Grandma Rooster, Dr. Seuss and More

While we've been recovering from The Sound of Music, more dramas have loomed on the horizon!

As I mentioned before, auditions for Charlotte's Web are this Friday, so Chicklet9 has been practicing.  She's singing "I'd Do Anything" from Oliver, and the truth is, as a veteran of just 3 shows, she can now memorize lyrics and choreograph movements all by herself.  I just need to remind her to do it every night, so she's got it down cold--the best way to shoot down the nerves.

After her audition, our family is going to see a friend star in a musical called Light in the Piazza. That, plus the drama of waiting hopefully for a callback and then for the cast list for Charlotte's Web, will be plenty of drama for one weekend.

Last week, besides playing general catch-up, I prepared for a new session of theater classes.  I am teaching an advanced drama class, two hours a week, which will conclude in the performance of a one-act comedy called "The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet."  It's the Shakespearean story told as Dr. Seuss would tell it:

Romeo:  
There's an optometrist whose name is Cupid,
He's opened my eyes, and made me less stupid.
I met a new girl, she's the best of the best.
She passed the Romeo "hot mama" test.

Lady Capitulate (to Juliet):
Yes!  It's I.  I'm your own dearest Mother.
I've been called the same by your sisters and brother.
I meant to say just what I said when I meant
That I am your Mother, One-hundred percent.

Last night, 17 teenagers, including B13, auditioned for roles in the play, performing highly entertaining monologues for myself and my aide for the class.  Then we had them read for various parts, and even the cold readings were hysterical.  So many of the kids could do almost any role; it made casting easy--and tough to decide.  The aide and I are pumped.  This is going to be such a fun project!

Further off, we have the drama of Holy Week coming up.  I am once again "casting" and "directing" most of the dramatized Scripture readings at the Easter Vigil, and also the Passion Reading for Palm Sunday.  Somehow this is more stressful than the drama class, because the casting never gets settled all in one night, and I don't get ten weeks to work with my readers for two hours a week!  I'm also arranging many of the readings.  Still much work to be done, on that front, and Palm Sunday only...2.5 weeks away.  Yikes!

Finally, the real-life drama:  My mother-in-law found out last Friday that she had a mass in her brain.  This was actually not as scary as one might expect, because she's had one brain surgery already, 23 years ago, when a congenitally malformed vessel ruptured, and this mass was in the same place. There is hope that this is residual tissue that may have been missed in the crisis at that time, and it would explain the seizures and other symptoms she's been experiencing in the last few years.

It's been hard to watch my strong, vibrant, outgoing mother-in-law declining to the point where she can barely walk down the aisle to receive communion in church.  They visit us frequently at Light of Christ, where both their sons and their families are on Sundays, even though it's a 1.5 hour drive for my father-in-law.  They came to spent the night on Saturday, so we could have dinner together, and then on Sunday afternoon, we all gathered to pray for Grandma, and Grandpa too. They are strong in the Lord, and in faith that He works all things together for good for them who love Him. It was sweet family time.

Her surgery was yesterday, and she came through it well.  Last report I heard, she was still sedated.  They believe they got all of the tissue, but we haven't heard the pathology report yet.  ...So the drama continues until we hear that news!

Stay-cation!

So we've had my niece here, from Kansas, for 10 days.  She's almost 13 and so mature and smart for her age!  We are really enjoying her visit.

And she's been the inspiration for an impromptu "stay-cation"!  Since she's been here, we've been to the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Bristol Renaissance Faire, and gone into Chicago for Peter Pan 360. We've been letting the discounts set our agenda; it was free day at the art museum last Thursday, kids were free for the opening weekend of RenFaire, and Peter Pan was offering a 20% discount (code WENDY on all evening performances before July 24).  Only six more weeks and the show moves on to another city!  It was really good, if you're in the area--a joy for kids and adults alike.  It's the straight play, not the musical, and it has an iMax theater kind of feel because they project the "backdrop" onto the round ceiling and during flying scenes it changes so you feel like you are flying too.  The crocodile was really cool, and the pirates were a lot of fun.

We've also had a church picnic, a stop by the Jelly Belly factory gift shop, a visit with friends who have chickens and a new puppy, two trips to the beach...and swimming lessons every day.  But Cuz has been a good sport about that--she comes along and reads, or one time she stayed home and watched Phantom of the Opera, which we own and she was eager to see again.  We've also introduced her to another Andrew Lloyd Weber show, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which C8, B6 and I are rehearsing for currently.  We've been listening to the soundtrack in my car, because I'm still trying to learn all the harmonies in the second soprano line.  It turns out my niece has perfect pitch, so she's been a great help!  Blondechick and I are jealous, though. :)

Blondechick and a girlfriend took my niece to the drive-in one night, too--the Keno Drive-In is the oldest one in the state of WI--and they had a great time talking girl talk, eating candy and watching Zookeeper. And a friend of mine, who has swimming lessons with us and got to know Cuz there, invited her and Chicklet to a picnic on a night that B12 was invited to a birthday party.  So we've kept her busy!  She's been a lot of fun.

My brother arrives tonight and will stay a day before they head back; then I am flying to Texas for a family reunion of sorts, on my mother's side.  Will be back next week, just in time to leave again to go pick up B16 from camp.  They let him make a phone call home after the 8-day wilderness trip, and he sounded great--he's just lovin' it. Says he loves his counselors!  I am so thankful.  Thanks to all who prayed!

In other news, our area was hit by another quick storm and we lost power again--fortunately only for a few hours.  (We just decided to take Cuz bowling that morning.)  The worst damage was south of us in Illinois--power out for days and more trees down.

We also got to see the David Crowder Band in concert at Willow Creek Community Church in Illlinois--it was so worshipful and inspiring.  Wish B16 had been with us--he'd have loved it.

No job yet for B20...but we think we have a wedding venue picked out for Blondechick and her young man--a golf club in Lake Geneva where we can do the wedding outside on a covered terrace, rain or shine, then have the reception indoors, then have the dancing back outdoors on the terrace, where the noise won't make conversation impossible.  Seems perfect!  Almost ready to put the money down and announce the date, I think.  Almost.

Well, must go think about meals and a grocery trip before my brother arrives tonight, also laundry and packing for my Texas trip.  It may be a week or more before I'm back.

Hope you all are having a great summer!  Leave me a comment and tell me what kinds of vacationing or stay-cationing you are doing this summer!

Newslets

Besides the snow and the Super Bowl, what all is going on in our lives?

Let's start with the oldest child and work our way down.

Bantam20 seems to be getting off to a good start at college.  He learned some lessons last semester...and so did we.  Like what questions to ask!  Do you have every single book that you need?  Check.  Are you signed up yet for the tutoring program?  Check.  Have you met with your tutor?  Check.  Have you been exercising? What do you weigh? Have you missed any classes?  Do you have any assignments overdue?  Is there anything you are waiting on from a professor?  From your advisor?  Now if we can just remember to go through this list every week!  But his answers have been all good so far, and he seems really determined to stay on top of things.  I am so proud of him.

