At A Hen's Pace

Books Read in 2021

2022-01-01T11:50:00.000-06:00

This was probably my best year of reading yet, completing more than 80 books! The vast majority were audiobooks, which I listened to while gardening, cooking, driving, etc. I also read a few actual paper books which I held in my hands but failed to write down anywhere, plus a number of plays from anthologies that I'm not going to bother to look up. So the list below are all audiobooks, organized by the app I borrowed them from. I starred a few that I especially enjoyed, put a (-) after a few that weren't as good as the rest, and left off a couple that were terrible. The rest were worthwhile.

On OverDrive:

Rules of Civility (Amor Towles)

Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng)

When All is Said (Anne Griffin)

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Kate DiCamillo)

One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) ~I failed to appreciate this one as much as you're supposed to. It would have been better if I'd read it for a class or discussion group.

*Before We Were Yours, *The Book of Lost Friends (Lisa Wingate)

Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)

The Answer Is... : Reflections on My Life (Alex Trebek) (Jeopardy host)

Kingdom of the Blind, A Better Man, All the Devils Are Here (Louise Penny, Inspector Gamache series*)

Lab Girl (Hope Jahren)

News of the World (Paulette Jiles)

*Educated: A Memoir (Tara Westover)

*The Giver of Stars (Jojo Moyes) ~Historical fiction featuring "pack horse librarians" on the Midwestern frontier.

The Alchemist (Paul Coelho) ~Another one that I would have enjoyed more if read for a class or discussion group.

Send for Me (Lauren Fox) (-)

Journey to Munich (Jacqueline Winspear, Maise Dobbs series)

The Handmaid's Tale, Hag-Seed (Margaret Atwood)

Uncommon Type: Some Stories (Tom Hanks) ~These short stories were uneven but mostly quite good!

**Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett) ~Loved this epic tale. Will definitely re-read.

*The Bookish Life of Nina Hill (Abbi Waxman)

From a Certain Point of View (40 authors, 40 stories; Star Wars fandom) ~Fun!

Dare to Lead: Brave Work, Tough Conversations, Whole Hearts (Brene Brown)

Olive Kitteridge (Elizabeth Strout)

*China Dolls (Lisa See)

The Dutch House (Ann Patchett)

The Snow Child (Eowyn Ivey)

**Daisy Jones and the Six (the audiobook of this was amazingly good; I will definitely reread this one!), Malibu Rising (Taylor Jenkins Reid)

The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas) ~Definitely a YA book. Good story, but I prefer YA books that you can't tell are YA.

The Searcher (Tana French)

*Ordinary Grace (William Kent Krueger)

The Outsider, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (Stephen King)

Greenlights (Matthew McConaughey)

Death on a Southern Breeze (Mark de Castrique) (-)

Carve the Mark, The Fates Divide (Veronica Roth)

The Woman in the Window (A. J. Finn)

*The Book of Lost Names (Kristin Harmel)

*Death Comes to Pemberly (P. D. James)

The Quilter's Apprentice (Jennifer Chiaverini)

Cloud Cuckoo Land (Anthony Doerr) ~From the author of All The Light We Cannot See, this one was disappointing because it was nothing like it, and it was futuristic vs. historical fiction...however it really was ingenius, well-written, and ultimately enjoyable.

The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern)

The Great Alone (Kristin Hannah) ~Very different from The Nightingale, much rougher content with graphic domestic violence.

*Hillbilly Elegy (A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (J. D. Vance)

*Dracula (Bram Stoker) ~So much better than I expected!

*Cyrano de Bergerac (Edmond Rostand) ~A re-read; I have loved this play since I wrote a paper on it in high school.

*Anxious People (Fredrik Backman) ~Same author as A Man Called Ove; very different but just as funny and psychologically insightful.

**Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (Helen Simonson) ~Insightful and delightful!

Brooklyn (Colm Toibin)

The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm (Robert Galbraith) (J.K. Rowling's pseudonym)

On Hoopla:

*The Queen's Gambit (Walter Tevis)

*Under the Tulip Tree (Michelle Shocklee)

The Convent's Secret, The Ink Master's Silence, The Cheater's Game, The Prisoner's Key, The Imposter's Inheritance, The Kidnapper's Accomplice, The Toymaker's Curse, The Spy Master's Scheme (C. J. Archer, Glass & Steele series*) ~These YA mysteries don't feel like YA. They blend magic as a plot line with well-drawn characters in a Victorian London setting. Very fun!

The Last Bookshop in London (Madeline Martin)

Murder at the Mayfair Hotel, Murder at the Piccadilly Playhouse (C. J. Archer)

Jane of Lantern Hill (L. M. Montgomery)

Tolkien's Last Chaucer (John M. Bowers) -Not a page turner, not a great narrator; I listened to it on a faster speed just to get through it, but it was a fascinating glimpse into Tolkien's head, academic publishing, connections between Chaucer and other medieval books that show up in The Lord of the Rings, and philologists dialoguing about philology.

The London House (Katherine Reay)

*That Distant Land (Wendell Berry)

Books I read and taught for Classical Conversations Semester One:

Beowulf

Prologue and the Knight's Tale from The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Book One of Paradise Lost

The Pilgrim's Progress (John Bunyan)

Robinson Crusoe (Daniel DeFoe)

"A Modest Proposal" (Jonathan Swift)

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)

A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)

Books Read in 2019/2020

2021-01-01T17:04:00.003-06:00

So I gave up blogging, I guess. I didn't intentionally choose to, but social media is so much more interactive and short form! I post pretty regularly on Facebook these days. If you're interested in friending me there, send me an email (see sidebar).

But I do like tallying up my list of books read at the end of the year. I had to skip my year-end book list last year, though, due to the full-time teaching job I was trying to wing my way though--teaching middle school choir, of all things. It took so much time and energy trying to keep up and learn a whole new area to teach; I just had to say no to so many other things. But I was able to squeeze in lots of listening in the car, in the bathroom, in the kitchen.... I love audiobooks because they allow me to get other things done at the same time!

Most of the books on my list are audiobooks because--yay!--"history" on Overdrive and Hoopla. I'll glance over my shelves and see if I can recall what actual books I read too. I might have to include plays this time, since I just finished up a couple of theater classes I'm taking in order to add a theater license to my teaching license. But here goes!

All the audiobooks I've listened to since I last tallied up at the end of 2018, with a just a few *starred that I found extra-special for some reason:

A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts (Therese Ann Fowler)

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (Therese Ann Fowler)

Then She was Gone (Lisa Jewell)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Suzanne Collins)

*Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion (Father Gregory Boyle) True stories about his work among gang members in LA.

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) (Jerome K. Jerome)

Everything I Never Told You (Celeste Ng)

*The Painted Girls (Cathy Marie Buchanan) Imaginative historical fiction about the ballerina who posed for Edgar Degas' statue "Little Dancer."

Winesburg, Ohio (Sherwood Anderson)

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto (Mitch Albom)

The House We Grew Up In (Lisa Jewell)

Homegoing (Yaa Gyasi)

The Paris Wife (Paula McLain) About Earnest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley Richardson.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Heather Morris)

The Next Person You Meet in Heaven (Mitch Albom)

Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn) [Obscenity warning; this one was really bad, especially for an audiobook.]

The Two Gentleman of Verona (William Shakespeare)

Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)

At the Water's Edge (Sara Gruen)

This is How It Always Is (Laurie Frankel)

*The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, And Discovered Life Is Worth More (Cait Flanders)

The Silent Patient (Alex Michaelides)

*The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics (Daniel James Brown)

*The Nightingale (Kristin Hannah)

*The Eyes of the Dragon (Stephen King) An epic fairy tale for grown-ups.

Between the World and Me (Ta-Nehisi Coates)

*Absent in the Spring (Agatha Christie) A very unusual Christie novel because it's not a mystery. This is more of a psychological study of self-deception and honesty. If you are a middle-aged woman with grown children, this book hits pretty hard, but not in a hurtful way. She is an amazing writer.

The Gunslinger (Stephen King)

The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)

*Alexander Hamilton (Ron Chernow)

I found it fascinating how similar the political scene was back in Hamilton's day--it was bitterly, wickedly divisive. Also there was an epidemic of yellow fever that created similar dynamics in society to our current pandemic. The story of Hamilton's life is absolutely fascinating. You can see why this book inspired Lin Manuel-Miranda to write the musical.

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family and Defiance During the Blitz (Erik Larson)

I was listening to how Londoners went to bed at night not knowing if their building would be bombed while they slept...at the same time as riots and demonstrations were breaking out nightly in Kenosha, creating similar uncertainties (of a much smaller magnitude, granted) among our network of fellow Kenoshans.

The Stand (Stephen King) This was a pretty amazingly epic story (not horror), but it's definitely rated R for obscenity and a couple graphic situations.

The Glass Hotel (Emily St. John Mandel)

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion (Fannie Flagg) [based on World War 2 phenomenon]

*American Like Me (America Ferrera) Short stories by people of color about their experiences growing up in American culture.

The Odd Couple (Neil Simon)

Beloved (Toni Morrison)

Hidden Figures (Margot Lee Shetterly)

Glass Houses (Louise Penny)

*Lilac Girls (Martha Hall Kelly)

*My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton (Stephanie Dray)

*The Language of Flowers (Vanessa Diffenbaugh) So much to love about this one.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Kate DiCamillo)

Rules of Civility (Amor Towles)

The Baker Street Letters (Michael Robertson)

The Brothers of Baker Street (Michael Robertson)

In the Company of Sherlock Holmes (various authors, short stories)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A Study in Scarlet (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The Sign of Four (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Benedict Cumberbatch Reads Sherlock Holmes' Rediscovered Railway Mysteries (John Taylor)

*Flavia DeLuce Mysteries (Alan Bradley): [England] [first book is The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie]

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd

Speaking From Among the Bones

The Grave's a Fine and Private Place

The Golden Tresses of the Dead

Maisie Dobbs Mysteries (Jacqueline Winspear): [World War 2]

Maisie Dobbs

Birds of a Feather

Pardonable Lies

Messenger of Truth

An Incomplete Revenge

Among the Mad

The Mapping of Love and Death

A Lesson in Secrets

Elegy for Eddie

Leaving Everything Most Loved

A Dangerous Place

Journey to Munich

In This Grave Hour

Alafair Tucker Mysteries (Donis Casey): [Oklahoma]

The Old Buzzard Had It Coming

Hornswoggled

The Drop Edge of Yonder

The Sky Took Him

Crying Blood

The Wrong Hill to Die On

Hell with the Lid Blown Off

Bess Crawford Mysteries (Charles Todd): [World War 2]

An Impartial Witness

A Bitter Truth

An Unmarked Grave

A Question of Honor

An Unwilling Accomplice

A Pattern of Lies

The Shattered Tree

A Casualty of War

A Forgotten Place

An Unwilling Accomplice

Kurt Wallendar Mysteries (Henning Mankell): [Sweden]

Faceless Killers

The Dogs of Riga

The White LionessfThe Man Who Smiled

Sidetracked

The Fifth Woman

One Step Behind

Firewall

The Pyramid

Before the Frost

St. Just Mysteries (G.M. Malliet)

Death of a Cozy Writer

Death and the Lit Chick

Death at the Alma Mater

Max Tudor Mysteries (G.M. Malliet)

Wicked Autumn

A Fatal Winter

Pagan Spring

A Demon Summer

The Haunted Season

Devil's Breath

In Prior's Wood

Glass and Steele series (C.J. Archer): [Victorian England]

The Watchmaker's Daughter

The Mapmaker's Apprentice

The Apothecary's Poison

The Magician's Diary

Freak House trilogy (C.J. Archer):

The Wrong Girl

Playing with Fire

Heart Burn

Books I actually held in my hands and read to myself:

Backwards and Forwards: A Technical Manual for Reading Plays (David Ball)

Script Analysis for Actors, Directors and Designers (James Thomas)

An Actor Prepares (Constantin Stanislavski)

Acting: The First Six Lessons (Boleslavsky)

Bird by Bird (Anne Lamott)

Hum If You Don't Know the Words (Bianca Marais)

Facing Covid Without Panic: 12 Common Myths and 12 Lesser Known Fact about the Pandemic Clearly Explained by an Epidemiologist (Daniel T. Halperin) [required reading for our diocese]

Most of:

Jesus Calling (Sarah Young)

Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples (Hendrix)

The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery (Cron & Stabile)

Lots of:

The Bible

Plays I read or watched (-) for classes; wrote accompanying papers for all!:

True West (Sam Shepard)

Fences (August Wilson)

Trifles (Susan Glaspell)

The Humans (Stephen Karam)

Disgraced (Ayad Akhtar)

Ruined (Lynn Nottage)

Top Girls (Caryl Churchill)

Eurydice (Sarah Ruhl)

Dumb Waiter (Harold Pinter)

-Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare)

-Stupid F*ing Bird (Aaron Posner) (adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull)

-Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (comedy for 3 actors by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield)

Plays I read not for class:

The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde) [actually directed this one in spring 2019!]

