The show must go on…

Just as she was heading out the door at 12:30PM  to ride to the theater with Eileen, Johanna said to me, “When I was watching the movie today, my ear popped.”  Being at the tail end of an URI, I wasn’t surprised.  I gave her hugs and kisses and told her I’d see her at show time.

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By 4PM I was getting text from Darci.  Johanna was saying her ear hurt and Darci asked about giving her some ibuprofen.  About an hour later Johanna was calling me and letting know it still hurt.  Other moms worked to help her til we could get there.  She received some acetaminophen, some essential oils, and a hot pack.  Kids and moms prayed for her.  And when we finally got there we had to ask her to make the big decision: go home or go onstage?

She opted to go on stage. 

She was a Cruelie – a minion of the White Witch. 

And she was amazing.

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She was creepy and scary and 100% wonderful.  She received so many compliments and one teenaged brother of a cast member said, “Little Butler is terrifying!”

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And as soon as she was out of her costume, we hurried to Urgent Care before it closed at 10PM.  We arrived at 9:40PM.  John dropped us off as the rest of them took Eileen home.

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When the lovely pediatrician looked into her ear she expressed admiration that Johanna had made it through the evening with her ear.  We got our first dose of meds there and had a prescription called in to Wegmans for the next day.

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Daddy got back just as we were wrapping up at 10:05PM.  They gave her a popsicle, too.

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1 Chron 16:11
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!

Big girl school

Nan sent me this picture.

I was at work for mandatory training (that fell during TECH WEEK!) and she came by to keep the peace and keep Katriel company while the Spanish tutor was here.

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I’d left Katriel out some books with tabs on them where she could do school work WITH OUT MAMA.  Nan said she was very proud.

Tech week–Narnia

This isn’t my first tech week. 
I’m an old dog.  But I’ve finally learned something.

The name of the game is GRACE.

And a good plan.

I staved off a panic attack Saturday afternoon by recognizing that we would survive the week no matter what, and that we might actually enjoy it IF I didn’t feel like I was constantly flying by the seat of my pants.  When I took the time to write out the schedule, we saw some red flags and worked those out BEFORE they became a problem. 

Nan identified some places she could step in and offered some rides.

Just the week before, my friend Darci put me and another mom in contact so we could work together for rides.  This was a huge blessing for the moms AND the girls.  The long drive to and from the theater in Charlotte was made much more fun with a friend to talk with.

And – we planned out our food to keep us from making expensive rescue meals. 

We made sure to start out days with devotions and bathed our week in prayer.

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The crazy is worth it, IMO.  My kids love theater and we’ve been so blessed by the offerings as they come along. 

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Tech week – it’s a lot like labor – but longer.

2 Timothy 4:22
The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you

Spring Semester

Nigel headed back for his last semester as a high school student.  ENG 103, a video editing class, and a business advertising course. 

Marie is taking her first college class.  ENG 101 for her.

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I am so grateful for the doors God has opened for them. 

Colossians 2:8:
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.