Of Birthdays and Ballet

Figment Image Centre

We survived our first dance recital! It was a whirlwind of picture taking, many nights of rehearsal and dress rehearsal with the climax of two performances all while wearing a white leotard with downy white feathers (Zanna, not me). Could she be any cuter? Little girls danced to Swan Lake and twirled and spun around and I got to relive my dancing days like it was yesterday! An opportunity to wear lipstick is a young girls dream and she glowed through it all! Proud parents and grandparents and yes, even big brother cheered her on from the nosebleed seats in the balcony. Surely they were the best group, we all agreed!

All this excitement was followed by THE BIRTHDAY. No small number, this #13. Officially a teenager. Which means we are officially parents of a teenager. 

An awkward age with feet still needing the rest of his body to catch up to, I know his time by my side is growing fewer. Don't get me started or I may start my rendition of "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof. It won't be pretty. 
Flashback to my 13th birthday? I got tickets to Debbie Gibson. Oh, yeah. It was awesome. I went with my friend Emily Birch so our moms could sit together somewhere else not by us. 

Will started his day with pancakes in the shape of Star Wars figures (on the You are Special today plate). Just humour me - you can make out the basic shapes, right? 
He got to pick the restaurant of his choice for lunch after church and then since we ate lunch later, we did munchies in the evening while watching the Hobbit. Oma and Opa were in town for the occasion and to add to the specialness. 

In other noteworthy news, Rou Rou has finally been retired to the cedar chest. Old Rou Rou I mean. Zanna's had this baby doll since I gave it to her at 14 months. I had been searching for a doll of Asian descent while in China. Impossible. They are all blonde haired and blue eyed. Go figure! So after my global search, I finally found this doll to place in my daughter's embrace and she hasn't let her go since. Rou Rou was named early on by me - Zanna's middle name is Rou taken from her original Chinese name. Her foster mother called her Rou Rou. 

Zanna and Rou Rou have been the best of friends and she has lavished her baby with all the natural nurturing that she is blessed with. She's loved her so hard that Rou Rou has fallen apart. She's been through plenty emergency surgeries! In the beginning, Dr. Daddy would bring her down into his office (aka the basement) and bring her back up mended (with some glue marks as evidence of her trial). It became more desperate as limbs began to dangle and Oma would take a needle and thread to her during her visits. In a last attempt to prolong her life, our excellent provincial healthcare kicked in and she was able to see a specialist - Dr. godmother who sews (among other things) professionally. While we are eternally grateful to all these valiant attempts to save her life, there was nothing more we could do. It was time to pull out "back-up Rou Rou". Having purchased her a bit after the original one, I thought it would be good to have one on the side - in case of loosing her or if never needed, to keep for Zanna's future child? We talked over the pros and cons and since old R.R. was beyond repair and it didn't look as if she'd be done with dolls anytime soon, we made the switch.

Side by side. Old and New. Would it work? It did! I reassured her I did not throw the old one away and that she's somewhere safe. She's been able to make the transition and all is well! 

And finally, just had to share this sweet, little picture! She's a girl after mommy's own heart - a love for books. I caught her reading out on the play structure out back surrounded by a blanket, Rou Rou, a water bottle, her lamp and slippers. Next time I'll be sure to join her! 

Mama's Day

A beautiful prayer put to song by a talented couple!

So grateful for my mom, my mother-in-law, my grandmas, my god-mother and for the opportunity to be a mama!

Happy Mother's Day! 

Slowing Down

We are slowing down. Busy takes on new meaning - busy playing outside, busy reading a book on the porch, busy riding bikes and roller blades ... The weather has been consistently perfect (this side of heaven) for over a week now. It gets harder to study and pay attention and easier to give up trying and take a walk! 

Spring brings one of my favourite times of year - homeschool conference time and curriculum catalogs come in the mail. At this point with Will, I've got only one more year with him by my side and the curriculum is pretty much set. It's the little things now - the last minute things that I want him to know before he leaves. Most of it has nothing to do with math, spelling or history but of the heart and soul - not found in my curriculum catalogs. 

This year our area homeschool conference had Andrew Pudewa from Institute for Excellence in Writing as the keynote speaker. He drew quite a crowd with the number of attendance up significantly! I was super excited to have him come and to listen to him in person. I've been listening to him on mp3 for years - one of my favourite being Fairy Tales and the Moral Imagination. And his talk Freedomship Education Paradigm challenged my conception of what education is. On top of that, Will has been learning from Mr. Pudewa for years - by DVD on my laptop. It's been our writing program and been an absolute miracle for both of us - for me trying to figure out how to teach writing and do it justice and for Will who could have cared less. Mr. Pudewa is a great teacher and hilarious on top of it. So when an opportunity to attend a class of his in person came up for Will, we jumped on it! The day before the conference he was offering several different classes depending previous experience and age. Will was super excited - yes, for a writing class on essays no less! And so was I because I was going to sit in on it:) 

Will also got his autograph. You know your a homeschooler when...

This was also the first homeschool conference that I spoke for. My workshop was titled "Creative Organization" and I had handouts and a Keynote (powerpoint). This was really the first time I've ever done something like this and I was pretty petrified. My sweet husband despite his crazy day managed to make it there in time to set things up and cheer me on in the back row. Actually at one point I think I noticed him starting to doze but to be fair he really did have a busy day so I won't take it too personally .... It was a good experience for me and I'm really glad I did it. Always room for improvement but you can't improve if you don't do it! So there! 

I attended the loveliest of women's retreats on a Saturday. My friend Karen who had gone to Nepal in February to teach and encourage Christian women there, led a similar retreat for the ladies in our churches here! It's title was I Serve God in Whatever Stage of Life He Places Me - in the home, in the community, in the church. Missing nothing, my artist friend and creative Christ follower adorned the luncheon tables herself with some handmade flair!

We have been busy wrapping up the year with Will's string ensemble he's been a part of this school year. He was part of a concert in March put on to raise money for the upcoming school tours. And now in May, we've had one day of school tours with one more day to go. Over the weekend, they had their final end of year recital. The school tour day was exhausting for us all but a blast. Four schools in all areas of the city in one day on a big, yellow school bus is quite the event! Gathered in a grade school gym, kids lined the floors in straight rows (more or less) and listened as the string ensemble played their repertoire. Audience participation included members of the audience getting a chance to "direct" the group. It was a blast! A really great experience! 

And finally, I don't know where she gets it?