Blondechick18 is a busy gal these days.  Before Christmas, she left her job as a hostess at Perkins and took a retail job at a mall, and she is much happier at her new job.  She's working around ten hours a week and is managing her time well.  She's staying after school a couple times a week for pre-season women's soccer workouts, and she goes in early for NHS meetings and show choir rehearsals.  She also sings on the worship team at our church and in chapel at school.  Next week she and Bantam15 are performing at a fundraiser Dinner Show; they're singing "What I've Been Looking For" from High School Musical, and they've been practicing the original choreography:



Isn't that cheesy?  They have joked for years about how much fun the two of them could have playing these roles.  These two characters are brother and sister in the musical, and if you know Blondechick, you know she has a Sharpay side to her, and B15 in real life has played Ryan to her Sharpay more than a few times!

Blondechick also was accepted to TIU! That's Trinity in Deerfield, where her brother is, and it's a nice distance from home--about 35 minutes away.  She and her young man are having serious talks about their future as well.  It looks like he'll be continuing at the local university next year, and though she'd like to live at home and go there with him, we're insisting that she spend her first year at a Christian college (some thoughts here). She's resigned, but also cautiously optimistic.  TIU is the closest to her boyfriend, so it looks like that's where she'll be next fall.  She's undecided about playing soccer there or about her major, but she's thinking of communcations.  She just told me that her favorite high school class is English Lit, though, so she might explore an English major too.  (Of course that excites her mother, who started out as a Lit major; ended up an El Ed major, Lit minor.)  She's a good writer, too...so we'll see!

B15 is being inducted into the NJHS (National Junior Honor Society) this week, so now in addition to morning show choir rehearsals, he'll start having NJHS meetings at the same time as Blondechick's NHS meetings.  I am so glad that they can drive together this year!  He usually stays and works out during her soccer workouts; he joins the wrestlers and is thinking about that sport for next year.  He's also excited about their choir trip to California in March.  (So is Blondechick.)  He finished driver's ed and just needs to get his learner's permit soon, since there is a 6-month wait before he can actually get his license...hopefully right before school starts next fall.  We thought about getting it earlier, so he can work this summer, but for what we'd have to pay in insurance premiums on a 16-year-old male, it's probably not worth what he'd earn, assuming he can find a job.  Plus he really wants to go back to Honey Rock, the Christian camp that was so important for him last summer, for four weeks this summer, and we've agreed.

He's also taking guitar lessons and hopes to concentrate even harder this summer.  He runs on our treadmill and works out with weights on our new(-to-us) home gym set, purchased from a friend who's going overseas.  He's helped lead worship a few times at church, and he continues as our senior acolyte.  Next week he's helping to move in all the sets for Willy Wonka; then he's working backstage for two dress rehearsals and most of the shows over two weekends.  He's planning to audition for Robin Hood, our next show, which will make Mama happy to have three kids involved in our Christian theater group again.

B11 and B5 both have birthdays coming up next week.  Chicklet8 and B11 are busy attending Willy Wonka rehearsals every weekend and are eager for the show to go on!  Instead of doing makeup this time, I'm the docent for school visits, so the kids and I are taking a day off next week to visit several schools who are bringing students to our show, along with a small group of cast members.  C8 and B11 continue with piano lessons; B11 serves as an acolyte, and C8 has started asking when she can be one too.  C8 and B5 love their AWANA program.  B5 just started trying to spell words, instead of randomly stringing together letters, so we've been riding that wave!

It's a full life, but a good one.  Thank you, Lord, for the opportunities and privileges you have granted us!

Life

Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans. 

~John Lennon

I have been busy making plans for our last-hurrah, final family-vacation-with-all-of-us, trip to Washington, D.C. next month!  I've always wanted to take our kids.  Next summer, we'll be looking at two leaving for college and hopefully working at summer jobs, and we are thinking hard about selling our trailer...so the time has come.

It sure makes sense to use the trailer for this trip, since we have it.  Hotel rooms in DC aren't cheap, and we'd have to get two of them.  Gas is going to cost us an arm and a leg--our rig gets 8 mpg, which has deterred us from many a long trip--but we'll still come out far ahead over getting hotel rooms, I realized when I crunched the numbers.

I've been crunching a lot of numbers lately.  With the college bill looming and finally a little free time this summer, I've been scrutinizing our budget and all our accounts, including savings accounts we set up for kids years ago.  Turns out the bank didn't get the address changed on all of them...and other problems have needed to be ironed out as well.  We set up college and high school checking accounts for B19 and Blondechick17, and I've been gleaning advice on paying for college.  Even with a financial aid package, that bill is daunting!

It's enough to raise one's blood pressure, but praise the Lord, for the last month I've been completely off medication, and my blood pressure readings have been perfect.  I think now that stress was most likely the main reason my b.p. was up.  The slower pace of the summer, having another driver to help with some of the running around, dealing with things that have been piling up, not homeschooling or working...it's taken time, but the layers of stress have been melting away, a little more every day, so that at last, I feel like I've regained some internal equilibrium.  Actually, this feels like the first time in 3.5 years--since we began thinking about moving--that I can truly relax, and I am so grateful!

It's nice to be past a crisis point in my own life, because in the last week, I've been able to go spend whole days back in Illinois, helping out some friends in crisis.  It's felt so good to have the margin in my own life to be able to serve without stress and with joy in the giving.  One day, I joined a team of friends to do a "Clean Sweep" makeover of areas of a mutual friend's house that had years of accumulated clutter--due to issues that go deeper than the layers of stuff.  We sorted stuff into garbage bags and garage sale boxes, vacuumed, dusted, took before and after pics, laughed, joked, and sank into exhaustion at the end of the day--it was great!  Currently, I am watching a friend's youngest kids, two boys about the ages of Chicklet7 and Bantam5, for a few days.  We are going to go to the beach, ride the trolley, maybe do the Jelly Belly factory...gotta keep little boys busy!

One thing about my cleaning experience that struck me was how efficient and energizing it was to clean with 3 other women.  We all were able to look around, see what needed to be done, figure out a way to do it, work non-stop for an entire day, laugh and joke while doing it, and amaze ourselves with how much we were able to get done!  That has not been my experience cleaning with teens, with kids, or with husbands.  And we all noted how much easier it is to be objective about someone else's belongings.  So my takeway is:  Ladies, consider teaming up for a Saturday of deep cleaning or decluttering.  Set your goals, send the kids and the husbands to somebody else's house for the day, and see how much you can accomplish!  Rotate houses and Saturdays, and I'm certain you'll get more done and have a better time doing it than if you chip away at it by yourself.

Besides college, I've also been thinking about our next year of homeschooling.  I can't make too many decisions yet, because the big one has been made.  I've taken the plunge and have B11 and Chicklet7 signed up to participate in a virtual school, free through the state of WI.  Purists would say that I'm technically not homeschooling them, because they will be e-students of a public school system, but I need the schedule and the accountability for this next year.  The last 3.5 years have been filled with the chaos of selling a house, moving, resettling and more, and though we've done well with a relaxed approach, we need to have a solid year, especially with B11 entering middle school.

And I just need a program that I can show up for every day.  This will be my 14th year of homeschooling, and I have grown weary.  I did not enroll B5, who will be starting kindergarten, because I was afraid it would be more work for him than it was worth to me.  I want to spend most of my time with B11 and Chicklet, and I want time for reading aloud together.  But I'll start him on Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, which I've used with all his siblings, and my favorite kindergarten workbooks: Get Ready...  Get Set... and Go For the Code workbooks.  Maybe I'll even let him write in them.

