The Great Update!

It's been over a year since blogging. So long the program didn't know me any more. lol

 

Life has been quite busy and I've been more caught up living it than blogging about it but for the sake of finishing what I started I will try to continue to document the exploits of my children's education since that is what the whole blog was about in the first place.

 

First I must update the happenings of my oldest boy.  When last I wrote we were in the process of visiting colleges and preparing for the application process.  Fox and I went to New York City to visit New York University which was his reach school.  We had a good time other than a long miserable bus ride and our car being stolen while we were gone.

 

 

We did a lot of walking and exploring and went to see a movie of the play Of Mice and Men starring James Franco on campus one night.  It was actually pretty cool.

 

Fox did early applications to NYU and Northwood University.  He was accepted at Northwood into the BA/MBA program, an accelerated study that will yield him both degrees in four years, his field is finance.  Because he applied early he was lucky enough to be awarded the Presidential Scholarship which is $10K a year renewable for 4 years.  In addition to that he competed for the DeVos Entrepreneurial Scholarship in which you had to present a business idea in writing and then a few were invited to the next step which was to do a 5-minute presentation to a panel of judges.  He made it through the entire process and was given an $11K scholarship renewable for 4 years.  In addition to these, he also received the full amount from FAFSA and signed up as a National Guard Reserve. 

 

In February of his Senior year he started attending drill weekends and did his Basic Training at Fort Jackson immediately upon graduating.  Yes, it was quite a whirlwind for a few months as he put everything together but I'm excited and proud over how he made it all happen.

 

 

 

Benjamin finish his freshman year of high school in the top 15 of his class.  He played JV Soccer but I was unable to get him to try any other clubs or activities.  Last summer he attended a camp at Ferris State University - Grand Rapids about Digital Media Software which he enjoyed.  Truth be told I think he more enjoyed staying with his uncle and having some independence away from his siblings and parents. (wink)  I'm still trying to steer him to some future plans.  He really just does not know what he wants to do yet.  I find it interesting that the child who has been in public school the most is the one that seems to have the least direction.  Time will tell. He and Ethan volunteered as 4H camp counselors over the summer as well.  E helped in day camp and B did his first stint as an overnight counselor and rocked it!

 

 

Ben is now almost done with his Sophomore year and he did a double sport for Fall, Soccer and Cross-Country (which he received his first Varsity letter).  Since his time with uncle last summer and going to the gym and rock climbing wall and watching American Ninja Warrior non-stop for months he has become quite the body-building enthusiast.  He has completely changed the way he eats concentrating mainly on veggies, proteins, nuts, and fiber.  Plus he has developed a regular weight lifting routine, finding a good balance (in my opinion) between pushing himself and taking days off.  He also joined the Bowling team this year and received a Varsity letter and Most Improved Bowler award.

 

 

 

 

 

Ethan my youngest had a pretty uneventful end to 8th grade other than competing in a few Forensic tournaments.  He and his friend Noah did a really funny Duo but didn't really get the kudos for it but they did a great job and had a blast working together.  Ethan ran 8th grade cross country but did not do track.  He did join a rec baseball team but I don't think his heart was really in it.

 

I will refrain from expounding on my disdain of our home district at this time since I never intended this blog to become a slam book but there have been many things that have eroded over time.  Since my daughter first entered the high school back in 2006 up to when my second graduated in 2015 it has lost a lot of programs, classes, and good leadership.  Bottom line is the students are suffering for it.  Thankfully Fox has always been an independent seeker of knowledge and rounded out his schooling with many online classes.  My answer to this decline is school of choice.  I really wanted to move both Ben and Ethan to a new school for 2015-16.  However Ben is not one who deals with change well and  insisted he wants to finish at NBHS.  Ethan however, is much like his sister in that he leans toward the creative artistic end of the scale of which NB has nothing much to offer.  So he agreed to a brave move.

