But I’m sure you already figured that out! Tomorrow was supposed to be Timmy’s 8th Birthday party. We ordered sunshine for his SURVIVOR party. But it’ll be raining all week. Thursday was supposed to be the rain date for party. Supposed to be 40% showers. So I emailed everyone asking if Sunday would be better, then had to email them back and say, “sorry, but FORGOT my kids have a matinée that day!” Sheesh, my kids as the leads in The Jungle Book. You’d think I’d remember. Truth is, we’ve been really spoiled with carpooling. The last couple of weeks a dad who is helping behind the scenes has been driving our kids!

Back to party. Well, I got to thinking what if people show up anyway to tomorrow’s party, what if those who were looking forward to the party can’t come on Monday. So, I’m having two parties. One for the group tomorrow that can’t make it next Monday and one for Monday which looks sunny and clear. Sure hope someone shows up to that party!

At least the house is clean for tomorrow. We showed our home to a realtor. We built this house twelve years ago when I was pregnant with Joey. It’s been wonderful, but we’ve outgrown it! We’ve thought about moving before, but ten years ago we fell in love with our neighbors. They were 76 years old then and have been like grandparents to our kids. We’ve stayed because of them and still can’t even bring ourselves to seriously consider leaving them. It’s such a hard thing to think about!

Well, back to party planning chaos!

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My kids were going to take a break and I wasn’t pushing them to audition even though I thought the Jungle Book would be a great play for them. Actually, I was relieved they weren’t auditioning. I knew if they made it practices would be M/T/Thurs. from 7 - 9 pm. And we still have three weeks of school left.

Then we got a call from the director encouraging them to audition. I have to admit, I got more excited then they did. My oldest (13) still said he wanted to take a break but really liked working with these directors. Then I asked my little guy (8) if he wanted to audition. He said yes.

So off we went. They all did great and I had a feeling… My feeling was right and I pegged the parts they were offered.

Chris (13) Rudyard Kipling who is on stage a lot. The play flips back and forth between Rudyard (author of the Jungle Book) in his dorm room, to the jungle.

Joey (11) Mogli

Timmy (8) Young Mogli who had to audition in HINDI. Yes, he had to read HINDI words. Timmy also gets to play a monkey which he is even more excited about!

So it begins again. Are we insane, crazy? Yes, but also extremely honored and proud!

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We had another great theatre run! Thursday night was a little rough, more like a dress rehearsal since the kids hadn’t really run through the entire show in one day, but by Friday they were beginning to shine!

Here’s a peak at the first scene!

Chris (13) said the quartet messed up a couple of times, but I couldn’t tell. To me they sounded amazing! And of course, Winthrop (Joey, 11) stole the show. In fact, during the cast party he got the “Crowd Pleaser” award. Some of the random comments I heard about my boys:

Joey as Winthrop:

“I didn’t know they let a kid with a lisp in the show!” (That is a testimony to how well he played his part.)

One woman who plays the violin in Hollywood says she’s seen The Music Man 37 times and Joey was as good a Winthrop as the rest of them.

About Chris (13)

From his dancing partner. “I really love dancing with Chris. He’s a great dancer.”

From the assistant director & member of the quartet: “Chris is one of the most talented students I’ve worked with and I wouldn’t be surprised if he got the starring role when he’s in 10th grade.”

I can’t tell you how many times I heard this about my two boys:

“You’re boys are so talented.”

“You should be proud.”

Yes, I was proud, but I wasn’t gushing proud. I’m not sure why. Maybe because I’ve seen them in plays and know what they’re capable of. Many people at this show had no idea they could act and sing. To me, they’re talented, but I’ve been thinking lately as to WHY they are so talented.

Yes, God gave them their gifts, but other kids are just as gifted. I think the difference is (Okay, this is going to sound stuck up or something, but there’s no other way to say it) I saw these giftings at a young age and pushed them in that direction.

At two years old, Chris (13) was singing on key and putting different word to familiar songs like “Itsy, Bitsy, Spider.” I searched for a music program, but didn’t find anything for a two year old. Then I took Chris to a local community production of The Wizard of Oz, and was blown away by the production and the children in the show. When we were leaving they were handing out fliers to their theatre school. I enrolled Chris in the Fall and he seemed to have a good time. Though he wasn’t always excited about the classes, and there were seasons where he did nothing in music and theatre over the years. I remember his first audition because he didn’t even make it into the building. He chickened out. Then we went to other auditions and it was so tortuous for me to watch him get stage fright and threaten to not audition. But we kept at it and now it’s second nature. He doesn’t get cold feet during an audition, but he’s one of those kids that LOVES the theatre either. He goes by how he feels about the show.

