Well, I feel like I can breathe this morning.  I have had a very full plate with goals, projects and activities the past couple of months.   !!!!! I finished with my one day a week at the hospital working to pay off my surgery bill !!!!  I FINALLY got my taxes done and mailed on the last day!  Am I a procrastinator???  NO !  My kids heard the word and didn't understand what it meant so of course, being a homeschool mom I couldn't just read it out of the dictionary, I had to show them-- hands on style -- right??  (if you believe that....) THE CANOE RACE has come and gone AND my two school-age girls were allowed the opportunity to be in the cast of "Little Women"!!  KayinMaine was the sacrificial director! Watching her work with the kids was a blessing.  Sure, we had bumps in the road but to see the children's faces last night when they were preparing, performing and after was incredible.  They all thrived on it even through their mistakes.  They all covered very well with great poise when they made a mistake.  I don't think the audience ever knew. 

I want to thank her devoted husband and Will  who worked tirelessly fixing all the technical problems.  These just kept cropping up! Thanks guys! The other parents all pitched in to help too.  Parents all set such an example to our children with our actions -- this is all part of education and learning too!

Rehearsals and making costumes was a little tiring but my theme song was, "It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus, LIfe's trials will seem so small....."  Bravo to all the kids and the director for a job well-done.

You know, as a parent that has 'headed things up" in the past I try to take time at the beginning of a project like this and through out it to ask myself "How can I be of most help?"  One way any of us can be helpful is to realize that when we aren't the one in charge  we don't know all the goings on and we need to support the director providing the issue isn't immoral, unscriptural or against the law.  Sometimes that means taking on a big part of the project and sometimes it means just being there with encouraging words and actions. 

The sad but humorous side of this is that I burned out my 20 year old sewing machine while making costumes.  My beloved husband came in one night to find me slightly stressed that I had to go over seams 2-3 times to get them stitched.  My machine was skipping stitches, squeaking and clanking.  I have LOVED this machine since day 1.  He suggested I go buy another.  I couldn't use my girls machines either because they were sewing costumes too.  It was a good thing that this play took place during the Civil War era.  We are studying the Civil War and sewing time period dresses was a cultural experience! Buying a new machine was very emotional for me because that machine had seen my older two from toddlerhood through college and to the present.  (I know, I'm a sentimental old fool!)  I headed out in a snowstorm to buy the machine - hey, dress rehearsal was looming- and bought the machine.  Now, there is one thing worse than having your sewing machine die while in the middle of sewing with a looming deadline!  That would be getting home with a brand new sewing machine and finding out that the storm had caused a loss of electricity! 

I read the owners manual from cover to cover, did about 6 hours of hand sewing, looked at my really old treadle machine and wondered where I could get a new belt for it , in a snowstorm, and then decided to take a nap.  I had been up until 3:30 a.m. a few nights in a row and 5:30 a.m.comes early on those nights !  The girls thought I was crazy but I told them that this was the quickest way I knew of to get the power back on.  Huh!  they thought  I meant my energy.  I probably wasn't more than 14 1/2 minutes into my nap, you know that groggy, where am I, who am I, part of sleep when the power came back on!

My son was home from warm, sunny South Carolina this past weekend to run a canoe race with my husband.  Keep in mind that this is April in Maine.  That means the water was fast and COLD! It was about 38 degrees!  They, as well as over 70% of those brave (read: crazy) enough to attempt the infamous 6 mile falls, went swimming!  My son bravely tried to call out that he was tired after the first 10 miles of the race and thought he'd cool off.  This was caught by the TV camera crew but not believed by many.  As he admits, his voice was rather squeaky. They got separated and it took time to regroup so they didn't continue the race.  The canoe (as well as hubby and son) were pretty banged up.  The canoe has some impressive dents and popped some rivets (read: leaking) so the girls and I decided to take them to Olive Garden for some hot coffee and soup!

The hospital work is done, the taxes are but a painful memory, the play a wonderful memory and now back to regular days.  I need to organize my school room.  WHO am I kidding?  I need to organize my house.  There is fabric, thread, needles, pattern pieces etc... everywhere!

Although these events HUGELY impacted my usually organized school schedule they were all great learning experiences and time to be pulling together as a family.  We will get the required schoolwork done and are even taking the girls on a mystery trip.  Today, however, we will begin with devotion time with our Lord and take a walk on this glorious, sunny morning !

Again, another extra special thank~you and hug to KayinMaine (visit her blog, she's got loads of wisdom for one so young) for her sacrifice and dedication. 

Have a blessed day training your treasures for His Kingdom!

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Posted by KayinMaine