 

Ethan started his freshman year of high school at Oxford Community Schools.  There were two focuses in the beginning, one their Biomedical program since he always had an interest in medical research as a career, and two, Men's Choir.  I won't tell you it was all roses and sunshine.  The first couple months were a bit of a struggle trying to fit in and make new friends but he persevered and made a lot of great friends through choir and theater.  He participated in cross country, had a small part in the fall production "It's a Wonderful Life," went to choir "Boot Camp," worked on the crew for the spring production "Mary Poppins," and got to be part an amazing concert of Dan Forrest's "Requiem for the Living" with the Oxford Choirs, Rochester College choirs and guest conductor Dr. Hugh Floyd.  In fact his musical experiences were so incredible that he has declared that as his career path.  He started taking private voice lessons and will be attending Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp this summer to which he received scholarships to cover nearly half of the cost.  He has been teaching himself piano and guitar but will get to have some formal training next year in his Piano class at Oxford.  This thrills me to no end.  I've always wished one of my kids would pursue a career in music. Although I'll not get my hopes up to high....

 

 

 

 

So that's just a few things that have been going on in Parton World.  I'll try to keep better updates for the next few years.  Have a great day Wildcats!  or Broncos!  or Timberwolves!



iSing for Joy

Outside my Window: The sun is shining, the snow is melting, everything is brown and dreary, but the anticipation of spring is in the air!

What's on my Mind: Getting my men (old and young) trained up to keep things rolling around the house and property since I am not always here to coordinate things while working full-time.

Thankful for:  A wonderful choral experience this weekend being part of the Flint Festival of Choirs hosted by the Carolyn Mawby Chorale with guest conductor Hugh Floyd from Furman University.  Ms. Mawby is an inspiration to so many people in so many ways.  She always has a smile on her face and encourages others even while going through some very challenging times in her life.  Being part of the Lapeer County Concert Choir has been such a blessing to me in a variety of ways, the music, the friends, the opportunity to grow administratively as Vice President, and the internal challenge of making time to have it in my life.  Very thankful.

Creative Endeavors: Nothing to much lately, other than putting together a quick display for the 4H Feeds Families Committee table for Spring Achievement.

Latest Project:  Committee and Board work mostly.  Getting marketing materials prepared for the choir's spring concert, moving forward with the new 4H committee, and getting ready to share some songs and games at the next Camp Counselor training meeting.

My 3 Sons:  Reports cards are in.  Everyone took a slight dip in their grades this trimester which seems to be typical.  Nothing terrible although I was I little bummed to see a C for Fox's AP Psychology class, other than that everyone pulled As and Bs.  Fox started track last week.  Got Ethan signed up for baseball and Ben for soccer.  Also, Benjamin applied for the third time to go to space camp and this time made it to the second step- an interview which will take place later this week.  All three boys also took a few projects to the 4H Spring Achievement event over the weekend.  Ben got an Honorable Mention for his wooden sword and Ethan took 2nd Place for his Science Project on electrical circuits.  Below is a snap of the boys walking up from the bus stop after school. 

The first Born:  Dealing with excruciating pain from her wisdom teeth coming in.  :(  Finally got an appointment with the dentist today, hopefully it will be remedied quickly.  She's also assisting me with the drama program and is going to take a part in '12 Angry Swine' for me.

Employment News:  I have been planting up a storm at the greenhouse and am dubbed the Geranium Goddess after potting up nearly 3000 of them.  Gotta love the trolley when you're hauling dirt and plants through the house.  Also had an interview for another position in a more "professional" setting which would extend past this seasonal work.  A decision needs to be made by April 1st but I checked in with them today and was told I'm still in the running.  Woot!

Hoping to Improve:  My training schedule.  Working such a physically taxing job has totally cut into my running routine.  I still fit in my yoga but have not been getting out for runs as often.  Did a 2-mile today and will meet up with the running group again Saturday morning but that's about all I'll be able to handle this week.  Hope I can still make a decent showing at the Spring Fitness 5K at the end of April.

Food for Thought:  You are not meant to live in fear of your own body. Know that your body, mind, and spirit are always working on your behalf. Even if you are deeply involved in emotional eating, it is not because your body is betraying you; it is because right now you know no other way to comfort yourself.  -from The Ten Habits of Naturally Slim People

Last Words:

Great Show!

