Life Changing News

Last week I received some life changing news. I am happy to tell you, the news is good news. :) In fact, the news is great news.

In a somewhat random and spontaneous 48 hours, I was told the executive producer and artistic director of the internationally renowned adult choir, The Australian Voices, were coming to my town to promote their current touring show, "Moon". After meeting with these amazing men to discuss the involvement of local singers in the opening number of the show, they informed me that they are also recruiting new members to join the choir. They asked if I would like to audition. I knew very little about them. I went home, logged on to their website, and did some research. I was inspired.

One of the main purposes of this choir is to commission Australian composers to write music for the choir, music about things which are iconic to our country. Then, they tour the country and the world singing this music. It's contemporary, it's unique, it's very complex at times, and very very beautiful. And it seems that while they do sing some more traditional, classical music, a lot of their contemporary pieces are very theatrical, incorporating elements of theatre such as lighting, projections, and costuming. Wow. I wanted to be part of it.

I spoke to Stuart. I spoke to my extended family. I had the full support of everyone. So, I went back to the theatre that afternoon, and I auditioned. It was gruelling. I had to sight sing a very difficult, chromatic passage the director had written on the whiteboard, having never heard the passage played. On my second attempt I sang it correctly! I also had to sing some difficult intervals, and in my best "choral voice" - no colour, no vibrato please - I was asked to sing our National Anthem. It was intense. I loved every minute. :)

They told me clearly that they still had a week of touring/promoting/auditioning to do, and very limited places to offer. I wouldn't hear anything for a week at least.

The very next morning I opened my email inbox and there was an email from the producer. The title of the email was "Welcome to The Australian Voices". I could barely breathe and I sat there for a full minute before opening the email! But it was true, my audition was successful and they were offering me a place in the choir!!! :-D I was (and am still) absolutely shocked!

I am so very very grateful for the incredible support my family and friends have shown me at this time. I have negotiated with the director of the choir regarding my availability for the remainder of 2011 (and negotiations will continue into 2012). He has been helpful and very flexible, understanding that I live 3 hours from the city (where the choir is based) and have very young children. My job now is to learn all my parts by myself, from home - no easy task I can assure you! The music is beautiful but a challenge to learn and to sing. I will be singing 2nd Soprano, which was my part when I sang in the Queensland Youth Choir for 7 years as a teenager. This whole process is bringing back fond memories of that time!

As for international travel, well I considered myself ineligible for that. However upon further investigation, and financial consideration, it seems I may actually be touring with the choir this year to Europe. Europe!!! And here I was thinking I wouldn't get overseas until I was in my 60's! Yes, they - sorry, we - are touring through Germany and France this November/December. The choir covers the cost of all travel and accommodation once in Europe. I will need to pay for my flights from and back to Australia, but if the tour is financially successful, the choir will reimburse members for flights also. The tour is for 3 weeks, but as my brother is getting married on December 10th I will only be going for the first 2 weeks. May I admit I'm grateful for that? 3 weeks away from my children would just be too long. In fact 2 weeks will be very very hard.

I'm going to have to fill my suitcase with photos of them! :( And already I'm planning to make a CD for them, with a spoken "letter" for them to listen to from me each day. And a half hour or so of me singing the sleepy songs I sing to them each night at bedtime. Hopefully this and a few other little things will help the time of separation which will be very different for us. My wonderful parents are going to help Stuart out with the care of the children - and thankfully, the 2nd week I'll be away is the first week of their summer holidays. Then I'll be home and we will be having a big family wedding and holiday time!

And I will have had my first experience of Europe. Singing. Music, travel, adventure.

God is so profoundly good, and surprising! Why he has considered me worthy and free to go and do this, I do not know. But I do know that before and after I auditioned I prayed over the decision - that it would be his alone. Honestly, this was not planned (at least not by me :)) so I didn't mind either way. He has allowed this. It feels like a beautiful gift and I'm blown away by the musical opportunities this choir will provide for me, whilst still allowing me live here in the country town where my children - and Stuart - are so settled and happy. To have all those big city opportunities without actually having to move truly is an answer to prayer.

