July Update

Poor, neglected blog.

Where do I begin to try to catch it up?

I think we'll go with bullet points! (A vain attempt, probably, at brevity.)

--Big news:  My father-in-law bought a house near us!! He hasn't put his old house--a townhome in IL--on the market yet, but he closed on the new house and he's been moving in stages. I've made several trips there to help him pack--but it's been hard to get much time there when you have to factor in 3 hours of roundtrip travel time. (This is why we needed him closer!!) Movers moved his heaviest furniture and books already, but we need to get his remaining belongings packed up and ready for a final rental truck--hopefully later this week!

--It's been especially hard because our schedule has been more full than it usually is in the summer. I started a ladies' Bible study on Friday mornings, which has been good! We've had great discussions about really tough questions, and I was especially encouraged by a woman who randomly asked if she could join us, although she knew none of us and had just met the woman who told her about it. She and her husband came to church the next Sunday, and already signed up for our upcoming new member's class! It seemed to confirm that it really was the Lord who put it into my heart to have the Bible study, even though not everyone I hoped would come has been able to attend, and even though I hesitated to make a regular commitment to it, especially in the summer.

--God also nudged me to start a Thursday Bible study for the kids in our church ages 10-12 (Chicklet and B10's age group). We've had a blast doing "sword drills" (a race to locate verses in our Bibles) and studying passages about prayer, encouraging the kids that their prayers make a difference and wrestling with the question of why we should pray if God already knows what He's going to do! Afterwards, moms and siblings join us and we've visited a museum, ridden the trolley and eaten at "Trolley Dogs," and been to the beach. Again, although it's been a commitment, I've felt God smiling on us all!

At the Kenosha Public Museum

Swimming in Lake Michigan!

--I also committed to a week as a camp mom at a theater camp for 11th-12th graders. B16 attended as a camper and was socially and spiritually encouraged in many ways. Last year, for this same week, he was not in a good place. Through a testimony that was shared, God opened his eyes to recognize how he was sending "leave me alone" signals to others, which contributed to his feelings of loneliness and depression. He was able to turn things around for the rest of the week last year, and it was a significant turning point for him. This year, he had such a different experience. He was able to be outgoing and social, having fun and working hard on his dances and songs, including a solo, a duet and a scene as Henry from the musical Next to Normal. He also auditioned for the talent show, which he refused to do last year, and he ended up getting awarded FIRST PLACE for his original jazz improvisation on the piano!

Photo credit: my friend Lori

--I was glad the camp was as much fun as it was--(I really had a blast, although the last time I was that sleep-deprived was when I had a newborn, and I've never taken more naps in random public places)--because I had to miss tech week with my Shakespeare friends during the week of camp. Camp was the reason I couldn't audition for the show as I'd hoped to...and the reason I ended up as assistant director of Macbeth instead! Then I got the chance to understudy and perform twice in a very cool role:  Banquo, who in our version is a woman-warrior, Macbeth's best soldier friend. Macbeth is threatened by Banquo because of the prophecy that her children will be kings, instead of Macbeth's, so he has her waylaid and murdered. Not only did I have to learn her lines and blocking, I had to learn two stage battles, fighting with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other! One is the opening battle between two armies, and the other is Banquo fighting off the hired murderers--ending with Banquo getting her throat slit. (But not before she gets out all her final lines, "O treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! Thou mayst revenge! O slave!" That was fun to yell--with a rubber dagger poised above my throat.)

--I was only going to play the role for our two daytime outdoor shows, with no costumes or makeup. But then our regular Banquo got sick, and I ended up going on 3 times in one weekend at the theater--with full makeup (including splashes of stage blood) and in costume, which included a tiny black leather vest I found in the kids' dress-up bin. With a rust-colored tank top underneath, black skinny jeans, combat boots, and my hair in a Katniss braid, how could I not get into character?? And did I mention that Banquo appears two more times after her death, as a ghost that only Macbeth can see? What a great role! And the rich language has just been washing over me all summer...even other people's lines...such a delight!

--Somewhere in the earlier part of the summer I managed to also finally paint my kitchen/dining area. I had to wait to have someone else make repairs to the ceiling, but once that was done, I had no excuse not to settle on a color and begin. I taught myself how to cut in and frame, which was a skill worth learning, and I'm so pleased with the result! Next I really want to strip wallpaper and paint the foyer and staircase. We've been picking away at it, so it can't wait too long.

--The week before camp, we had 5 golden days with my Professor Brother and his family, who drove from southern Kansas to see us in our new house! We had fun "doing downtown"--the trolley, Mike's Chicken and Donuts, Mike Bjorn's, Simmons Library, the beach, Wine Knot, the Kemper Center, the Anderson Arts Center, the Southport Beach House and other stops! (Some of these locations were chosen for senior pictures for my oldest niece!) My 3 nieces get along so well with my younger three kids; it was wonderful to give them that time. The four of us adults thoroughly enjoyed our time together too. Looking forward to seeing them again in August, along with my parents, my Pilot Brother, and his family!

Photo credit:  Professor Brother

Chicklet12 with her doppelganger, Niece13!

Such a strong family resemblance!

And check out these two! They both got the same deep-set eyes that my dad and grandma passed on to me.

--How could I forget? We also attended the Improvapalooza, which was an all-day improv competition between 9 teams of improv'ers from IL and WI. This was B16's third year doing improv, and last year his team finished in the lower third. So what a shock it was when they made it into the final round and WON the whole competition! They had a new coach this year, a dad with a passion for improv and for these kids, and he did an incredible job coaching them not just to be funny, but to work as a team, and to establish the foundation (called CROW--character, relationship, objective, where). Their team was called "Agents of CROW."

The Agents of CROW accept their trophy, the coveted lamp! Their coach is one whose face is mostly hidden, to the right of B16

--We are super-thrilled that this same dad and his family have joined Light of Christ and he immediately felt called to offer to lead our youth group! Unbeknownst to him, several of us had been praying for a youth group leader...and praying specifically that this dad might be interested...but we weren't going to press him too soon. It was such a confirmation when he immediately expressed interest. He's already stimulated new growth and excitement in our teens!

And...I'll quit. That was two months' worth of news! I sure hope another two months doesn't fly by the way those did.