Did a little blog bouncing before posting today, every once in a while I peruse the Blogs of Note to see what's out there and believe me there is some stuff that is really out there! It is amazing the variety of things people blog about from food to fashion, human rights to gay rights, creation of art to critiquing of art, wrestling to writing, travel to tatoos, homeschooling to hand made items, it's all out there to read or click the 'x' and leave it for someone else. Viva la difference and how cool is it that we can literally travel the world from our cozy home and see what's going on.

What's going on here in notable North Branch is our Choir Program which was a big hit! Not quite as big a crowd as the December one perhaps because it was Valentine's Day or winter, but it was a great success never-the-less. Below is a picture of the elementary group preparing to sing and under that the final moments of "Dive" where we really 'got down.' I've said it before but I'll say it again, it has been such a blessing to work with these kids, yes, there are those that test your grace but if they keep showing up I'll keep working with them. Many parents and grandparents came up after to give me hugs and encouragement. Everyone is excited to come together again next year and I am as well. I've already started doing music searches and have some selections ordered.

North Branch Elementary After School Chorus - Feb. 2011

After the program I skidattled over to our first LCCC practice for the spring concert (it's always refreshing to get to sing with the big people). Once again we received quite a stuffed envelope with a variety of pieces. The biggest hoot will be our second half which pays homage to musicals past and present with a collection from "The Wizard of Oz" and "Wicked." What fun!

My exciting conference call while initially boosting quickly took the wind from my sails but didn't completely deter me. The call was with a regional manager from CYT (Christian Youth Theatre) to discuss starting a group in our area. What I found out is it's like buying into a francise and it's not cheap. While I believe there is a need for this here I don't think CYT is the umbrella to work under because of all the costs involved and they kept pushing me to be a Flint CYT because it's a 'big city' but I really don't want that connection. Plus my goal is to keep costs for family/students extremely low or without cost at all. So I'm still at the drawing board but haven't given up hope. I will continue to work with groups as I have been and wait for the right time to take it to the next level. It's all good.

Our bags are packed and ready to go...... check in next week to see where we're off to!

Excruciating, Exceptional, Exciting

Last week we had two snow days because of all the snow that arrived, the first day was rather excruciating for the boys and Alex as well because they really did not want to stay home. It was like they were being punished. I can't believe we homeschooled all those years and they adamently did not want to be in regular school and now they hate to be away. They drove me nuts going from screen to screen (tv, computer, video games) at first but then I finally killed all electronics and pulled out some toys that had been tucked away and they got busy being inventive with wooden blocks, lincoln logs, playmobil, and army men. Alex kept busy working on the assignment for her screenwriting class that the instructor asked them to email in by midnight to still receive credit for the day. The second day they jumped right back into their creative endeavors and did not have so much screen time in between bouts of going out and playing in the snow. Fox started out to shovel his running trail but gave up before completion, it was just too much this time. His training has slowed and he's really jonesing for a thaw so he can run regularly instead of just walking it.

At the end of the week I saw a sad post from some high school friends of mine, one of which also worked with my mother at Fraser schools. Their mother had passed away after many years battling COPD. I attended the service on Monday and was touched as I sat in the row behind the family and observed them throughout the proceedings. They have five kids in the family, four girls and the youngest a boy, all have children, and they are a very tight knit group. At one point during the service the family came and circled around the casket, Pastor said a prayer and then asked everyone to show a sign of peace to each other. It was so cute to watch the cousins, their aunts and uncles, and Grandpa intermingle with each other, hug, and joke around. What a blessing they have in each other. As I drove back home afterward a wave of sadness came over me as I realized once again the pain of how my family handled my own mother's passing. We're coming upon the one-year anniversary and although I feel that I worked through many of my emotions, I still feel some anger. The Pastor invited people at the funeral Monday to share a word or thought that described the departed, the first said was "tolerant" and he expounded on that be expaining that Mrs. S excepted everyone without exception, another word was "loving" she loved the Lord and showed that love in all she did, one of the grandchildren said "strong-hearted" and he connected this with a strong faith and conviction to reach out to people. This woman was married for 55 years, raised an amazing family, and touched many people through her personal outreaches. God bless her precious soul.

