Theater Update

Well, we are all on the other side of illness now, it seems--everyone is back to school, back to work, back to rehearsals and classes.

It hit me last Monday that there was only one week until dress rehearsals for Seussical begin! Before I got sick, I had purchased (at Goodwill) an old suitcase on wheels to use as our theater group's new makeup kit, and I had purchased basic Walmart-type supplies and containers to organize it. I had borrowed some specialty makeup from another chapter of our group, but still needed to order the rest.

So Monday morning found me poring over websites and my notes, comparing prices, shipping and handling costs, and availability of items like glow-in-the-dark hairspray and colored eyelashes in five particular shades. But finally my orders were placed, and I could rest assured that everything would be here in time for the first dress rehearsal.

I could turn my attention to other things, like...Showcase!

Tuesday night was the last night of our ten-week session of theater classes, and to celebrate and demonstrate all that the students had learned, we held a "Showcase" of performances from each class. Since this was our very first session, we had all new teachers, all new students, all new families. I was in charge and I didn't know how it would go.

But it went very well indeed! The kids did a great job, the parents were enthusiastic, the attendance maxed out the sanctuary where we held it, and our fundraiser at Culver's (a hamburger and ice cream joint) afterwards was well-attended. I am so grateful to my fabulous teachers, the parents, the kids...and the Lord!

I haven't said much about my job this fall because...well, you know...I'm an employee now and want to be very careful. But it's been so rewarding to see this "new thing" take wings and get off the ground. I keep thinking of how God is able to create ex nihilo: "out of nothing." Where there had been nothing but our family, we ended up with 75 students involved in classes, representing 50+ families! And the teachers that God sent us, "out of nowhere," so to speak, were all really solid. They knew their stuff and how to teach it, and they handled the kids beautifully with the right combination of fun and high expectations of their behavior and performance. They made my job easy!

And now those families are about to REALLY get to know each other this week during dress/tech rehearsals and performances of Seussical!! We have 3 dress rehearsals and 8 shows in the next 7 days. I am a little nervous about the makeup coming together, but it always does, and that's what dress rehearsal are for. My kids, at least, are prepared, excited and confident, and the whole cast is ready and eager for next week. We are praying for continued health for the cast and their families, and for more audience members to fill our seats!

See you on the other side....

H1N1 Here

H1N1 has hit our roost....

When Bantam10 got sick over a week ago, we figured he probably had what the friend he'd been with had, and we didn't think much about it, until Bantam4 came home from trick-or-treating with friends with a glazed look and a high fever.

Papa Rooster whisked him off to the emergency room, since it was a Saturday night, thinking that if it was H1N1, he needed to get on Tamiflu right away, given his medical history of pneumonia at 5 weeks of age. He hasn't had any respiratory problems for two years, praise God!--but we know he has some scarring of his lungs that could mean he'd get pneumonia again, especially from a virus like the H1N1.

At the ER in Kenosha, they said they weren't even testing everyone who came in anymore, because 100 percent of the cases of flu they were seeing were H1N1. They did test B4, however, and started him on the Tamiflu right away.

Blondechick was the next to fall, with a cough and headache beginning on Sunday, and a fever on Monday, and then B14 woke up on Tuesday morning with a cough and a headache, but no other symptoms. I let him go to school, but instructed him to call me if he got worse, and later on, he did go to the school nurse, who said he couldn't go home, since he didn't have a fever.

But it was that day that we got the call--B4 officially had H1N1. So that meant the others probably did too, and as we looked back, we realized that Papa Rooster must have had it too, even before B10 got sick--right after he returned from a business trip. He'd had laryngitis with it too, and hadn't been able to preach for two Sundays! His vocal chords still aren't back to normal.

Blondechick went back to school after her fever was gone, but B14 was hit harder and missed Wed-Fri., and they all stayed home from theater rehearsals this weekend. I heard that H1N1 is sweeping through our small cast--and Seussical opens in less than 2 weeks! At least our kids will be completely over it by then--the silver lining in this cloud.