So, life.  Making plans, while the clock keeps ticking away.  Life keeps on happening.  And it's been good.

Talented

We held our second-ever all-church Talent Show last night!  It was a blast.  We had around 40 different people perform in a solid 90 minutes of talent!

We had guitar solos, piano solos and a harp solo.  There were vocal solos and duets.  We had magic tricks, poetry, short stories, an original essay, an original skit, and Shakespeare.  A guitar, piano and drum trio (a "band" in their 11-year-old eyes) played an original musical piece.  It was quite the entertainment!

We also had sub sandwiches, with side dishes and desserts provided by our congregation.  One woman brought chocolate-dipped strawberries as her talent.  (Which nobody could deny!)

After the show, we cleared away the tables, plugged in a couple of iPods and had a family dance.  Half the adults and most of the teens boogied their best, while the little kids loved holding hands, forming a circle and running so fast that the youngest nearly were airborne!  Fortunately we had plenty of room in our facility.

We didn't take any video like we did last time (click here to view a couple highlights).  But for the family annals, and because inquiring minds want to know:

--Bantam11 kicked off the evening with "It's tiiiiiiiiiime for the Muppet Show!"  He even imitated the two old geezers in the balcony:  "Why do we always come here?  I guess we'll never know/  It's like a kind of torture To have to watch this show!"

--Later B11 performed his most difficult piano number, which he plays very, very fast so it sounds quite impressive.  He also played the keyboard in the "band."

--Blondechick17 sang a Taylor Swift song that's popular now, called "You Belong With Me."

--Chicklet7 sang "Castle on a Cloud," the young Cozette's wistful song from Les Miserables.  (When Blondechick heard her practicing, she said, "Aw, I always wanted to sing that for an audition, and then I got too old.")

--Papa Rooster managed to twist B15's arm, to my surprise and delight, and they sang together the duet "Pretty Women" from the dark musical Sweeney Todd.  Papa Rooster used to sing parts of that song to me when we were in college and would go out for walks at night, so I enjoyed hearing them sing it together!

--Papa Rooster played Benedick and I played Beatrice as we insulted each other, Shakespearean style, with a short dialogue from Much Ado About Nothing.

--Papa Rooster also sang "It's a Boy!" from Shenandoah, in honor of our friends who, after 5 boys, just had a girl.  (In the song, while the grandfather is rhapsodizing about how the baby is going to be a boy, the news comes that it's a girl, and he has to "change his tune.")

What a fun night, eh?

I wish I didn't have to dig through the Christmas box to find it, but there's a quote on the album insert for John Doan's Christmas album Wrapped in White about how we have become a nation who relies on professionals to entertain us.  But it didn't used to be that way, he says--amateurs used to entertain each other, in the days before radio, TV and computer, in living rooms and at parties across the nation, singing and playing all kinds of instruments on an everyday basis.  I think of Pa Ingalls playing fiddle for his family, and the young people singing and playing piano in all the Austen-era novels.  What a greater motivation to improve your skilz than one piano recital or two band concerts a year!

Wheel of Thankfulness

I feel like a hamster on an exercise wheel, running and running and never getting anywhere!   My to-do list seems to grow longer and longer as the end of the school year looms.

But the truth is, I have accomplished a lot in the last few weeks.  It's time to look back and be thankful!

Over the past month...in addition to the usual round of driving to and from school, piano lessons, cornet lessons, tap/jazz/guitar lessons, and gym class...

I attended several soccer games and watched Blondechick17 make a goal!  It was a beautiful penalty kick, right over the goalie's head.  (Must post some of Papa Rooster's soccer pics.)

I spent nearly a whole day shopping with Blondechick for a full-length formal dress, and bought bracelet, earrings and shoes to go with it.  We had a lovely time, we didn't argue, we found a beautiful dress and the price was right (at the most unlikely store--we were pointed to Sears and they had a great selection of tasteful dresses!).

I made phone calls to locate and get directions to a dress shop (straight out of West Side Story, I swear) on the other side of town.  I took the dress in to be altered, I went back to pick it up, and I hope to post pictures of her in it very soon.  The Formal is tonight!

I set up and began a series of orthodontist appointments for Bantam11.  He's getting braces in a couple of weeks!  I set up a series of dental checkups for us all too, beginning next week.  (You don't think they take us all at once, do you? :)

I dealt with a lot of medical bills and insurance questions. :(

I helped others from church clean out a grimy storage room we've started using for Sunday School.  I swept, sponged, organized and labeled drawers with our supplies, while others built shelves, cleaned, sorted and rearranged.  As I described to a friend how our old church has to store everything in wooden carts that can be wheeled onto a truck, which has to be driven back and forth from the church office to the high school each week, we realized how blessed we are to HAVE this cruddy delightful old room!

I registered B15 for summer camp, made sure Blondechick registered for the ACT, looked into swimming lessons and when/how to register for those, and started to research some vacation plans. I registered us for field trips to see the Dead Sea Scrolls next week in Milwaukee and The Lion King next fall in Chicago.  B15, B11 and I attended the Stomp! show in Chicago, as a field trip with other families from our theater group's Stomp class this session.  (It was awesome!)

I sold 20 tickets to see our theater group's spring show, Snow White, even though none of my kids are in it. ;)  I've been supervising the class program one night a week, wrapping up the session (soon), and doing the planning for next year, so that my replacement, whoever that is, will be in good shape!

I helped Papa Rooster find an hour to sit down and fill out the FAFSA online (that's the federal financial aid form for college).  I've been chipping away at the other pieces needed for B19's admission to college, while B19 writes and edits his essays under Papa Rooster's eye.  We're getting closer....

I attended Blondechick and B15's choir concert and got to hear her solo at the beginning of the Celtic Woman's "The Voice."  It was remarkably beautiful.  (I know, because everyone remarked on it! :)

I visited three colleges with BC17 and B19, as my readers know.  I made a road trip to attend a wake and a funeral.  I made a meal for a family whose mom has cancer, and I've been driving her kids to school one day a week.  I visited a friend with a new baby!  (And held and held her...yum.)

I took B19 to the DMV to get his permit renewed.  Can't believe he's had it a year already!  Still having him practice behind the wheel and praying he can pass his test in June.

I helped B19 fill out and submit numerous job applications...but so far, no interviews.  I took Blondechick in to one place several times; she had an encouraging interview and thought she had a job, but hasn't received that final word yet.  The last we heard, they were still interviewing.  (sigh)  So we may be starting over again soon. 

I hosted B15's friends after they went and saw Iron Man 2 for his birthday.  It was not a party.  (No one else got a party this year.)  But I drove them both ways to the movie and served a lot of pizza, brownies and ice cream!

And I still owe my blog a birthday post for him.  And updated pictures in the sidebar...been thinking about that for ages...but I have my priorities straight! :)

Thank you, Lord, for the many blessings in the busy-ness:  the hugs and kisses, the sunny days, the smiles, the strength and support of my husband, my gas-sipping Prius to do all this running around in.  Thank you for the fruits that will come of my labors: straight teeth, a useful storage/Sunday School room, knowledge, experience, fun and lots of memories.  I pray for these fruits to come to harvest: driver's licenses, college, jobs.  Thank you, Lord, for health, strength and endurance for the race you've set before me.

