The Birthday Wish

I can't believe you're 18. Where did the time go? In the beginning there was just you and me, hiding behind a wish that became our little secret. I have said it before, you saved me. It was the moment I knew that my life was significant to something bigger than myself that I decided to sit up and take notice. But still, you were the practice child. The one I had to learn everything with for the first time, which is essentially a nice way of saying you're the one who graciously endured my mistakes. It wasn't easy trying to be both parents to you as it never should have been - and I always hurt for what was lacking - but this year for your birthday the best gift I can give you is the freedom of peace and joy and a quiet, loving atmosphere. I pray that you use it well. Surround yourself with people who treat you with love and respect and dignity. Forgive those who might belittle you, or raise a hand to you for your own sake - but don't allow them into that inner circle, or give them the intimacies of your heart. I hope if you've seen any bad examples from me, that you choose to learn from them and do the opposite. I know from experience that sometimes the worst examples are the best way of knowing what not to do.
While you keep that inner circle guarded, don't forget to open your heart to love when the time is right. Remember that people are imperfect, each with their own inadequacies. Please don't be afraid to risk your heart for a person who is deserving. Don't be afraid that every man will be the one you have known. If you panic or hide or run from love, you will miss out on the best moments life has to offer.
Never settle for mediocrity, in any area of your life. Henry David Thoreau said "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams; live the life you have imagined." I can't think of better advice on your 18th birthday than that. Don't allow your life to be derailed by someone who puts those dreams down, or refuses to be a companion on that path, be it friend or lover. Take responsibility for your own life, because it is yours alone.
Thank you for moving back to West Virginia with me. I know it meant sacrifices on your part, and I will never forget them. You are an amazing young woman, and I am so blessed to be your mom. You have always given me courage to try to be better than I am, because you deserved the best mom I could give you. Always remember that I love you. Happy Birthday baby.

Things I Will Miss About Texas

I know that not all of my lurkers came out of the closet yesterday, but that's alright. You are still welcome here. I am going to try to get my blogging juices stimulated by some of your questions, the first of which being what I will miss about Texas.
This is a little bit of a difficult thing - one that cramped my heart with fear when we first decided to move to Texas. I would wake up with a cold chill of panic about just this thing. I may have to miss my daughter. Kendra has said that she may stay here in this area and go to college. I know that doesn't sound too horrible, but if she is unable to leave here now, I can't imagine that time and more roots and deeper friendships established that she will ever want to leave. I can't think about it too much just yet. There is a timing factor involved with the start of college and her 18th birthday and her getting her drivers' license - but I am trying to come to terms with the fact that she has a life to live and it is my job at this time to transition myself out of her way. But she by far would be the thing I would miss most desperately.
I would miss that spring starts in mid-February, right when you mentally think you cannot take one more day of winter. Wildflowers start to bloom, and the air gets full of that energy of new life bursting forth in all the trees and fields. There are some really nice trails to walk this time of year and I will miss them as well - especially the Sundew Trail which is where we most often traverse.
There are a few ladies that I have started to get to know better as well, now that we've decided to move, and my friend Melody who has been my companion in homesickness. It is difficult to share our lives together though because we live about 40 minutes away from them. We will always have the internet, email and Facebook. It will also be nice to know that they are nearby in case Kendra should need them if she has any trouble.
I will absolutely miss my house. I just love this 100 year old beauty and all of the charm. It really suits me. But without friends to fill the rooms, it is still lacking in spite of being my dream house.
I am sure there are other things I will miss, but these are the ones that stand out the most. Texas is not a bad place - and if I've given that impression at all in my blogging, please know that there is beauty to be found here and good people. West Virginia is my home, and nothing can compete with her place in my heart.