Joey’s talent (11) has been a complete surprise to me. While he was adorable on stage and got the part of the Bible Boy in his first show “Joseph and the Amazing Techoncolor Dream Coat” it wasn’t until he landed the part of Chip in Beauty and the Beast that I realized he had talent. I never dreamed he would even be considered for the part, but after the shows run, the director said he would work with Joey any time.

The boys went on to get other lead roles in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Oliver and the latest, The Music Man. So all that to say, it’s not all about talent. It’s about what you do with the talent. I knew from the first season Chris played soccer he would never be a real Jock. He loves to play sports (depending upon his mood) but he’s not one of those die hard players. He plays when he feels like it, just like theatre.

As with every show, it’s a little sad when the final curtain comes down. Joey really got into his part, lisp spit and all and even surprised everyone with a round-off back-handspring at his curtain call. He’s thinking about quitting gymnastics, but I’m not ready to let him do that. I also see a lot of talent in that area. We just need a change of pace.

I’m sure come Saturday morning the boys will be thrilled they get to sleep in. I’m not sure when they will be ready to do another show, but when they are you can bet I will be there with an ear to ear grin, sitting on the front row.

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I haven’t written much about my son’s roles in the Music Man because I really don’t know much about what’s going on. What I do know is that I’m truly proud of my little “Winthrop” and my “Quartet singer.” Because of their experience (and talent) they are doing exceptional and getting all kinds of compliments, but they are nervous because they don’t think this school production is ready. They are used to having run through the show dozens of times before opening night. That’s not the case this time. So if you think of it, say a prayer. It’s been a long week and tonight is their time to shine!

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My boys (Joey, 10 &Chris, 13) auditioned for The Music Man last week. Before auditions we rented the movie, and I said that Joey (10) would make a great Winthrop and Chris (13) would be a great quartet singer. But Chris wasn’t interested in that part. He wanted to be Tommy, the town trouble maker.

After auditions (everyone who auditions is in the cast, but not everyone gets a lead role) Joey made call backs and Chris didn’t. He was a little disappointed but he new the older kids would be cast in the big roles and none of the Jr. high kids would. (It’ a school production, the school being known for their excellent musical productions.)

The next day the director called me and told me she doesn’t really do this…this being ask a 7th grader to take a leading role, but Chris had the talent, size and experience, and she wanted to know if he’d be interested in singing in the quartet. He didn’t know what to think at first, then he got excited!

Later on (trying to hide a grin) he said, “Mom, every part you say I should get, I get!” And it’s true. When I saw the production of Oliver I thought, Chris would make a great Dodger. Five years later, he was Dodger. When I saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat I said, “my boys could do that.” And they did. I also said he’d make a great Peter in Narnia and guess what, he was Peter.

Oh, and by the way, Joey got Winthrop! In the past I would say you’re too young or too old for a part, and he’d get cast anyway. This time I pegged it! But through it all I’ve told my boys have kept a level head. They don’t always get the parts they want. They’re not always cast in the productions, but when they are, it really makes a mama proud!

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I can’t believe it’s show time again. Well, not action show time, but audition for their school’s production of The Music Man is tomorrow. Their small Classical Christian school is non for is top notch performances which is great, but also means there’s a chance they might not get the big parts they are getting used to getting. But they don’t really mind. They just want to have fun with all their friends.

They went to a workshop last Saturday which was fun. Then I saw the rehearsal schedule. Not so fun! They will be practicing Tuesday and Thursdays from 3- 6pm which is better than the last show they were in which was from 7-9pm, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays they get out at 1:30pm. I really don’t want to run home for an hour and then run back, plus I have to pick up Grace at 2:45 at her school. So I’m not quite sure how that’s all going to work out yet. But the worse part of the practices is that they have them also on Saturday morning from 9-noon!

I guess this schedule isn’t any worse than Chris’ schedule last year playing baseball (which he missed tryouts because they were last month! Last month?) But he said he doesn’t even watch Saturday morning cartoons anymore. Which really just means he’s excited about this show.

The only big concern I have is that Chris’ grades might suffer. His grades went down several points in some subjects when he was doing Narnia, but he reminded me that at least he won’t be getting to bed late and he can do his homework after practice. As it is he spends all his time in his room doing homework when he gets home from school. I asked him today which he liked better homeschool with no homework or school with friends.