I was not able to participate in the processional or go to the luncheon because I needed to get back in time for our choir 'tech rehearsal' which although was a little harried went fairly well overall. A couple boys from the high school came over to help me get the sound issues worked out and this time we actually have a real monitor on stage which made a world of difference. My sound man dad also showed up after the kids were done to make some last minute tweaks in mic placement and settings. Although six weeks was not a lot of time to pull this one together I think it will be a good time and I'm really looking forward to presenting it publicly next Monday.
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Lately I haven't been taking a lot of sub jobs but I have been working on my editing stuff. This afternoon I have a conference call with an organization based out of San Diego, which could lead to a huge opportunity. Since I believe this to be a God-driven endeavor I know he has already gone ahead to make the way for all that needs to happen....and there is a lot that is going to need to happen. When everything comes together it will greatly expand my musical/dramatic/artful outreaches to children not only in my town but to all the neighboring communities. If you are a prayer warrior I ask you to lift this up as He directs cause even though His yoke is easy and His burdens light I will be dealing with some situations far beyond my normal realm which will require great favor so please, I'll need all the spiritual uplifting I can get. Updates will be forthcoming.

The featured mandala for this post is called 'New Promise' - don't we all need one.

Didn't See It Comin'

So last Monday I get over to the middle school for choir practice like I always do and the door to the room we use was locked so I peeked into the room next door and motioned the teacher to open the door again as I've done many times before. She meets me with "how's Fox doing?" "Fine, I guess why," I responded with slight bewilderment. "The kids told me he got in a fight today," she says, "the only reason I know is because they used it as an example for one of their vocabulary words, malicious." Needless to say I was shocked, the principal came down shortly after and had a word with me before we got rehearsal going. Apparently there was a kid who had been verbally harassing Fox during lunch for several weeks. During lunch that day the kid finally pushed it too far and basically made the comment "oh, what are you gonna do punch me? C'mon punch me." The kid got what he asked for, Fox gave him one to the gut and one to the face and took a firm 'ready stance' as used in martial arts. The kid immediately backed down. A little later in the day the kid came up from behind and initiated a sneak attack assault on Fox in the 7th grade hallway as he made his way to band, another kid quickly got a teacher who broke them up before it escalated. Both boys got a 2-day suspension, one in-school and one at home.

My reaction to this whole incident was rather mixed. Fox explained to me that he went through the gamut of responses over the weeks, at first he ignored him, sometimes he fired insults back, and even went to the 'dude, what's your problem, what'd I ever do to you' mode. He opted not to take it to school officials so wouldn't be labeled a tattler or have anyone think he couldn't handle his own battles. Although getting physical wasn't exactly initiated by him I do respect that he wasn't afraid to stand up for himself and did do his best to turn the other cheek and not get into it with this relatively friendless kid. The principal was dissapointed that Fox didn't bring it to someone's attention sooner. The thing that gets me is the whole suspension thing in general, you did something wrong so you .... get a day off of school!?!? I'd rather they gave both boys a bucket and a sponge and made them wipe down lockers, (goodness knows nobody else does) or have them empty garbages, write a paper on how to handle conflict, something other than not having school. Well, one thing's for sure, kids will think twice before messin' with Fox and he will instill greater consideration before taking matters into his own hands. Since the incident the kid hasn't said a word to him during lunches.

Saturday was the perfect sledding weather so Rob and I headed out together, dropped one car off to get new tires and loaded in the van over to the watertower hill with the younger boys and a buddy of Ethan's. The boys had a great time; Rob and I even took a few runs ourselves although we kept tipping over plus I went down a few times solo. I certainly got my exercise in that day climbing back up the hill. Fox was at Birmingham Groves High School with the Forensics team to observe so he could get ideas for his competition piece. He is pretty set on sales but wants to come up with something that can be fun and interesting.