Kendra's Complete Happy About Texas List

Here is Kendra's list of things to be happy about in Texas:

1. Southern comfort food
2. wide open sky
3. Memaw
4. The school down the road
5. My house
6. My front porch
7. The independence I've learned from living here
8. The closeness to my family that's developed since living here
9. The Sundew Trail
10. Kyle (our neighbor)- his sheer adorableness and love of all things edible
11. Katelyn - her laughable cruelty to anything with an XY chromosome
12. Cayla - her sweetness and her fun personality
13. Daniel - what an amazing, intelligent person he is
14. Merris - her cuteness, her sweetness and her style
15. Chelsea - how easygoing, friendly and fun she is!
16. Sarah - how easily she gets scared (in a cute way!)
17. Brock - his teddy-bear-ness and what a fun and great guy he is
18. Trent - his sense of humor
19. Nathan - his amazing oddness
20. Elishah - her passion for life and her optimism
21. Ellie - how motherly, caring and sweet she is
22. How neighborly (most) people are
23. Michael.... I guess... his antics and craziness!
24. Josh - his hysterical pessimism and how great he plays The Joker
25. .... A certain someone - basically everything about him.

Okay so she has a stronger connection to some of these people than I realized. This has helped me. BTW - when we went to see the Dark Knight the other night, two of her friends who are brothers had their sisters paint their faces like The Joker! It was hysterical.
And the school down the road she mentions is on our block and she likes to take walks there - when school is not in session obviously.

Par-tay

Kendra and her friend Katelyn had a joint party last night for their birthdays which were both over two months ago. The end of the school year, plays and rehearsal schedules, etc. all kept them from having it until now. They wanted to plan it themselves and paid for most everything. The party was hosted at Katelyn's house. She turned 18 on her last birthday and leaves for college in August. Kendra turned 17 in April. She is leaving for Italy in 2010 - except she's taking me with her!
They had gourmet pizzas, virgin pina coladas, and a lovely salad among other tasty things. One of the things that was most surprising about this party was that it was all girls. I don't remember ever hearing of girls this age not wanting boys at their party. They had great food, everybody dressed up in new sundresses, did their hair and make-up - for each other. How cool is that? I hope they always enjoy the company of girlfriends like this!
In this group picture, the birthday girls are in the front wearing tiaras!

If You Want a Giggle

You can read about my daughter's fingernail saga! It is hysterical.
She is a sucker for second chances, and I just love her heart.
She is a chronic nail-biter and after cracking several of the fake nails within 24 hours of spending $20 of her hard earned money on them, her friend Ellie, who is a hairdresser shoved her hands in bowls of acetone and made her soak them off. Lesson learned? I hope.

One of the Best Things

One of the best things about the way my kids have grown up is how close they are to each other. If they had left the house every day and led their own lives, being oriented to the peers who had the same reading or math abilities, they may have missed out on one of the best gifts in life - their siblings. Our move to Texas has played an even bigger part in this process, as during that first year they only had each other - the three of them. The girls share a special closeness as sisters that I only ever tasted briefly in the confidences of sisters whom I did not live with, but loved all the same. Here is a little glimpse at their closeness:

Kendra has had a job for about 5 months now at a little restaurant in a town not too far away. She wanted a job as soon as we moved, but since she was only 15 we tried our best to slow her down. It wasn't very hard as there are few jobs available for teenagers in our area that aren't in the fast food industry. She started working shortly before she turned 17. A couple of days ago she came home from work with an application for her sister. Kaitlyn is 14 - turning 15 in a few weeks. My first instinct was to discourage it, but then I realized, she always gets to do things sooner than Kendra because her sister has paved the way. They could work together and Kendra could look out for her. (Although if you know them, you know that it is probably the other way around!) The thing is, Kendra said she was so excited when the manager said he would hire her sister that her co-workers were perplexed, saying things like, "I'd kill my sister if she worked with me." to which Kendra replied, "My sister is my best friend."

Now if that doesn't just give a mama's heart warm fuzzies all over! The best part is that I know it's true. Kullen on the other hand was not too thrilled. In fact devastated might be a better way to describe his reaction. He hates his oldest sister being gone all the time, and now the possibility of the other one being gone more often was a bit more than he could handle. I won't say there were tears involved, but let's say that something on somebody's face was leaking.
We'll all have some serious growing pains over the next several years as they start making their way in the world a little more separated from one another than they are used to, but I think we'll come out on the other end, still extremely close at heart.