He said, “When I was homeschooled I had lots of time to play but no friends to play with. At school I have no time to play, but lots of friends.”

I was thinking how much I’ve been enjoying Chris (13) this year and how agreeable he’s been, hardly arguing about things I ask him to do. It’s night and day compared to when we homeschooled. In fact, so much in this family has change since I’ve put them in school. I have really changed. I have more peace. More patience and I’m able to handle stress better. I still spend too much time on the computer, but I’m working on it.

Still, I’ll thinking about bringing Timmy home next year for 3rd grade. I really don’t have a good reason why. His teacher adores him and he loves his friends (not the work.) He gets great grades, but I’d still like to have him home and homeschool him. I miss sitting down as a family reading about science and history which they don’t get enough of in a fun way at school. And I think it would be more fun to homeschool Grace with Timmy. Yes, I’m planning on homeschooler her (God help me! I really mean it!) But I think it’s the best thing for her. Not sure if it’s the best thing for me.

So that’s the update on the family. I really wish I was able to be that laid back, homeschooled, Charolette Mason, unschooler, but God didn’t design me that way. I’m not sure if I’ve totally given up that dream, yet, but the way I feel now compared to the way we all felt homeschooling is undescribable. I feel like Job after God restored all he had lost.

Hey, that sounds like the makings of a really good devotional. I’ll have to give it some thought!

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I can’t believe this week is tech week for Chris (Peter) and Joey (Edmond.) When I invited my sister to the show I told her it was in two to three weeks. Boy was I wrong! Opening night is in two days!

Time really has flown, mostly because we’ve been carpooling with three other families and I’ve only been down to the theatre a couple of times. Plus, Joey and Timmy have had football games a couple of nights a week. Last week was their last games! I thought we’d have a little bit of a break, but things are picking up again with the boys’ rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday of this week and then performances on Thurs.- Sunday of this week and then Fri-Sunday of next week.

I’ll be busy the rest of the week but will try and put up some photos of the play. In the mean time, if you’d like a glimpse at last year’s show when Chris was Edmond, check out my sidebar under the category “It’s Show Time!” I’m sure there’s a photo or two!

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Joey wanted to audition for the show. last year he got a small part, but declined it. He had to make an on the spot decision and Joey is NEVER good at making quick choices. Later he was a little disappointed he didn’t get in the show, but enjoyed watching it.

Chris  was Edmund last year and didn’t want to audition. He was swamped with homework and had no clue how he’d fit it in. I was a little disappointed, but I respected his wishes thinking it was actually pretty mature of him to make that decision. Little did I know that hubby and son had a long conversation about this and Chris secretly prayed that if God wanted him in the show, the director would call him.

To my surprise, we got a call on Thursday. The director said they had a low turn out for auditions and was still looking for a Peter. They wanted someone who could do a British accent and he wanted to know if Chris wanted to audition for the part.

He didn’t mention anything about Joey until a little later. They were considering him for Edmund, but because of his height (he’s a little guy) it might not work with their Lucy.

After the family talked, Chris started to warm up to the idea. He was really torn on several different levels. He wasn’t enthusiastic about the part, but if they needed him, he didn’t want to let them down. He had prayed if God wanted him in the play, they would call and they did. And he really didn’t want to be with his brother on stage, though bossing him around might be fun. Not to mention there still was all that school work. The last time we did the show they were home schooled. This year they have to get to school by 8 am.

Long story short, we accepted the parts, knowing it would be a big strain on the family, also knowing that Chris pretty much knows the lines from last year and can take his homework with him, and knowing that Joey’s part would interfer with football. (When we signed up for footbal we thought (and were told) the games would be on Saturdays. There’s not ONE game on Saturday. They’re all on the nights the play practices. He’ll have to miss some of each.)

So for the next six weeks it’s going to be crazy with play practice and two kids in football. We haven’t even started and I can’t wait until it’s over! But it’s still really exciting. Both my boys will be in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!

I couldn’t be prouder!

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Chris has always been a gifted singer. At an early age, I noticed he had a gift for singing and enrolled him in Kindermusik. His pitch and tone amazed me, especially since I can’t sing and always wanted to.

At the age of 6 he would mimic the Lion King’s “I just can’t wait to be King” song and sang it beautifully. He would often get complimented and offered solo parts at school.