May the favor of the Lord, our God, be upon us;

Let the work of our hands prosper,

O prosper the work of our hands.

Psalm 90:17

Goings and Doings

After Holy Week, it was fortunate that we had Spring Break!  I needed a week to recover and get caught up on life.

Only Bantam14 went anywhere--he was invited to go with his friend, friend's mom and brother, brother's friend and his mom (clear as mud?) to spend two nights/three days at a waterpark in Wisconsin Dells.  The rest of us (sans Papa Rooster, who was away on business nearly the whole week!) stayed close to home and enjoyed the down time. (Exception:  Blondechick17, who had to study for the ACT...and who managed to get in lots of friend time anyway!)

We did have one day of planned fun:  We went to Kenosha's newly-completed Civil War Museum with a couple other families from church, and then to McDonald's for lunch.  Our younger kids went home with one of the families, while I took the two oldest to a job fair.  Not a whole lot came of it, it seems, but it did light the fires and we've been slowly getting a few more applications in.  Blondechick has been called back to take a profile test at one place (Maurice's, a clothing store), so we are hoping she'll get hired there.

Not that she could drive herself to work yet if she did get hired!  To our surprise and dismay, when we went online (a month early) to get time slots for her and Bantam19 to take their tests to get their driver's licenses, the earlist times available--at any of the DMV's in an hour radius--were 11 weeks away, on June 14!  We are hoping and praying that both pass the first time, though I am having fears that B19 (our high-functioning autistic son) won't ever be able to pass.  He's not comfortable or good with unpredictability, and other drivers are anything but predictable.  Still, I know God can help him get that license...and I think he'd be fine driving the same route every day to work or classes.

Both Blondechick17 and Bantam19 took the ACT on Saturday of their spring break...and in the next few weeks, we will be visiting colleges.  BC17's schedule is tight, since she doesn't want to miss any soccer games.  She just was elected one of the team captains of the JV team, and the coach was appalled at the thought of her missing a game:  She's the only player on JV that the coach never takes out.  (We all, including her, are mystified and delighted at her unrealized athletic ability!)

On Thursday and Friday, Blondechick and I are visiting Papa Rooster's and my alma mater, Wheaton College.  On Sunday afternoon we drive to Indiana to visit Taylor University, another Christian college.  After that, we'll pick a day to visit the Kenosha branch of the University of Wisconsin, called Parkside, with Bantam19; it's a good place to take general education requirements, saving some money before transferring to a private school. I'll also take B19 to visit Gateway Tech, our local community college which would be a good option for him to get certification in specific skills.  Blondechick and I want to visit a few more local Christian schools as well:  Trinity College in Deerfield, IL), and Moody and North Park in Chicago.  Hopefully we can get those in before everybody goes home for the summer!

At the other end of the family spectrum...Bantam5 has a loose tooth and got a spring haircut.  He and Chicklet7 are going to stay two days and one night with old friends (their own ages--can that friendship be "old"?) while Blondechick and I visit Wheaton (and I'm slipping away to visit a friend or two as well).  Bantam11 is practicing diligently for a piano judging next month; he'll play ten songs and receive feedback.  He also auditioned for a small role--one scene--in a short film that a professor friend is making.  If gets the role, he has to get a perm!  (Otherwise, he'd have had a spring haircut too.)

Finally, a couple of recent kid funnies:

Bantam5 opened the refrigerator door and exclaimed, "GIVE ME SOME HAM AND MAKE ME A KING!"

Blondechick's junior class had a field trip scheduled to view the Dead Sea Scrolls in Milwaukee.  She confessed to her family that when she initially heard about the trip, she thought it was to see the Dead Sea Squirrels!  "How long did you think that?" I asked.  "Oh, a couple of days..."

Family News

What's new?

Bantam19 just brought home his cap, gown, tassel and a box of graduation announcements, prompting me to call up the place that took his senior pictures for the yearbook and get that order in for wallet-size pics to include in his announcements. This is coming up too fast!

Blondechick17 just tried out for the girls' soccer team at her Christian school, knowing that everyone makes it and assuming she'd be on the JV team. (She hasn't played since 5th grade.) To our surprise, she did well in tryouts and was put in as a floater between the varsity and junior varsity teams! Then she got the bad news that because she was a transfer student, she's not allowed to be on varsity until next year. (AS IF they had recruited her to play soccer!) So--only JV games for her this year. A bummer, but not an entirely bad thing, her parents think, given our busy schedules, plus now she'll start every game on JV. We are so proud of her for trying something new and pushing herself athletically!

Bantam14's big news was getting his braces off! Now he can't stop smiling. But also, with BC17 busy at soccer practices, Bantam14 had a decision to make about their biweekly guitar class, which she had to drop. The "class" would now consist of just himself--would he continue? Bantam14 and the teacher had a frank conversation, and the outcome is that they are both excited about B14 continuing alone--in fact, the teacher offered to extend the biweekly lesson from 45 minutes to an hour, at no extra charge. They are both there anyway--he waits for his next student, and B14 waits for B11's tap class and Chicklet7's jazz class to finish up--but he offered because he likes B14, who is now psyched to spend more time practicing, in lieu of doing theater this spring. He's already made great strides!

The youngest three just started taking a gym class for homeschoolers, taught by the PE students at nearby Carthage College, and they love it. It was so fun to see B5 exuberantly playing all the parachute games. (Wasn't that your favorite day ever, back in elementary gym class?)

B11 and Chicklet7 are beginning a new session of classes with our Christian kids' theater group, but B11 did not audition for this session's production. (Because Mom needs to free up some time and mind space--gotta focus on taking B19 and BC17 to look at colleges and apply for summer jobs!) But Chicklet auditioned, "for experience only," a courtesy the group allows 7-year-olds who've been in the program, who will be old enough to audition "for real" next time. She sang "Tomorrow," from Annie, and despite her butterflies and shaky knees, she introduced herself and sang loudly and clearly just like we practiced! She stayed right on pitch and didn't forget any words. She forgot to smile, she was so nervous, but we were so proud of her!

I am keeping close tabs on my blood pressure. I just bought a nice digital home monitor at Aldi, of all places! We realized that another medication that I've been on has "high blood pressure" listed as a possible side effect, so I am hoping that once it completely clears my system, mine will go back to normal. It could take a few months, and meanwhile I'm on blood pressure meds. I have to watch not to get dehydrated, but otherwise, I'm feeling fine physically. A little stressed, a little too busy this year--with a part-time job, all the driving to and from school, and continuing to homeschool as well--but the end is in sight, now that spring is upon us: Blondechick17 will be taking her driver's test in just a few weeks, the part-time job will end, and we have the whole summer to catch up on school!!

Nothing's really new with Papa/Father Rooster--he just continues to balance both roles so well, even when things get stressful at work and ministry places demands on him too. He handles difficult situations with such love, diplomacy, honesty and tact--I am continually amazed! He is uniquely gifted to manage all that he does, and he does business and ministry both so well. He was a favorite presenter at the San Antonio conference--as he usually is at these events--and it was fun for me to see him in his business context, so different than the usual Sunday morning ministry role that his family is accustomed to seeing him in. He is such a gift to our family and our church.