As a little disclaimer, the picture here is over a year old. They're both going to hate it!

Make Plans Without Me

Just in case you're wondering if I can say - come to your wedding, attend a birthday party, bring a dish to a potluck sometime in April-May-ish 2010 - just wanted you to know that I'm going to be busy.

Once a Mommy.... Always a Mommy

I have a little confession to make - I have rarely seen my 17 year old daughter sleep. Kendra was a high-strung baby. I say this with much kindness as she likely inherited the trait from me. She hardly ever slept. My parents have few memories of my childhood, but they both agreed that I would lay in bed even as a very small child and recite every nursery rhyme, sing every song I knew, etc. to keep from going to sleep. I hated the thought of missing anything.
Kendra has not ever had the "in bed by 8" routine. Perhaps it was Kendra who trained us to let her sleep when she was tired instead of an arbitrary bedtime. When she was a baby, her daddy worked nights, so she and I would wait until he got home from work around midnight before we went to bed.
Last night we were all up very late, but she had to go to work this morning. She came home a little while ago and was laying on the floor in her bedroom listening to Frank Sinatra on her MP3 player because she was too tired to remove the clothes and paper and books off of the bed. I cleared it off and suggested she lay down. To my surprise she did just that, and she has been sound asleep for almost an hour now. I keep finding myself tip-toeing down the hallway to peek in on her, just like she was a baby. I am so not used to her being asleep when I'm awake. We never do things quite the orthodox way - Kendra and I - but we seem to figure it out along the way together. Sweet dreams baby girl.

I Love My Ecclectic Family

I have been hard at work learning how to make PDF forms interactive. My brain is smoking. But from my seat at my desk I can hear all sorts of interesting things going on in my house. A couple of hours ago, Kullen was loading the Mavis Beacon typing program onto the computer so he could learn how to type efficiently and was giving household reports at each new level he accomplished. My oldest daughter has been in and out of here asking for the address book, stamps, telling me about how she wrote letters to her friends and filled them with glitter (shhh!). It seems she has gone on now to getting her transcript ready for her the community college application, where she hopes to take sociology and maybe some other classes in the fall. The sounds of Michael Buble are blaring down the hallway - and I am rather enjoying it. "The best is yet to come...." pretty uplifting. I heard some beating and banging and called out to ask Kullen what was going on. He came in my room and said, "Just making holes in my wall cause it's fun" and put on the best schmoozy grin he could when my head spun in his direction in a manner that would make Linda Blair proud! There have been deliveries of toast with jam and chai tea to help me keep up my stamina for all the heavy duty work. The cat ate the rest of my dinner because we left her unattended in the kitchen, and Kaitlyn offered hers to me (I declined!). Kaitlyn is cleaning out her trunk and closet, and has donned her brother's arms with her rainbow leg-warmers. He is hanging out with her while she works for now - evidently needing a break from all the banging. Travis has retired to his back room for some gaming. I know that sometimes I am so overwhelmed - but I love these people. They make my life so full, so happy, so real.

