Been a Long Time Since I Wrote this Blog



Time really got away from me as I had not realized how long it has been since I updated this blog.   Upon finishing Camp NaNo I became more obsessed with writing and editing novels than blogging.  Lots of things have happened with the boys and their lives which has also pulled me away.  I will provide a few bullet points from spring through summer.

 

We made a trip to Grand Rapids to check out GVSU and see the uncle.

 

 

Walked over to the fishladder and to the GVSU Graduate buildings.  Fox and I also did a tour of the undergraduate campus.  Later in the day we checked out the Gerald Ford Museum.  Seems there was a little dissention amongst the cabinet! 

 

 

Since Ben and Ethan are not going on the school trip to Washington DC we did a trip on our own hitting the Point before the holiday weekend when it really starts to get busy.  This was Ethan's introduction to roller coasters and he did awesome.  We rode 10 coasters in under five hours!  Even got our girl to come along for a day of fun.

 

 

Did a lot of gardening this spring/summer.  Good therapy.

 

 

You never know who or what you'll come across in the garden.

 

 

Ethan did middle school track.  Fox started high school track but dropped out mid-season.  He just wasn't getting the times he wanted and was over it in general.  He worked at Honeyflow in the spring doing pruning and whatever else was needed.  Ben worked his first season as well.  Next year Ethan can be part of the crew too.  In addition to track Ethan also played rec baseball again.  Ben did rec soccer as well.

 

 

 

Ethan took 4th Place at the Middle School State Forensics tournament at Wayne State University.  He also got to go to Exploration Days for the first time on the Michigan State University Campus.

Fox received his ACT scores - he got a 31 overall which is awesome!  He also attended the Northwood University LAB Free-Enterprise Camp.

Benjamin attended the Engineering Camp at Lake Superior State University this summer.  They are still doing an amazing job there and many of the same people are involved.  Fox came with me to pick Ben up and the counselor recognized him!  Of course you don't meet many people named Fox.

Ben had a good time at camp but still isn't sure about what he wants to pursue as a career yet.  He has toured the Ed-Tech building for our district and is possibly interested in computer hardware or small engines.  However the only other interests he dabbles in outside of school and soccer is video games!! 

No one participated in the 4H Fair this summer.  It was nice to have a break and I tackled a major renovation project in the house.

 

That pretty much takes us up until Fall 2014.  Fox is a Senior this year and we've done many college visits and had discussions about early enrollment.  More updates in the next post.  Benjamin is a high school Freshmen and seems to be adjusting well to the new routine, keeping his grades up, and staying out of trouble.  He played soccer for school this year on the JV team.  Ethan ended up going in for seated classes in the middle school for 8th grade but he did try an online class, German IA.

iWent to the Fair



Outside my Window: Now it is dark since I've been trying to complete this post for the past couple days and Blogger is being stupid.  When I began there were blue skies, little white clouds, slight breezes, sun, and an empty pig pen.

What's on my Mind:  Raising boys and the stupid things they do that blow my mind.  You think you know a kid's character and then a behavior arises that you never expected.  Not saying girls aren't like that too, but right now I'm dealing with boys.

Thankful for: A great week at the Eastern Michigan State Fair.  The weather was fantastic with just a little bit of rain one evening and for a while one morning other than that the temperatures were tolerable which is not always the case with Fair week.  Ethan did well in his first year showing rabbits, he needs to work on his showmanship (5th in age group) but his animals all placed well.  His meat pen weighed in at 20.10 pounds and he got $9 per pound at the auction, donating $10 of his earnings to the 4H Feeds Families Committee.  We have an appointment this week to take them in for processing, with small animals the sellers take care of the processing and deliver them to the buyer.

Ben did not get any ribbons this year, he was one out for placing in his showmanship age group and in his weight class.  No worries, he's got a plan for next year and is looking forward to having another chance at it next year.  I must admit it can be hard to compete against kids who come from large working farms.  Zelda weighed in at 275 pounds and he got $2 per pound again at auction from the same buyer as last year.  Fox held his own amongst some pretty seasoned showman but did not place, nor did he expect to.  His pig Dagney received a 4th Place in her weight class, tipping the scale at 286 pounds and bringing in $2.20 per pound at auction.  He donated $35 of his earnings to the 4H Camp Scholarship fund, which made me quite proud.  I give Fox credit for stepping up and trying pig raising and showing to support his younger brother who did not want to be in the project alone but understand that it is not his "thing" and he will refrain from showing again.  He is however going to apply to work at the Fairgrounds next summer since he'll be old enough. 

