Mama Paparazzi

So we have this old car sitting in our driveway. It was in the way of another vehicle, so Pearly went out to move it for us. She's not old enough for her license, but enjoys starting up the engine and moving it forward and in reverse every now and then to keep it running. (Hmm, Mom, does that sound familiar???) So, she was moving the car and happened to be wearing my old curlers. I quickly grabbed the camera because it so reminded me of the days when we would see ladies in curlers driving cars (why did ladies really do this? I don't get the purpose of putting your hair in curlers and showing them in public - what was up with that???) Well, next thing you know, I'm being yelled at, "Mama Paparazzi - quit taking pictures of me!" LOL Oh yea, and you better believe I uploaded it to her Facebook wall - the paparazzi mom that I am :)

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Tall Dude

Tall Dude holding his cousin after a Christmas performance.

Warming up for a concert choir competition.

Tall Dude "officially" graduated from HS last year, but there were a couple things that we as parents thought that he still needed to work on. We decided that it was best if he stayed home one more year with the purpose of working on a few things and also to give him the opportunity to fine tune his goals for the future so that he wouldn't be wasting time in college taking classes that wouldn't be beneficial to him. This proved to be a good choice. He was able to take a class called Engineering as a Profession which is taught by a local businessman. The class is funded by the local public high school, so he is bused to the center to take the class. Tall Dude was thinking of taking business classes in college, but part of me wondered if he might like some engineering as well because he's great at math and building things. So this class was wonderful in that it confirmed to him that engineering is indeed a good fit for him now his plans are to combine engineering with business.

Another great benefit to taking one more year of HS classes was his opportunity to sing in choir. I directed a 12-voice ensemble a couple years ago and he loved it, but I was hoping he could get another chance to use his beautiful bass voice. He joined a 65-voice concert choir and also was selected to sing in the 16-voice a capella choir. This classes meets at 6:30 a.m. I wasn't sure how this would work out because the previous year homeschooling, we didn't see him up nearly that early. We have been thrilled to see him motivated to make it to choir on his own every morning. He has indeed put forth the effort and stepped up to the challenge. It's been a great year for him and I'm so proud.

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Playin' Around

I picked up Scrapbook Factory Deluxe at a rummage sale for $2. I was greatly surprised to open up the package and find that the CDs were in a sealed package! Here are a couple shots from my new sister's recent visit.
Obviously, Orange boy really enjoyed having a cute and cuddly cousin around. So sweet.
The visit from my new sisters was precious. Of course there never is enough time, but I think we got a good thing started and I'm glad we have the rest of our lives to get to know each other.

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My Sisters

My new sisters and me. We are all lacking sleep and an amazing orange object was out today keeping our eyes squinty, but here we are - happy sisters!

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Roller Coaster Week

Sunday night, I was about to go to bed wondering if I would be able to sleep because the following day, my husband was going to be notified if he still had his job or not. We had known for about 2 months of the impending layoffs and my mind had traveled through all sorts of scenarios of "what ifs" and "how can we do it with only unemployment" to a lot of simply praying, "God, you are in control, You've always taken care of us" and trying to rest in that thought.

So, before going to bed, I checked my Facebook acct and found out some sad news regarding long-time acquaintances (and reconnections newly established on Facebook). Their 16-yr old son, Nathan, who has Down Syndrome was in a terrible accident. You can read about it here.

That put it all into perspective for me. This family whose father who has been unemployed for 18-months now has a child who is teetering on death (with no health insurance), and I am whining about the possibility of a job loss. I did stay up all night. Not due to our job situation, but with a heavy heart for the Vredevelt family and prayed.

The next day, my husband called me with the news: he still has his job. All is well for now.

So, today is Wednesday, Nathan is still in critical condition and my mind has been on him and his family constantly.

But tonight . . . . I am switching gears. My two half-sisters I recently discovered after years and years of searching are coming to Oregon and I will meet them for the first time in person. What a sweet gift I have been given - an opportunity to learn about my biological father from the 2 daughters that he raised.

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