Our Unschooling Family

I do not post much about "unschooling" per se, and yet all of my posts are about unschooling, because unschooling is life. Living life every day and learning all along the way. But once in a while, to keep account of all the fascinating things the kids are learning and doing, as well as to show you what this looks like as we live it out, I feel the urge to share.
This morning the entire family worked together to remove every single thing we own from our kitchen. We have a slight, shall we say, infestation. After months of trying every natural remedy we could find, we decided to tent the sucker off and go for the big guns. This meant that I cooked dinner on the floor in the corner of the living room and avoided my toxin-saturated kitchen. My kids said I looked like a little Indian woman, whatever that means. It appears that the enemy is waving the white flag of surrender, and we hope to move back into the kitchen shortly.
Kendra spent a good part of the day torturing herself over an algebra problem. She is also studying for a Biology final that she has to take on Monday, her last official day of co-op. She has been looking into taking the SAT. The other day she said she wanted to be ready "if" she decided to go to college. (Thanks Stephanie - you were a big part of that IF.)
Kaitlyn has been painting like a crazy woman. No longer having art classes, she seems liberated to paint what she wants. She has been painting a whimsical castle scene that has some reflective water in the foreground. I've been admiring it all day. She has also immersed herself in the study of the zodiac - which has led her unwittingly to learning some math involving degrees of the planets, etc. (Please save the witchcraft comments - we believe the zodiac was set in the stars by our awesome, imaginative, Creator God.)
Kullen has been drawing a lot lately. He took out a couple of art books and did some apple and shadow drawings, worked some on faces, etc. He has also rediscovered the joy of his PSP. Tonight he sat beside me on the porch swing with his hand on my knee and said, "Cool!" and followed it with instructions on straightening and bending my knee this way and that while he felt the joint. He was pretty amazed by that. As Charlotte Mason says, a mother is a child's best plaything.
We are deprogramming Travis who asked me last Saturday on the way to his mother's house if there would be a "slew of people at this shindig". While he swears he was only teasing, we have heard his vernacular deteriorate the longer we are here. Earlier today he informed us that we were watching a television station from "Loo-see-anna". We have all joined the intervention - this is serious business.
Anyway, that is what is going on in our home today. I hope that you are all enjoying living and learning in your neck of the woods.

A Day with My Girl

So Kendra drug me to the mall today. She's had birthday money burning a hole in her pocket, and a mother so reluctant to endure a day of shopping. I am not sure why in the midst of feeling so not myself that I decided to make a day of it with her - but out we went.
Our conversations in the car were interesting. She was telling me how she has really no desire to have a boyfriend but doesn't mind the idea of dating. It is really hard to let her grow up. Somehow we got on a conversation about men's idea of what a woman should look like, and how hard it is for a woman to measure up. It was a little tense at one point when we disagreed about my opinion of women wearing make-up because of men. She says we do it to feel pretty. I suggested that is because it is what our culture tells us that pretty is, and she disagreed. Eventually we agreed to disagree. It's okay. I'm alright with allowing her to be wrong.
We went to lunch at a great new Mexican place that a friend had recommended. The lunch prices were very inexpensive. Kendra had a chimichanga, and I had a beef burrito and a chicken enchilada. Terrific. After lunch, we shared a dessert. We decided to branch out and try something new - so we got Flan. It was pretty good - but neither of us were CRAZY about it. The best part was hanging out together, and eating and talking.
The shopping wore me out. Stepping into the mall is like sensory overload. The smells, sounds, the people. It is an artificial environment. I had to make myself remember that the day was about enjoying my girl - and that I did in spite of any post-traumatic stress disorder that may linger afterwards. I even went into Merle Norman with her! I didn't stay long - I had to make an emergency exit. Imagine that.

Quiet - Please!

Have I ever mentioned that I have trouble with quiet? Those who know me IRL certainly might surmise that at the sheer amount of words that can emit from my mouth when I am in good company. Can I help that I love good conversation?
But serioiusly - silence - that complete silence where all you can hear is your own breath and maybe your heart beat - freaks.me.out!
I am sitting ont he front porch right now and if there weren't birds twittering in the trees, kitty cats crunching on their food or the gentle clanking sound of my wooden windchimes, I might freak out.
I have a theory. After my parents divorce, I stayed at home alone a LOT. I was only about 10 by the time my brother went to live with our dad. I don't think I ever told anybody how scared I was to be left alone. My mom would get angry at me if I made her feel guilty for going out at night to the clubs she frequented, so I never told her that I was terrified. One thing that helped me feel better was to have either the TV or the radio on at all times.
Eventually I got older and stopped being scared, but I never got over being freaked out by the silence. Even today it is an issue. I can't stand the quiet.
And there is one thing a writer needs great amounts of, which would be my greatest tool and that is uninterrupted silence. Now that I really really want it, I can't seem to get it.
I have passed this on to my children who all seem to have to have something audible going on at all times. Today we were hiking some of the trails, me thinking that being connected with nature would help me reconnect a little with real life and help the writing process. We are walking along, having nice gentle conversation, hearing leaves rustle, looking at cobwebs, when all of a sudden some sort of gangsta music starts to play - it's Kendra with music blaring from her cell phone.
At least until I shot her the evil eye.
She said it helps her enjoy nature more - I beg to differ.

