A Much Needed Break

Thursdays are always crazy!

Just insane, really!

For another couple of weeks
Jonathan and Chelsea will work
Thursday mornings and then I will
grab them and head for co-op.

This means that we stop for a
bite to eat on the way. We have
just enough time to drive through
and get there on time.

Yesterday, I got the brilliant idea
to use a coupon from the coupon book
that came in the mail recently...that is
important...the book came recently, to
go to Dominos for a buy one get one free deal.

Great! They all love pizza!
The location closest to our co-op was one
that participated...miracle of miracles.

I went a different way to make sure I did not
miss the Dominos. But, upon getting to the
address listed on the coupon...there was a
Metro Pizza...not a Dominos.

Hmmphh!

Now we are certainly going to be late!

What to do.

Thank the Lord for cell phones.

I called the number on the back of the
coupon. Mr. Man who had taken the order
answered. I asked him where he was.

Oh, he was about 8 minutes the other direction.

I told him what was on the back of the coupon.
"Well, we haven't been there for about 3", (yes
that was THREE"), "years!"

I was so frustrated that I took a wrong turn and
ended up in what the kids call a "perfectsville".
You know all of the manicured lawns and all of
the houses look exactly the same.
All of the roads had the word Oak in them and they
all go in circles....endlessly!

Finally after much aggravation we passed the house
with the castle in the back yard once again and knew
we were about to be freed from this torment.

On to the next Road on the right with the word Oak in
it and off to the Dominos.

The pizza was cold and we were late.

This was sooooo much fun!

Co-op went pretty well.

I love my friends!

They are just so accommodating to my
every frame of mind.

What? You are a little stressed?
Why are you sitting there all alone?
You must need to talk.

So, we chatted away all first class
period when I suddenly heard the thunder
of many feet changing classes on the
stairwell and realized my next torture
was about to begin.

Actually, it was fun.

The 7-up choir learned a new song

They are doing so well with it.

Then we went back to In Christ Alone and I
glanced into the hall to see the original choir
director...the professional one...standing there.
This woman moved to Nebraska. I was never to have
been humiliated by having her watch me not know what
to do with my hands while "directing" a choir.

She was safely days away. Oh, no! There she stood.
Smiling....what did that smile mean?????

I waved and smiled real big!

I'm not going to let her see me sweat!

Finally, that class ended and in came my
45 4th-6th graders. I must say the change in
them has been dramatic. They went from mumblers,
fidgeters, complainers to real honest to goodness
singers. I have real hope for them in this concert
now. I even thought they had come far enough to teach
the altos a new part. And some of them got it!

My poor helper who has offered to play the piano held
her sweet baby boy in one arm and played with the other.

We must have looked hysterical...and the whole time I kept
wondering where that former choir director was....
was she standing in the stairwell...where I stand when I want
to hear what the other choir director is doing? I like to
"glean" ideas from the experts in the field. I am such a
faker. The only thing I have in common with the professionals
is my love of music, knowledge of notes and ....guess that's about it.

I just wish I knew what to do with my hands....I can do that thing
they do... but it is so not me!

Oh well...

Now you are still wondering what the break was that is promised in the
title of this post?

We went out to dinner with the Moms.

We had a nice time.

It was not the first choice of restaurant because that one would not seat us.
It wasn't that they didn't like us...because they never met us. They simply were
too busy to come over to the little podium and say, "We will be with you shortly".

SO...we meandered over to the little restaurant beside it and then ordered Mikey a
pizza to go from the take out of "the most desired place". If you are counting, yes, that made two meals of pizza for him yesterday. So what! lol He has a cold and was cranky. I am feeding his cold.

Did I mention that at this second restaurant... the default choice...one of the Moms from our co-op was working...I did not know she worked there...but she happened to point out that some of our boys had broken a branch from a pine tree at the church we meet at? Well, that was the first I had heard of that. One of the boys being my own Mikey... this necessitated a call to our building coordinator who assured me that those trees are scheduled to be torn down so all is well....but...those boys had better not be in that tree again!!!
Thus sayeth the Mommy and the Co-op 7-up Coordinator who are one and the same.


I came home and did NOT work on candles.

I went to bed and began to read the book written by the two families who had their daughters switched after the tragic Taylor University Van crash, "Mistaken Identity".

I read until my eyes would not stay open any more. From the first sentence I was pulled into this book. It is an unbelievable mistake that was made. Unbelievable.