Those of you who know me will understand that this is COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone! The very idea of leaving my family and friends and travelling to a foreign country with people I don't even know terrifies me! So maybe God is going to use this to teach me and grow me. I imagine it will only do good things for my confidence - an area I've always wanted to improve in.

Praise God for life changing surprises!

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Stay tuned for my next post - my 700th post! Please leave a comment here if you would like to contribute.

Oh Dear...

... I have failed at regular blogging yet again.

Life continues on as always.

The children wake, I feed them, organise their uniforms and lunch boxes, take them to school, spend the day with William, pick up the children, feed them, help them with homework, readers, organise pyjamas, bath them, feed them .... I think you get the idea.

And of course there is the laundry and the grocery shopping and the meal planning and the appointments and just the things of life which soak up time.

And so blogging falls by the wayside, again. Forgive me?

In my *spare* time, I have been exercising rather a lot - walking from home to the lagoon / walking track nearby, walking the track, then walking home again. Every day in fact. And I just purchased a second hand bike so will be riding that a few days a week as well. William and I often walk to town too, to the shops or library or the bank. He always claims he will "walk please Mama, the whole way there" - then proceed to 'get tired' after 3 minutes. I always take the stroller for that reason. Never go on the word of the toddler. ;) After my gallant effort exercising pre- Music Man, I have gained a few kilos again. I'm determined to lose them!

Also, I have been reading. Have you heard of Mireille Guiliano? She wrote the popular "French Women don't get Fat", which I thoroughly enjoyed some months ago. I just read her third book, "Women, Work and the art of Savoir Faire", which I would also recommend. Then came "Oranges are not the only fruit" - a rather controversial novel which I wouldn't really recommend but did captivate me for the 24 hours during which I read it. I am now reading "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen, having seen the film a few months back. It is a wonderful book, highly recommended. :)

So begins my "weekend" tomorrow (Thursday), as the children spend the next two days with their Papa. I have plans to walk to town to market shop for fruit and veggies, do some cooking, laundry, teach four music students, have coffee with a friend Friday night, clean the house, take some walks and bike rides...... and read. And probably tackle some (much needed) piano and singing practice as well. All these things are good things, things I look forward to doing, and things which will distract me from missing my babies while they are gone. Most of all I look forward to Saturday morning when they'll come home again.

What are you up to this week? What are you reading?

Beautiful Moments

Life is so full of beautiful moments. I've had a blessed few days with my Mum visiting.

She brought a puppy dog cake, it was adorable!

The children planted a daisy plant into the front garden yesterday morning, all by themselves.

And I had the special honour of spending last Sunday afternoon at a high tea, as part of my town's annual "Mary Poppins" festival. Maryborough is the birth place of Mary Poppins author P L Travers, and our special guest at this year's festival was Verity Hunt-Ballard, star of the current Mary Poppins musical in Sydney!!

I sung a solo piece at the high tea, and the singing group I'm part of ("The Sisters") sung two songs as well. Singing for Verity was a little overwhelming to say the least!

But she was incredibly down to earth, friendly and encouraging. :) And she happily signed a poster for my three children. She shared her musical theatre journey with the 100 or so people who attended the high tea and it was a wonderful afternoon.

It's All Over

Farewell script...

.... and farewell beautiful costumes.

The season of my life which was "The Music Man" is over.

My children came to see the final performance on Sunday afternoon. They made this sign weeks ago - and held it up, cheering, when I came out for my curtain call! Beautiful, patient children they are. I'm mega blessed.

And my house is filled with flowers!

The above from 'Harold', my male lead.

And these beautiful white lillies from Stuart :)

And these ones were presented to me on stage after the final performance, by 'Harold' - on behalf of the Production Team. It was so special. The whole house smells wonderful.