Also, Ethan got the prize for getting the most sponsorships for the Swine Department for the second year in a row.... a nice fresh Benjamin!  Cha-ching!  He's already planning to go for it again next year.

Creative Endeavors: This photo I took in Italy got 1st Place for Phototgraphy-Architectural.

My three Handicrafts-Paper Goods entries were the only ones in the category!  My Wildflower Arrangement and Perennial Arrangement both got 2nd Place.

But these two Handicrafts-Other made from scrap tile and molding that I spent the most time and thought on didn't get anything.  I was quite proud of how these turned out.  Go figure.

Latest Project:  Got the flashdrive of pictures from Ben's Space Academy week, put together a couple collages from the hundreds and hundreds of photos that their sponsor and the camp staff took.  Very, very cool.

My 3 Sons: High School Football starts this week for Fox.  Middle School Cross Country begins the last week of the month for Ben and Ethan.

The first Born: Officially engaged.

Employment News: Applied for another position in the Lapeer 4H Extension office, already spoke with the county coordinator, hoping to get a call for an official interview this week.  Also going to be helping a friend out, well we're helping each other out, at his vineyard and honeybee farm during the fall picking season.  Robert is also seeking employment after a devastating turn of events at his place of work.  Yes, the fun never ends.

Hoping to Improve: My resourcefulness.....

Food for Thought: Dr. Miracle's approach was much less confrontational and more civilized. According to him, there are two selves in each of us: the one who wants to be slim and healthy and the on who wants something else.  One sees the big picture -- well-being, self-esteem, fitting into the lastest fashions. The other wants pleasures aplenty, and now.  One is Narcissus leaning over his pool; the other is Pantagruel leaning over his table.  The key, he said, was not to conquer the second, but to broker a rapprochement: make friends of your two selves and be the master of both your willpower and your pleasures.  That was the French way.  ~French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure by Mireille Guiliano

Last Words: 

iDon't Know Where the Time Goes

Outside my Window:  Beautiful blue sky and cool weather with sweet breezes after some crazy thunderstorms and a week of humid 95+ temperatures.

What's on my Mind: Embracing the Process of Growth and Change.  There really is no such thing as standing still in life.  You are either moving forward or sliding back.  Growth is the natural state of all living things. ~From Ten Habits of Naturally Slim People   The last chapter of this book explains the upward spiral of growth and change and how your intense feelings are the catalyst that make you take notice of a discomfort and use the awareness to catapult positive change.  While I know I can promote positive change my challenge comes with consistency and continuity, in otherwords keeping the motion going forward as opposed to sliding back.  Now I sit on a platuea knowing it is imperitive to ride the wave forward and not get swept under by the current of adverse circumstances.

Ethan (red bandana) at his last year at camp as a camper next to big brother counselor Fox (pink shirt)

at Larger than LIFE 4H Overnight Camp

Thankful for: All the boys having an amazing week at camp.  Fox really liked being a counselor for both day and overnight camp and plans to take part again next year.  Ethan made the most of his last year and is looking forward to moving on to day camp counselor next summer.  Benjamin had an incredible time in Huntsville, AL and was pretty proud that he made the astronaut laugh during the graduation ceremony.  The boys made friends with a couple brothers from Korea and had fun sharing words from each other's language and of course iPod apps and games.  I will share more after I get the disc of photos and he can explain more of the missions to me.

Creative Endeavors:  Making games for camp like a Super Twister board on a King size sheet using a pizza box stencil.  We also played human foos ball, Super Swatter balloon badmitton, Beat the Bear (with add-on variations), and Bandana Grab which got pretty intense at times which added to the hilarity.

Latest Project:  Working on some crafty Fair entries using scrap molding and tiles.

My 3 Sons:  In the area of sports we've had a bit of a shake up.  After years of cross-country Fox has decided to jump ship and try something new.  It started with him just wanting more of a workout but it is looking like he will actually stay for a season.  Never thought any of my boys would go this route but it looks like we'll be heading out to some football games this year!  He's been going to as many training sessions as he can and has talked to the head coach about a game plan.  Official season starts Aug. 14.
Ben and Ethan will still run Middle School Cross Country.

Pigs and rabbits are doing well, this week the boys delivered their buyer letters.  Everything is on track for Fair, they've got all the suppies they need and made sure each has a showmanship outfit before they head off to Port Austin to relax before the crazy week of Fair begins.

The first Born:  Aggrivated with her job, threatening to give notice and go back to college full time.  I can only hope.