She Stoops to Conquer

A Christmas Story [performed in this one as Mother]

Watched these productions online this spring (the equivalent of an audiobook for a play, right?):

Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare) (PBS Great Performances)

Present Laughter (Noel Coward) (PBS Great Performances)

The King and I (PBS Great Performances)

She Loves Me (PBS Great Performances)

One Man, Two Guv'nors (PBS Great Performances)

A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams) (National Theater At Home)

Frankenstein (National Theater At Home)

Coriolanus (Shakespeare) (National Theater At Home)

Les Blancs (National Theater At Home)

The Deep Blue Sea (National Theater At Home)

Small Island (National Theater At Home)

Amadeus (National Theater At Home)

A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare) (National Theater At Home)

Barbershop Chronicles (National Theater At Home)

Phantom of the Opera (The Shows Must Go On)

Love Never Dies (The Shows Must Go On)

Hairspray (The Shows Must Go On)

Peter Pan (Chicago Shakespeare Theater)

My Year in Books

2019-01-02T18:13:00.001-06:00

The year didn't start out so great. I was dredging the bottom of the barrel of the audiobook section of my library branch, which I had cherry-picked over the 10 years we'd lived in Wisconsin.

The Ninth Hour (Alice McDermott)
Unmemorable, I guess.

Closing Time: A Memoir (Joe Queenan)
Growing up with an alcoholic father that he never really makes his peace with; becomes a writer. Strong sense of place, if you know Philadelphia, but otherwise I wouldn't recommend.

The Third Coast : When Chicago Built the American Dream (Tom Dyja)

Not the most riveting prose--or maybe it was just my struggle to hang in there with nonfiction--but I enjoyed the content, which traces the history of Chicago architecture, music, theater and authors, especially how architecture shaped the cultural divide between black and white Chicagoans.

The Dovekeepers (Alice Hoffman)

Didn't love this one. First of all, it ends badly--with the massacre at Masada, if you know any Jewish history. I don't know a great deal about Jewish sects at that time, but I was uncomfortable with the large amount of witchcraft alongside relatively minimal evidence of Jewish faith in most of the characters.

*Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (Gail Honeyman)

Loved this story of self-discovery and learning to trust.

*The War That Saved My Life (Kimberly Brubaker Bradley)

Delightful tale of a crippled girl who is sent out of London during WW2.

Travels With Charley: In Search of America (John Steinbeck)

I love John Steinbeck, but did not enjoy this book. Not much plot as he drives around the U.S. with his dog and a camper truck.

Then my life changed when a friend urged me to install the Hoopla app on my phone and gave me a whole list of recommendations! (Thank you, Laura!)

*A Man Called Ove (Fredrik Backman)

Oh. My. Goodness. The humor in this book is so Scandinavian--dry and awkward and poignant. Think Garrison Keillor and the movie Lars and the Real Girl. (Which you must watch if you liked this book!)

*The Heavenly Man (Brother Yun/Paul Hattaway)

Incredible testimony of God's work in China in the 1970's-2001. Riveting and super-inspiring.

State of Wonder (Ann Patchett)

Didn't love this one as much as Bel Canto.

*Prayers for Sale (Sandra Dallas)

A heart-warming tale that unfolds masterfully, of two women in a Colorado mining town in the 1930's.

*Call the Midwife

*Shadows of the Workhouse

*Last Days of the East End Midwives (Jennifer Worth)

Absolutely riveting. If you've enjoyed the shows, the books are--all together now?--even better.

*The Pecan Man (Cassie Dandridge Selleck)

Can't say it more succinctly than the reviewer who called it "To Kill a Mockingbird meets The Help."

A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)

Excellent novel but such a painful story of war and abuse in Afghanistan.

Tallgrass (Sandra Dallas)

Also a painful story, of a small Colorado town where the U.S. government sets up a Japanese internment camp.

Lady Macbeth (Susan Fraser King)

Not Shakespeare's couple...but an enjoyable historical romance set in medieval Scotland.

*The Girls at the Kingfisher Club (Genevieve Valentine)

I sort of collect retellings of the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses. This one is set in the Roaring 20's and it really works!

The Lessons of History (Will Durant)

Since nonfiction isn't my favorite, I was proud of myself for listening to this one. Will and Ariel Durant's 11-volume set The Story of Civilization was one of our first purchases when we were newly married and both working, but this distillation of the essential lessons from history is probably as close as I'll ever come to reading them!

The Zookeeper's Wife (Diane Ackerman)

True story of the couple who ran the Warsaw Zoo and how they saved hundreds from the Nazis.

This Could Change Everything (Jill Mansell)

Lighthearted and enjoyable.

*A Memory of Violets (Hazel Gaynor)

Excellent historical fiction about London flower sellers, a group I had never imagined before.

The Girl Who Came Home (Hazel Gaynor)

Fictional account of a Titanic survivor. I'm liking this author so far.

*The Girl With Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story (Hyeonseo Lee)

Amazing autobiographical story, well-told.

Go Set a Watchman (Harper Lee)

A coming-of-age story. Grown-up Scout comes to terms with who her father is: a more complicated man than the hero of her childhood. Not as enjoyable as To Kill a Mockingbird but a thoughtful read.

Winesburg, Ohio (Sherwood Anderson)

I grew up in Ohio, and I've always heard this was an important collection of short stories, which I always enjoy. But I can't say I loved these.

*Maisie Dobbs

*Birds of a Feather

*Pardonable Lies

*Messenger of Truth

*An Incomplete Revenge (Jacqueline Winspear)

I'm loving this detective series, which is also good historical fiction, set in the aftermath of WW1.

Alongside all my listening (mostly while cooking, driving, and during my morning and evening ablutions), I always read a few pages before I go to bed at night. I'm amazed how many books I can get through in 10-15 minutes a day:

Station 11 (Emily St. John Mandel)

Fascinating and well-written imagining of a future without technology, following a pandemic that wipes out 99% of the world's population. It follows the path of a group of Shakespearean actors who travel the Great Lakes region, while piecing together another story, from the years before the pandemic, puzzle piece by puzzle piece. I'm reading this out loud to my ninth graders and they're hooked!

The Grantchester Mysteries:

Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death

Sidney Chambers and The Perils of the Night

Sidney Chambers and The Problem of Evil

Sidney Chambers and The Forgiveness of Sins

Sidney Chambers and The Dangers of Temptation (James Runcie)

Had to read these since the star is an Anglican priest, and I enjoyed them very much. We enjoyed the first season of the PBS series as well, but I heard that later seasons takes liberties that do not appear in the books. (He never cheats on his wife!)

Joy in the Morning (Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn)

Fictional, yet autobiographical account of her marriage at a young age and how she was invited to attend college classes along with her husband which set her on the path of becoming a writer.

*A Girl Named Zippy (Haven Kimmel)

One of my favorite memoirs, a re-read. Her account of growing up in small-town Indiana in the 60's and 70's reminds me so much of my childhood! I had the same bike, I swear.

Mara, Daughter of the Nile (Eloise McGraw)

A homeschool title I never got around to reading with my kids. Good historical fiction.

Turn Homeward, Hannalee (Patricia Beatty)

Another one, also very good.

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (Bette Bao Lord)

Another one. I liked it; not super-memorable.

The Lieutenant's Lady (Bess Streeter Aldrich)

Based on the diary of an actual army wife who journeyed west with her husband, this is a fictional account of a lady who travels to deliver her cousin's Dear John letter and ends up marrying the Lieutenant herself.

The Emigrants

Unto a Good Land (Vilhelm Moberg)

The first two of four volumes about Swedish immigrants to America, translated from the Swedish. I'm hooked!

And finally, two books that I've read in the last five years but forgot to record on any previous book lists:

*In Sunlight and in Shadow

*Paris in the Present Tense (Mark Helprin)

I adore this man's writing; it's magical. Literally, his style includes elements of "magical realism" that require you to suspend disbelief; but figuratively, his images are so luminous and beautiful, you almost can't believe that he thought of putting those words together on a page.

Not counting those last two, I read 46 books last year! That makes me happy.

For more year-end booklists, see the annual round-up here at the blog Semicolon!

2018 Update

2019-01-01T11:36:00.002-06:00

I can't help it...New Year's Eve always reminds me that I still have a blog! (Should I choose to update it....)

So what's happened at the Henhouse since the birth of Granddaughter #1 in April?

--The birth of Granddaughter #2 in June! So privileged to be with Blondechick the whole time, and so grateful for the health of mom and daughter.

Baptism Day!

--Bantam23 and family bought a house nearby; Blondechick25 and family moved into their old rental house right around the corner from us. I keep pinching myself; I never imagined we'd have all our kids so close by after they left home!

--Father Rooster went to Israel in June for the international Anglican conference GAFCON plus a Holy Land tour. It was life-changing for him!

--Chicklet and B13 went to overnight camp, while I took on a summer editing project to help pay for it. Chicklet took driver's ed, and B13 played soccer and went Airsofting with B28. We all went to visit the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins at the farm in Ohio in August.

--B19 stepped into his older brother's shoes at Starbucks this summer, but just hung up his apron again because next week, after 3 semesters as a music major at Carthage College (here in Kenosha), he's transferring to Wheaton College (in the western suburbs of Chicago) where he plans to major in Biblical studies. He still fills called to be a pastor and also is interested in the military, so he may do ROTC at Wheaton as well.

--Light of Christ continues to grow, not so much in numbers (although for every person who moves on, God sends us someone new, so we remain right around 75 strong), but deeper in relationship with God and each other, especially through this Life Model Works study, Forming--a great tool for modeling how to develop a real and conversational relationship with God. Father Rooster continues as full-time pastor, paid part-time, but God provides one way or another...constantly growing our faith!

--Last spring I was assistant director for CYT Kenosha's James and the Giant Peach; B13 was Centipede and Chicklet16 was Aunt Spiker.

--This fall I was assistant director for Music Man; Chicklet was the Mayor's daughter, Zaneeta Shinn, and B13 played various male townsperson roles, including Salesman #1 who starts out the show in the train number: "CASH for the merchandise, CASH for the button hooks..."

Never posted photos from last January's Little Mermaid, when Chicklet was Ariel, so:

Chicklet's sister dyed her hair this beautiful red with a semi-permanent dye; it has looked amazingly good as it has gradually washed out, but I wonder how many of Chicklet's high school friends will always remember her as a strawberry blonde!

--Currently I am lead director for Seussical the Musical; Chicklet is a Bird Girl; B13 is a Wickersham Brother. Performances are the first weekend in February. Wish you all could come!

--I had already agreed to direct Seussical when I was asked to take a long-term sub job as the 9th grade English teacher at my favorite public high school in Kenosha (a charter school with an Expeditionary Learning philosophy). I'm covering for a maternity leave that started just before Thanksgiving; I'll be there at least through March and maybe for the rest of the year. It has been a real challenge to keep up with lesson planning, grading, meetings, rehearsals, laundry, church, and family! But the opportunity was an exact answer to prayer, and a perfect chance to see what full-time teaching, plus directing, is like. And it's been not too bad, especially with all the prep work I was able to do for Seuss before I began the job.

Now this spring will be more challenging, if I end up teaching through June, because I'm committed to direct a play at another high school; auditions are in March, with performances in mid-May. Those rehearsals will not just be Friday nights and Saturday mornings, like CYT; they will be nearly every day after school. I can't back out of directing the play; I committed over a year in advance, plus I chose it--The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde. Also it was such an honor to be invited to direct at the public high school and I'm super-excited about it! I'm only committed to the long-term sub job through March, but if their regular teacher cannot return, I just can't see myself leaving those kids with yet another long-term sub, their third teacher of the year, for the last 10 weeks. To reassure me somewhat, God sent a student teacher who will be working with the theater teacher at the high school, and she wants to assistant direct Earnest with me. So I'm counting on her help, and God's, as He reminds me that He will walk with me through these doors He has opened.

--So many more small but wonderful things happened in 2018. I could talk about each of my children; I am so proud of them all! It's exciting to watch the younger half become young adults. B19 and Chicklet16 especially seem wise beyond their years, with an ability to hear God and choose Him first. They are far less distracted by the opposite sex than their older siblings were at their ages, and they are wisely investing in themselves, in their educations and in defining who they are and what they believe. I am so thankful!