I'm the most recent one to develop symptoms--the cough and headache began on Thursday, then on Friday I had a very slight fever and felt much worse. As it happens, I am right now in the category of people with underlying health concerns (potentially--they are doing testing), so my doctor prescribed the Tamiflu for me right away. It really cut B4's symptoms down to almost nothing, so I am hoping my bout with this will be just as mild!

Now we are just hoping that B18 and Chicklet7 get it quick and get it over with--though we know this is nothing to take lightly. We are grieving with friends from church--the husband's father just died of complications of H1N1. He was in perfect health, and only in his 50's. I am praying hard for the one pregnant woman at our church who has H1N1 in her family right now, as well as our friend Barbara, who finished up treatment for cancer a couple months ago, so her immune system is still recovering from the barrage of chemo and radiation. She is completely cancer-free at this point, though--such an answer to prayer!!!

How are my readers faring? I gather from Facebook that H1N1 is everywhere right now. Have your families had it yet?

The Many Faces of Chicklet7

Actually, these pictures were all taken while she was six (by her dad, who is having fun teaching himself photography!) But it's finally time for an uber-belated birthday post for Chicklet, who turned 7 nearly two months ago!

(at the beach near our house)

(taken at my parents' home in Ohio)

(taken at the fair in Ohio, actually just before she turned six)

(taken in downtown Kenosha! Yes, it's that beautiful here....)

Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,
and our daughters will be like pillars
carved to adorn a palace. (Psalm 144:12)

Daughter, you adorn our hearts with smiles, laughter, goodness and beauty. May God bless and keep you all the days of your life!

Another Recipe

I just typed this up for myself, with all my changes, and thought I might as well share!

This recipe is a hearty, wholesome twist on the classic banana bread--darker and heavier and perfect for fall. It's super-healthy, but doesn't taste like it. It would probably make great muffins too!

Molasses-Oat Banana Bread (2 loaves)

(adapted from Cooking Light magazine)

In mixing bowl, combine:

1 1/3 c. sugar

½ c. canola oil

2/3 c. blackstrap molasses

Beat with mixer at medium speed until well blended, about one minute.

Add:

4 large eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition

Blend in:

2 ½ c. mashed ripe banana

2/3 plain low-fat yogurt

2 t. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 and spray 2 loaf pans.

In separate bowl, combine well:

1 ½ c. all-purpose flour

1 ½ c. whole wheat flour (or 1 ¼ c. ww flour + ¼ c. wheat germ)

1 1/3 cup regular oats

2 t. baking soda

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. salt

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, 5 minutes or till done (toothpick test).

Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Ridin' the Rapids (and a Recipe)

I feel badly about neglecting my poor little blog this fall! (And my friends' blogs and my Facebook friends...apologies all around.) I mentioned awhile back that I badly needed to find my rhythm to be able to get back into it.

Things have finally settled in to a rhythm, but it is not one that affords me much alone time. I used to blog while my kids were at activities, especially theater rehearsals and classes; now I stay at classes, since that's my job, and I end up sticking around for rehearsals, too, just to help out. I used to blog after my kids went to bed; now I am usually helping kids with homework until late, and when they go to bed, I go to bed. I used to be able to sleep in if I needed to; now I get up every day by 7:30 to get Chicklet on the bus, and I'm up at 7 on the days I drive the carpool to the Christian school. So I'm toast by 11 p.m., which used to be early for me! I am working 10 hours a week now too--another big change.

And the driving! At least 5 trips a week to the Christian school and back (35 minutes), plus Bantam10's piano lessons, cornet lessons, tap class, tennis class, and enrichment classes. Not to mention theater classes that the middle four kids attend with me, and guitar lessons that Blondechick and B14 take at the same time and place as Chicklet's ballet class. (Hmmm, I think I left some extracurriculars out of my last post! Will edit.) And none of these activities are long enough to leave and drive somewhere with wireless, before I'd have to return to pick up kids.

At least the gym class (tennis) ends this week. Enrichment classes are over for the year in 3 more weeks. And we'll get a long break from theater classes and rehearsals from Thanksgiving to New Year's.