Kaleidoscope

A few things.
Went to the doctor yesterday - she said I have come to Texas to die.
Well she didn't say exactly that - but evidently although I have not really had seasonal allergies before - viola! I do now. it is settling in my throat, my nose, and now my chest.
The only sound emanating from my lips this morning is a squeak-like sound that can't actually be considered words.
When I tried to say Good Morning Kendra what came out was "ooh uh eeh uh". Fortunately she knows "squeak speak".
In further medical news, the UTI appears to be over. (I know you were all wondering.)

Although some may have country music aversions, that I myself am prone to from time to time, I have to share the link to this video of Trace Adkin's new song "You're Gonna Miss This" that my friend Carol sent to my daughter Kendra. Even though none of my family really knows my kids, we do have "family" that loves them and knows them so well even if we aren't related by blood. Carol knows that Kendra has been ready to grow up since she was born. Each year on her birthday she tells us how old she is going to be next year. This video was perfect - it was a great message for a little girl who grew up too fast. (She isn't grown yet.)

I used to really loathe television. I hated the idea that I had to be in my living room, on the couch at a certain time and day to watch the shows I liked. I have been so happy to find that the major networks are hosting their most popular shows online. (although the most recent episodes of LOST have not appeared!!) I have begun watching Desperate Housewives, and am ready for their new season, as well as Brothers & Sisters. The best part is that I can watch them when I want. Woo hoo. That's my kind of TV.

I am working steadily on my script although right now I don't like where it has gone and I am not exactly sure where to go from here. I know that sounds weird - but perhaps if you have written a story you know how it can take on a life of its own, and go places you never really dreamed. Strange. Never a dull moment.

A Post Full of Pictures from Kendra's 17th Birthday

Yesterday was pretty fun -
The newly-turned-17 year old girl was meeting up with a few friends for an impromptu "eventhoughwe'rehavingapartyinafewweeks" let's do something fun on your actual birthday.
Here she is in all her 17 year old glory:
First we went to a really cool new coffeehouse called, "The Barking Dog". The guy that opened it used to be a youth leader - and they want to have a lot of live music, etc. It is really retro-style - with huge pictures of New York city, a faux fireplace and a bunch of books, among which Kendra found her favorite, "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller. It was that moment that I knew she was in love. Here are a few pictures:

Dylan, Trent and Jonathan
Callie, Kaitlyn and Kendra
(I have no idea why she decided to do that thing with her hand - I think a birthday high!)
The Guys - Trent, Daniel, Jonathan, Dylan and Kullen

After we got all caffeined up, we went to see "Run Fat Boy, Run!" at the movies. It was pretty hysterical. My kids always have unique tastes, and after watching a ton of trailers and reading reviews, she decided on this Indie film that premiered at the Sundance Film festival. It was a risk, and I hoped it would be good. I worried for her sake that her friends wouldn't like it - but surprisingly they all did. Highly recommended.
After the movie, we were invited to Kendra's friend, Daniel's house to hang out. By hang out I mean that his mom prepared tons of delicious food, complete with Turtle Cheesecake and 17 candles, and a Happy Birthday banner hung in the window. It was so much like having some of my WV friends around, loving my kids. We taught the gathering all of the party games we could think of - almost - and then they taught us a game called "Silent Football" which sounded at the onset like sports torture, but ended up being really fun. The object of the game is to try and make the other players laugh while keeping yourself from it. The girls and I didn't fare so well. Kaitlyn ended up with this "cruel and unusual punishment" (photo at left - please note the clenched teeth). We assure you - no BVDs were harmed in the playing of this game or the taking of this photo!
In other news, this lovely boy to the right has secured my utmost confidence in his ability to handle himself at the gas pump! His mama may never have to pump gas again! What a great day for a mother! I just sat in the car
(thankfully so because I am still suffering the symptoms of a vicious urinary tract infection) while he filled 'er up!
We didn't get home until 2 am - it was almost as long as the day I was in labor with Kendra. I guess she's worth it. We all had a blast.