And it is so fulfilling to watch B23 and Blondechick25, as such wonderful parents, and to rest easy in their brilliant choices of spouses, who are also great parents, great partners and great people. Although they both married young and neither went to college, they both continue to grow spiritually and intellectually. B23 listens to podcasts on his commute, and discusses them with Father Rooster and B19. Blondechick is thriving as a new mom; we see her drawing strength from God and deepening her own inner resources through the trials of sleeplessness, financial stress, and returning part-time to cosmetology school. She just shared a year-end testimony of the power of gratitude to change one's attitude, and we have witnessed the new freedom from anxiety that she's experienced since she began a daily discipline of thankfulness.

--Wish I could add more photos too, but it takes so much time and I also want to compile my list of books read in 2018...I still have a dozen or so papers to grade, and 120x3 grades to enter...plus my to-do list is filled with odds and ends to squeeze in before returning to school next Monday like: make freezer meals, help B28 find a cheap TV, take down tree, move B13 to the basement and set up office for Fr. Rooster in 4th bedroom, see Mary Poppins, plan lessons for M-T, wash filthy floors!

So I'll just leave you with a few more of the grandbabies...

And a Happy 2019 from all of us!

Granddaughter #1

2018-04-19T13:36:00.001-05:00

Life has been too full lately for blogging, sadly...but I can't skip this milestone! Our first biological grandchild was born on Sunday, in the midst of an unseasonal April snowstorm. Isn't she beautiful??

This is the child of our son B22(soon to be B23) and our dear daughter-in-love, DIL19 (soon to be DIL20). She joins a half brother, soon to be 4, who regards the new baby sister with cautious suspicion! They live within walking distance of us, so we look forward to lots of baby snuggling this summer.

Both parents are enjoying time off work this week. Last fall, B22 left Starbucks, where he was a shift manager for 3+ years. He worked at Jockey headquarters here in Kenosha for a short stint; then, thanks to a friend who is an executive at a recruiting firm, he started working as a recruiter, an excellent job except for the 50-minute commute to Illinois. DIL is enjoying maternity leave from her barista job, and thankful that she's probably only going back one day a weekend.

We are also anticipating the birth of Granddaughter #2! Blondechick25 is due June 1 but due to her petite frame, they are planning to induce her on Memorial Day weekend. Here's a photo of both my pregnant girls at the Easter Vigil:

And here's a family photo taken on Easter Day (missing Blondechick and Jedi Knight, but including Grandpa Rooster, Uncle Rooster and our niece/cousin):

Here's the last photo of my two pregnant girls, with me and Jedi Knight's mom, taken at Blondechick's baby shower:

It was a coincidence that we all dressed in black and white!

And just a couple weeks later--and a couple weeks earlier than expected--we found ourselves together again at this joyful occasion:

I've been a step-grandparent ever since B22 married DIL19, but this is the first biological, infant grandchild on both sides.

Looking forward to enjoying my new role as Grandma!

Word for 2018

2018-01-17T10:24:00.001-06:00

I have never before participated in the popular non-resolution-making idea of choosing a word for the coming year, so...it's time!

My word for 2018 is "heart."

At our church, we're beginning a year in the book of John, and our theme is "Heart to Heart." So I was already primed for this image, but a couple Sundays ago in church, while our preacher was reminding us that Jesus really is a person, not just a concept, I felt an almost physical sensation of warmth and tightness, like a hug, just a little left of the center of my chest. The thought entered my brain, "Jesus is hugging my heart." I stopped listening to the sermon and sat there noticing and allowing this sensation, and trying to hold tears back as I continued to feel that it was indeed Jesus embracing me at the core of my being.

(What a long way I've come, with God's help, from a time when what little sense of being I had, I considered too unloveable for anyone to embrace. God really does transform lives!)

The word "heart" to me symbolizes a vulnerability that I have to be willing to choose. I have to stop all the wheels spinning--the busyness, the thoughts, the actions of juggling daily life (which for me also means becoming vulnerable because I can use these things as defenses)--and I have to rest for a few minutes in the presence of God. Just as I sometimes have to pull away from "all the things" and re-establish a relational connection with my husband, reminding myself (and him) that our marriage is one of the most important things, so I also must seek out the Lord, not just for a quick mental check-in (which I try to do frequently) but for a real embrace and a rest.

"Heart." Heart-to-heart time with Jesus. And with my heart held tightly by God, how much more will I be to minister to the hearts of others? Transformation of hearts is another ongoing prayer of my heart, so my word will remind me to pray for my own heart and the hearts of others, and to do what I can to touch hearts in ministry.

2017 Family Update

2018-01-06T21:05:00.001-06:00

Rear L to R: Jedi Knight, Blondechick, Daughter-in-Love, B22, B19, Chicklet, B26
Front L to R: B12, Grandpa Rooster, Mama Hen, Papa Rooster, Brother Rooster, Niece Rooster

Since I didn't post much in 2017, I'm overdue for an update! I'll try to keep it from getting too long....

In 2016, you recall, we had two weddings. In 2017, we had two more exciting announcements--a granddaughter due in April, and another grandchild due in June!

This summer, Bantam22 and his lovely wife moved into a rental house that is a 3-minute walk from ours. In late 2016, Father Rooster's brother and his daughter, our niece, moved from Chicago to live with Grandpa, a 10-minute walk in the other direction. So we haven't really felt the emptiness one might expect after marrying off two kids; there are more of us than ever, it seems, when we have family get-togethers!

We are thrilled to have Brother Rooster playing guitar and singing with our worship team every Sunday now. Remember when my sidebar used to have a prayer request for a guitar player to help lead worship? He's been helping us out for years now, even when he was driving up from Chicago, but we love having him every week now.

At church, we have several small groups going that are really exciting. We've been starting to practice Immanuel Prayer with individuals in need of healing and are amazed at how effective it is at connecting them to Jesus. We've been joined by a number of new folks in 2017 and we're excited about the ways our congregation is growing spiritually. We've had several baptisms this year and seen several nominal believers give their lives fully to Christ! Although our church continues to struggle financially, and Father R and I were praying about whether he would have to return to the business world in 2018, someone just recently pledged to cover the deficit each month, allowing Father R to continue to receive the part-time salary we've been depending on. It's just one example of how we've seen God encouraging us at Light of Christ. It's amazing to see how God acts and moves in the lives of various individuals to confirm His plans!

In June, Bantam18 graduated from high school, the enormous public school that we hesitated to send him to as a freshman, coming from homeschooling. But it strengthened his faith, and he had many great experiences there, in music and theater especially.

As a freshman, he was invited to join the Madrigal Singers, an honor usually reserved for juniors and seniors, so he was able to participate all 4 years in Ye Olde Christmasse Feaste, a 7-course medieval banquet featuring the Madrigal Singers.

He had 4 years with an amazing choir director, recognized as a model director by the Wisconsin State Choral Directors' Association, who invited their choir to perform at their annual conference, with our boy singing a solo.

In theater, B18 capped off his Spotlight/CYT career with wonderful performances as Judas in Godspell and as Fagin in Oliver.

His high school theater director cast him in a dream role--John Adams in 1776--in a production that ended up being selected to perform at the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska, in June. Papa R, myself, B12 and Chicklet went along for the experience, and also for the opportunity to visit Professor Brother's family in Kansas (a wonderful, too-short visit). B18 was really magnificent as John Adams, and it was a fantastic finish to his high school drama career.

He ended up choosing to go to Carthage College, right here in Kenosha, so he could live at home and save on housing costs--and because he received a huge scholarship to study music. So he's developing his lovely baritone voice, honing his keyboarding skills, and studying composition as well. He isn't really planning on music as a career, but we'll see what happens. At least he'll graduate with just a few small loans, and it's great to have him around still, at home and at church.

Chicklet finished her 8th grade year at the Title 1 middle school she attended for two years, which was really quite good for her faith, her character, and her academics overall. She is currently a freshman at the same high school B18 attended, enjoying the same choir director, and navigating the transition well despite its many challenges (which sometimes makes her miss homeschooling). Last year in theater, she was a Cheerleader in High School Musical and Mrs. Sowerberry and the Milkmaid in Oliver. This past fall, she was a wonderful Grace Farrell in Annie...

...and she is currently rehearsing for her role as Ariel in The Little Mermaid! She loves dancing with the Project Dance team and being on the CYT servant leadership team, HYPE, which has been a wonderful group of spiritually encouraging friends.

B12 continues in his second year at a K-8 charter school where he is a happy, social, 7th grader. He generally chooses soccer over theater, and last spring, his recreational team won the championship for their division, with no small thanks to B12's boundless energy on the field. He was given the Energizer Bunny award by the coaching staff, who said they had never seen the limits of his stamina! He skipped Annie but is in Little Mermaid currently, in several ensemble roles, and he enjoys singing in choirs at church and at school.

He and big brother B26 have bonded playing Airsoft on the weekends, at a battleground where teams are formed with whoever comes. B26 continues to help out with many chores at home, in addition to working 8-10 hours a week at his stocking job. He also posts sermons on our church website, and he's a big contributor to Halopedia and Destinypedia, websites about the stories of his two favorite videogames.

Blondechick started cosmetology school just before she found out she was pregnant, and she's really enjoying learning the trade! She's looking forward to being a mom, and to moving into a new apartment in February. She'll have 4 months of school to finish after she returns from maternity leave, so she and her husband are thankful that both their mothers live near enough to help babysit. Then she'll have her license and the potential for flexible, part-time income doing something she really enjoys. Lots to be thankful for!

B22 was recently hired as a recruiter by a family friend who thought his charismatic personality was going to waste at Starbucks. It's a good fit for him in so many ways, and a lucky break for a kid that wasn't excited about college. His earning potential is ultimately the same as with a degree, without the student loans! The only downside is the 45+ minute commute to Illinois, but it's worth it.

While I am most excited about all that God is doing in our church context, I am also thankful for the opportunities I have to impact kids and families while teaching drama and directing musicals at CYT. This fall I directed Annie in Kenosha, and it was a joy! I have also been on several teams as assistant director, and I will be AD'ing this spring for James and the Giant Peach. While there are internal voices that cause me sometimes to question this use of my time, I continue to receive confirmation from God that it's exactly where He wants me. It's been a life-giving organization for our family and so many others! I also keep subbing to make ends meet, and while it can be a really discouraging job, I am thankful for the income and the chance to pray, at least, for the students and their regular teachers.

2017 saw us dealing with flooding in our basement three times. The third time we also had water in the attic and running down the wall in Chicklet's bedroom. Thirteen thousand dollars later, we now have a sump pump in the basement, redirected drainage pipes outside, new flashing and cornice stones on the roof, and tuckpointing redone on our chimneys, all over our brick house, and especially on the front porch which was rapidly separating from the rest of the house.

So all my earnings are going toward those expenses--boo--and we need more tuckpointing done in the spring! But our house continues to be a center of ministry, since our church doesn't have a building, and every week we host groups, meetings and counseling sessions, thankful for the layout that allows separate space for the family during these times.

Besides our visit to Professor Brother & Family in Kansas, we enjoyed visiting Pilot Brother's family in their newly-built home, on the site of the original Civil War-era house on our family farm. They salvaged and reinstalled doors, windows, hardwood floors, doorknobs, hinges, a slate handpainted fireplace, and the grand curved staircase from the original home. They are keeping chickens in the henhouse pictured in my banner (above)! It's great to have them in the same location as my parents. More reasons to visit Ohio!

Books Read in 2017

2018-01-02T23:10:00.000-06:00

Surprisingly, I read/listened to 53 books last year! Usually I annotate each one, but in the interests of time, this year I've only commented on a few.

Key:
* Recommended
**Read these first!
' Disappointing

Adult Fiction:
**Bel Canto (Ann Patchett)

**All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr)

The Shell Collector: Stories (Anthony Doerr)

**The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)

*Water For Elephants (Sara Gruen) (I really enjoyed the audio version. The old man had the BEST gravelly, grumpy, petulant character voice. What a performance!)

**The End of the Affair (Graham Greene) (Why have I never heard of this extraordinary novel before?? I loved the audio version, read by Colin Firth.)

*The Museum of Extraordinary Things (Alice Hoffman)

The Red Garden (Alice Hoffman)

Turtle Moon (Alice Hoffman)

Faithful (Alice Hoffman)

Longbourn (Jo Baker) (Interesting parallel story to Pride and Prejudice, told about the serving staff.)