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Ethan is doing really well with his guitar lessons, I love listening to him practice and Ben has quite memory for music (and other random facts), many times he'll run through his stuff on the piano without even having his music book out. My friend's son (and the boys' buddy) has been coming over on the bus after school one day a week and the boys have been trying to 'jam' a little bit. The friend takes guitar with Ethan, loves playing the drum set, and can really rock. They are now starting to work on chords as well as picking songs plus Ethan has ventured onto making up his own melodies which is such a blessing to hear. Ben makes things up on the piano often times as well.

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Alex has also been receiving top marks in her guitar class. She's loving all her classes and is actually working ahead on assignments for Screenwriting; her classmates were really impressed with her story ideas and the instructor has been very encouraging. Today she took the first step in getting things in place for the college she wants to attended in the Fall. I'm not going to let the cat out of the bag yet since she still has a process to go through but I am beyond excited that she is taking the initiative. PTL! Breakthrough in the employment department as well, after talking to her manager about working at two different locations she is now on the schedule more days and longer shifts!

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Sunday I went with Ethan down to the Open House at FlipSpot in Orion Twp. It is a great facility and I am so happy for Coach Shawn and his new business adventure. We're going to do drop-ins at open gym for awhile until the weather breaks and soccer/baseball/track season is done. I must be getting wiser because I know not to add something to the schedule at this point. Shawn was very understanding and workable. Ethan is excited to get back into gymnastics and we were there for over an hour as he did roundoff-backhandsprings, pit drops, high bar swings, some ring work, and got kooky in the bounce house. He would've stayed longer if he wasn't so sore from all his sledding acrobatics the day before. We had a nice mother-son lunch together and then headed back home.

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Getting ready to hunker down for the big snow storm that's supposed to be coming....hope everyone has an enjoyable February.

Don We Now...

I didn't really mess with photos on my last post but here is a snap of the first concert of the season, the Lapeer County Community Chorus at Hunter's Creek Church. Then there's Ben (the shorty) playing the bell set and Fox with his Euphonium. Ben is quite diligent in his practicing and never has to be reminded to do it, which I love. He also goes beyond what they are working on during rehearsals and tries to figure out parts on his own, many times calling me in to play duets with him. Since we didn't rent the bell set he just practices on the piano and I think it's a good thing. Fox's run with band is coming to a close but he'll finish out this year. He did what I asked and tried it for middle school, it's not his thing and I'm ok with that, next year it will open up his schedule for more electives.

The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind of final preparations and performances. Although it was a bit crazy at times the Lord knew what he was doing in blessing me with these projects because it has really helped keep me going instead of wallowing around in grief. I know my mother would have appreciated and supported these endeavors and hope she's been looking over me through it all. Although our final dress/tech rehearsal for Star of Wonder left me wondering if this was truly going to minister. The annointing hit when the time finally came and the kids did a fantastic job, the shepherds rocked the house, actors delivered their lines well, the "wee" kings were too cute, and the vocal soloist touched my heart. One of our elders told me later he thought it was probably the best children's program the church had done. Glory to God! We even had a special moment at the end of the program, the second from the last song "Constellation Celebration" the kids come off the platform and dance around the aisles and when they came back up to the front a brother of one of girls danced up on stage with the rest of the cast. I was familiar with this boy and had him with us on Wednesday nights on a few occasions, he has some mental challenges but really comes alive when we work on music. Sister was concerned and tried to make him leave the stage but I intervened told her it was ok and invited him onto the risers with the group. He sang the final song "Look Up" (which he knew from being in with us) with the his face beaming and the biggest smile you've ever seen. It was truly precious and just that little moment made it all seem so worthwhile.

There were some other personal 'mini' miracles that happened surrounding my actors but I'll refrain from sharing them since they're personal, but as I started to get feedback and testimonies afterward it gave me a new understanding of why we were given this assignment. Pastor has also asked us back to do a couple selections from the program at the Christmas Eve service which was a bit of a surprise and a little last minute, but hey...I'm game.
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The school programs had a bit of a wrench thrown in due to snow days on Monday and Tuesday so we lost our 'dress' rehearsal for choir and two days of practice for the 4th grade skit. Then when we went to set the skit on the stage we had to change everything around because of miking issues. The kids did great and went with the revamp gracefully. I had to leave Mrs. Martin to finish things out because on top of everything else I was also running my daughter around because she totalled her car on an icy hill after the first snow fell. But it all worked out in the end, didn't they make for a cute cast!?