Happy Birthday Kendra

My baby turns 17 today. I can't believe it is only one more year until she will be an adult. I already wrote a lot about my feelings of her growing up here in anticipation of her birthday. It is so hard to even get any words out.
A few random facts about this lovely young woman:

• she referred to herself in third person consistently until she was 3 years old, saying things such as Kendra can't want ketchup
• she can blow her nose like a sounding trumpet, causing the whole family to wince and often yell in unison, "Kendra!"
  
• she has unique self-taught study habits - reading her entire biology chapter out loud in the middle of the night - she says it helps her commit it to memory
  
• she loves Moulin Rouge and Phantom of the Opera - the movies and soundtracks, which she makes us listen to ad nauseum ....the Phantom of the Opera is there...inside my mind......
  
• she is a bookworm - and from the time she was 11 until she discovered boys a few years later (or should I say one boy in particular) we forgot she had a lower half of her face, as all we could see were her eyes over the top of her book
• when she eats ice cream, she still wears it on her upper lip like a mustache, and never knows that it's there until you point it out
• when she was 2 and I was expecting her sister, her father who was supervising her in the building while I was having an OB appointment let her slip away from him and she rode down a glass elevator alone - waving and smiling at him as she went
• she exited the womb speaking in complete sentences
  
• I do not think she has ever slept one night of her life in a room alone
• she loves most vegetables and was known when she was small to have a melt-down in the produce section at the grocery store - but she loathes broccoli
• she bites her fingernails, and when she was younger, her toenails as well
  
• she has one of the best senses of humor, and is even able to laugh at herself

I love you Kendra. I am so lucky to get to be your mom!
I will be updating this throughout the day as her dad and siblings share their random thoughts. If you know Kendra - please comment with your own random facts, and I will add them here to this post!

In Our Little Corner of the World

I just wanted to check in - since I have hardly had time to blog in the last couple of days. I have made trips in and out of the city a couple of times a day for Kaitlyn's doctor's appointments and running kids to various activities.
Kaitlyn's toe seems to be healing up quite nicely. The procedure was fairly routine, but she was a bit anxious about it. As she has a tendency to pass out, I was concerned. It seems to be healing well and with antibiotics and a lot of foot soaking, we're on our way to recovery, at least for her toe.
Her jaw seems to have alleviated quite a bit with some exercises given by the husband of an online friend, but her mouth still opens crooked - meaning one side opens more than the other. The doctor is convinced that she has TMJ, so we are going to consult with a dentist about some non-surgical and drug-free treatments.
My husband, the junk collector scored a go-cart in a trade made with a neighbor boy yesterday, so I suspect he and Kullen will be working on that most of the weekend. Kullen is very excited.
Kendra is working and trying to recover from spring break! She has filled her week with lots of activities.
I am gearing up for the Script Frenzy. I am preparing mentally to make space each day to write. I am thinking about things. I have never worked well with a format or outline from which to write. It either just flows or it doesn't. I is a bit daunting to think of forcing it to flow within the confines of one month, but I really need the motivation.
Last night we went and played cards at a friend's house and that was absolutely awesome. There are some terrific women and kids there and it is really fun getting to know them all better.
That's a wrap for now - profound thoughts are elusive. They're there but I can't seem to capture them.

My Little Girl

I don't know where she went. It seems she was born grown up. This morning I was in tears realizing how much of her life has whizzed by and in just a couple of short weeks she'll be 17. Kendra is one of those people that is like a sparkling star. She was only 2 when her sister was born, cutting short her babyhood. We were watching a video last night of her baptism. She was 6 years old. The pastor had to get a metal folding chair into the baptismal for her to stand on so she could even be seen. This is what he said of the little girl who stood beside him smiling from ear to ear, with unkempt hair and crooked teeth:

Have you ever heard someone pray, and it was as if they knew Jesus was standing right there? Let me tell you something, you haven't heard anything until you've heard Kendra pray. It is as if she knows He is right beside her. And not only is he beside her, a few weeks ago, He came to dwell in her.