'The Nest (Cynthia Sweeney)

Mysteries:
Partners in Crime (Agatha Christie)
Spider's Web (Agatha Christie)
A Rule Against Murder (Louise Penny)
The Cruelest Month (Louise Penny)
The Brutal Telling (Louise Penny)
Bury Your Dead (Louise Penny)
A Trick of the Light (Louise Penny)
The Beautiful Mystery (Louise Penny)
How the Light Gets In (Louise Penny)
The Nature of the Beast (Louise Penny)
Glass Houses (Louise Penny)
Death and the Dancing Footman (Ngaio Marsh)
'Murder in the Dark (Kerry Greenwood)
*Talking about Detective Fiction (P.D. James) (essays from lectures she's given)

Children's/YA Fiction:

*From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (E.L. Konigsberg)

*My Side of the Mountain (Jean Craighead George)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (John Boyne)

*Entwined (Heather Dixon)

Theater Shoes (Noel Streatfeild)

Ghost (Jason Reynolds)

Historical/Biographical Nonfiction:
*The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic & Madness and the Fair That Changed America (Erik Larson)
*In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin (Erik Larson)
*The Girls of Murder City : Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago (Douglas Perry)
The Churchills: In Love and War (Mary S. Lovell)
Girl Waits With Gun (Amy Stewart)
The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency (James Tobin)
Martin Luther (Eric Metaxes)

Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider (Jean Fritz)

'The Great Fire (Jim Murphy)

'Traveling With Pomegranates (Sue Monk Kidd)

Nonfiction:
The Meaning of Flowers (Gretchen Scoble)
How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age (based on Dale Carnegie's work)
The Successful Novelist (David Morrell)
Scarcity : Why Having Too Little Means So Much (Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir)

Theatercraft:

*Notes on Directing (Frank Hauser and Russell Reich)

*Audition (Michael Shurtleff)

Conversations with Choreographers (Svetlana McLee Grody and Dorothy Daniels Lister)

Plays:

*A Raisin in the Sun (Lorraine Hansberry) (loved this as a dramatized audiobook)

The Children's Hour (Lillian Hellman)

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Edward Albee)

**William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope (Ian Doescher)

If you'd like to see other year-end book lists, visit the Saturday Review of Books, Special Edition, A List of Book Lists at the blog Semicolon.

Happy reading in 2018!

Blogiversary #12

2018-01-01T10:33:00.000-06:00

Last night was my 12-year blogiversary.

It's sad to me that my posts are so infrequent now. When I look back, I'm thrilled to have the record of so many events and moments, and I enjoy reading my own writing. (I find that encouraging.)

But things are different now from those days when I blogged so regularly. I'm just not able to stay awake late at night as I used to! Little kids have become teens who stay up, and my husband stopped traveling nearly 4 years ago. Now I spend busy evenings with them rather than quiet nights writing about them. (Though I sometimes miss those quiet nights.... But I would never trade away the millions of spoken words we've exchanged in those late-night heart-to-hearts!)

Also, as kids get older, one can't write about them as much without crowding their privacy. As we've gone deeper into ministry, the most exciting things I'm observing is how God is transforming lives, but I can't share those stories on the internet. When God is doing such amazing things, other subjects pale in significance and seem trivial to write about!

No matter what subject I choose, there is the need to write cautiously and guardedly--how might this post come across to my employers, or how might this comment, or that one, have unintended consequences?

And then there's Facebook, that makes it so easy to share a photo and mark the big life events. So why share it again on my blog?

Additionally, I am working now, as a substitute teacher in the public schools. I'm also teaching drama classes and working on directing teams for musicals with our theater group, CYT--which I love and which God keeps confirming as a ministry. Throw in several weekly small groups and my other church involvements, and it doesn't leave much time for laundry and making meals, let alone writing.

I've tried to reimagine my blog at different points--bullet posts? an online devotional?--but life keeps crowding out my best intentions.

Still, I hesitate to fold it. I have two posts already in process--my annual list/review of books I read last year, and a family update, long overdue and mostly finished.

So I'll keep my little publishing place for now. Cheers!

A blessed 2018 to any readers I still have!

(Especially to Moyra from the UK, who has left me a sweet comment every year on my blogiversary post! Your encouragement has meant more to me than you'll ever know!)

(And also to those of you who tell me in person that you enjoy and miss my blog posts. You have encouraged me so much as a writer!)

Thoughts on the Arts and Subbing

2017-02-28T13:11:00.003-06:00

I'm currently listening to an audio version of a biography called The Churchills: In Love and War (because, The Crown). So when I saw this meme*, I had to share. Churchill is on my mind, and the arts are dear to my heart.

Since I've been substitute teaching in the public schools, I believe in the power of the arts more than ever.

I've been in some very fine classrooms that I would be happy for my own kids to be part of. But I've also been in places that I would have to call an educational wasteland. I'm not going to lay out here what all I think is wrong with our educational system, but in our area, poverty is a huge contributing factor. Kids who don't have basic needs met--for food, sleep, stability, and security, as well as love, care and parents in their lives--don't have brains that have bandwidth to learn long division or the French revolution.

But what they CAN absorb, I firmly believe, is music, art, theater and PE. (In my opinion, sports are a form of art as much as dance is.) And I believe it contributes far more to brain development and receptiveness than most would think.

One afternoon I was assigned to an elementary classroom for behavior-disordered students. There were only two students, and they were eating lunch in their own classroom.The teacher was letting them watch YouTube videos projected on the Promethean board. They were choosing animated movie trailers, but when I came back from the washroom, they were watching a clip from The Nutcracker ballet. The fifth grade girl was very excited. "We watched this in music class, the whole thing!"

She located the full-length version and was immediately engrossed in the wordless drama as it unfolded through acting and dance. Occasionally she would stand up and move around, mimicking the dancers' graceful or energetic movements.

Meanwhile the fourth grade boy in the class, who'd been having a rough morning--hitting and biting--got worked up and they ended up taking him home to grandma, who didn't have a car, so the teacher and aide drove him. I was left to watch The Nutcracker with the young lady, and it ended up that we watched for over an hour.

It was remarkable that she was able to remain attentive and delighted with it for so long. It was evident that it really spoke to something deep inside her. When we did finally turn to her worksheets, she was cooperative and pleasant, and an incentive for finishing them quickly was that she was allowed to go join a kindergarten gym class as a helper. We finished out the day there--with her insisting that I hula-hoop alongside her, until it was clear that she was much better at it than me. Before she left, she hugged me and asked if I could please come back.

Some days, she's allowed to go help in the library too. I was so happy for her that there are adults at that school that seemed to understand her, and I prayed that next year, in middle school, she'd receive the same kind of consideration. But what I've seen at the upper levels, more and more, is kids who are just killing time in the prison walls. The really motivated students have great academic opportunities, but for the unmotivated ones, or the low-functioning ones? They are completely disengaged and checked out, on their phones whenever possible and just waiting for the bell to release them.

In my opinion, they need alternative learning experiences which the public school just doesn't provide. They need to study topics of high interest or applicability. They need hands-on learning by doing. Certainly they have non-academic abilities that they are not developing, and therefore not gaining the confidence that could come from mastery and excelling in something.

This fifth grade girl, it was clear to me, is a dancer or an athlete! Maybe a singer, too. If she were my project, I'd have her spending hours a day on dance and conditioning. We'd study history and literature by watching ballets and musicals. We'd compare and contrast them for critical thinking and writing. We'd read the stories they are based on. We'd study the human body. For math, we'd choreograph 8-counts and 32-counts; we'd contrast beats of a waltz, a march, and a tango; we'd figure out costs of dance lessons and ballet shoes. I wouldn't sweat it if she didn't learn algebra or chemistry.

In case she were not able to make it as a professional dancer, I'd help her explore pathways for becoming a choreographer, or a dance instructor, or at least be equipped to work in a retail dance store. I'd also have her learn to cook, budget, shop the sales and the thrift stores, and use a sewing machine to alter a costume.

It would be a great if she could get all this in a fine arts school, but it also sounds a bit like homeschooling, eh? One thing I have come to appreciate is how even on a bad day of homeschooling, my kids had access to all kinds of enriching activities that they were motivated to engage in, even if they weren't academic ones. After they finished a worksheet, they weren't just killing time in a cinder-block classroom.

Has it made me re-think my decision to have my two youngest in public school? I'm always open to returning to it...but for now, I'm thankful that I can work. B11 is in an excellent program in an enriching environment, and he's an extrovert who loves the classroom setting. Chicklet14's school is more of a mixed bag, but she has many fine teachers that she loves, and she is highly motivated to spend her free time reading. That's an activity we filled our homeschooling days with, so I feel pretty good about her. As we have always done, we'll take it year by year!

As an aside, I am shocked at the lack of books and reading materials in high school classrooms. If students finish work early, there is no expectation that they read; they are allowed to get on their phones. If I were a high school principal who wanted to raise test scores, I'd require books and magazines in every classroom, including coffee table books of art and photography, graphic novels, and even comic books for kids who "hate" reading. (It's all available cheap at garage sales and thrift stores, and book lovers would donate.) It's called a "print-rich environment" and again--the arts. Literature, story...it's art. I also would prescribe read-aloud time to be part of every elementary and middle school day. As a sub, when reading aloud been part of the lesson plan, I've seen incredible engagement from kids who did not tune in to other lessons.

My heart aches for kids I see who hate school, hate reading, and have not had extended exposure to the arts. Conversely, I see how life-giving the arts are for the kids who are involved in choir, theater, and dance in our high schools, and I know that sports and the visual arts are lifelines for others. I would love to see the arts, and movement generally, a bigger part of education, including bringing recess back to the elementary schools. Like the arts, recess primes brains for learning!

Stepping off my soapbox now...I've been much more long-winded than I intended. I do apologize if I sound as if my ideas are superior; please recognize this post is largely reaction and contrast, rather than proscription for educational change. I am truly humbled by those who are in these challenging classrooms every day! I've sat on this post for awhile, but feel it's time to stop overthinking. So, with apologies, these are a few thoughts...inspired by Winston Churchill!

*So as I am about to publish, I discover that he never really said it. Disappointing....especially after using the quote as a springboard for my whole post. But I stand by the thoughts it inspired!

Hamilton: Parody, Pastiche, Satire, Spoof!

2017-01-24T23:53:00.000-06:00

So I've been teaching a comedy class for teenagers, and I'm writing my own curriculum as I go. This week, we covered parody, satire, spoofs, and a less well-known but very similar genre, pastiche.

To help the class understand the distinctions--(the general public does not, by the way, and often uses parody, satire and spoof interchangeably)--I showed them videos which all had the same starting point: the hit musical Hamilton.

It was a pretty good lesson, so just for grins--and while all the links still work--I thought I'd post it here!

We'll start with the original work, for those who don't know it--the opening number of Hamilton. There are no really good recordings available, but here's the best we have:

Notice the song is dramatic, intense, and full of words. Others will imitate and poke fun at these qualities.

First, we'll view a parody--an imitation that pokes gentle fun at the original. One minute is enough to get the idea, if you're pressed for time:

In this case, it's a parody of both Hamilton AND Harry Potter! We can tell it's supposed to be funny, because of the bad wigs and costumes, for starters.

Next, let's view something very similar, and yet quite different. Though this performance is also a humorous imitation of the Hamilton opening number, it is meant to be taken seriously. The production values are much higher than the parody we just watched, and it is an excellent performance in its own right. When an imitation is more of a tribute, or is created in imitative admiration of the original work, it's called a pastiche.

Now, let's look at a Hamilton satire. A satire is supposed to be funny, but it also makes a point, usually a political, societal or cultural critique. (Two minutes or so is enough to get the idea....)

While the idea of Hamilton performed with an all-white cast is quite funny, their point about "reverse racism" is social commentary.

Finally, a spoof is so similar to parody that it's even considered a sub-type of parody, but the main distinguishing features are that spoofs are often meant to make fun of not just one work, but a whole body of work, and they are often not as true to the original material as a parody.

The following video imitates Hamilton but it's really a spoof about high school musicals in general. It also spoofs the documentary genre. The Hamilton imitations are performed poorly, on purpose, and are not very true to the original material.

Hopefully you now clearly understand the distinctions between a parody, a pastiche, a satire, and a spoof!

I'll throw one more out, for free. A farce--while also a comedic genre and sometimes used synonymously with satire and parody--doesn't really belong in this group because it is not imitative by definition. A farce is a highly improbable, exaggerated comedic situation, with a plot that spirals further and further out of control. But it's an original work, not an imitation of another work. Even if it does imitate a comedic situation, it's not a key source of the humor. Arsenic and Old Lace, Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry, and Weekend at Bernie's are all movies about a corpse--or more than one corpse--with characters trapped in the situation, trying to figure out what to do about it/them. All three are farces in their own right; you can enjoy any one of them without reference to the other.