But it's a busy season right now, and I am really missing having time for reflection and quiet. Tonia is a soccer mom in a similar season right now, and I recommend her post "Survival Guide for a Quieter Species," especially if you are an introvert, which is the end of the spectrum that I lean toward. (I know some of you may have a hard time believing it, but to recharge my batteries, nothing works for me like alone time!) I especially like her first point on prayer and her Ephesians paraphrase.

Now it's time to wrap up my rare hour of quiet and re-enter the rapids! I smell butternut squash baking in the oven; I'm making squash soup for dinner. Super easy, super yummy!

Butternut Squash Soup for 12(ish)

Pierce 2 large butternut squash with a fork and bake whole on a cookie sheet in the oven. When cooled a bit, slice in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and remove peel.

Melt 4 T. butter in a large pot and add 2 small onions, chopped; saute until onion is translucent. Add chunked up squash, 2 qts. chicken broth, 2 t. salt, pepper to taste, 1.5 t. nutmeg.

Mix well and transfer to a blender in batches; blend until smooth. Heat, adjust seasonings to taste--and enjoy!

School Year So Far

You would think that I'd have had more to say about our school year so far, with so many changes! Overall, it's going smoothly, but let's see what else I can think of to add to that.

Let's start with Chicklet7, who just started first grade at the local elementary school. Chicklet tells me that her favorite things about school are recess, gym, music, library and computer, sounding pretty much like my other kids who put in time in lower elementary school. She doesn't have much to say about her academic subjects. She is learning some sign language, because there is a little deaf boy in her class, and she thinks that's fun.

We notice that she is a lot more whiny and tired after school and in the evenings. I think it is a really long week for her. She is gone from home from 8 to 4--those are long days, aren't they? I have felt so glad I didn't send her to all-day kindergarten last year...until I got her mid-quarter evaluation and nearly every box was checked with an X for "needs improvement." Then I was beating myself up for not working harder with her last year during our homeschool kindergarten, until I talked to another mom whose son had been in all-day kindergarten last year, and he had the same number of X's on his evaluation. So I decided to stop feeling guilty and be happy that she is enjoying recess so much! According to another mom, they will be covering the same ground for the next few years anyway.

And my sweet 7-year-old is a chatterbox! She "...does a great job participating in class discussions...has difficulty working quietly." For some reason, I find this more amusing than concerning; actually, what concerns me is that she might stop being her delightful little chattering self if we leave her in school long enough. But for now, it's probably good discipline for her.

I had thought that Bantam4 would be lost all day without her, and he has surprised me by being able to go off and play alone for long periods of time while Bantam10 does his schoolwork. From the sound effects, I don't think he feels alone; he is surrounded by a whole fleet of aircraft or spaceships, or he and a posse of imaginary good guys chase the pretend bad guys all over the house. He is the most "all boy" of all of my boys! He also likes to join me and B10 at the table to do random pages in preschool workbooks, but only for a little while before he has to get back to saving the world.

B10 is having a good year at home. I am making him do every question in his Saxon 54 math book lessons, which means he is spending a lot of time on math every day. But he's getting faster, and he's getting better at math, which actually comes more easily to him than it did to his older siblings. It is at their recommendation that I am focusing so much on math this year! They disliked it so much and complained so loudly and frequently about the repetition and drill of the Saxon program, that I often let them just do odds or evens...and now they say they realize they needed the drill, and they say we should have done all the TESTS! I had no idea, at the time, that I was such a softie. You'd have thought I was General Ghengis Khan Schmitz.

B10 also reads every day for at least an hour, and he practices piano every day. He has a new piano teacher who is really inspiring him! He also just started cornet lessons once a week at the public school where Chicklet goes. He is reading his way through some Usborne science books and answering questions about his reading. For history/geography, he is reading Holling C Holling books aloud to B4. He is also taking an hour of tap dancing a week, as well as a 2-hour singing class through our theater group. And of course, he's attending weekly rehearsals and learning songs and dances for his part in Seussical!

For writing, he is taking my writing class at our homeschool group's 6-week enrichment class session, and on his own time, he is working on a chapter book about a superhero and trying his hand at cartooning as well. At enrichment, he's also taking a hands-on science class, a history class in which they are constructing lapbooks with pockets, flaps and booklets of Civil War facts, and an architecture class in which he is learning classical forms and structures using Legos! Isn't that awesome?