So...today it is back to real life. I just hope that I have to wait somewhere, for someone, so I can read more of that book!

Blessings!

Becky K.

Ticklebelly Road

When I was a teenager there was
a road that we frequently drove
over. This road was filled with
those abrupt drops that
make your belly tickle.

Do you know what I mean?

It was always fun to ride on
that road, especially if one
was going just a bit faster than
the speed limit. That means that
it was much more fun if Mom was
driving...tee-hee.

One day we were taking some
neighbor children to an event
of some kind and they got all
excited because they called that
road Ticklebelly Road and they loved
to go over it. Cute!
That name stuck for us ever after.

Well, this morning I am no where
near Ticklebelly Road but I feel
as if I am on it.

This is the first day of Homeschool
Co-op. I am excited and nervous,
all at the same time.

Two choirs are expecting me to get
them started toward our goal of the
Thanksgiving Concert. I know there
are those in the 4-6th grade class who
are resistant to the idea of singing in
a choir. Their participation at this age
is not optional...therefore out of the
46 young people that will be in front of
me likely half would not have chosen this
for themselves and a quarter of those will
show that fact on their faces.

I am seeing this as a big fat challenge.
A challenge to win them over to a love of music.

I know I won't be one hundred percent successful
but with this as a mission, I will surely win some.

So...with a tickle in my belly...I am off to
begin an intense ten weeks.

Have a great day!

Becky K.

Whew! What a Day!

Yesterday was quite a day!

It was our last day at co-op for this school year.

I was in the Mom's Room chatting and mentally
preparing to teach my last music class of the
year when a young man ran into the room and up to me
saying, "Mikey just fell from the basketball hoop."

I asked him if Mikey was ok.

He wasn't sure.

I RAN! Up the stairs and down the hall to the gym.

When I got there I could not see Mikey.

Finally, there he was lying on the floor at
the far end of the gym.

Please understand that Mikey does "stupid
Mikey tricks" regularly and hurts himself.
Most of the time I never hear about it...
he just gets up and keeps on going.

I got to him and he was shaking and in a lot
of pain. There was a mark the size of a
50 cent piece on his cheek that was raised,
white and had the pattern from the flooring
indented in it. He was so pale!

He was not nauseous so I waited a bit until he
could move and we went to get some ice.

We headed back to the Mom's Room, ice on his face.

His arm was hurting more than his head...

Oh, let me tell you what this kid did.

He was climbing up the wall and grabbing the basketball hoop
where he planned to flip over and land on his feet.
Apparently he has done this many times before.
The adult gym teacher "didn't care".

This time his hand slipped as he was upside down and
he came down on his cheek first then hand and knee.

Long story and a nurse check later...by a Mom at the co-op
he seems to be fine. He is in a good bit of pain and
I expect that to get worse over the next day or two
from the bruising. I am watching him for any signs of
brain injury.

So that was how yesterday's co-op started...
flash forward to the end of the day and my
fourth to sixth grade music class.

We had just completed another hymn sing.
When we did the first one earlier this year
the kids loved it and had more requests than we could
get to so I decided that we would close the
year with another one.

I told the class to get their backpacks and to come to me
to choose their candy from my basket before heading to
the gym to meet their parents.

There was the usual rush to be first in line...
then suddenly one of the boys became ill...
vomiting on the floor and piano!

He was allowed to go to the restroom to do whatever
he needed to do...
and wouldn't you know the next thing I know he is back
in line, green face and all, for his candy!

I quickly gave it to him and got he and the other kids out of the
room and on their way to the gym.

As I was going to get supplies to clean up the unpleasantness
I ran into his mother in the hall.
She felt so badly, the whole family had already had this "bug"
except this young man and the toddler in their house.
She came back to the room and cleaned it up for us.
I am very grateful.
The stomach bug is the worst as far as I am concerned.

So, then we came on home to get ready for a run to Harrisburg
to meet with some clients. The poor lady has pneumonia
and was having a hard time breathing. I have a bad habit
of making people laugh...not good for someone with pneumonia.
She will be fine. I don't think I did
any permanent damage there.

But, finally returned home at 11pm to find Grandma Georgia
hanging out in Mikey's room with he and Jonathan.
She was watching them
play some video game.

That was surreal!

Georgia does not like their video games...

Yep, it was quite a day!!!!

Hope this one is calmer.

We are hosting a Good Friday Small Group at
our home and Warren will be getting in from
Branson late this evening.

Should make for a cozy day.