Employment News:  Starting to work on my renewal tutorials for subbing.  Fun.

Hoping to Improve:  My exercise routine, need to get back in my regular Yoga practices and add some toning sessions.  There's a new fitness studio in town that I have on my list to check out.

Food for Thought:  Much to the complaint of my family I have been working on cleaning out the cupboards using up all processed products with a shelf life and also finishing the meat stock in the freezer.  Alex's vegan sensibilities have inspired me although I'm not going totally vegan I am working toward as fresh as possible and a greater percentage of veggies and fruits.  Cereal is probably going to be what they give me the most resistance about.

Last Words:



iCelebrate America

Outside my Window:  Blue skies, thin white clouds, and lots of sun!

What's on my Mind: How do you define happy?  Can you be happy in an imperfect situation?  Do the behavior and actions of others affect your happiness?  What are the ways that help contentment remain through all senarios?

Thankful for:  A beautiful day and an awesome 4th of July Parade!  Old time cars, Veterans, high school band, horses, motorcycles, tractors, dancers, civic groups, everything you need for a wonderful hometown celebration.  Fantastic firework display in the evening as well.  Nice job North Branch Days Committee!

Creative Endeavors:  Worked on a few more collages for my Fair entries.

Latest Project:  Started a major repair project.  There was once an old chimney for a wood stove on a platform at the entryway of the house.  Rob knocked out the top of the chimney long ago but the hole in the ceiling remained.  I finally took on the challenge with Fox's assistance and a quick consult from my father-in-law and neighbor.  Biggest pain was the styrofoam insulation balls that come cascading down from the attic!  Knocked out a wall to have easier access since I was working over the stairs.  Got the drywall up eventually.  Phase 2 complete for now.

My 3 Sons:  My baby boy is now one step away from teenagerness, turning 12 today! 

July is camp / camping month.  Ethan is doing the 4H Overnight Camp and assisting me during Day Camp, Fox is counselor-ing at both camps, during that same week Benjamin will head to Alabama for Space Academy.  Then Fox will be traveling to Grand Valley State University for a cross-country camp, the younger boys and I will probably do some enrichment activities in the area during drop and pick up.  And to top it off they will all spend the last week in Port Austin with gramma and grandpa as is tradition. 

The first Born:  Back on closings lately, still mumbling about wanting to get back in school but no major movement made to get it happening yet.

Employment News:  << cricket, cricket>>

Hoping to Improve:  My training schedule.  Doing the Freedom Run tomorrow with Fox and Ethan but don't feel very prepared....it will be what it will be, for me.  Hope the boys have a great run and get some good times.

Food for Thought: "To change the printout of the body, you must learn to rewrite the software of the mind."  ~Deepak Chopra, M.D., Perfect Health

Last Words:

7th Heaven

Zoomania Day Camp turned out to be a big hit. Fox did a nice job with the young kids and had one boy who was a huge Fox fan.  The second day we had Thumb Reptile in for a presentation and I was lucky enough to go down and see it.  I was shocked and pleasantly surprised to see how comfortable Fox was with the large Burmese Python they had brought in.  He held it and carried it around for the kids to see.  I even held a few snakes myself, the presenters made everyone feel very at ease around the animals and were glad to let the kids hold them, pet them and pass them around.  Another highlight was storytime, I chose Animal Action ABC by Karen Pandell and Art Wolfe, however as opposed to having the kids sit down and me reading it, I used it more as a creative movement exercise and we got active!  From arching, to growling, to pouncing, and kicking, they had a blast!  Great way to end our time together.

Next up was overnight camp. Although Benjamin didn't attend as a camper he did come with me Wednesday evening when I dropped Ethan off and got clearance to stay for the Whispering Pines presentation which included bullfrogs, hedgehog, sloth, a ferrel fox, and a huge lizard to name a few.  My first day in science we made plaster casts of animal prints which went better than I could have expected. We then discussed five groups of vertebrates (mammal, reptile, amphibian, birds, and fish) and played animal scategories where they had to come with an animal for each category that started with a particular letter that was chosen by rolling the alphabet die from my Scategories game.  It was quite a challenge at first, then I let them use some animal books that I had brought for reference and the game really picked up from there.  My second day of Science didn't go as well as I had hoped, my idea to use some multimedia ie: websites sort of backfired so I went with plan B which was making part of a lapbook that focused on four invertebrate groups.  This was not so well received but they muddled through.  Wish I would have gone with something more active.  Live and learn.  Ethan had a great time although I sort of regret putting him in a cabin with two of his buddies because he didn't really branch out and make new friends like he did the year before, but no biggie, just mental note to self.

