got the acceptance email from Lake Superior State University for the Robotics Engineering camp, he made the cut out of many applicants, way more apps than spots available so that feels good. He also received a $200 scholarship which will help cover costs. Kudos to my number one son.

We had a soggy but fun time on the Grand Rapids trip. Thumbs up to Blue Lake bussing, very comfortable ride, friendly and safe drivers. The first stop was a bit of a bummer because it was seriously raining so it was mostly the in-house exhibits at the zoo.

Next we headed over to the public museum, which was awesome! I have to take the little guys back there sometime to explore some more. There was not enough time to take it all in and we had a question sheet the group had to fill out so we spent a lot of time running around trying to find answers to the random questions on the sheet.

Third stop, I must confess I took a couple little cat naps during the show. It was an early morning and my eyes went on system overload from the huge screen. But the technology is incredibly cool, you just can't help but reach out to try and touch a fish swimming by.

Our final stop I took a ton of pictures at, they have updated and added a ton of stuff since I have last been to the botanical garden. I'll be sharing some other pics in future posts. I love the sculptures and was amazed at how much was actually in bloom already. Hats off to their wonderful staff and volunteers. The bottom right corner is Fox with one of his favorite people, math teacher, Mr. Peplinski.

WHAT IS IT?

I don't know but get a picture!

The incredible glass sculpture. Yowza!

This past Thursday was the Art Show and Collage Concert at the elementary school. The 4th graders sang songs and played some selections on their recorders and percussion instruments. They did a wonderful job and the transitions were seemless. Below are some of my favorite pieces from the art show. Sorry, the pics from the concert did not turn out at all. They also had a drawing for some fish but the boys didn't win one. God bless art teachers everywhere, they rock!

Friday was Senior Walk-Out, their last day of classes. The whole class comes out with a balloon, the principal calls the Class of 2010 released and they all let the balloons fly off. Kinda cool. Here's Alex in the shades and gramma's hat by her BFF Dani. This week we go to GVSU for orientation. Woot.

Well, my musical theater camp had no registrants. Bummer, but actually I'm ok with it since I was feeling extremely overwhelmed about it. I really just need to spend time getting the house together still and tackling all the outside areas that need attention. Plus I just don't want to be in charge of anything for the moment. Time to decompress and refresh.

It's That Whirlwind Season

It is the clash of sports seasons for me right now with one boy in soccer, one in baseball and the other in track there is something game or practice-wise going on daily. Thankfully they are all a relatively short season, two are done by the end of May, the other lingers through to the end of June. Fox has been in a mood to dress up for school and has worn his suit in on a day when he didn't have track practice and has donned a dress shirt and tie on occassion as well. He is talking about running for class president next year. Hmmmm.


Last Thursday I got to chaperone Ethan's class field trip to the Sloan Museum in Flint. The program was an extension of their Michigan History unit and focused mainly on the logging industry. The kids worked on making their own log stamps from an eraser. It was a decent presentation overall but knowing what they've covered in class already it didn't really explore any new ground for them. I still vote Sarah Gardiner's Michigan History class the best around. All my older kids got to take her class while we were homeschooling. I may try and get Ethan in on it too if I hear about her doing one in the area again. This Thursday I get to accompany Fox's class on their trip to Grand Rapids. We'll be visiting the zoo, natural history museum, botanical gardens, and seeing an IMAX movie; hoping the weather will be nice.


Friday I attended a Mother's Day Tea in Ben's class where the kids all read a poem and also a Poetry Recital for Ethan's class. Everyone did a great job. After the poetry recital I had an opportunity to talk with one of the mom's who is on the school board. I've been contemplating running for a position that may be open for the November election. The only drawback is, if I am on the board I can not substitute teach any more. I can still volunteer and do my choirs but I can't work for the district, I could however, sub in other districts but that's not as fun.

And now for a little poetry break:

An acrostic poem by Ethan.
M akes a garden in the summer.
O ther people need her help.
T hinks of brilliant ideas.
H ates to fight with my sister.
E veryone in my class likes her as a substitute.
R eveals the truth.

Thank You Mom by Ben
Thank you, Mom.
Thank you, Mom.
For holding me tight in your arms.
You will always be there when I need you.
I'm sorry I get angry.
But you know I love you.
Thank you, Mom.
Thank you, Mom.