I signed him up every year for musical theatre classes until he started to grow tired of the long and boring practices. Singing was no longer fun, so I didn’t push him to take classes

Chris has always been a reluctant singer. He sings when he wants to and he doesn’t ever want to be put on the spot. Whenever I ask him to sing for someone, he never does.

He’s been in several play and musicals, and enjoyed the performances, but not the rehearsals.
The most recent recital he did was High School Musical. His teacher (a former Broadway performer) said Chris had the talent to go all the way to Broadway if he wanted to. He just needed the desire.

A there in lies my problem. I have a talented son, who’s been gifted by God with a voice that brings tears to my eyes, but he doesn’t want to use his gift.

There’s a local community production of High School Musical coming up and I want him to audition. He’s doesn’t. “I’m not really interested in plays that much any more,” he said. To be honest, the only thing he’s interested in these days is video games.

So what do I do? Do I push him to audition, and become one of those annoying stage moms? Or do I let him hide his  gift under a bushel until it’s snuffed out?

There are not many opportunities in our town for musicals for boys his age. This production of High School Musical is one of them where he could possibly get the lead.

A part of me knows to let it go, but another part of me knows my son and if it resembles anything like work, he wants no part of it. I try and tell him that sometimes you have to take the parts you don’t love, to one day get the parts you do.

I’m just saddened by his lack of interest in using his incredible talent. It won’t be long before his voice starts to change, and I’m afraid if he doesn’t sing through the change he might lose his gift.

Does anyone else have a child reluctant to use his/her gift? If so, how do you handle it?

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Your 80s Heartthrob Is

Scott Baio

Who’s Your 80’s Heartthrob?

How funny! He WAS my 80’s heart throb among others!!!

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Sunday afternoon, Chris finally debuted as Edmund from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe after two show cancellations due to the snow and ice storm that blanketed our area.

The show went extremely well after not having a run through in four days. I couldn’t have been prouder of Chris. He was born to play Edmund.

It’s hard to believe my maturing 12 year old was once a shy insecure boy of seven who walked away from the doors of an audition. The next time he approached an audition, he was all nerves, almost getting sick before he had to go on stage.

That was when he and his brother, Joey made it into their first big production. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. Chris was about 8 and Joey 6. They were both in a couple of other shows, getting bigger and bigger parts. Then last year Joey got the part of Chip in a Broadway style production of Beauty and the Beast. Chris didn’t even make the show and I was so surprised because he had the better singing voice. It was our first experience where one boy got in and another didn’t, but Chris handled the disappointment well.

Then came his next big break. A musical. He got the part of Dodger in Oliver Twist and Joey was cast as Oliver. Could have seen my smile from the moon! Chris rose to the occasion and played the part wonderfully like I knew he would.

Now he’s playing the part of Edmund and the best compliment I can get is when the director tells me he’s doing everything perfectly. A couple of years ago this same director was telling Chris not to direct from the stage. Chris had a tendency to want to take charge, but now he’s been so teachable. He’s really grown up in many areas.

Opening night (afternoon) ended with a couple who’s child was in the show realizing who my child was.

“Oh, you’re Edmund’s mom. He’s really good! We’ve been talking about him since he auditioned for the part.”

And though we were inside, I bet the astronauts in space could see my smile!

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“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Mt 6:25

My grandma was a worrier. My mom is a worrier. I’m a worrier, and unfortunately I see the familiar trait in my nine year old.

And yesterday there was a lot of little things to worry about. Chris got cast in the part of Edmond for the community theatre’s version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Joey got the part of the Christmas Elf, yet he was too worried that the part wouldn’t be fun or cool. So after I accepted the role on his behalf, I had to humbly call back the director and decline the part for Joey.

I worried about looking like an idiot because I had accepted the part on behalf of my son after the director asked me if I needed to talk to the boys about the role. I said “no”, they were excited about the show. How would I know Joey had issues with the elf part?

Then after I hung up we talked about the elf part and, Joey changed his mind back and said, “I guess I do want the part.”

Great, just great. If we didn’t call back soon enough the part would be given to someone else. Now I really was worried about looking like and idiot, so I did what any self respecting coward would do, I asked my hubby to call. He did and the call went to voice mail.

Great! Just great! Now for sure I was worrying. The part had probably gone to someone else, but maybe not. I’d had to wait until morning, but I did I worry all night? I could have, but instead I chose to lay it at the feet of Jesus.

In the morning the director called and said he had already given the part to someone else and though we were a little sad, we were all okay.