After the final show, in the theatre foyer - Stuart "Marcellus", and me "Marian" - this is the sweet vintage dress I worked so hard to fit into! ;)

I have SO many more things to share with you - newspaper articles, backstage photos, the program shots, professional photos from the shoot, etc. etc.

But for now, let me just share that this has been the most wonderful stage experience of my entire life. Absolute bliss. I have been very blue these past two days, and depressed it's all over, but trying to relish the memories, thank the Lord for this opportunity, and delight in the afterglow of such a successful production.

And I'm back on the blog, by the way. :) Thanks for waiting for me!

A Video to Share

Hi all! Things are getting very very exciting at my house!

We have our full dress rehearsal tonight, and Opening Night is tomorrow night! By Sunday night The Music Man part of my life will be over. And there will inevitably be tears. :) But for now, excitement. I wanted to share with you this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vpqsmGaSvM&feature=channel_video_title

It is a little video a friend put together of some footage taken in the park of the cast. We were fully costumed (minus hair-do's, makeup and hats, for some...), for our official photo shoot. It's a great little glimpse of everyone, and of the era (1912). :) The music is all from the show.

Hope you enjoy it!

The Final Countdown!

We are in the thick of the final week of rehearsals and I couldn't be happier.

Sets are being finalised....

My counter for the Library Scene

The Footbridge for the romance scene in Act 2 - how clever are our crew?!

And the cast are rehearsing nightly, polishing and working hard and just loving every minute. Here are a few rehearsal shots from last week - one of the production team took them and they're a little blurry - but there will be some professional photos available to us following dress rehearsals. I'll be sure to share them!

Barbershop Quartet

'Mama' and I doing our porch scene

'Harold' and I during one of our many dialogue scenes. Marian is fobbing him off here as she so often does....

The whole cast getting our notes from the director after rehearsal.

Last night we had our Sitz Probe, our first rehearsal with the orchestra. They were sublime. They make us sound so good!! ;) We have a great orchestra, a talented and amazing cast, a phenomenal crew, a wonderful director - what more could we ask for? I couldn't be happier (or more tired) this week. Thanks for your prayers and patience while my blog remains ever so quiet. It will pick up again once The Music Man is over.

Opening Night in 7 more sleeps!!!!

One Short Day in the Emerald City...

We took a mini holiday over the weekend. Between piano teaching and open homes and cleaning and rehearsals, we drove to Brisbane to stay with my parents, and took our older two children to see their much-loved musical Wicked!!!

We dressed up in our theatre finery.

Donned our Emerald City glasses

Left a very content little William in the care of his Nanna and Grandpa....

And drove to the Lyric Theatre!

We have had these tickets booked for nearly a year, so the building of excitement and anticipation has been wonderful. Saraya couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the amazing sets.

I LOVED seeing this musical through the eyes of my children. And since we were able to secure seats in AA (second front) row, we could see every expression, every drop of sweat on the performers foreheads! It was like being part of a musical theatre master class. :)

Praise God for the privilege and opportunity to do this. It meant so much to us in the midst of a very busy, stressful few weeks.

Sunday Evening Thoughts

It's sleep time now.

I just wanted to say I was part of a Flood Relief Concert this afternoon at our local theatre, and it went great! It was a huge team - 300 people on stage? - of dancers, singers and musicians from our local district. Ian (my 'Harold') and I sang a song each from The Music Man, and gave the show a good plug. ;) Hoping this attracts more people in the community to come along and see it!

Thank you all for your kind words following my last post. They mean so much to me. The weekend has been sweet time together, despite having an Open Home here, jobs to do in town, music students to teach, rehearsals to attend... and then this concert this afternoon. It's so busy at the moment, but we're making the most of the time we do have together. The children are being so patient, and making the best of things too. They LOVE being at the theatre!! :) They are truly growing up to be theatre kids, just like their Mama and Papa.