And last, NOT for free--Hamilton tickets! Chicklet and I are YUGE fans and really hope to see it before it leaves Chicago. We are saving our pennies, but we'll accept contributions of any amount. :)

Hopefully it's here for a long time!

Couple Number Two

2017-01-16T09:03:00.002-06:00

I guess you could call it a whirlwind romance. A year ago, they hadn't even met!

But by June, they were engaged.

(Wait, what?? Even as I write that, I question it!)

How did that even happen?

I'll back up a bit, to November or December of 2015. B21 (or B20, as he was then) and I were having one of those cautious conversations about life and his future. I was fishing for information about a new girl he was interested in--who didn't sound like daughter-in-law material--and as he tried to avoid telling me more, I said, "If you don't want to tell me about her, then believe me, she's not the right girl. When you meet the right girl, you'll feel like you can't wait for me to meet her!"

Fast-forward to February and another conversation about his future. We had been discussing steps toward college, a job change, maybe even a move...and he says, "Well, but now there is this girl." Soon, he brings her by.

Let me preface that story by saying that B21 has had a tendency, over the years, to play knight in shining armor to young ladies who needed rescuing. We usually saw red flags in a first meeting. To our surprise and delight, this gal (oh dear, I don't have a pseudonym yet!), struck us at once as superbly healthy. She was confident, poised, open, friendly and NICE. She seemed totally comfortable with us and with herself. What's more, B21 was different in her presence. He was relaxed and light-hearted. He was enjoying being with us, with her. He was in no hurry to rush off with her.

After they left, we all agreed she was a keeper. Chicklet astutely observed, "I really like her; and I really like B21 when he's with her!"

That night, I waited up for him so I could tell him how much I approved. Later, he said that was a turning point for him. He began taking her to meet all the significant people in his life. It was just as I'd predicted: He couldn't wait to introduce her to everyone he cared about!

Everyone gave him green lights to move forward.

Interestingly, in a way she was in need of rescuing. I remember when B21 told us with trepidation, before we met her, that she was only 17, and she had a son, not quite 2. He was surprised when each of us, separately, instead of cautioning him against getting serious with her, told him that although it would add some challenges, we didn't think it was an insurmountable problem. In fact, we thought it said good things about her courage, her convictions and her maturity.

He said he liked her from the start--they were both employed at Starbucks, though not at the same store--and when he heard that she had a child, he thought, "Wow, it's going to take a special guy to come along and step into that situation." As he got to know her, he remembers thinking, "Why can't I be that guy?"

Given her youth, it's ironic that he was most attracted to her maturity! He was also strongly impressed by what a good mother she was. B21 has always loved kids and looked forward to being a father, and it was important to him to marry someone who also wanted a family and would be a good mom. He loved how she didn't take herself too seriously and frequently laughed at herself; he was also thrilled that she could cook, and she was organized. "She's a lot like you, Mom," he said, and I nearly cried.

He was done with casual dating, and he told her he was only interested in a serious relationship. She wasn't eager for him to form a relationship with her son unless he was going to be around permanently. He told her he was going to follow the Lord and that was the most important thing in his life. She said that was the path she was traveling too, and she was eager to journey with him.

As parents, we all thought that though they were young, they were mature, and they were well-suited to each other. They had an easy, complementary relationship, and they slipped into co-parenting as if they'd been doing it for years.

With all that settled, the only question, really, was timing! They lived about 45 minutes apart, on opposite sides of Kenosha county. Between driving to see each other, to go to work, and to drop off and pick up her son (who she shares in a joint custody arrangement), they were spending so much in gas and time that neither could afford, especially with both of them planning to start college in the fall: How could they add wedding planning on top of that, if they aimed for the following summer? It seemed their grades would be most likely to suffer.

Perhaps they should just get married first? We felt it made the most sense. Afraid we were not objective, I asked a psychologist friend, who knew them both, if there were any reasons to consider having them wait longer to get married: She said absolutely not! So, with that reassurance, and with Blondechick and Jedi Knight planning an August wedding, October sounded about right. After their June 4 engagement, they had a little over four months to plan--plenty of time. :)

She said she would have dressed up more if she had seen it coming. She was totally taken by surprise!

He proposed atop a Kenosha landmark on an unusually foggy evening.

But first, in mid-June, she had to graduate! For her last two years of high school, she completed her coursework though eAchieve Academy, the same virtual school that B21 and his younger brother had attended several years before.

May was a big month for the three of them too, as they all had milestone birthdays. He turned 21, she turned 18, and their little boy turned 2.

Running out of room for the rest of the story...but they are married now. (I will do a post of wedding pictures soon!) They're cozy in their own apartment. They bring their laundry over to our house, and we watch our step-grandson occasionally when their work schedules overlap--so we see them quite frequently! They attend Light of Christ on Sundays too.

We couldn't be more thankful to God for our new daughter-in-law!

Happy Eleven Years of Blogging to Me

2016-12-31T19:27:00.000-06:00

After an extremely eventful 2016, it's nice to have nothing going on, really, on New Year's Eve!

It was on a very similar NYE eleven years ago that I decided a new year was a good time to start a new project, and I wrote my first blog post. Without going back and looking, I'm pretty sure it was a short review of the movie we'd watched the night before, Cheaper By the Dozen.

Yesterday, I had reason to go searching back through my blog's archive for significant dates in the life of our church. We are about to celebrate our 10-year anniversary in mid-January, and our communications staff person is putting together a list of milestones in our church history.

As I scrolled through old posts, I was amazed at how much I captured and how much I used to write! So many details were recorded here, including things I had completely forgotten.

I am so thankful to have it, and I wish I'd been able to keep it up better in recent years. I used to stay up after the kids were in bed, especially when Papa Rooster was traveling; these days I just don't get the second wind I used to get, the kids are all still up, and PR deserves more of my attention than he usually gets in the evenings. I just can't add blogging at night to the mix anymore. The days are over-full, and I've never been a morning person.

Still I keep hoping to make more time for it! So I don't let it go completely. Maybe in 2017....

Feel free to wish me a Happy Blog-iversary in the comments. And Happy New Year to all my readers!

Books Read in 2016, Annotated

2016-12-31T14:34:00.000-06:00

I know my posts have slowed waaaaayyyy down this year, but I can't skip my annual list! Though I haven't much time for reading, every year I am amazed by how much I get through by reading just 10-15 minutes a night (I like to send my brain on vacation just before I fall sleep), and by using time in the car (shout out to Audiobooks!). I also did a lot of listening while doing house projects like stripping wallpaper and varnish.

This year, I break down my list into those two categories.

Hard Copies (non-audio):

Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
This one has been on my mental list for years, ever since Pilot Brother, who isn't a huge reader of long books, told me it was really good. "It's like a soap opera," he said. I didn't think it was quite that accessible, but I did enjoy it, as Russian tragedies go. I finished it, which I can't say for War and Peace, and I've never attempted more than excerpts from The Brothers Karamazov. (Somehow I graduated from Wheaton College without reading it, which is quite a feat! One day, I will. :)

The Heaven Tree
The Green Branch
The Scarlet Seed

(Edith Pargeter's The Heaven Tree Trilogy)
Better known as Ellis Peters, the author of the Brother Cadfael mysteries, Edith Pargeter writes historical fiction set in medieval England and Wales. This trilogy is truly her masterpiece, a tragedy full of heartbreaking beauty, redemption, and some of the most memorable characters and places I've ever encountered. I even bought an extra copy of this book for friends to borrow!

Just One Look (Harlan Coben)
Pulp fiction that I didn't have to concentrate on too much, perfect for reading in snatches backstage during productions of summer Shakespeare in which I was performing.

Hamilton, the Revolution (Lin Manuel-Miranda and Jeremy McCarter)

My niece had this coffee table book at the farm this summer, and I just had to buy it as a gift for myself to read while recuperating from surgery in August. It has the complete libretto from the Broadway musical, plus sidenotes explaining word choices, including historical details they reference, and evolution of the script into its final form. The rest of the book was about the creative process and the collaboration that produced the smash hit (which I think is brilliant on so many levels). I'll return to this book when I need creative inspiration!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (J.K. Rowling)
Couldn't wait to read it, but it was disappointing. The script/screenplay format seemed just a skeleton of a story. It might make a good movie, but it seemed thin even for that. :(

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Jonathan Safran Foer)
This aftermath-of-9/11 story was creatively told, with various chapters written in first person from different characters' perspectives. You had to read closely to figure out whose viewpoint you were in. I can see why it's assigned reading at the high school level; however, there is some mature material and a lot of language. Many sad and lovely moments.

The Merchant's Partner
(Michael Jecks)
I enjoyed this medieval-era mystery. But I can't think of much else to say about it.

A Fatal Grace

The Long Way Home

Still Life
(Louise Penny)
That's the order in which I read these, but make sure YOU read these in order! After the first one, I realized that besides the mystery at hand, there was a narrative that spanned more than the one book I was reading, turning these books into something more than a mystery series. Set in Canada, it took me awhile to "warm up" to the wintry descriptions of the culture in Three Pines, a quaint Quebecois village stocked with non-stock characters, but there is a thoughtful, artistic quality to these books that I appreciate.

The War Against Miss Winter

The Winter of our Discontent

Winter in June

(Kathryn Miller Haines)

After discovering there were only two books in The Girl is Murder series (see below), I quickly went in search of other books by this author! This sleuth is a spunky, wise-cracking actress in NYC during WW2. Both series are delightfully full of war-era details and slang, peopled with mobsters, private eyes, GI's, flirty girls, and temperamental actors and directors. These books probably are considered YA, but they are so colorful, anyone would enjoy them.

Farewell to Manzanar (Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston)

A completely different look at WW2, this book is an engaging memoir of growing up in a Japanese internment camp in CA.

Audiobooks

Insurgent

Divergent

Allegiant

Four

(Veronica Roth)

I can see why this series was so popular! Now I need to watch the movies.

Henry Huggins (Beverly Cleary)
I remember enjoying this book as a kid, so I listened to it with the two youngest kids, on our trips back and forth to Milwaukee while I was directing the musical Tom Sawyer. We all enjoyed the simple problems Henry and his new dog Ribsy faced in each chapter. A preface by the author explained how it came to be; I didn't realize it was the popular author's very first book!

Peter Pan (J. M. Barrie)
I love the delightful turns of phrase in this classic children's story.

Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen)
It was time to revisit this one, which I own. So thankful that I have a tape player in my 2002 Prius!

The City (Dean Koontz)
This was a beautiful story to read while race was a hot issue in the news--or any time. A story of music and childhood, told as a reminiscence into a tape recorder by an old man, a jazz pianist and child prodigy. A little bit of magical realism, a little bit of sleuthing, with tender portraits of people. I liked it very much. (I couldn't recall the author, and having just discovered who it is, I am shocked! This is not one of his typical action-packed page-turners.)

The Glass Castle (Jeannette Walls)
Wow, this one was good!! Probably my pick of the bunch, if you are looking for a recommendation. This is an autobiography of growing up in a highly dysfunctional family, where kids were encouraged to be independent to the point of being totally neglected by their alcoholic father and self-absorbed mother. Just writing that sentence makes me wonder who would want to read this? But the author's tone is what's so incredible--she was able to receive the good that her parents offered, without whining about what they didn't provide. Her clear, objective storytelling even draws humor out of their situation at times. Her story should be encouraging to parents everywhere, not just because we look so good by comparison, but it makes one appreciate how much kids are capable of on their own. It's validating to Montessori, unschooler, free-range parent types, and it's reassuring to the helicopter, hand-holding tendencies that so many of us fight. Surprisingly, 4 out of 5 of the siblings ended up as remarkably healthy adults; the one really dysfunctional child lived mostly with Christian neighbors who took her in. It supports the consistent research that being raised by two biological parents results in the best outcomes for kids. Again, this should be encouraging to those who've managed to stay married, if we've done nothing else for our kids. It's easy to underestimate what a gift that is to our children!

A Tale of Two Castles (Gail Carson Levine)

Another enjoyable tale by this excellent children's author.

Claim to Fame (Margaret Peterson Haddix)

Interesting premise to this YA novel about a former child star who develops the ability to hear what people think about her, any time she leaves the walls of the home her father found for her before he died.

Rumpole Misbehaves (John Mortimer)
British husband humor at its best. Rumpole is a wig-wearing barrister who refers to his wife as She Who Must Be Obeyed. In this episode, he pursues the position of QC (Queen's Council) while his wife decides to study for the bar exam and become a barrister herself.