Ben is leaving his mark in the elementary school......

Each year Mr. Watson, the art teacher, makes a tree for the 4th Graders to leave their mark as they finish the year and prepare to make the move to the upper elementary. It is a very endearing concept that touches my heart. What a wonderful idea.

Alex's days are numbered; May 21st will be the last day of classes for seniors. She went to prom last weekend with some buddies from school who also happen to be a fledgling rock band she's now singing with. Didn't get a detailed report about the prom but from what I gathered it went well without much drama. The "band" has been getting together to practice but they aren't always very productive, which is pretty typical with young musicians (and even older ones for that matter). Perhaps they'll get it together enough to play a few songs at her Open House in August....we'll see. The last Thursday of this month I'll be heading to GVSU with her for Orientation where she'll get to register for classes, get her on-campus job assignment, and hopefully find out what dorm room she's in. Very exciting. Having a senior is a very stranger place to be in as a parent; part of you is sad about them leaving the nest and another part can't wait to get them out and not have to deal with the super-tude any more! Her commencement ceremony will be one of the hardest days for me, not having my mom there. But all the kids know how gramma felt about education and want to honor her by doing well in their studies. How blessed is that!

Can't Seem to Stay Away

Well, it's been two months since I've blogged. I really miss it. It's a silly, mundane thing but you sort of get in a groove with posting. People have been asking me if I'll blog again and encouraging me to do so. Guess I'll continue with what I've started.

Updates on my wonderful children:
Alexandra-In betweenst senioristis attacks she is finishing her senior year on an up note academically. Her college class ended last week and now she is hoping to get some decent hours at work during the summer. She has all but a few thousand dollars to go to pay for her first year at Grand Valley State University. Scholarship applications are still out there and we're waiting to hear back if she will receive any more monies. Hoping to have Freshmen and subsequent years PAID IN FULL!! Commencent ceremony will take place June 2 and she'll walk with no braces!! We're very excited about that!

Fox Robert-The last progress reports I received shows him keeping his all A streak in tact. His GPA is a 4.13. Woot! We are now in the throws of track season and he is doing well in that running the 1600m and the 200m. He has also applied to a Robotics Engineering Camp at Lake Superior State University and we're waiting to find out if he'll attend on scholarship or not. Friends are accruing and he is genuinely enjoying his educational experience. Next year he will advance directly to Algebra, forgoing the normal 8th grade math and he has decided to remain in band at least through middle school.

Benjamin-My middle son is becoming a wealth of knowledge, constantly sharing facts with us that he's learned from school and his own accord. AYSO soccer is in full swing and he is becoming a very strong player, got a goal in the first game of the season and has been a great defenseman. He has consistently received high marks on his report cards as well and next year he will move on to the upper elementary and is looking forward to that. He has however expressed that he may want to go back to homeschooling when he gets to high school. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Ethan-This has been a great year for my youngest, his teacher and classmates have been wonderful and I have enjoyed being their one and only sub for the entire year. He is again participating in recreational baseball but we're not to excited about how that's going. We'll stick it out for this season but have discussed looking into a travel league for next year. Grades are excellent and although he still enjoys and does best in math he has expressed social studies as his new favorite subject.

Me? - I've been keeping busy by working with two choirs, one during Choice Time at the upper elementary on Fridays. I have nearly 20 students (mostly girls) that bless me there. Then I hop over to the lower elementary for my NBE After School Chorus and work with a group there which started out with almost 50 kids and has settled into a regular group of 30, which is plenty. We will have our first program on Monday, June 7 in the elementary gym. I am very much looking forward to that. Also, I am planning and directing a Musical Theater Camp through my church in June for kids entering 3rd - 6th grade. The program is called Praise Rocks! In addition to that I've been subbing, trying to keep up with my writing jobs, and working on organizing all the stuff I've inherited from my mom's house, lots of stuff, good stuff, just need to find a place for it all.

So that's what's up with us. Work is going well for Rob but we're both hoping that a shift will come soon that will allow him to be home during the week more. We've hit a few speed bumps along the way but continue to perservere through it all. God is good, all the time and his mercy endures forever, even when we tend to act like idiots sometimes.

Hope all is well with you my friends, looking forward to reconnecting with people through your comments.