Friday night we went down to Rochester to drop off the band fruit at my in-laws and caught the light show on the way back. This is really a cool concept draping all the buildings and they've even added more down some side streets and further north of town.

Yesterday was the holiday choir program with the North Branch Schools. I had about 130 chairs set out initially and we had to pull out and set up another 100+ chairs there were so many people that came! I was floored. Unfortunately because of the trimester change, other commitments and some teenage blow-off the middle school and upper elementary group were not at their full capacity but they did well none-the-less. The NBE After School Chorus brought it full force and sang with all their hearts. Technical challenges aside it was wonderful. Afterward I had some positive feedback from several parents and grandparents plus had a father/son team with sound experience come up and offer to help me work out some kinks for the next program. What a blessing that will be. In all the excitment I didn't even take a picture even though I had the camera in my pocket the whole time. I emailed a few moms and hopefully they can send me some snaps.

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Well, even though this batch of musical activities has concluded I've already begun receiving the download for my next assignments....a choir pops concert on Valentine's Day, coordinating VBS (found one I'm really excited about), working the creative arts camp at Paint Creek Center for the Arts (already talked to the director about some theme ideas), and a future ministry of "Praise Rocks!: A Children's Musical Giving God the Glory" - hopefully put together in a Saturday Kid's Praise Club format. But for now I just need to get busy wrapping.

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I'll leave with a quote from Bill Rancic (I love the Bill & Guilliana show).

"Everything will work out alright in the end; and if it's not alright, then it's not the end."

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Have a blessed Christmas everyone!

Not So Bloggy

Haven't been feeling very bloggy this month at all, not that there hasn't been things going on; quite the contrary, there's been plenty. Ben and Ethan have been into writing letters lately (however I'm still trying to get them to understand how to address them properly), recently after a disappointing candy experience Ben actually sat down a wrote a letter to the Spangler Candy Co. that makes Dum Dum suckers to express his disappointment in the lack of chewy chocolaty center to his lollipop. Low and behold he received a sizable box in the mail with not just a sucker but a whole bag of them with a nice response explaining that sometimes things get through quality control at the end and the beginning of the runs and the suckers don't get filled properly. Needless to say Ben was beyond excited and promptly sat down to write a thank you letter to the company for their attention to customer satisfaction.

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Ethan's latest shot in the arm was being accepted to the Safety Patrol! He works during the 4th grade recess to make sure everyone stays safe on the playground. The first day he had a few of his peers giving him grief but the teachers and principal backed him up and dealt with the defenders and it hasn't happened since. I'm very proud of him for getting all the paperwork filled out and turned in on time and for taking his responsibilities seriously. Anyone considered has to have good grades and no disciplinary infractions.

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Had several substitute jobs over the past few weeks and have now been in every building at least once. One thing that I have observed as consistent in any building or grade is that the productivity significantly decreases after lunch and each hour after until final bell. My remembrance of school was that most kids were pretty concerned about their grade and giving a good performance but the overall attitude lately is pretty noncommittal, they don't really care if they get an A, an E, or even finish the work. I'm still trying to understand how they handle the learning "impaired" in the upper grades, mainstreaming them into the regular classroom makes for an extremely disjointed day. I also recently learned that our teachers, principals, nor administration have any say in the curriculum the district uses, it's all state mandated. Yuck! Takes all the creativity out of being a teacher....plus one size does not fit all, compared to the educational strides being made in China we're moving toward the demeanor of a third world nation. Sad. Ethan and I had a discussion about homeschooling again. I'm torn. There are things I like and dislike about public and home school. I wish I could take the best pieces of both to make a well-rounded experience for the boys. Fox will be making the move to high school next year will probably duel enroll the whole way through with the goal of obtaining a business associates along with his high school diploma, plus he'll take advantage of the ed-tech program as well.