And I guess I'll leave my three teenagers' educational antics for another post. Stay tuned!

I Can SO Relate

If Time Were a Video...

"Hey, come here, four-year-old boy!" I said, grabbing Bantam4 for a cuddle.

He hugged me tightly and then sat up straight on my lap. "I don't like to be four," he complained.

"Why not?" I asked. "Four years old is just right for you!"

"No, I want to be a big boy!"

***

Later, the same day:

Chicklet7 asks, "Mom, can you ever rewind the world?"

"Do you mean, go back and do things over again?"

"Yes, I mean like go back and be a baby again."

"Would you like to remember what it was like when you were a baby? We should watch some videos that we took when you were little. We can rewind them--but no, you can't rewind the world. Sometimes I wish you could, but you can't."

***

She wants to rewind, he wants to fast-forward.

I think I'm with Chicklet these days. My kids are growing up so fast. While it's great to see my teenagers developing into young adults who will be capable of leaving home in a few short years, I have to say that lately I am grieving the end of an era, so to speak, when we were all home together most of the time--as frustrating as that was at times!

I miss my big kids when they are at school. I miss homeschooling them. It was a blessed time, and I truly did appreciate it while we were in the midst of it. And now, very abruptly, it seems, it is over, with them at least. It's one of the many changes that have happened since our move, and tonight, I feel homesick for the old house and the old friends and especially, for the old days.

Thank you, Lord, for the joys and blessings we have experienced as a family. So many good things we have received from your hand. Though a thousand years are as a day in your sight, thank you for new mercies every morning for we creatures who are bound by time. I will trust you, Lord, with tomorrow.

Exciting, Or What?

Does this excite anyone else?

Nashotah House is hosting a conference on Anglican-Orthodox relations on October 8-10. Entitled, "In the Footsteps of Tikhon and Grafton," the conference will include presentations by scholars associated with Nashotah House and St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary. The conference will conclude with the signing of a Concordat between the two seminaries, like the covenant partnership that Nashotah House has had for several decades with Sacred Heart (Roman Catholic) Seminary. The Concordat commits the two seminaries to pray for each other, to further ecumenical relationships between members of the Anglican and Orthodox traditions, and to continue to work for the reunion of all faithful Christians.

I don't know about most of you, but growing up in a mainline evangelical church, I was never really taught anything about the beliefs of our Orthodox and Catholic brothers and sisters. At an evangelical college, I learned the distinctives of these traditions and how their practice differed from Protestant Christianity. It has been an interesting and delightful part of my adult journey to encounter faithful, commited believers from these other traditions, to read some of their works and to begin to realize how many of the basic elements of the Christian faith that we share!

Papa Rooster is planning to attend and enjoy lectures by his favorite Anglican and his favorite Orthodox professors. He has read so widely--of evangelical, Catholic and Orthodox theology--that he can really appreciate a conference like this!

One may think that it's a pretty narrow intersection of interests, but consider this: We have a new family that's been coming to Light of Christ, and the husband told me that one of the things that he loved about our church is that he found people there that he could talk to about Orthodox theology, which is an interest of his. He said most places he tries to discuss this subject, people think he's either a heretic or he's trying to convert them, or they think he's about to convert and they try to talk him out of it. He said it was so refreshing to talk with people who had actually read some Orthodox theology and could discuss it intelligently and objectively!

So although I doubt I'd enjoy this conference that much if I went--most of it would doubtless be over my head--I'm a fan. I'm excited by the Concordat between these two seminaries, and I'm becoming more and more interested in "the reunion of all faithful Christians" and in efforts like this one toward that end.

For all who fear God and believe in you, Lord Christ,

that our divisions may cease and that all may be one

as you and the Father are one,
we pray to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.

(from The Book of Common Prayer, Litany for Ordinations)

Cared For

Thank you, dear friends and family, for your comments, emails and calls. I really didn't expect that--although I should have, from you all!--but God has used them to remind me how many people care about me and are praying for me! And I know there are many others who prayed for me when they read that last post and have been lifting me up ever since, and I feel so cared for, just thinking about it.