And that's the news...for now!

A Week in the Life

I keep feeling guilty that I'm not blogging more. Okay, guilty is the wrong word--I'm feeling SAD because I MISS blogging. So many unrecorded stories and thoughts! But I guess my blog will reflect that I was truly in a season when I had far less control over my schedule than I enjoyed for years previously.

I wish I could say that last week was an unusual week, but with the exception of Saturday, it was pretty typical.

Last Monday:

day--homeschooled, cooked and cleaned, two trips to school and one trip to the orthodontist (result: B11 can get started with braces any day--and B14 gets his off tomorrow!)

night--had a newer family from church over for dinner

Tuesday:

day--one trip to school, homeschooled, prepared for theater classes, caught up on emails

night--theater classes, stopped at Mr. and Mrs. A's (the couple who started our church) for a little "Fat Tuesday" celebration, stayed up late with B14 doing homework

Wednesday:

day--meetings at the home office of our theater group, over an hour from home (5 hrs total); two trips to school and one to tap, jazz and guitar lessons (all at same time, fortunately!)

night--quick dinner and on to the Ash Wednesday service

Thursday:

day--homeschool, laundry and too many necessary phone calls. Ran to Walmart during B11's cornet lesson; two trips to school, including stops at library, Target and Sally's Beauty Supply (black hairspray for Mulan).

night--stayed up late with B14 completing science project, research paper introduction, Bible project, and history project--most not due till later, but our only block of time to work on them!

Friday:

day--Papa Rooster drove kids to school and met me at B19's school for an IEP meeting with his team--we met for 2+ hours to talk about transitions ahead (great meeting). Back at home, on computer for an hour completing open enrollment registration process to keep virtual school options open for Chicklet7 and B11 for next year. Trip to Aldi during B11's piano lesson, pick up BC and B14 at school.

night--5 to 9--Mulan rehearsal for B14 and B11. I brought Chicklet along and experimented with makeup designs to show the directors (lookin' good!).

Saturday:

day: woke up with a headache that got worse as I drove boys to 9 a.m. Mulan rehearsal. Decided not to stay but to go to Panera and see if coffee would help, in case of a migraine. Stopped at Walmart on way to check my blood pressure, which had been high on Thursday, and it was higher. Coffee didn't help and headache got worse; I felt nauseous and unbalanced and couldn't keep eyes open. Didn't think I could drive myself home; called Papa Rooster to come and get me. We decided with my blood pressure up, we should go to Urgent Care instead. UC sent me to ER. CT scan of my head was normal, blood work was normal, blood pressure came down after they knocked out my headache with an IV cocktail, which put me to sleep for several hours. Need to follow up with doctor regarding my blood pressure (After extensive testing over the past six months for various other medical concerns, one more thing! At least I now know that all my major organs seem to be in good shape.)

night: through the narcotic haze, I somehow managed to help B14 write outline for his research paper we've been working on together for weeks, on the Harry Potter controversy. (Had to check it again on Sunday to make sure it made sense, but he's good to go.)

Sunday:

day--woke up feeling better, but still with a residual headache. Went early to church for rehearsal; sang with Blondechick on worship team. Lunch at friends' home, helped B14 finish one more homework project before driving him to an activity and running a couple of quickie errands. Home for a movie with friends--it was good to relax and watch a really redeeming, sacramental story: Henry Poole is Here. (Check it out if you haven't seen it!)

This week IS an unusual week:

--Mulan dress rehearsals Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
--Mulan school day shows: 2 Thursday morning, 2 Friday morning
--Mulan public performances: Friday night, Saturday night, Saturday afternoon, Sunday afternoon

I'll be there every time, doing makeup...and then, maybe I'll get a week off!

Pray for my health, if the Lord leads you. I am making changes--doing less with the theater group next session and probably next year as well. And in late April, Blondechick will hopefully get her license--Woo-hoo! That will return HOURS to my week.

House Blessing Here

It's been busy at Chez Henhouse. We are having a house blessing tonight! Never mind that it will be two years in May that we have lived here. Epiphany is the traditional season for house blessings, and we missed it last year, okay? We were still unpacking.

This year, I won't say we're done unpacking--there are still boxes in the storage room, plus new accumulations--but we are settled in enough. Plus, it's time.

The trick, of course, is getting every room in the house presentable simultaneously. That has been the challenge before us this past week! We invited the whole church and it sounds like at least 30 people are coming, over half of them kids. The plan is to start in the basement and bless the family room (home theater area) first, then put on a movie for the younger kids. We'll finish the basement rooms and work our way up through the house, and any kids who drop out can return to the basement till we're done. We'll finish with dessert and fellowship, one of my favorite combinations.

Should be a blessing indeed!

Teen Report

Writing about B19's birthday made me realize how long it's been since I've updated on the teens in our home!

With his graduation from high school looming, there is so much to be done. The first thing, we hope, is getting his driver's license. He's been putting in the hours and probably has logged enough, but passing his driving test may be a bigger hurdle than we thought, as he is just not very comfortable behind the wheel and may have trouble processing the instructor's auditory instructions, especially in a stressful situation like a test. But he really needs to be able to get himself to work and classes, so we are praying and trying to give him lots of opportunities behind the wheel.

The next domino will be getting a job, so he can help pay for car insurance, gas and the computer classes he'd like to take beginning next fall. We need to investigate his local options: there is UW-Parkside, which has both 2- and 4-year degrees, College of Lake County (IL), a community college, and Gateway Tech, which offers various certifications and degrees. He's planning to live at home while working and taking classes, and we'll appreciate his continued help with chores, babysitting and errands, once he gets his license. Lots of transitions ahead for him and us--prayer appreciated!

Now, Blondechick17. You may recall that she half-reluctantly agreed to transfer to a Christian school this year, as a junior. Well, she ended up being SO grateful and SO thankful that we urged her to switch! She's made many new friends. She likes her teachers. She especially enjoys being in concert choir, but her favorite thing about her new school is CHAPEL. "Why is it only once a week?" she complains every Thursday, after telling me about the amazing speaker or the awesome worship or whatever it was that God used to speak to her during that time. Her faith is growing stronger and more solid every week, and we feel so grateful to God for the way He is answering our anxious prayers of over a year ago. Those concerns couldn't be aired on this blog, of course, but they were very real, and she is as grateful as we are for how God has turned her life toward a better path. But it was she who submitted to Him and to us, and we are so encouraged and proud of her!

She is keeping busy with homework--LOTS of it--more like what we'd expect of a college prep course of study, and then some! Outside of school hours, last fall she rehearsed every weekend for her part as the Sour Kangaroo in Seussical, and also helped out as an aide in the Beginning Musical Theater class. She choreographed both numbers that the class performed in their final Showcase, which was a new and great experience for her. She's aiding again this winter session in the same class but opted not to audition for Mulan, so she could join Show Choir and Student Government at her school. She's been taking guitar lessons too, all year, and she just finished Driver's Ed classes, although she's had her permit since November. She should be getting her license in April--look out!

Bantam14, you remember, pushed us to let him go full-time, not just part-time, in the 8th grade at the same Christian school as Blondechick. Our biggest concern was the adjustment to the homework load, and sure enough, that has been a struggle for one who isn't the fastest at handwriting or keyboarding or skimming textbooks or catching on to math concepts. But we have seen such perseverance and diligence in this young man! Even when he is feeling overwhelmed, he plugs doggedly away.