Last weekend the kids learned how to make ravioli from scratch with my Dad. It was quite the process but with all the helping hands we got quite a few made just a few hours. They tasted great but I'm thankful for frozen ravioli, cuz it's a lot of work to make it like they did in the old country. We went out in the afternoon to see the Megamind movie which was cute; evil becomes good and good becomes evil.

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Alex got registered for the Winter semester at Mott. She was a bit shocked when I supported her taking non-core classes but I'm glad to have her in something that will be more interesting. She got lucky and has the majority of her classes on Monday and Wednesday out at the Flint campus which is where most of the music and theater classes are and will taking Intro Acting, Intro Screenwriting, a Beginning Guitar class, and Keyboard I (piano with the teacher we used to go to for private lessons). Then she's got Ethics one night at Lapeer with the same prof she had for Intro Philosophy.

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Ethan has been doing well with his guitar lessons and I've been working on getting my string fingers back also, working through my classical guitar book. It takes a while to get those callouses back, but they fade surprisingly fast. Soon Alex, E and I will be able to work on some selections together. I also purchased some painting supplies and am looking forward to some cathartic creating. Plus I've been given an assignment by the counselor to "write it out" and purge all the feelings about mother's illness, death, and family. This is something that's been in my mind to do but I haven't put it into action yet. She wants me to get cracking on it tout suite so we can analyze and emulsify. I may not be doing much else over the next few weeks.

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The concert for the Lapeer County Community Chorus is next week already; then Star of Wonder program shortly after that (I'll begin painting shirts tomorrow) and finally the NB Schools program. Choice Time Choir has been challenging time wise because they cancel it for assemblies sometimes without notice. I only get them for a half hour a week as it is! Thankfully they're a great bunch and pick up songs very quickly. Next year however I think we'll morph to an after school practice with the upper elementary and the middle school together....

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Looking forward to Turkey Day with the out-laws. Rob will be heading off to Manitoba shortly afterward and the rest of us will hold down the fort and wait for the snow to fall.

Ongoing Tests

Wow, I can't believe it's been almost ten days since I've blogged no wonder I've been in withdrawls. Life has been a series of ongoing tests of intelligence, faith, grace, endurance, and general wherewithall. The boys have been heavy duty into MEAP testing the last couple weeks but say it hasn't been much of a problem for them at all. Rob has been facing some employment shifts but I'm thankful for it although we don't exactly know how everything will pan out just yet. Below is a picture of Ethan making his best rockin'-it-out face during practice time. He is being tested by muddling through the rigors of daily practice and the tedium of beginner lessons.

Benjamin has been enjoying soccer overall but finds some of the situations challenging to deal with and sometimes wants to drop it all. One thing I am determined to instill in my boys is following through on their commitments. When the going gets tough (or isn't what you thought it would be) the tough DON'T get going, they stick with it, and make it work, hopefully improving along the way. Oh, hum, and I guess I was just preaching to myself in that statement. Below is Ben taking a moment during his quarter out of play to visit with the fans.

The 40 days fast at our church ended Saturday and I did finish back on the 2Timothy trail however I've been doing alot of bible bouncing as I prepare lessons for Wednesday with the kids. I have been so impressed with the transitions God has been bringing on our family that I am continuing to fast. This week I've asked the boys to join with me as we believe for the right new job situation to make itself present, so all of us are foregoing watching television all week. It's made for some quiet mornings. I certainly can do with a little less SpongeBob! Below is a snap of some girls from the 4-5 year old class kicking up their heels to "Constellation Celebration."

Fox continues to test himself in the athletic arena coming in 25th at the Reese Invitational last weekend with a time of 13:40. This is a huge meet and the pressure was on, these guys are in great shape and push the competition to new heights. Medals were given out to the top 30 finishers. Tuesday he was at Swan Lake for regionals, he came in top 20 with his best time yet, 13:11 - Yowza! We've had some conversation recently about how to get more kids involved in cross-country, currently he is the only 8th grader running for his school and many kids on the high school team are seniors so he is concerned about what kind of team they'll have next year when he hits high school. I suggested he write an article for his school news and the district paper about his experience the last couple years and maybe it will inspire some people. He is of the impression that not many people really want to exert or challenge themselves. Sad, but in many cases true.