The Sunday before 4H camp week was our second weigh-in for the piggies. Rob, Fox and I rattled up the road in my new beater truck to pick up the scale then Ben and Ethan helped me hustle them on and off.  Happily we are back on track for making weight at Fair.  The smallest was Chew-porka at 190lbs, next was Rocky Hogowa at an even 200, then 50 Cent still livin' the largest at 210lb.  We're hoping to enter Rocky and 50 Cent as a pair so they need to be within 10 pounds of each other, which it looks like they will be.  We put about 50 pounds on each one in 3 weeks so if we can do a repeat of that gain we will be looking good!  Since it has been unusually hot in Michigan this summer it has been very time consuming to make sure the hogs are watered down regularly, have plenty of mud holes, and still continue to eat.  They are more social than one would expect and like to have someone come back and visit often which always prompts them to get up and take a turn at the feeder.  We've had a few crazy escapes too, when they start to feel neglected they take it upon themselves to find some way to occupy their time, which usually means, scooching under a fence and heading down to the pond for a dip.  One night they got out and really went exploring, ending up in the neighbors yard.  Thankfully Fox was still at home and noticed they got out or our investments may have been long gone by the time the younger boys and I had returned.

We had our final Pig Club meeting before Fair this past weekend which was the annual showmanship clinic.  They had a great presenter in from MSU that was raised on a pig farm and has been very successful in showing and judging.  The kids really learned a lot, hopefully they can put it all together come show time.  Just 11 more days to go and the three not-so-little pigs will be moving along to Fair.  Hoping Ben and Ethan both get a decent price at auction plus looking forward to having a freezer full of good meats to eat ourselves and share with friends and family.

Tomorrow is a day out with some choir friends. We're heading to Midland to tour the Dow house and gardens.  Then I'll spend the next week getting my indoor projects together for Fair.  Ben and Ethan will be finishing up their swimming lessons.  AND I just found out I am going to be going to ITALY!!!  Rob has a business trip coming up and I get to tag along.  More details to follow......

May life always continue to amaze you.  It pretty much blows my mind everyday!  :D

Clue Club

This past week Fox was on the Michigan State University campus for 4H Discovery Camp. The main focus was biodiesel technology but they also visited the Invision House and learned about a variety of sustainable and energy efficient technology, Wind Turbines, the MBI Lab, and the MSU Test Fields where they grow switch grass, poppy trees, and mycanthis for experimentation. During the recreational outings they went on a private tour of the Basketball Stadium and explored the bird sanctuary.  He reported it was a great camp and everyone he met was very cool.  There was a diverse representation of kids that were selected from all over the state.  Unlike the LSSU Engineering camp where everyone was what would probably be catagorized as "geeky" (high academic acheivers), this group was from a range of "acheivement" levels but they were a very fun group, that came up with unique ways to solve problems and think outside box. Through the magic of Facebook he will more than likely keep in touch with many of them.  When I inquired if he thought MSU was the type of campus situation he could see himself in, he thought.....possibly.  Kudos to Jake DeDekker and staff for organizing a fabulous program.

Monday after we got Fox situated Ben, Ethan, and I headed over to the Potter Park Zoo again, this time heading directly back to the tiger house to see the now-rather-large baby tigers which were sooooo cool to watch.  Also inside were two female lions that I don't remember from last time.  There was a group of young ladies in the Feline House when we were, one of them had a toddler, as we were all watching, one of the female tigers jumped up when it saw the baby and came right up to the glass to check it out.  Wherever the kid moved the lion moved with it, watching intently.  It was very bizarre and we commented back and forth whether the feline was in protection mode or had vicious intent.  It's rare that you see zoo animals really react to observers, usually they could care less.  Very interesting.

Ethan and I also took a camel ride, first ever for us both.  It was similar to riding a horse but with much more up and down motion.  Ben declined the adventure and opted to act as photographer only. While we were in line Ethan commented about the price to ride and I explained that this money helps them cover expenses to take care of the animals, you have to look at it like a fundraiser.  The gal from the zoo heard me explain this and said "you're the only one who realizes that, most people just complain about the cost. It is expensive to care for a lot of these animals."