Elijah is a little sick today. Throughout the day he developed a fever and has been complaining over the weekend about a sore throat and neck. He's sleeping now and seems to be more comfortable. I may give him a home day tomorrow. Lots of rest and cuddles would do him good I'm sure. Please pray for his quick recovery? Thank you.

Goodnight all.

Weary Bones

Today I am weary. Not just tired, but weary. You know, when you feel it right in your bones?

I feel so joyful being part of this musical, but it is taking it's toll. What I thought was 7 days of straight rehearsing and performing turns out to be 11 days. 11. DAYS. Ouch. Today is Day 6.

Who does this impact, even more than it does me? And Stuart? The children.

My sweet babies who are the loves of my life, and yet right now - I just can't be with them as much as I'd like to be. Everything is a little off balance.

This morning, Elijah disobeyed me one too many times - and he really copped it. Not just a natural consequence; not a firm but gentle talking-to; not a calm smack and move on ........... no, I actually lost it with him. I yelled. I cried. He cried. It wasn't nice.

Today has been hard. I'm thinking a lot about my priorities, and how to keep the balance throughout the next 4 weeks. The children are my first priority (and Stuart of course), and yet I must attend these rehearsals. How to do this?

Today William has been at kindy, and I have had the opportunity to journal and think and rest most of the day. Being kind to myself helps me be a better Mama. It just does.

I love performing and musical theatre is a great love of mine. It is my passion. But then so is my family. I must make this work!

So, starting tomorrow, I pledge to:

* Continue drinking copious quantities of water, and eating a healthy, whole foods diet

* Taking my vitamins

* Gentle-moderate exercise every day

* Take at least a 15 minute nap every day

* Gentle vocal exercises / song practice and script review for a maximum of 20 minutes daily - after all, I'm spending 3-4 hours per day on average at the theatre, so home time needs to be home time!

* Pray without ceasing

* Open my Bible every day with my breakfast. This I MUST do!

* Go immediately to bed upon getting home from rehearsals, even if I do lie there awake for an hour (I have a tendency to stay up talking with Stuart, or spending time on facebook, or reading etc. until I feel tired - this can take hours and get me to be around midnight)

* Breathe deeply through conflict. Stay calm with my children, even when I am cranky and tired. They are too precious to be yelled at. They must know how much they are loved, tiredness or nay.

Hoping and praying I can do all these things. I know they will make a difference in this uncharacteristically busy time in my life. :)

Oh, and a peace offering:

I baked this cake today, and am spreading the table ready for a surprise afternoon tea with the children. I can't wait to spend the afternoon with them.

Thank You

Just wanted to say a big thank you to all of you for your prayers. We have had no news as yet regarding a house offer, but I'm still quietly hopeful. :) If not this lady, then somebody else. SOON!

Please keep us in your prayers as we wait to sell, and continue our very busy schedule of rehearsals for The Music Man (this week alone I have 7 rehearsals, one every day of the week, then a promotional performance in a local Flood Relief Concert on Sunday...), and trying to keep a balance of work / family / rest at the same time.

Hope everyone is having a great week. :)

The End of an Era and a Jesse Tree

I have been taking my children to Mainly Music for 6 years now - since Saraya was 2 and Elijah was in my belly. :) William has been coming along since conception too! Today was Christmas break-up day, and the end of an era for my big two children who will not be able to attend next year. They will be busy at school.

Of course I took lots of photos! Here's some to share.....

Thank you beautiful Petrina for 6 wonderful years of fun! We love you!

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And this afternoon we found some branches and sprayed them gold and started our first ever Jesse Tree. It was exciting!!! The children are getting into the idea already, of following along with God's story, His story from the very beginning through to the coming of Jesus, anticipated and planned since creation! I cut out and laminated all the little 'ornaments' last night, the Bible verses and stories are printed and ready, and I'm so looking forward to this Jesse Tree being part of our Advent and our anticipation of Christmas Day.