The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins)
Like Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, this story was also creatively told from a variety of perspectives. I enjoyed the audiobook, which had a different reader for each of the characters. It was a mystery, ultimately, that unfolded indirectly and surprisingly.

Joyland (Stephen King)
I had never read a Stephen King novel, but years ago my Professor Brother had recommended him. This one had more language than I like in an audiobook with kids around, but it was a well-crafted, suspenseful tale set in a creepy carnival. It screams "screenplay" to me; I'm surprised there hasn't been a movie?

The Colorado Kid (Stephen King)
No language in this one, except for the thick Maine dialect this engaging short story required. Not a satisfying ending; it's basically the tale of an unsolved mystery that remains one.

The Fault in Our Stars (John Green)
I haven't seen the movie, but the book was so good, I understand its popularity. Really touching.

Velocity (Dean Koontz)

A suspense thriller more typical of the author than The City. A bit too psycho and disturbing for my taste, but well-done.

The Girl is Murder

The Girl is Trouble
(Kathryn Miller Haines)

I wasn't far into the first one before I knew I'd found a winner! Chicklet14 quickly got hooked as well. See summary (above) of the Rosie Winter series, which isn't available on audio, unfortunately. This fine reader really brought them to life.

If I Ever Get Out of Here (Eric L. Gansworth)

This YA novel would be good for a study of contemporary Native American life and issues; although it's set in the 70's, I would bet that prejudice near reservations hasn't changed much. It was a pretty good story, but took a little too long to get there. Lovers of 70's rock music might also enjoy; each chapter title (like the book title) is a Beatles' song.

Taken at the Flood

Endless Night

Evil Under the Sun

(Agatha Christie)

Ah, Agatha. So reliably enjoyable and well-written! Chicklet14 is still a fan as well, especially of Poirot novels read by Hugh Fraser, which we're running out of, sadly. The above titles are all Poirot, but only the first one is by our favorite reader.

For more year-end book lists and reviews, visit Semicolon's annual round-up!

New Season

2016-12-11T20:12:00.000-06:00

I'm waaaay behind, but life is racing by so fast I can't keep up!

I need to write a post about Couple Number Two...plus we had two weddings...and it's time to write my annual book list post!

I miss blogging, but it seems it's not the season.

Remember awhile back when I stopped homeschooling and put the two youngest in school? At the time, I clearly heard God say, "I have other things for you to do." That first year, God unexpectedly gave me an opportunity I had hardly dare dream of--to be lead director for a musical, with the theater ministry we've been involved with for over a decade. I ended up directing two musicals last year, and it was a huge learning curve. I loved it.

I was having so much fun that I even questioned if this was really how God wanted me spending my time! Again, a clear answer came: "I opened these doors for you; of course I want you to walk through them!" So I walked, with joy. Though it's non-traditional ministry, I believe strongly in what we offer--a place where Christian youth (and sometimes their non-Christian friends) find a community, encouragement in their faith, engagement in a purpose, and training in skills they will use and enjoy for a lifetime: singing, public speaking, improv, and more.

Then two of our adult children got engaged, and I had to focus on two new productions--weddings in August and October! Both were successful (they're married!) and equally lovely. (A post WILL follow, eventually, I promise.) In between, I had a hernia repair surgery, just for a change of pace. I also began teaching junior high Sunday School; Papa Rooster and I started leading the youth group; and I was assistant director for the fall musical.

Meanwhile, after Wedding #1, we got news that took some time to process: Papa Rooster's corporate job was ending September 1. And it had been providing over 50% of our monthly income.

Now, Light of Christ is paying us as much as they can, but we are still a small church with a perpetual problem: It seems that every time we get a new couple or family, a current one moves away, or some breadwinner loses a job. Our operating budget has been consistently pretty tight, though as a congregation we are growing in many ways.

We all want Father Rooster to be a full-time pastor to our church, not out looking for another job to add to his plate. It seemed clear to me that this was one of the "other things for you to do" that God had told me about. I knew it was time for me to go back to work. (Directing is fun and worthwhile, but not lucrative.)

The logical thing for me to do--it pays very well, per hour, and is extremely flexible--is to be a substitute teacher in the public schools. Especially since I have an Elementary Education degree (and an IL teaching certificate, albeit lapsed). It took two months from applying to actually working, but since mid-November, I've been subbing at least 20 hours a week. (A post WILL follow...eventually!)

This fall I've also spent far more hours than I care to tally scrambling to figure out health insurance and car insurance (separate problem, but needing to take the two married kids off, plus two accidents this past summer, means we've had to re-do everything), creating a new budget, checking to see what government programs we qualify for, canceling and tightening up on whatever bills we can, etc.

It's a new season.

But God has new and good things in store for us in it; I can see just a few glimmers on the horizon! It reminds me again of what I've always told my kids: If you follow God, it's always an adventure. You never quite know where He's leading. Like any good father taking his child on an adventure trip, he may plan something that will stretch you, but He wants to surprise and delight you too. As our newlyweds start off on their journeys, we find ourselves on a new one too. Yet it's familiar. Though we can't see round the bend, we've been on this road before, with God. It should be a good trip!

Couple Number One

2016-07-27T20:44:00.000-05:00

As promised, a post about Blondechick and her young man!

But what do I call him??

Sometimes I think I'll dispense with the pseudonyms altogether, as I realize how simple it would be to figure out our "true identities." However, using our actual names seems too personal to put out there for all the world to see.

I will call him Jedi Knight.

It's tricky to share their story, as it's not really mine to tell--so I'll tell my own. Our daughter was in a prodigal phase of her young life. She had come back to the Lord for awhile, but had begun to drift away again...until she met Jedi Knight. About a year before that, I had started praying for a specific type of husband for her, for a man who was not just attracted to her outer beauty--there were plenty of those--but one who was called by God to love and care for her inner soul. I knew he'd have to have much grace and forgiveness; in fact, I prayed specifically for a Hosea for her. If you know the Old Testament story, you remember that Hosea was told by God to marry a promiscuous woman. It was a tall order for a godly young man to fill.

God spoke to Jedi Knight about Blondechick through a dream before they even met--at a New Year's Eve party 1.5 years ago--and He confirmed it with another dream about asking a man if he could marry his daughter. When Jedi Knight saw a picture of Papa Rooster, he recognized him as the man in his dream! Also, Blondechick remembered reading Francine Rivers' Redeeming Love, based on the Hosea/Gomer story, and told me she and Jedi Knight had discussed the similarities in their story. I waited a few months before I told her of my specific prayers for a Hosea--I didn't want to unduly influence their early relationship--but as their intentions deepened, it was a joy to share with her the way that God had answered that prayer!

Jedi Knight is a young man of strength and conviction, solid in his faith and submission to God, with a deep love for Blondechick that has not wavered even in trial and testing. He's a manager at a Walgreen's; he's also an excellent drummer and a die-hard Star Wars fan. His parents live in Kenosha and are warm, delightful people to be related to. They are committed Christians, and they will be flexible in-laws to coordinate holidays with, we've already discovered!

Several months ago Blondechick left her stable but undemanding job as a receptionist at a law office to take a more challenging job as a pharmacy tech. The 10-hour shifts and unpredictable schedule, coupled with the stress of wedding planning and related financial stresses, plus a move (into the apartment she and Jedi Knight will share soon), triggered serious anxiety, insomnia, and difficulty eating. Jedi Knight has been a steady rock through it all! She recently switched to a waitressing job with a more manageable schedule, and she's doing much better. It's hard to watch your kids struggle, but so good when they learn and grow from adversity, just as we did.

In less than two weeks, they'll be Mr. and Mrs. Jedi Knight, and we'll have 5 sons. It's funny--I thought our family would shrink as our kids grew up and moved out. Instead, with fiances and fiancees and their parents, all local, our family is growing exponentially!

God is so good.

Midsummer Update

2016-07-19T11:10:00.000-05:00

So it seems my blog posts are getting further and further apart...which saddens me but reflects the season of life we're in! It's been two years since we moved into our God-selected house, and those two years have been so full that we still haven't completely unpacked, hung pictures, or stripped the wallpaper I was sure we'd get rid of right away. So much has happened with our kids, our church, and for me and Papa Rooster. So busy, but so good!!

The biggest news is with our kids. In my last post, I hinted that B21 may have met THE girl. I can't believe I had the confidence to post that, but we loved her the first time we met her, and it was clear that B21 was smitten too. It wasn't long before we were talking about them getting married...and skipping to the end of the story, we now have Blondechick's wedding August 7, and B21's will be October 16!

I promise that I will write a post about these two new additions to our family--and post pictures!--but for now, praise God with me that these two adult children, who have both gone through scary prodigal phases, are marrying solid Christ-followers. When I think of the futures I have imagined and feared for these two (and for us), I have to keep pinching myself and praising God for his work in their lives! So completely God's hand. And such incredible human beings to add to our family! I am overwhelmed with God's goodness.

In other news...Tom Sawyer, the show I directed in Milwaukee in the spring, was a great success. We had two extremely talented brothers as Tom and Huck, and a super-strong supporting cast. It was a blast directing two times in Milwaukee last year and getting to know all the wonderful families there. For next year, though, I've requested to stay in Kenosha because it is B17's senior year, and it was so hard having him doing Godspell in Kenosha while Chicklet13, B11 and I were in Milwaukee doing Tom Sawyer, especially since our public performances were at the exact same times. Fortunately our school day shows were at different times, so we got to see him play Judas one time--and it was the most powerful portrayal of Judas I've ever seen. He also sounded amazing starting out the show as John the Baptist, singing "Prepare Ye." I was sad to only see it once, and the siblings really missed being in a show together.

In Tom Sawyer, Chicklet played Amy Lawrence, Tom's previous girlfriend. As Tom tells Becky, "she's so darn perky, it could make you throw up"--and Chicklet had a lot of fun playing up the "perky" part, skipping and bouncing across stage, flashing her smile about and tossing her long curls in the boys' faces. B11 was one of the Tom's Gang Wannabes, who tagged along after the big boys and reprised one of their dances. As is true of B11 no matter where he is, he had great energy onstage!

Chicklet's first year in public middle school was an accomplishment--straight A's, a citizenship award, and two-time Student of the Month. (It's refreshing to have a child who actually cares about grades!) She's chosen to return to the same school for 8th grade next year.

We attended our first-ever fifth-grade graduation ceremony, filled with thankfulness for the great experience B11 has had in elementary school, with the same wonderful teacher both years. He's done so well, also with good grades, a Kiwanic Terrific Kid award and a citizenship award. For 6th grade, rather than going to the local school that Chicklet attends, he'll be going to a charter school with smaller class sizes, more of an elementary school feel (it's K-8) and a charter for learning that is hands-on, cooperative and quite challenging.

Do I miss homeschooling? I'm often asked. I was too busy directing two shows last year to miss it at all; this year I won't be lead-directing any shows, so maybe I'll feel it more, but I also feel like these two youngest kids are where they are supposed to be for now. They are both thriving, and for Chicklet, being in public school has strengthened her faith and quickened a strong compassion for others. I don't think our older kids would have done well going to public school for middle school (B17 went for part of 7th grade and hated it), but for her, it's been the right thing. But as always, we take it year by year, child by child!

In June, Chicklet attended Project Dance camp with her Kenosha team, the culmination of two semesters of classes. It was an intense week of dancing for hours on end. She learned so much, made lots of new friends and loved her first overnight camp experience, staying in a dorm and eating in the dining hall. After she returned, she told me she can't wait to go to college. "Don't feel bad," she said, glowing, "but I can't wait to be independent. And I ate healthy every meal, Mom!" I'm proud and pleased, but sad to see her growing up so fast!

B17 had the honor of going to the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska, for a week; his high school's production of Dogfight was one of only 11 high schools selected to perform there. It was quite an experience for him! A few weekends later, his improv team competed in the Improvapalooza, an all-day improv competition. They didn't repeat last year's first-place victory, but it was still a fun day of great improv, and B17 enjoyed renewing friendships from previous years and from previous summer camps.

B17 started visiting colleges last year, took the ACT twice, and will begin applying for college and scholarships this summer. Hard to believe his senior year is already looming! He's working, taking voice lessons, and continues to write songs--he sings and accompanies himself on the piano.

In addition to working as a shift supervisor at Starbucks, B21 continues his singer/songwriter career, with a regular gig playing on Sunday nights at a popular local restaurant. He recently won an online contest, garnering the most "likes" on a video of himself playing guitar and singing one of his own compositions, which will now be professionally recorded by the studio sponsoring the competition.

B25 works 10-15 hours a week stocking shelves; he also helps with chores, runs errands and plays chauffeur for his younger siblings, which is such a blessing! He also updates the church website by uploading new sermons each week.