He's doing very well in his classes, considering, and he really likes the school--the kids, the teachers, chapel, and especially gym. They've been playing one team sport after another, and his height and maturity, age-wise, have given him an enjoyable advantage. He's also taking choir, at our urging and with the strong encouragement of his older sister, and at the Fall Concert, he looked so handsome in his white shirt, black vest and black bow tie. He sounded good too!

He's also attending theater classes and rehearsals, taking guitar lessons with Blondechick, and in his spare time, he likes to listen to music and trade albums and band recommendations with friends--mostly Christian bands, but other worthwhile ones too. At least, the ones he shares with us are worthwhile, and we have to try to stay on top of the rest.

Ah, the joys of having teenagers! They are a daily challenge (nightly too--as when they ask you to help them study for a test at 11 p.m. on Sunday night), but it is rewarding and exciting to see them progressing spiritually, academically, and relationally, becoming their own persons more and more every day. I thank God for them and pray for the wisdom and the patience I need to get through each day with them. And I praise God for how He is able to fill in for my lacks!

'Tis the Season

It's that time of year--time for recitals, concerts and shows!

Our string began last week with the Christmas Concert at Blondechick and Bantam14's school. It was a combined effort with the band, the orchestra, the mixed choir, the show choir, the girls' choir, the boys' choir, and the drama club. B14 sang with the boys' and the mixed (or middle school) choir. There were only three boys in the mixed choir--a very tall one, a very short one, and one average size boy. B14 was the tall one, strategically placed next to the short boy, of course. He has never complained about being in the choir--which I expected, since we required him to take one music class and that was his only option--and it was good to see him up there singing!

Blondechick sang beautifully with the girls' and the high school choir--next session she wants to pick up show choir, too, which she made and had to drop because of too many other involvements. (She had to drop Little Shop of Horrors, too, a musical at the public school she auditioned for last spring, and in which she was cast as one of the Doo-Wop trio that sings throughout. Rehearsals are going on now, without her...but at least she got all her Driver's Ed classes in, as of last night, and she got her permit early!)

Next was a Holiday Dance Show and Social which Bantam10 and Chicklet7 were slated to appear in, tap-dancing and jazz-dancing, respectively. C7 started out the year in Ballet, but was growing tired of it; then one week she missed Ballet and took a Jazz class as a make-up, and loved it! Since it was at the same time as B10's Tap class, I was all for switching her. One less place to go each week!

The only problem was that for the Holiday Show, she was a little behind on learning the routine. Then B10 missed a week or two and also felt behind when he returned. The Academy emailed a video link so that their students could practice at home, and I nagged them both until they did.

That led to a great Mom-moment. On the way out of dance class, B10 said earnestly, "Mom, thank you SO MUCH for making me practice! Now I really know the dance!"

Thank you SO MUCH for making me practice? All these years as a mom, and I think that was the first time I've ever heard that combination of words spoken by one of my children!

(Here's another insight, from the same kid. I asked him if he minded being the only boy in his tap class, and he said, "No, girls are human too.")

Anyway, he nailed his "Happy Holidays" routine at the show and was so pleased with himself, and thanks to all our practicing, Chicklet performed to "Jingle Bell Rock" with confidence and relative accuracy. And a festive time was had by all!

Next up is Christmas Eve. We are having a children's choir this year, which somehow I ended up directing, and they are singing The Friendly Beasts"--"Jesus our brother, kind and good/Was humbly born in a stable rude/And the friendly beasts around Him stood/Jesus our brother, kind and good." B10 and C7 have been practicing "I, said the Donkey" and "I, said the Dove" besides memorizing first and last verses. It should be a sweet addition to our 5:00 family-friendly Christmas Eve service.

Fortunately the piano, guitar and cornet teachers did not choose to hold holiday recitals this year...because we all need to practice for our upcoming all-church Soup Supper and Talent Show on New Year's Eve! Blondechick17 and Bantam10 both are doing duets with friends from church, Papa Rooster is singing, and I am going to recite a poem or two. All light-hearted and entertaining fare, of course. And Bantams 14 and 10 need to work up their auditions for our theater group's next show, Disney's Mulan. Auditions are two weeks after Christmas Day!

One other show we attended was a Holiday Ice Show that two of our friends from church were in--they are 10 and 7, good friends of B10 and C7. They were the only ice dancers in the show and they were terrific, doing the "Stray Cat Strut." Papa Rooster tested his budding photography skills against the lighting and action challenges and got some good shots!




They're going to be big stars someday, and you can all say, "Oh, I remember them from Jeanne's blog!" ;)

Family Time at the Wake

Or do you call it "the viewing"? That's what they call it where I'm from in Ohio. Many people came to pay their respects to Grandma and all of us, but these shots are mostly from the family-only time in the first hour.

Bantam18 and Blondechick16 looking at old photos
with Pilot Uncle (foreground) and my cousin (center).

The two 10-year-olds really hit it off! Here they are watching
a video slideshow of photos covering Grandma's life span--
from high school to great-grandmother.
Professor Brother and I look on.

Chicklet6 with 7-year-old cousin and Bantam4.

My oldest and youngest.

Teacher Aunt fixing hair of impatient 3-year-old cousin.

All the kids were tired by the end of the four hours.
Did you recognize B4 and B10 with their new haircuts?

Pilot Brother and Summer page through a photo album.
Their girls (3 & 1) stayed home in Florida. Summer is expecting
their third little girl before the end of August!

It was a joy to see many old family friends that afternoon, but here I am with a friend I met for the first time. I have heard of her all my life though, and since I began blogging, we have enjoyed a lovely email correspondence. She was a student of my dad's during one of his first years as a high school biology teacher, and I am named Jeanne after this Jeannie! (As Teacher Aunt observed, that's quite a tribute, for a teacher to name a child after a student!) I was so happy to finally meet her--and see why she's a special lady!

B4 needed constant shirt-tucking-in.

Telling secrets.

California Cousin wins over Bantam4.

In the midst of death, life!

Thanks, Papa Rooster, for taking all the pictures!

Saying Goodbye to Grandma

My grandmother is dying.

We visited her while we were back home in Ohio. She’s in an assisted living facility, a pretty and cheerful place, but she doesn’t know it. She’s past knowing.

She didn’t know me. She had trouble remembering who I was the last time I saw her, so I wasn’t expecting her to remember me this time. But she’s not recognizing anyone now.

She’s delusional, maybe due to the all the meds she’s on for pain. We couldn’t tell what she was talking about—things that weren’t there. Nothing that made sense.

I held her hand. She’s lost so much weight—she’s only 80 pounds or so—that her hands are skeletal. So withered and bony.

I held her hand and thought of how these hands used to hold mine. We’d go for walks on the farm, and always she’d hold my hand. When I got older, she’d take me shopping sometimes, and she’d hold my hand when we crossed the parking lot, even when I got embarassingly old for it. But I never let go.

These hands had changed my diapers. They had baked cookies, prepared meals and wrapped gifts for me. They held me and helped me hold open a book on Grandma’s lap—Aesop’s Fables, children’s poetry books, Sesame Street picture books. They pointed out flowers and kittens and family heirlooms. They taught me to make pie crust and Rhubarb Dream Dessert.