I have been spending much time in my office chair working to complete an editing project that has gone on far to long, the end is near but my butt is loosing its roundness from all this sitting; to compensate I've been getting out a couple times a week and walking with the dog. Jake comes with me when I take Ben to soccer practice and we boogie around Dryden, Sundays I usually get out and walk for a couple hours on the dirt roads by my house. The teenager thing is still a constant challenge to me and I'm praying to get past my unrelenting irritation over her choices and behavior. Somehow I have to find a way to show the love no matter what.

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I'll end with a Friday Fill-In since I haven't done one in forever!

Happy Autumn Days to everyone.

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1. My favorite month is October because all the colors are bright and it's my birthday!

2. Fall days are filled with a fresh breeze.

3. I love the smell of fresh cut grass and campfires.

4. Hot cinnamon rolls is what I like to have as a breakfast treat.

5. The hobby I enjoy most is painting on canvas with acrylics (when I get the chance).

6. Oh me, oh my.

7. As for the weekend, Friday night I'm looking forward to a wedding for two young adults from our church, Saturday I'll be taking Fox & Ethan to Caro for a cross country meet while Rob accompanies Ben to his soccer game, and Sunday is church, family portraits, and our first meeting with the North Branch Finish Line Swine 4H Club!

Creative Arts Camp-Week 1

Creative Arts Camp for week one was definately a good time and my teaching partner was great thinking on her feet as we revamped our lessons, ideas and daily structure at the close of each day to accomodate the abilities and desires of our participants. At the end of the week I can confidently say I made 16 great new friends: Pauline, Megan, Angie, Addison, Jessa, Jenna, Mary, Alajondra, Emilee, Owen, Oscar, Devarshi, Hannah (teen helper) and Ms. Brenda.

After introducing some basic movement concepts the first day, the next day I brought in banners and billow cloths and we did some praise dance. The kids broke up into groups and presented moves to represent Joy/Power, War/Peace, Glory, Death/Rejoice. It was very sweet and I was honored that they took it seriously and with reverence. I polled the group the day before and they all had church associations except for one of the boys but he went with it.

A couple of the days we took a trip to the park which was only a few blocks away, one day we did soap carvings, another leaf & tree rubbings.

The second day for drama they worked on creating their own skits based on a folktale and it had to teach a lesson or present a problem and then a solution. The beginning of the third day we worked on masse to create masks for the skits.

We also took a trip across the street to the School of Rock on the third day and they split into two bands and learned how to play 'Wild Thing' by the Troggs. Good times!

For the conclusion of day three all the groups presented their scripts to each other, for my afternoon time with them we created props, sets, and blocked out the scenes. We had some very different stories one was 'The Tortoise and the Dog' (no pix), 'The Death of Jonie' (an annoying octopus gets thrown in a volcano), 'Get Along' (boys group), and 'The Three Pickles and the Big Bad Squirrel' (an adaptation of The Three Billy Goats Gruff).

The last day I brought in a bunch of native instruments my mother collected throughout her travels and we had fun making up rhythms and playing along with a drum CD from a group in Nova Scotia. We also took our lunches down to the park and ate picnic style.

Our final activity was making God's Eyes which was a huge hit, many of them made several 'eyes'. They'd get done then run out to the side yard of the art center to find a couple more sticks then jump back in and get to work. At the end of each day we brought the two groups together for a time of reflection. Ms Brenda introduced me to a technique called 'Rose and Thorn' the rose being the best part of the day the thorn being the thing they liked the least which helped us gauge how to proceed the next day. I'm happy to say as the days went on the majority of campers had 'no thorns' to report. Woot! Good time....exhausting schedule being completely in charge from 9a-5p with no breaks but great to have something new to put my mind and energy into. Next week I'll do it again with a fresh group of campers and a different teaching partner....stay tuned!