Then as I was running out the door to take Gracie to preschool I realized I lost my driver’s license. So I back tracked to the three places where I thought I could have lost it and is wasn’t anywhere. I decided to give it to God. Worrying wouldn’t make my license appear, so I prayed that it would turn up. And it did! As soon as I got home, I searched through the last place that held my license and it was wedged in the side of my purse.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Mt 6:25

Do not worry! Such wise advice I’m glad I listened!

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This book totally changed the way I viewed each of my children. In fact, I think it’s time I read through it again.

When my oldest was two, he drove me crazy with his bossiness and his involvement in everyone’s business. He was demanding, confrontational with other children, and often had trouble in social situations. He never obeyed and often ran off on his own. Now he’s twelve, nothing much had changed, except that I read this book and realized he’s just who God made him to be.

And there’s a profile in this book that fits him like a glove. It helped me to understand the places in where my son would soar and excel. Here’s a glimpse of the table of contents.

Helping Your Child Fly

Finding Places Where Your Child Soars

Unleashing the Power that Keeps Your Child Soaring

Understanding How Fast and How long your Child Can Fly

Understanding How Your Child Works with Others

Dusting Off Discipine and Helping Your Child Find the Right Skies

Helping Your Child Navigate Treacherous Skies

Putting Your Child in the Best Possible Position to Learn

Wow! After reading those great chapters, I really DO need to go read this again. And maybe this time I’ll pick up the workbook.

One downside to this book is that it’s out of print and you have to search around on ebay or Amazon. I was lucky enough to discover this on a discount book table!

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My boys have two auditions this weekend. Joey (9) wanted to audition for the musical THE WIZ and both he and Chris (12) want to audition for the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.Joey did pretty well in his audition today and though rhythmically challenged he managed to be asked to stay late with a group of dancers. They went through this incredibly fast and difficult dance, and I was in awe at my little guy keeping up with the others. (Guess our hip hop lessons this summer paid off!)

I guess I should be thrilled he’s probably going to be in the show, but a part of me doesn’t want to commit to the rehearsal schedule which involves 4 months of Tuesday nights, Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons.

Then there’s tomorrow’s audition. What if Joey AND Chris make that one? Then Joey will have to decide and if he chooses THE WIZ, I’ll be carting two kids to two different shows. So, right now I’m not sure what we’re going to do. I just thought it was important they audition so they wouldn’t regret it later.

Now I’m starting to regret it!

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Wow! Just as my emotional rollercoaster ride was screeching to a halt, and I had lifted the lap bar, and placed one foot out of the car, the engineer gets an evil gleam in his eyes and cranks up the speed, and I’m thrust back into my seat headed for the first drop.

Today ended my sons’ performances as Oliver and Dodger. What should have been a wonderful ending to a crazy ride, turned out to be a nightmare. I had been under the misguided assumption that all the performances would be video taped, and with four Olivers I thought that was a wise decision, a decision that would make everyone happy. Well, I found out today that yesterday was the only day they were taping, and it was of the OTHER Oliver, the late comer who was added to the show as Oliver three weeks before opening night. GRRRR….

The temperature in the room rose at least ten degrees when I found out, my justice meter peeking off the chart. My brain couldn’t understand why this was happening. The OTHER Oliver’s entire family and a bunch of friends saw the show and a video tape of my son was the only way my family who lives hundreds of miles away would be able to see the show. Yada, yada, yada… Though the stage manager gave his explainations, it didn’t help.

Okay, now I know this is really a silly thing to get upset over in the big scheme of real life tragedies, but I can’t get over the injustice of it all. And yes, I’ve started to throw some tearful questions God’s way just like my friend Paula. I thought I had made a forgiving gesture by initiating a collection for a gift for the directors and stage manager. And I really was okay with everything, you know the kind of okay that says I forgive you, but I still don’t think what you did was right. So why this…now!

I guess God’s doing something in my life, I just don’t know what, and I wish He’d hurry up and do it or at least let me in on it so I can help expedite the process. If this rollercoaster ride doesn’t slow down soon, I think I’m gonna throw up. ;0

Well, if nothing else comes of this whole experience you can bet it will make great fodder for my momlit novel. When, of course, after I begin writing it!