Blondechick23 has moved into an apartment, where her fiance will join her once they are married, and she's enjoying unpacking her shower gifts, decorating, and wedding planning. She's recently gone back to waitressing, at a local establishment not far from their apartment.

B21 also just moved into an apartment very close to his workplace, where he's batching it until his wedding; he and his wife will start taking college classes in January, while they continue to work.

Since he moved out, B11 moved in to his old bedroom with B17 so that Chicklet13 could finally have her own room. With two kids out of the house, you'd think our schedule would be simpler, but with two engagements, we've added two more people to the family, plus their parents, who we are delighted to be getting to know--so the net effect is surprisingly more people, not less!

Father Rooster continues to work one day a week for his company, but the rest of his week for the church. Light of Christ continues to be a remarkable place of "love, hope and healing," as our mission statement puts it. Most recently, we started an Alpha group, which is for folks who want to learn more about Christianity, and it's been well-attended. We've also added a service on Sunday nights, once a month through the summer, called Oasis, for spiritual renewal and refreshment. Through the summer, I'm meeting four times with the middle schoolers (B11 and C13 included) for Bible study and a summer activity (the beach, the pool). We did the same thing last summer and it was a hit.

Finally, I enjoyed summer Shakespeare so much last year that I talked Chicklet13 into joining me this summer, and Papa Rooster said he'd do it too, if his dad would. (It has been great having my father-in-law living just blocks away from us! He moved to Kenosha last summer.) So all 4 of us are doing community theater together currently. We are performing abridged versions of Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It. Papa Rooster has the biggest part, playing Lord Capulet in R&J; his dad has the next biggest part, playing Adam, the faithful old servant, in AYLI. They are both amazing actors! I'm in both, with two small parts--Lady Montague in R&J, and Corin, the shepherd, in AYLI. Chicklet is playing Petra (Peter), plus another another Servant in R&J. She was also asked to understudy the lead character of Rosalind in AYLI, an honor that she hopes she won't actually have to perform.

That's more than enough for now! But now we're mostly caught up...so I can write about these engagements next time!

Thankful

2016-03-09T00:10:00.000-06:00

I'm going to try for a quick post, late at night. Bed is calling!

But my heart is full of thankfulness for all the good things happening in our church and in our family.

Father Rooster and I had a wonderful time last week at the annual Clergy/Spouse Retreat with so many friends and leaders from the Upper Midwest Diocese. We've been doing ministry with some of them for decades! So good to be part of such a group of dynamic and humble leaders.

It was especially good to catch up with two other priests' wives, old friends, who like me, are also in charge of creating and directing the salvation history readings at their churches' Easter Vigils! All these years and I didn't realize they also carried this particular creative and administrative burden. We commiserated on the challenges, swapped stories of awkward failures, and gave each other some tried-and-true ideas. It was wonderful.

I'm so thankful to have some teens--new families at Light of Christ--who have never been to a Vigil, but they're willing to act, dance and even create a soundtrack and choreography! Thanks to them, we are going to have some really cool readings this year, including a human video Creation reading, and when our Dry Bones come to life, they'll be dancing in hip-hop and African styles. I still have to nail down what we're doing for a couple of the other readings, but I'm pumped about those two!

I am also prepping for audition weekend, coming up on Friday, for another musical I'm directing for Spotlight Youth Theater. It's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the Broadway show, and I'm super-excited. Although it's a bit much, right now, to be thinking about Easter Vigil with one half of my brain and Tom with the other--not leaving much room for normal life! But I was so happy to be asked to direct again!

My kids are busy preparing for audition weekend also--only they are auditioning for different shows! B17 is going to be in Godspell, the show that Spotlight Kenosha is doing. Chicklet13 and B11 are going north with me to audition for Tom Sawyer in our sister county of Spotlight Milwaukee, where I directed Tall Tales in the fall. I love hearing them all practicing and singing for each other. They make me so proud!

Wedding preparations are simmering along, too. We have ceremony and reception venues reserved, we have the dress, and I believe we have cupcakes. Blondechick is working on a Save the Date announcement--it's quite humorous!--and one of her bridesmaids is already organizing a bridal shower. One of our next priorities is to get her shoes, so we can have the dress length altered. And the list will go on and on till August 7!

(Oh. My. Goodness. I just realized I never posted anything here about Blondechick's young man, let alone her engagement...which was over the holidays. Hmm. Must write a post! He's an answer to prayer!)

And in other news, B20 has met a girl, maybe THE girl, and we would be happy if it were. He's in an especially good mood these days, and it's contagious. The beautiful weather we've had for a couple of days now doesn't hurt either.

Tomorrow will be filled with appointments...and rain. But today--I am thankful!

Lessons Learned in Ten Years of Blogging

2016-01-23T10:12:00.001-06:00

I just opened up my blog page and read the quotes at the top of my sidebar, about spiritual growth occurring at the pace of a hen when you are a married person (and a mother)...and the second one about learning at the pace of walking, at the speed of life.

What have I learned in the ten years I've been keeping this blog? It was my tenth blog-i-versary on New Year's Eve!

I should probably go back and re-publish some of my original posts on why I chose the title and those quotes. But ten years ago, I was a homeschooling mom of six, age 15 and under. The days were very full of the mundane--changing diapers, nursing, explaining math problems, reading aloud, doing laundry, and every time I turned around someone was hungry...again! There was very little time for anything that seemed of eternal significance--unless I embraced it ALL as having eternal value. This blog helped me do that, recording the memories with a thankful, joyful heart, and tracing God's hand as He provided and directed along the way.

As more of our kids entered their teenage years and when we moved away from an established network of Christian families and friends, there were years where a lot happened that was too painful to share...but oh, how God was working through those dark days.

We've come through the tunnel and out into the light again, it seems. Not that there aren't shadows that loom from time to time, but here's what I've learned, following God at a hen's pace, in the last ten years:

Each day is a gift. Even if it's another day filled with worry and pain, it's another day to bring it all to the Lord, and to take small steps in the right direction in the tasks He's given me, and in the lives of those I influence.

As I've petitioned the Lord for situations that were completely out of my control, He's given me things I CAN do. He's reminded me to appreciate His goodness. He's told me not to strive, to worry, to be anxious--and to trust Him. He's given me responsibilities that give me joy and distract from the pain. He's taught me that joy is not about circumstances, it's a choice--and it's usually found in the small things.

The Scriptures say that he who is faithful with little will be entrusted with great things. By God's grace, I've been able to make small daily choices--one step at a time--that have brought me on a journey to to better places than I could have imagined ten years ago! I won't say it was all forward progress--like the hen, I'd backtrack and circle around, with the same besetting issues repeatedly tripping me up--but the cumulative direction, though at a hen's pace, was God-ward.

As a writer, I've learned that writing takes time. Choosing words is not something I do quickly, and I honestly can't say that I feel called to write--at least right now--in the same way that I feel called to do other things. I've always thought that I'd write a book someday, and maybe I still will...but it's not something I'm supposed to do now. But I would like to figure out a way to spend just a few minutes a day blogging. It would be great if I could get a few thoughts and memories recorded "at the pace of a hen," rather than in great waterfalls of words, few and far between.

Maybe that lesson will be learned in my next decade of blogging!

Books Read in 2015

2016-01-05T13:27:00.000-06:00

I'm a bit late for my usual end-of-year post reviewing the books I read in the past year! I won't review them all, especially because so many were by the same authors. As usual, about half were audiobooks, and I read precious few non-fiction books again, I see. My excuse this year is that I read so many nonfiction articles online!

This year I did not keep track of the movies I watched, so no post on that. Sorry, folks.

Audiobooks

The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Thirteen for Dinner
The Big Four
Death in the Clouds
Endless Night
Dumb Witness
The Secret Adversary
After the Funeral
Dead Man's Mirror (Agatha Christie, read by Hugh Fraser)

Agatha Christie's novels are my go-to audiobooks. My library has 3 shelves of them, and I still haven't listened to them all! I love the British reader who reads most of them. Her plots are ingenious and satisfying; her characters are intriguing and so well-personified. You'd think she'd start to repeat characters, but Dame Christie really was an amazing writer.

Love Among the Chickens (P.G. Wodehouse)

Nothing beats Jeeves and Wooster, but this novelette was really enjoyable and hilarious.

The Miracle at Speedy Motors

The Double Comfort Safari Club (Alexander McCall Smith)

More from the gently humorous series The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency, set in Botswana.

Pontoon: A Novel of Lake Woebegon (Garrison Keillor)

This novel surprised me with a sharper, darker and cruder edge than Keillor's usual folksy, feel-good stories of life in a fictional Minnesota small town. This one is NOT family fare.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale)

That's right, all but the last one! It will fall into 2016.

I have to say that I have enjoyed these on audiobook WAY more than reading them to myself--and I loved reading them as they came out! Maybe it's because I'm finally getting the whole story at once, instead of reading them with months and years in between, but I think it's also because Jim Dale is an incredible reader. He has a different voice for each of the hundreds of characters he eloquently portrays in these award-winning performances.

Non-Audiobooks

The Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless Guide to the Best of the Bard (Norrie Epstein)

I've been teaching Shakespeare to teens, I assistant-directed a summer Shakespeare production and I ended up performing in it as well; I had to brush up on my knowledge! This resource was a great refresher on everything I learned in my college Shakespeare class. It was also most amusing and entertaining. I highly recommend! My only complaint is she needs to update her review of Shakespearean films; so many good ones were made after she published this book in 1994.

The Trip to Jerusalem

The Silent Woman

The Merry Devils

The Mad Courtesan

The Roaring Boy

The Laughing Hangman

The Wanton Angel

The Bawdy Basket

The Vagabond Clown

The Counterfeit Crank

The Malevolent Comedy (Edward Marston)

These mysteries are set in the days of Elizabethan theater, in the midst of a troupe very much like the one William Shakespeare wrote for. The detective, Nicholas Bracewell, is the bookholder--something like a stage manager/director, who was the only person to have a complete copy of "the book" or script. We also meet the leading man, the clown, the talented young boy who plays the leading lady's parts, and many other characters secondarily related to the troupe. These mysteries were fun to read and sketch a historically accurate picture. Pre-read before giving to your Shakespeare student though--although there is nothing really gratuitous, these Elizabethans are a lusty group.

The Shakespeare Stealer (Gary Blackwood)

This novel is safe for any age student, and it also gives a good picture of life in an Elizabethan acting troupe.

A Challenge for the Actor (Uta Hagen)

The Power of the Actor (Ivana Chubbuck)

An acquaintance who is an acting coach recommended these two books on her website, so I read them, since I teach acting to kids. These were definitely geared to adult thinking and did not seem easily applicable to what I do, but I was glad to learn from them.

This Thing of Ours: How Faith Saved My Mafia Marriage (Cammy Franzese)

I was picking out books at the library that might be helpful for B16 with a report he was writing on the Chicago mob, when this title caught my eye. It was fascinating! What an encouragement to see what a huge difference this wife's faith made in a marriage tested by imprisonment and other extreme circumstances. Her mother's faith was a testimony as well.

Prayer (O. Hallesby)

What a find among Father Rooster's many worthwhile books! The cover claimed it was a classic, though I'd never heard of it, but now I believe it. This gentle Norwegian pastor explains so simply how to pray--continually, and without striving. Here's a quote:

To pray is to open the door unto Jesus and admit Him into your distress. Your helplessness is the very thing which opens wide the door unto Him and gives Him access to all your needs.

Here are more. Who knew?

Hood

Scarlet

Tuck (Stephen Lawhead)

These are re-imaginings of the Robin Hood legends, set in Wales. We've owned these forever, but I think Father Rooster and I OD'd on Stephen Lawhead back in the day, with his wonderful 6-volume Pendragon series and then some less memorable books after that. His books are set in the post-pagan times of the druids as they were converted to Christianity, so Lawhead's historic world includes beautiful Celtic Christian prayers, songs, mysticism and the occasional miracle.

Now, if you'd like to read more book lists and reviews, check out the blog Semicolon and her round-up of year-end book posts!

And That Was My Fall

2015-12-19T10:50:00.001-06:00

It's been awhile, hasn't it? I've been pondering whether to keep my little blog going!

One would think that with no kids being homeschooled this fall, I would have had unprecedented amounts of time on my hand, but one would be wrong. Instead, I was unprecedentedly busy, riding a steep learning curve, doing something I had never done before--directing 59 kids in a musical! I had all kinds of new responsibilities to figure out, and in addition, before I was asked to direct, I had already agreed to teach two classes as well (Shakespeare and Dramatic Voice & Diction). Everything--classes, rehearsals, performances--was in Milwaukee, too, an hour away from home. So I was really putting in the hours, 3 days a week commuting and putting in time with the kids, plus prep time at home!