Now these hands, this body, are slowly wasting away. Her 97-year-old heart is still beating strong, but she’s not eating enough to sustain herself. She has occasional bouts of scary coughing, maybe the beginning of pneumonia. It’s just a matter of time--a short time.

I took my children to see her. I debated a little at first: Should I leave them with the memories they had of her, before she was like this? But death is part of life, and we are so insulated from death, in our age of modern medicine. I think of the “birth and death room” that old houses used to have, and I think of the statement of a friend, who had lost a child, that “you can’t control birth and death.”

And we can’t control this death. We’d love to see her suffering end quickly. Both her children and half her four grandchildren—and their families—were there over the past weekend, and we discussed among ourselves: Do we leave, or do we wait? She’s very close, but she has such a strong heart…

Such a strong heart.

PIcking Up the Threads

Blondechick16 made it home in one piece from camp, and her initial summary of how her week went was, "I survived." It sounds like she learned a few things from the experience, like how to co-exist with bugs and creepy crawlies; she was one of the few who never saw a tick on their persons, and she claims to be an expert now on finding and identifying them, since they spent so much time doing this for each other! She also discovered that one of her teachers is a great guy after all, and she learned how to work cooperatively with a group of kids that didn't really have much in common--her homeroom class, or "crew," which really hadn't gelled much all year. This experience changed that, as she wrote about in a paper when she got back.

School's out for her now, and Bantam18 is taking two more finals today and then he's done at noon!

Bantam14 had a relatively good experience on the Greyhound bus, and he's been having a blast ever since. He's helped with electrical wiring; he's driven a tractor, a lawn tractor and a car; he's gone miniature golfing with kids from Grandma and Grandpa's church; he shot a groundhog, went running, went for a walk and has seen deer multiple times. He's exercised at the Y with Grandpa, and visited his great-grandma at the nursing home. His great-aunt and uncle from California are there now too, so he's getting to know them and learning electrical tricks and tips from his great-uncle, a pro and a character, if there ever was one!

I've been working on things for the youth theater group that we are starting here in Kenosha, and we've had a setback. At a school board meeting on Tuesday night, six months of conversations with the high school we have been planning to use for our theater productions went down the drain, when we were told that not only was our request for a fee waiver or discount being denied, but our approved permit for use was now cancelled!

I was pretty discouraged on Wednesday, especially since I couldn't get anyone to return phone calls from any other venues I tried to reach. In the afternoon I spoke with someone from a school district office who was designated to hear my appeal, and after she went over their reasons for dismissing our permit, I addressed those concerns as well as I could and requested that we at least be allowed to hold one production there. She reiterated the reasons why their concerns would still apply and talked about pulling the file to check the facts again before she got back to me. When I hung up, it was with very little hope of anything coming from our conversation, and certainly not anytime soon.

You can imagine then, how shocked I was when she called back on Thursday morning to say that they had decided that since we had been led to believe for quite a few months that we had a venue, they would go ahead and allow us to hold our first show there, in November! I was stunned.

I had such a sense of the verse in Exodus where the Egyptians say, "Their God is fighting for them!" I had worked so hard, with human effort, on this problem all day Wednesday, and was so frustrated when no one would return my phone calls. A day of worry and frustration, and nothing to show for it...and I sensed the Holy Spirit nudging me to drop it and leave it up to God. But I was still so discouraged and stressed, until Father Rooster prayed for me, for God to send warrior angels to fight this battle for me, and I knew that was right, though it was difficult to let go. Then I got this phone call a couple hours later--and I knew that God was fighting for us. It seemed so wildly improbable otherwise!

Thank you, School Board. We are deeply appreciative.

Thank you, God! You are so great and so trustworthy!

Well, Where Were We?

Blondechick16--

Blondechick's charter school requires all the sophomores to give a presentation called "Sophomore Passage" to 2-3 teachers or other school staff, their parents, and a community member that they have invited. BC had to make a portfolio of her work and Powerpoint slides to outline her talk, which had to include certain elements explaining how she had progressed through her sophomore year.

She did a super job. Her "gift of gab" serves her very well in these situations! One comment she made, which was so funny in its frankness, was about how she had applied the scientific method to real life: "I chose 'high school drama' because that happens to me." She went on to describe how she collected data and discovered that certain friends, before they knew her, thought that she was glaring at them and disliked them, when actually she liked them. She began experimenting with her facial expressions and made a special effort to smile more and even at people she didn't know. She concluded that people found her more approachable as a result. (Three cheers for the scientific method!)

Their next end-of-year passage, which illustrates this charter school's connection to the organization Outward Bound, is a 5-day camping trip without any luxuries, like toilets. As in, dig your own hole. No hair dryers or straighteners or makeup allowed. Should be quite the experience for Blondechick!

Bantam18--

B18 somehow did not get registered for the ACT next month. I am perturbed. I thought his advisor was handling this, because he needs modifications like extra time to complete the test.

It's a good thing he's not applying next fall to colleges that need his ACT scores! After his senior year, he'll go either to a community college or his first choice: Flashpoint Academy. I was told about it by a teacher who works with autistic adults, and she said Flashpoint had approached her, telling her not to hesitate to encourage students with autism to apply, that Flashpoint would work with them and that many of them had giftings that would be a good fit there. It seems perfect for B18, and he is starting to get excited about it!

We still haven't met his girlfriend, and they only talk at school. So it's been a nice, manageable relationship for us, at least.

Bantam14--

B14 will be taking a standardized test next week, his first ever. I am "teaching to the test" this week; specifically, we are blitzing through a workbook on reading maps and charts! That's one thing you miss when you don't use many textbooks, and it tripped up Blondechick when she took her first and only standardized test in the same grade, 7th. We are also covering some material from a test prep workbook I have which covers basic question types and test-taking strategies. All new to B14!

His robotics team competed a few weeks ago and had a disappointing frequency problem in the first event, where the 'bot wouldn't communicate with the controller. It appeared that another team had the same crystal (whatever that means--fortunately B14 understands it!). Since it was the sumo wrestling event, their 'bot was damaged and unable to compete in the other events. B14 and Co. didn't seem to mind too much; the pressure was off and they could relax. He learned a lot, and that's what counts!

He also just finished up a Film-Making class through the theater group. He was right about their film being pretty lame, but again, he learned from the experience.

and Bantam10--

Both boys have been taking a homeschool track class, which met for a manageable 7 times in a 3 weeks, for 1.5 hours at a time. They've had the chance to try hurdles, long jump, shot put and other track events as well as running various distances. They're both pretty fast for their ages, they discovered! B14 pulled a quad muscle in the 3rd class, though, so he's been hampered with that injury ever since. Today is the last class.

B10 is progressing nicely in piano and we are planning to start him on an instrument next year, in the public school 5th grade band program. He's thinking of trumpet or sax, and we already have one of each, so that works out. He just finished up a dance class through the theater group, and he is psyched to take tap dancing this summer!

Chicklet6--

C6 is also going to take a dance class this summer--it's tap and ballet, and we were delightedly shocked to find both tap and ballet shoes in her size and the right color for the dress code (pink) at our neighbor's garage sale last weekend! I spent a whopping $4 on both pairs, and the tap shoes were never worn. A friend passed on a pink leotard to us too, free of charge, so we'll just have to buy pink tights and she'll be set. (Now all I need are black jazz pants for B10!)