I get it, and can't even imagine what it must cost to run a zoo.  Just the expense of raising three pigs for a few months is blowing my mind!  Speaking of pigs, we were fortunate to be offered the use of an outdoor feeder with four doors so we could put the trio on free feed and they are really starting to look big now.  This weekend I'm going to pick up the scale and get them weighed again.  While Fox was gone I worked with the boys on their buyer letters and we got our first batch delivered.  It's challenging coming up with different businesses for them to invite although they did both give a letter to the bank where they have their accounts.  Ethan has had a bit of an advantage because he already broke the ice with a lot of people when he went out getting sponsors.  I would send the boys in on their own to talk with people and a few places it took 10-15 minutes before he came back out because he was chatting it up with people.  Several made a point to come out, give me a wave in the van and say "he did a really good job!"  Awesome.  Although Ben is not the social butterfly type that his younger brother is, he did his best to speak up, state his business, look people in the eye, and not be shy.  The more he does it, the easier it will get I keep telling him.  We're planning to do another round in a couple weeks, they both need to come up with three more people to invite.

Well, I haven't relayed any information about my oldest lately, maybe because I've been trying to block it out.  You know when you think about having kids you have these romantic notions of babies, baby stuff, baby cuddles, and cute cuddly feelings, but you never consider the teenage, young adult phase of that cute little baby's life.  Well think about it folks and beware!  Let me try and phrase this as kindly as I can.  After a series of financial missteps, mainly stemming from not paying a balance owed to the community college (even though she kept insisting to me that she did), her idea to transfer to a university in the fall is now on hold. She wants to take a semester off because she dosen't really know what she wants to do.

**edit gory details**

But in the meantime she plans on moving into an apartment with her boyfriend and continuing to work as an assistant manager at BK.  (Please picture me throwing up my hands and pulling my hair out.)  Love you, be safe, be happy, give me a call and let me know what's up.  Good luck.  Honestly, it's fine whatever you decide to do, just don't BS me.  I honestly don't know what to think and keep fighting the impulse to beat myself up about it.  She made her choices and she'll have to live with them, but as a parent the whole situation really sucks however, it's out of my control.

Moving on to more pleasant topics.  Next week is 4H Zoomania Camp which I am very excited to be a part of.  We have lots of great guests coming in with a variety of animals and tons of fun activities planned.  I will be presenting the science section, storytime, and some games for daycamp and working on an Animal Classification lapbook with the overnight group.  The younger boys are also finishing up their swim lessons and even got promoted up a class after the third lesson.  Woot!

Hope all is well in your part of the world and remember "don't sweat the small stuff."

Summertime Frenzy

Ben and Ethan enjoyed the basketball day camp very much, they both knew different kids at the camp and picked up some new skills. Fox has been spending his time working for me around the yard, mowing, trimming, raking, schlepping, etc. and also found time to check out an economics class online. This week he has been at an idTech Camp on the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor campus, Video Game Design-RPG. Monday the younger boys and I spent the day on campus, Starbucks to start us off, then the comic book store, Hands-On Museum, lunch at a Greek restaurant (they both loved the Mousaka), wandered around Borders, spun the big cube by the Student Union, then they scootered around the West Quad while we waited for Fox to finish.

My dad has been working at scanning all our family slides into the computer. He gave me some of what he has done so far on disc. Here is one circa 1967 of my mom the day of her graduation for a Masters in Education from Wayne State University. I am not quite two, to young to remember who attended the ceremony or any other whoopla.

Since school ended we've also had our VBS at church. I used the Agents in Action program, but adapted it to three days, to view click here. I also wrote dramas for the open and close of the day that introduced campers to the Armor of God. Around 40 kids participated and things went well overall. It was interesting working with a 'tween-age' drama/music team but things worked out and I certainly learned a lot as I always do everytime I plan something. Games seemed to be the biggest hit, running, throwing and shooting things you just can't go wrong with! But my boys also commented that all the storytellers were very good. We fed them some healthy snacks and they enjoyed the crafts as well.

"Train Me Up"
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Last Saturday we ventured down to Monroe, Michigan for the annual "Blessing of the Land" ceremony/celebration. Mother had asked that a tree be given to the IHM gardens in her memory, when my brother called to inquire the director voiced a need for garden benches so one was donated in her memory, since she was cremated there is no head stone, now this is at least a place to go and commemorate. It is a very fitting place for her memorial to be since there are many people there helping take care of the place and her bench will be taken care of as well. She always wanted to be taken care of. The ceremony was short and sweet, we sang a rather timid rendition of 'Holy Ground', the prayer interestingly enough was an ancient, wordless Native American blessing, then a time for open prayers, "thanks for the sunshine, the workers, the garden, etc." Ethan helped hand out the worms, everyone got one to go place in the garden somewhere. My aunt found a beautiful and most appropriate garden sculpture to sit along side the bench. Benjamin has suggested we go visit each year on gramma's birthday. That would be nice.