Wishing you an Advent filled with the peace and joy of Jesus' coming.

Things Happening Here

Thank you friends for praying, I feel much much better!! It seems I did indeed need antibiotics to fight this infection - they are working, and it's so nice to have a clear(er) chest and be able to breathe easy again. :) It seems pneumonia has been ruled out, which is a huge relief.

I have rested more than I have since having children this week. ;) I have read lots of books, and thought about lots of things. And slept too. In a funny sort of way, it has been nice to have an excuse to rest! And that got me thinking - must I be so ill to feel justified in resting? Or should I be incorporating more rest into my normal daily life? I think so. I don't want to get sick like this again, and must take it easier on myself to stay strong and healthy - for myself and for my family. Of course I already knew this.... but some lessons you only learn the hard way.

In other ways, the week has been difficult. Getting behind on the laundry and housework etc. doesn't bother me overly (I know I'll catch up), but feeling as though I'm neglecting my family does get me down. And the children have particularly felt it. Mama in bed??! What on earth??!!! So. There have been some difficult behaviours to deal with, especially with Saraya who often struggles when things are different from the norm. She's just one of those kids. By Wednesday morning (my sickest day) I was pulling out my hair, and a kind friend agreed to have Saraya come over for the day and help care for / play with her little ones. Saraya also did the dishes and folded washing over there! So she was a genuine help. And a change of scene did her wonders. Thursday another friend offered to take her to Bundaberg with her children, for a day of fun activities- well, she was overjoyed! And yet another friend looked after the boys for several hours, and cooked us dinner..... I have been so blessed. Not having family nearby is hard. When friends step up and help, it is just so wonderful. It really got us through.

Then yesterday it was just the children and I again. I didn't overdo it - we just took things slowly. Saraya did a writing project and spent lots of time riding her bike and climbing trees. :) They did some quiet craft and played with playdough and we sat in the sun and read The Secret Garden together. Saraya is still reading up a storm independently too. In recent weeks she has read The Secret Treehouse, Arabian Nights, and Mary Poppins. And now she has started on The Chronicles of Narnia. This was something we were planning to read aloud to her, but she was already 6 chapters in before we could stop her!! So perhaps we'll read it aloud to Elijah instead. ;) Reading is something she genuinely enjoys, which makes me very happy.

And this morning I have just finished music teaching. It feels so good to be well again. I still feel the lingering symptoms of having been so unwell, and will continue to take things slowly. But it's nice to be out of bed and in clothes instead of pj's, and out in the sunshine again! Stuart will return home with the children shortly. I'm not sure where they have been this morning. This afternoon I am having my hair cut. It hasn't been done for many months so I'm looking forward to that.

Other news...........

* We have found some local Art Classes which Saraya is going to attend on Saturday mornings for the next 4 weeks. Very excited about this!!!! Art is definitely her other passion, and she is excited to be doing something all of her very own.

* William is simply adorable. When he says "My love you Mama" in my ear it just about makes me cry every time. :) He is also still infatuated with machines and mechanics. He is always building or making or 'fixing' something. And he sings non stop.

* The other boy around here who sings non stop is our Elijah. :) Non stop. I am planning to formalise his piano lessons some more too..... he is just all music, that boy. He deserves more attention musically, so I need to pinpoint a time in the week that we can have a formal piano lesson together. And Mum recently told me that she has bought a small child-size drum kit for him for Christmas!!!!! So I'm putting some earplugs in my Christmas stocking. ;) I just know he'll LOVE it, he adores the drums and is desperate to learn.

* I am reading a great book at the moment called Simplicity Parenting. It's all about simplifying the environment and lifestyle of your children. It is excellent. I have marked some pages and will endeavour to put up some quotes in the coming days.