And loving every minute, I might add.

I might also add that last year, as I kept sensing the Lord nudging me to wrap up my homeschooling days, I heard him say, several times, that He had other things for me to do. At the time, I hoped that one of those things might be directing, but I suspected it was probably my Bible study, relationships with neighbors, and service at Light of Christ, including hosting and co-leading the youth group. I was stunned to be offered the head director job, when I wasn't sure I would even get the chance to be an assistant director again.

As I've been busy with all these things this fall, but especially with directing, I had to ask the Lord if it really was okay with him that I was spending so much time on a musical theater production. Were there other things He wanted me to do, that I was neglecting? His answer was clear: "I am the one who opened the doors for you! Yes, I want you to walk through them."

So it was a joyful fall for me. So much to learn, and what fun to learn it! I will write a post about our production (probably in January!), but it's been non-stop since it ended. After our last performance and Strike Party, we hosted Thanksgiving 4 days later...then we had the week of multiple school choir concerts, plus auditions for Fiddler on the Roof (B16, B10 and Chicklet are all in it, but I'm not involved, and it's here in Kenosha, not Milwaukee)... then my parents visited us, to attend Ye Olde Christmasse Feaste with the Madrigal Singers, the elite singing group that B16 is part of...before that, I shopped for them, and we decorated for Christmas...and now I am Christmas shopping, menu planning, and grocery shopping right up till Christmas Eve, I'm afraid!

This weekend, I take my Shakespeare class to Milwaukee to see All's Well That Ends Well...we have a youth group Christmas party and caroling...we are rehearsing for a short Christmas pageant that will be on Christmas Eve...and on Tuesday, we have a funeral, our first ever at Light of Christ. A sad loss to cancer, but an indomitable spirit, eager to be with Jesus, whose only earthly concern was for others who do not yet know Him. She left a list of names for Father Rooster and others from our church to follow up with, and she messaged them all that her dying wish was for them to attend our Christmas Eve service, so it will be interesting to see how God uses that!

But I thought I would take twenty minutes and see what I could write here! I spent twice that much time, but I think that may become one of my New Year's disciplines--to try to write short posts, more frequently. We'll see how it goes!

Happy Birthday, Chicklet13!

2015-09-09T09:44:00.000-05:00

I'm late to tell the world that this beautiful girl has become a teenager!

It's hard to believe. She still seems so young, innocent and childlike, while at the same time deepening in a maturity that is beyond her years. Despite her advanced age, she still relates so well to all the younger girls at our church and to her younger brother, and she doesn't seem in a rush to grow up and get too interested in boys, fashion and makeup.

She enjoys dressing up, though, as she is in this picture--her big sister did her hair and makeup! The occasion was a back-to-school dance that our church youth group sponsored. She was the only middle-schooler there, but since the youth group meets at our house, I'm one of the leaders, and we're short on girls, she gets to be part of it. PK's should get a few perks in life! (Pastor's Kid, for the uninitiated.)

Here's another pic from the dance--with one of her best friends!

Love the exuberance and joy captured here! Chicklet is normally a sweet, level-headed, pretty quiet girl. It's fun to see her burst out at the seams once in a while.

Her older sister has always been a big personality, and she was SO excited to finally get a little sister when she was 10 years old. She was present at Chicklet's birth, 13 years ago! It's fun to see their relationship changing and getting closer as Chicklet gets older.

Speaking of 10-year-olds, here is Chicklet on the first day of school with Bantam10, her best bud and constant companion. --By circumstance rather than by choice, most of the time, but it's delightful to see the two of them getting along really well, most of the time.

Her first few days at middle school have gone really well. She really, really likes all her teachers--yay!-- and she's found a couple kindred spirits in her classes and at lunch, who sound like sweet, nerdy friends for our girl. Perfect! No looking back longingly at her homeschooling days for either of us--we are both enjoying this new stage. B10 is enjoying being an experienced 5th grader, with the same teacher as last year. He loved her, she loved him, I loved her approach--so all's well there!

One last photo, with B20:

It scares me how old she looks here!

Most wonderful of all, about our Chicklet, is her heart for God. She knows she has lots to learn, but she listens for God's voice, she follows the Holy Spirit's leadings, she leans on God's strength when she is tempted, and she hungers for more of the Lord's presence. You know God is working in a heart like that!

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of 12 years with this sweet daughter.

Fifty Things to Love About My 50-Year-Old Man

2015-08-19T10:31:00.001-05:00

If I'd been smarter, I'd have seen this day coming and would have started thinking about this post before 10 a.m. on his actual birthday. But since I've been living this summer by the seat of my pants, I will now proceed to dash off 50 things about my one-and-only...before I have to leave for my yoga class! (That I cannot miss even though it's his birthday because it's been too long since my 50-year-old body has been there and I FEEL IT. Such a typical scenario. You can only do how much you can do.)

1. I am blessed beyond measure that my husband deeply loves me.

2. And God. I'm sure it's because of his love for God and God's love for him that he can find the grace to hang in there with me-at-my-worst.

3. Which he does, all the time.

4. He also seems to really like me, most of the time.

5. He likes to listen to me talk, of all things.

6. He even mostly remembers things I tell him.

7. He gives me good advice on a regular basis.

8. And loves me even when I don't take it.

9. But mostly we make a good team.

10. Even though we tend to notice the things we don't agree on, we are on the same page on so many things that it's easy to take them for granted.

11. Faith, for example. Years ago, I thought about marrying a guy who had plans for his life; God was welcome to join him. Instead, I married the guy who was committed to following wherever God led.

12. As fellow adventurers in following God, we've had six children.

13. We've followed God's leading to move to Wisconsin and help plant a church.

14. We've lived by faith on many decisions, large and small.

15. Including buying the house we live in presently, which made no sense except through the lens of faith.

16. He's been the rock when my faith wavered.

17. He's the stable one when I'm tired, weak and emotional.

18. He lets us reverse roles sometimes too.

19. He is incredibly patient.

20. He is an amazing pastor.

21. To our kids as well as to those in our small congregation.

22. He is gifted in wisdom and knowledge.

23. He is gifted in prayer.

24. He is gifted in healing.

25. He is a great speaker and storyteller.

26. Even if I have to bite my tongue sometimes to keep from correcting the inaccurate details!

27. He has a compassionate heart.

28. He oozes wisdom and compassion when he counsels others.

29. People trust this guy, and they are right to do so.

30. He is an excellent leader.

31. He always knows how to speak diplomatically in tense situations.

32. In those situations, I am always amazed at his vocabulary and word choice, which I would never in a million years be able to come up with.

33. He's always reading something interesting.

34. He always sends me interesting articles.

35. He knows what I'd be interested in.

36. And he shares things that he's interested in, just to keep me up-to-date with his latest mental projects.

37. He likes having people over, informally, and together we've developed a hospitality that God uses.

38. Somehow it feeds us instead of draining us, which I'm sure is the Lord's doing, but I have to credit my husband with launching us down that path.

39. He also led us down the Anglican path, which was way outside my comfort zone, but which I love now!

40. I love that he's an ordained Anglican priest.

41. He has such a joyful and honest way of leading a service.

42. I love that our boys all have gone through a phase where they thought they would like to become a priest too, someday. (B10 is still in it. He also would like to be bald, just like his daddy.)

43. I think he looks incredibly handsome in all his vestments.

44. And in jeans and button-down shirts, which always remind me of the college boy he was when we met.

45. That college boy used to sing to me, snatches from musicals, especially "Pretty Women."

46. I still love hearing his tenor voice.

47. I love that our kids inherited his singing abilities.

48. Did I mention that he's much, much smarter than I am?

49. And humble, too?

50. Best of all, he's loved me for 29 years!

Happy 50th, Honey! You are such a blessing to me, our family and our church, for all the reasons I've listed and here and so many more!!! May God bless you as you bless so many others!

July Update

2015-07-27T08:57:00.000-05:00

Poor, neglected blog.

Where do I begin to try to catch it up?

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

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

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

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

At the Kenosha Public Museum

Swimming in Lake Michigan!

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

Photo credit: my friend Lori

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

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

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

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

Photo credit: Professor Brother

Chicklet12 with her doppelganger, Niece13!

Such a strong family resemblance!

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

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

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

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

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

School Year's End

2015-06-06T23:11:00.000-05:00

Six days till summer vacation begins!

Every morning, B10 informs me how many days till summer vacation. He includes the weekends, so his count is different from B16's, who counts only the remaining school days.

Chicklet isn't as excited, because for math, she'll be plugging away for quite a few more weeks. It was her choice not to push harder; but she wisely decided to focus on a manageable daily amount rather than overwhelm herself with too much information at once. (For my homeschooling friends, we're using a self-paced online program called ALEKS which has been excellent.) I'm happy that she'll be keeping her math-brain active this summer. (But I do wish she could find her grammar and map-reading workbooks that we still need to finish!)

But it's been a good school year.

You may recall that B10 is finishing up fourth grade in public school. Previously, he was homeschooled, but when we moved, we decided to try him at the elementary school in our new neighborhood, since we had heard it praised so highly. I wasn't sure I had the energy to keep him busy enough at home; he has so much energy, I had a feeling he might be more engaged in a school setting. (Incidentally, it hit me just a few weeks ago that, although all of our kids are outgoing, B10 is our only other true extrovert besides Blondechick.)

And he's had a great year. He's getting good grades; he's well-liked by his teacher and his classmates; he's motivated to learn, to behave and to treat others well. There really hasn't been a single negative thing about his experience. We are so thankful! So he'll return in the fall for fifth grade, which will be his last year there. He sometimes speaks longingly of being homeschooled, but the main draw is being able to sleep in, I'm pretty certain. He does have a little stack of workbooks that he likes to do on non-attendance days, so he can feel homeschooled again. One time he told me he wished he could go to school every other day, and be homeschooled on the other days.

Chicklet12 and I have had a sweet sixth-grade year together. One of my goals was to get her reading longer books for longer periods of time, and we definitely achieved that. Yay!! I also wanted to get her "caught up" to where she should be in math, and when she's finished with ALEKS, she will be there. Another goal was to invest time in our relationship--with teenagerhood looming in September! So we went on the cruise together. We also went out to breakfast more than a few times; we've shopped together, cooked together, prayed together, and learned together. But it wasn't all one-on-one time; we also had our classical co-op once a week, plus theater classes and rehearsals, and homeschooled friends, church friends and theater friends to fit into her social calendar!

It's been bittersweet, since we knew that it was probably going to be her last year being homeschooled. And that's the plan for 7th grade--to go to the public middle school. By all accounts, it's not a great school, but it could be worse. So this year she went there for a few months for one period, for choir, which was long enough for her to make a few friends and imagine herself going there. I wish there was a better option, but I also trust that God is in it and He'll provide for her. I can always pull her out and homeschool her if I have to!

But God is doing something in my heart; it feels like He is gently closing the door on homeschooling, at least for a season, because He wants to direct my attention to other things. It seems crazy to send our lovely daughter to a rough school full of junior high boys--of all things!--and it seems many of the girls are just as bad. But we know other lovely girls who've done fine there, and Chicklet has an inner strength and self-possession that will serve her well and probably be strengthened in that setting.

Meanwhile, God is opening doors in my relationships with women who want prayer, who want to be discipled, and with people who want to know more about God. Many are neighbors or people we've only met since we moved, and we've never experienced this kind of openness and opportunity before. It continues to confirm to us that our move last summer was something God was orchestrating!

Finally, B16 is finishing his sophomore year at the local high school--also a place I wasn't eager to send our kids, but in B16 it has served to strengthen him in many ways. Ironically, he gets positive reinforcement from his peers for things like being polite, dressing in a classy way (like wearing Dad's wing-tips to school with jeans), appearing to have his act together, and having good relationships with his siblings. (All examples straight from the lips of his friends!) He's had amazing opportunities with Chorale, Madrigals, Jazz Choir, theater and Solo and Ensemble. He's finding more satisfaction with a job well-done academically too. He's also been selected to be on "Link Crew" next year, which pairs mature upperclassmen with groups of freshman students, an honor and a neat responsibility. Despite all the positives, he struggles with a certain level of depression, but he's getting better at making proactive choices that help lift him up (like not procrastinating on the big project), and I am as proud of that as I am of his other accomplishments.

And that's a wrap--for this blog post, at least. B16 and B10 still have four more days of school to get through before we can say the same about this school year. Or six. Depending how you count!