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My emotional rollercoaster ride has settled. The director of the show stopped me in the hall of the State Captiol after a promo performance. He heard from the assistant director that I was upset. He wanted to talk and we did. I shared some of my feelings how this was just unexpected and I never heard of this happening before. He shared about his concerns with the Olivers not being able to pull through for the show, so he gave some other kids a shot. He also told me that there was a lot of “talk and emotions” in the whole decision process. I’m not sure what that was all about, but I think some of the parents were complaining because he used the word “petty.” He did say some of the parents were complaining because I sat in on the “closed” rehearsals, but I had permission to video tape the signing so we could practice at home. In fact, the director and assistant director said I was the only mom who video taped and he wished more would have done that. So, God worked through the situation and healed my heart very quickly. I’m still not totally free of some of the emotions that creep up unexpectedly, but I’m not upset like before.

It’s true what they say, often times God doesn’t deliver you from the trial, but takes you through it instead. Here’s another cliche that proved itself right in this circumstance. “Time heals all wounds.” I’d like to change that one a bit… With time, God heals all wounds!

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This weekend my emotions have been on a rollercoaster ride. Not the tame ones found in the kiddie park, but the huge, intimidating kind that scares the snot out of you just waiting in line. Brevity is not a virtue of mine, but I’ll try my best…

My two oldest boys have had a wonderful opportunity participating in a play that integrates sign language with the musical Oliver. We were excited when my 11 year old got the part of Dodger and my 8 year old got Oliver (The part was double cast so he would share six shows with another Oliver.)

It has been a very stressful three months trying to learn the the music, blocking, dialogue AND sign language. It turned out to be more of a challenge because I thought the directors would be teaching them all the signs, but half way through the show I found myself scrambling to find someone who could help me figure out their parts since none of us knew sign language before this show.

One other frustrating aspect of the practices was that the two Olivers and the understudy had to share practice time, so that meant each child only practiced 1/3 of the time. Well, about a month before the show I think the director started to panic because the Olivers weren’t “kicking it up a notch” like he had hoped so he pulled a kid from the ensemble cast to see if he could do a scene. And he did it just as well as the others. The following weeks I really worked with my son and the assistant director saw a great improvement. But the ball was already in motion. The director had already asked the OTHER kid to learn the part of Oliver and if he did, he’d get a shot at the part.

Then the email came the other day saying my son would be doing two of the six shows. I was upset, shocked and angry. I quickly did the math and looked over our SIGNED agreement and felt to honor that agreement he should be doing three shows. But the director had made the agonizing decision, giving two shows each to the original Olivers, one show to the UNDERSTUDY, and one to the OTHER kid he pulled from the ensemble.

Well, my justice radar flew up and I was hit with so many different emotions at once. Anger, hurt, frustration, sadness, jealousy, depression, etc. It really has wrecked my weekend and I’m trying to work past it, and sent an email to the assistant director who really was pulling for my son, and told him I didn’t think it was fair, and I’m still upset and hurt, but the show must go on, and I’m not going to petty about the situation.

Saying that and living it are two different things.

I try not to be resentful, but my justice meter tells me IT’S JUST NOT FAIR. I’ve never heard of a theatre company doing this before, and if they would have just worked with the Olivers more than there would be no need for all this craziness. PLUS, now during the critical tech week where you iron out all the on stage gliches, they have to divide the rehearsal time by FOUR. That means if we’re lucky, each Oliver will get to pracitce ONCE on stage. Yada, yada, yada…

Forgive me if I digress, my emotions are still raw. Okay, back to the point of this post. My oldest son has a high justice meter like myself and it’s often hard to parent the other kids in my house because he’s playing judge and wanting me to throw the book at his siblings. But despite this quality he and my 8 year old are taking this better than I am. I’m the one whining and complaining and my 8 year old Oliver is the one that told the director this morning to let the OTHER Oliver practice instead of him because he (my son) wasn’t going to be there the whole time. And my oldest son, Dodger, offered to do the OTHER Oliver’s other part while he was Oliver.

Okay, I know this is kind of confusing, but my point is I was so proud of my kids because no matter how much grief and stress they cause me during the homeschool day, the bottom line is that they’re good kids when it counts I know they didn’t just happen to be like that by chance, and I’m NOT taking all the credit, but though I fail miserably on a daily basis, somehow Jesus makes it all turn out right.

Thank You Jesus for Your faithfulness despite my inconsistency, Your grace despite my unworthiness and Your mercy despite my sin. I’m so glad You didn’t whine and cry to the Father, claiming IT’S NOT FAIR that you had to die for MY sins. Help me look beyond my own pain and remember that You willingly accepted the ultimate role-the cross.

You gave a powerful performance of love, trust, redemption and forgiveness. Help me follow Your example- even through my pain! Amen.

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