Poor girl, her education has been sadly neglected for the past month or so, but she's been learning anyway. I'm planning to do "summer school" with her to move her along with her reading, particularly. It's coming along beautifully and she's going to take off as soon as I can find the time to spend regularly with her.

Bantam4--

B4 is a constant source of amusement and delight, everywhere he goes. The kids and adults at The Wizard of Oz were all captivated by his cuteness. He's just a funny character, with the most impish expressions and great exuberance about life. "He's like a bull in a china shop!" one woman exclaimed to me as he shoved politely past her. Yep.

His latest accomplishment is perfecting a number of consonants, including and especially the letter C, which made possible this sentence just yesterday: "I can come in the car with you." First he said, "I tan come in the tar with you," but when I asked him to say it correctly, he could! He's going to be more ordinary without his funny mispronunciations, but understandable is good too. He and C6 play so beautifully together for hours on end, which is why it's so easy not to do lessons with her!

All for now...!

Hospitalized

Our little Chicklet6 has been having some trouble with her leg. Last week she had a swollen lymph gland in the groin area, and even though she had just been on antibiotics for the bladder infection, she was put on a different kind because of the painful lymph node.

After 4 days on the antibiotic, however, her pain had worsened and was traveling down her leg. Last night, she could no longer straighten her knee joint, and there was a red streak down the inner thigh. She had no fever or swelling, though; she was perky and seemed remarkably well otherwise.

We called the doctor, who, in the absence of fever or lethargy, told us to wait till morning and bring her in. When we got there, she called in another doctor to look at the leg, and the two doctors conferred and decided to admit her to the hospital for testing and IV antibiotics.

So here we are! We had an MRI this afternoon, which was an hour of me standing outside the machine, reaching in to hold her hand, and shouting encouraging things. We're both wearing ear plugs, so conversation was out of the question. I had no idea that MRI's were so noisy! She told me later that she was afraid it would blow up.

But the results were good--basically normal except for an inflamed vein. Still don't know what is causing it, but the MRI ruled out some kind of deep tissue infection or abscess or tumor. She's on the IV antibiotics and also on round-the-clock ibuprofen, which should help reduce the inflammation.

We're waiting on the results of two more blood tests, to rule out a couple of long-shot possibilities like lupus or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Those will take till morning, and then she should be able to go home, no matter what. Other than limping, she's still feeling fine and enjoying all the attention.

She keeps asking me when they are going to take the IV out. She's been stuck five times now, if you count the one IV stick she had in the ER nearly two weeks ago--and she is definitely counting! She is excited about "having a sleepover" with Mom here in the hospital. (There is even a regular bed for Mom in her room.) She has her own little bathroom, and we can see Lake Michigan from her room. We read books, we watched a movie, and she colored many pictures. Papa Rooster was here to visit his little girl (and bring me my laptop). We had other visitors, friends from church whose grandmother was admitted today too, also for testing--which makes two members of our little congregation in the same hospital!

Right now, Chicklet is talking to her little girlfriend on the phone, telling her all about her day.

It's been quite the adventure!

Hopefully, just that...and nothing more.

And the Lost Shall Be Found....

Remember the unfindable vaccination records?

They showed up, in the filing cabinet I had thought they were in, tucked way down in between two folders that were up a little higher. --Granted, when I looked through that drawer for them before, that filing cabinet was in a storage space, not in the best lighting. And of course this time, I found them because I was not looking for them, but another folder....

And the camera we thought must have been stolen?

Bantam9 found it the other day, under the cushion of an overstuffed chair that had been in Blondechick's room in our other house, which is now in the basement. What a fortunate thing he decided to build a fort for Chicklet5 and Bantam3 out of couch cushions that day!

We had already replaced it, though. So we're out a couple hundred dollars on that one, but at least Blondechick and I don't have to share a camera any more! This is a good thing.

And the bike, that really was stolen?

Looks like it's gone forever.

But someone from the high school called to say that someone had donated several bikes to the school for students who might need one, and she thought of Bantam17, if we hadn't replaced his already...

So he picked one out--and it is much nicer than the one that was stolen!

Ahhhh...

It all works out.

Praise the Lord.

July 3rd, 4th & 5th

Thursday was our low-key, hang-around-the-campsite day, waiting on our friends to arrive.


































When they did arrive, around mid-afternoon, we helped them set up, had dinner together, and then went for a walk.




The three youngest, who were with us, were enchanted by this fearless young deer!




On Friday, after a lazy morning, we decided to spend the day exploring downtown Kenosha with our friends.


We started with lunch at Frank's Diner, which is inside an old railroad dining car.









We've been great friends with this couple for nearly 20 years!






Next it was the 25-cent, 2-mile trolley ride along the shoreline and around Harbor Park.















No one wanted to get off, so we rode it around twice.


Then we did a little walking, ending up at Sandy's Popper, a popcorn and ice cream store. Eating ice cream was about the only event of the day that Papa Rooster didn't document.


He really learned a lot from playing around with the good camera all weekend. He even figured out how to get some good shots of the fireworks!








Then it was back to our friends, the A--'s house, for the "after-fireworks fireworks." Apparently, this is a big tradition on the farm in Nebraska, where Mr. A is from. The teens in our group thought this display was way cooler than the official rockets.




Chicklet5 enjoyed the sparklers best--more her speed.





Saturday was beach day. Many of us also elected to take an afternoon nap in our campers, along with the youngest ones, and I finished a book I started back before our move.



Doesn't this look like a paparazzi shot?













The little girls were all smiles, though!


No pictures from Sunday, but our friends attended Light of Christ with us. Mrs. R., who sings and plays guitar, helped lead the worship. Then out to lunch and back to the campsite--at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, IL, by the way--to pack up and move out.

It was renewing, refreshing, and exhausting all at once. Papa Rooster took today (Monday) off, to recover. And look through dozens of pictures!

Thanks, honey!

Oh, and thanks to Heather who pointed out the long sleeves in many of the pictures!  I forgot to mention that this camping trip included a first for me:  In all my years of camping in the Midwest, as a kid and now as an adult, I don't remember ever having to run the camper's HEATER in JULY!  We have had an unusually cool spring and early summer here; I keep thinking it must be the hour further north that makes such a difference, but then my Illinois friends tell me it's been just as cold down there, and my Wisconsin friends assure me that they can't remember such cold summer temperatures.  (So much for global warming??)

First Night of Our Camping Trip (Or, Before the Friends Arrived)

(Or, Back in the Camper Again!)

With our house on the market last summer and all the time we were spending on it, it had been nearly two years since we last used our camper. It was great to take it out again!



We have the 4-bed rear "bunkhouse" model...



...which also has beds in the main living area (which double as a couch and a dinette by day).



There's a separate bedroom for Mom and Dad in the front. Other than the cost of gas to pull it, it's perfect for our family! Of course, a night in a campground is a lot cheaper than paying for two hotel rooms, so we're eager to check out the many fine state parks and campgrounds within easy driving distance of our new hometown.

Now, can you spot the ham in the above pictures?

(Hint: He's in all but two of them, and he could use a haircut!!)