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Next week I will be preparing for 4H Mystery Clue Camp, I'll be doing science activities and experiments with the 2nd-6th grade participants. Ben and Ethan will be attending the 3-night camp. But before then I'll be heading off on a business trip with Rob to northern California. I haven't been on a plane in years! Going to try and just take a carry-on......

Out in the Woods

This week Ethan participated in the three day Ecology Camp that all 4th graders at North Branch Elementary get to participate in at Camp Lael coordinated by Pete McCreedy. The first day's lessons were the same ones I caught with Ben last year but still loads of fun and very informative. Our first lab class was about Native American culture and took place in a huge teepee, amazingly 30 of us fit in there comfortably and with a fire going it was nice and cozy. He talked about the lifestyle, habits, houses, farming, tools, and more.

Below is a picture of a hoe made from a stick and a buffalo shoulder blade and Ethan wrapped in a buffalo hide with his antler rake ready to do some serious farming for the tribe. During the next class we went for a hike and learned about plants that you can eat, some tasted good, some disgusting, and we also tried acorn pancakes (thank goodness for fresh maple syrup made at Chatfield School's Willow Preserve). Lunch was spaghetti severed family style and our last class of the day was about beavers and animal adaptations.













Day two we started out with a canoe ride on Skinner Lake and had a gorgeous day for it. Ethan ventured out with his own boating buddies. I got to take out a young lady from Ethan's class who was very scared about the experience. After assuring her I knew what I was doing in a canoe and would stay close to the edge, I said a little prayer with her and we headed out. She was the passenger, I was in back steering and another young man was my front man. We glided out along the side, around the lake and over to investigate the beaver dam from the water side. She relaxed and enjoyed the ride eventually asking if we could go faster across the lake. "Oh, so now you're a daredevil?" I joked with her. She didn't even want to go back in to shore when our time was up and commented, "I have to tell my mom about this place so we can come back and do this again."


Our second lab class of the day was a great presentation about copper. Did you know Michigan has the purest source of copper found anywhere in the world? Mr. McCreedy also talked about native burial grounds and how unrighteous it is for people to dig up sacred land without any remorse or restitution to the Indians. He told about some finds in the burial grounds one of which was a skull that still had hair on it and was adorned with copper pipe beads. After the lecture the kids got busy banging out copper wiring to make it flat. The anvils they used were made from old railroad track off the Saginaw line.

Once the entire piece was flat enough, they clipped it into three fairly equal pieces, then it was put in the smelter, doused in water, and twisted into a tubular shaped.

Lastly a piece of cord was added and voila, a modern version of the Native American pipe bead, made into a bracelet.

After a great explanation about the importance of wetlands and their intricate function in our ecosystem the kids all got their own net for some pond dipping. Many tiny creatures were discovered as well as several frogs. However our identification time was cut short because we had to high-tail it back to catch the bus.

All this camp stuff makes for one tired boy!

I wasn't able to go the last day because I had the first meeting of Choice Time Choir in the upper elementary. Twenty students signed up and they are a fine bunch, several of the girls from last year returned and I have one brave boy included. First we did a quick warm up, then a "Sing Together" round, and I introduced a piece from the Star of Wonder musical called "Look Up" which they picked up very quickly. Ethan's last day at camp was filled with fun, including the Herd Game, the Bean Game, Square Dancing and making ice cream! He also had his first guitar lesson yesterday with Mr. T so it has been a very full week for my blessed and victorious 9-year old.

Wednesday night was the Kick-Off party for the Star of Wonder program at church. After opening prayer and reading of Psalm 1 & 92 I read them a story from when I was a little girl called "The Shiniest Star." It's about three little angels who shine the stars and the littlest one thinks her star isn't bright enough or good enough but hers is the one that leads the Kings to baby Jesus. It's a precious tale and I explained to the kids that everything we do matters no matter how small, even when we don't think it does. I wanted them to understand that everyone working on the program is important whether they have a speaking part, a song solo or sing with the group. During the story they were all quiet and listening intently and I hope that translates that they all 'got it'. Next I played the entire program CD for the kids and talked about what will happen during and between the songs; they were really digging the music and dancing along. Last we snacked and had some beverage while I answered some of their questions. Next week we'll dive into practicing. Glory!