It made me cry then and it makes me cry now. Her heart was always so tuned in to the Lord even when she was small. She went through a pretty difficult year when she was 13 and I never feared, for I knew she had loved Him so much that He would be able to do the work necessary to bring her back.
She never really was a baby. She came out of the womb speaking in full sentences. Aside from the baptism, the video was full of family moments. She often got pushed, unintentionally to the side, being the most independent of our children. She has strengths and weaknesses, gifts and challenges, she is feisty and loving. She is ready to bolt like a race horse out of the gates into adult life, and I will be lost. I didn't know I was worth anything until I became her mother. She has changed my life completely and forever. I saw the love of God in her eyes the first moment I held her. My shining star is about to take off and leave me in darkness. A mother's heart grows faint to think of it. I am going to go and have lunch with her during her break at the restaurant where she works. I have decided to grab every minute I can with one of the best people I have ever known as often as I can.

I Miss Me

I have said that over the past week to two different friends. Sometimes busy-ness is overwhelming. This kind of busy-ness was good, but I am definitely glad that for the most part it is over. (Until the next time.) After such a lonely year last year it is very nice to be active again in things that we really enjoy. Typically two things like ballroom dancing and a performance would not be happening simultaneously.
Pride and Prejudice was fantastic. It went off without a hitch. I got to have more than a front row seat as I was able to sit directly in front of the stage to feed lines if necessary - which it really wasn't. The kids all turned on - and as is typically the case in theater, all the rough spots were suddenly smoothed as the threat of public humiliation in front of an audience was greater than any fear over dropped lines, missed cues, or awkward movements. I went back to my husband during intermission and he generally is a tough critic. He was SO impressed! At the end the kids were well rewarded by an appreciative audience on their feet with a long applause. Anyone who missed it truly missed a great show.
I have taken tons of pictures - but most of mine came out a bit dark. Even lightening them with Photoshop didn't prove to be much help. I couldn't get my flash to hit them well on the stage. My favorite characters are at top left. The picture to the right is of Kendra and her friend Trent - who played Jane and Mr. Bingley respectively. Trent was struggling throughout the play to portray how "taken" he was with Jane's character. At the end of the show, they posed for this picture for me, which shows how much fun they had. I love it! At the bottom, the Bennet family - to them I say Adieu! It was fun being a part of your lives and now I'm glad it's over!

Progress

I have almost finished Kaitlyn's dress. Here is a picture. It still needs the bottom layer hemmed and a sash around the front waist that ties in a bow in the back - but it is starting to look like a dress. She tried it on and it is breathtaking on her. The overlay has small lavender flowers and green leaves. It is really delicate and pretty. Even Travis was pretty impressed and said it looked "store bought". For a novice seamstress this is quite an accomplishment. Now I have to get started on Kendra's.

I have been fighting off a migraine since yesterday evening. Even the light and sound are bothering me. I have taken as much ibuprofen as I can take without pickling my liver, and as soon as it wears off the pain in my head starts to rage again. I hate having a headache!

Ballroom Dancing - Take 1

This week started a session of ballroom dancing lessons being offered by the grandparents of one of the graduating seniors at co-op. What would normally be about $300 per couple is a HUGE gift, as the price is FREE. The instructors are in their 80s and started out at a Fred Astaire school in the 40s. It was pretty awesome. The girls were both blessed to be asked to partner with two of the nicest boys who just so happen to be brothers. Here is a little rough video peek into the first session. Kaitlyn is wearing the white dress over black leggings and is seen with her partner, David mostly in the foreground. Kendra is wearing jeans and has her hair up. She and her partner, Daniel wearing black are seen only in the background. The boys parents are seen weaving in and out and helping both couples. It was neat, and after being so nervous I thought she was going to hurl, Kaitlyn decided she liked it and can't wait to go back on Friday.