So among the many lessons I am learning through these difficult circumstances, I now add: God not only cares for me, but sometimes He expresses that care through many human faces and voices. I am so grateful for that tangible expression of love and concern, especially in a situation which seems full of intangibles.

I had a conversation yesterday which was very good and helped take some of the pressure off the situation in one area at least. It was a huge answer to your prayers! I still don't really know what is going on, but I slept better last night than I have in weeks. Thank you, Lord.

And thank you all!

Life Right Now

Family and friends, virtual and real-life, I would so appreciate your prayers right now.

I am in the middle of a situation that has been gradually unfolding, and it has progressively confused and disoriented me. I should find out more, sometime this week, about what is really going on, but until then, I am experiencing anxiety like I have rarely ever had, especially over such a prolonged period. I am blessed to be one of those people without much of a tendency toward depression, but this situation has definitely been "pressing down" on me.

So it's been hard to blog lately. Normally, I use my blog to record what's going on in my life and how I see God working around me, in our family and in our church. Writing helps me process my own feelings about the difficult things, like letting B14 go to school, or my miscarriage 18 months ago. And it is so encouraging when others lend a sympathetic ear and offer up prayers for me in those situations.

But this is something I can't discuss publicly, and it's the big thing going on right now for me. I wish I could write honestly and openly about it. I have written in my private journal, to explore my feelings and to hear God's words in response to my heart-cries. And I have been so grateful for Papa Rooster's love and support.

God is working in me through these hard circumstances, teaching me things about myself and about His nature. The last two sermons I heard at church, from Papa Rooster and from Phil, both really spoke to me about my exact situation. One word for me was that when our pride is wounded, it means Christ is teaching us to be more like Him in his humility. Another was about how when we strive to get what we think we need, with hands clenched on to those things, we are actually unable to receive, openhandedly, the things God is trying to give to us. So I am trying to humbly surrender this situation and hold my hands open and upward toward God. I won't say it's easy, especially when I feel wronged, but I am clinging to Christ and to these guideposts right now. May the Lord's mercy and grace fill me.

I am also grieving for a friend whose mother died last week of cancer.

And I am really bummed to see summer coming to an end. I am not one of those people who love autumn--I find it a depressing time of year in the best of circumstances.

There. Now that I got all that off my chest, maybe I'll feel more freedom to blog about other things without feeling like a pretender! Thanks in advance for your prayers, you who faithfully pray for me. (Mom, Dad and my aunts come to mind, plus friends from churches old and new...I so appreciate you all!)

***

Hey, when I just looked up Phil and Lisa's blog to link to, I discovered pictures of Phil's ordination at Light of Christ two weeks ago! (Duh, I guess!) Papa Rooster and Randy Y, the other deacon we ordained, are in them too.

And Then My Six-Year-Old Had Her Tattoo Removed...

It's true. Chicklet6 (now 7) got a real, permanent tattoo this summer.

Actually, it was her ten-year-old brother who gave it to her!

He was seated on the couch, randomly swinging a pencil in the air, and unbeknownst to him, Chicklet was looking on over his shoulder. She leaned in a little closer, and took a pencil jab to the forehead.

That's his story, anyway.

After a quick assessment of the wound, I immediately turned to Google. From that fount of wisdom, I discovered that lead poisoning is not a concern. All pencils these days are made of graphite, of course, and apparently there is no such thing as graphite poisoning.

The main concern with a pencil wound, I learned, was the likelihood of a permanent tattoo mark.

And sure enough, after the wound healed, a black dot remained in the center of Chicklet's fair forehead.

Had B10 made his mark on any other part of her body, we'd have let it go. Hey, it would be a good story! But somehow, I didn't think she'd appreciate it much when she was Blondechick16's age...or my age, for that matter.

So a cosmetic surgeon performed a tiny punch biopsy, and she was left with one stitch, and eventually, the teensiest scar. It should fade to nothingness by the time she's of an age to be glued to her mirror.

Do you know what's sad? I don't think we even have a picture of her very first tattoo....