* Not so good news.... Stuart has enlightened me on the state of his mind concerning living here where we are. It has been a difficult time, comprehending that we may not be able to afford living here after all. The mortgage is quite big for us, on one income. It's do-able, but really restricts everything else we can do. Or can't do, which is the point. It seems that the financial stress of living here over-rides the joy Stuart has here. When he looks out on our land, he sees the huge cost of bank payments and maintenance. So we are considering our options. And I am praying hard about it. Whatever happens, I know that having our family together, and healthy and happy and low-stress is the most important thing.

Stuart and the children will be home soon, so I'm going to stop here! Writing is such a great outlet, and my blog continues to be a journal for me. Hope I haven't bored you all. ;) Happy weekend. xx

Eisteddfod and Other Stuff

Well, we have had a week of sickness and Eisteddfod performances. And no, they don't really go together too well! The sickness is really getting me down. We are generally a very healthy family, and yet this winter we've all been hit hard with various bugs. This week my chesty cough and heavy sinus has worsened, and the aches and pains in general have too. I have been coughing now for 3 weeks. A trip to the doctor (rare for me!) confirmed that I do have a viral chest infection. I need to take some cold and flu medication, drink loads of water and rest, rest, rest. Hopefully it won't worsen and I won't need the dreaded antibiotics. I am so thankful to Stuart for taking the day off work today to look after the children so I could stay in bed.

Aside from the sickness, we still managed to sing on Tuesday! Saraya performed in her very first Eisteddfod, and I am so proud of her efforts. I also was seven when I did my first one, so this was very special. :) She sang 'The Windmill', which I also sang as a little girl.

All ready to go.....

And that afternoon she sang 'Maybe' from Annie, in the Musical Theatre section.

Here is my little Annie, complete with her gold locket.

The adjudicator was very encouraging, and awarded Highly Commended's to all the children who didn't receive a place! Saraya thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

And despite having very little lower register I made the decision to perform anyway. I had been looking forward to singing my song 'The Wizard and I' from Wicked for months!

Here I am, all 'greenified'. ;) I didn't sing to the best of my ability, but I still enjoyed myself and am glad I did it.

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We were blessed to have Mum here from Monday until yesterday. It is always so nice to have her here, and we're all missing her already.

William is fairly unwell too, though seems to be improving every day. And everyone else, for now, is well!! Now just to get me well............

I'm off to rest some more, and read some more. I finished Wuthering Heights yesterday, and picked up the next book in my pile, Atonement. Well thanks to being bedridden today, I am about 3/4's of the way through! It is a real page-turner, much better than the movie as per usual. Perhaps if get snuggled up now I could get it finished tonight.

Much love to everyone, I look forward to catching up on some blog-reading over the (restful) weekend. :)

Tuesday

Hmmmm, this new blog background is very pink! I don't think I'll keep it for long. But it's nice to have a change. :) And speaking of pink, no I didn't give Michael the pink sash Ann!! His fiance turned 21 a few weeks ago, and it was hers. He didn't keep it on for long. ;)

Today has been nice so far. Tuesday is our town morning - Mainly Music and grocery shopping. I like having a home day followed by a town day, and so on. Balance is a great thing!

We've just had lunch and I'm sitting down for a breather while the children are into a game outside. Saraya has just washed some of her dolly clothes (again...), and now the children are set on capturing a little toad they have found and setting up a home for it! How to drag them inside for story time..?! It is nice they are so happy to play outdoors. They would do it all day if I let them. It hasn't always been this way, so I really really appreciate it!

Tonight I am excited to be joining a group of ladies who meet fortnightly for dessert, conversation and Bible study. It's run by a really sweet friend, and I'm quite looking forward to it. I haven't been part of a study group for about a year now, and I'm definitely due for one. :) It's always a pleasure to go out in the evening after a long day at home too!

Yesterday was a brilliant day because I purchased our Brisbane tickets for Wicked!!!!! :D Only 179 sleeps to go, apparently, according to a friend of mine who is going the same night as us. ;)

Now off to round up these kiddlies. I can no longer hear them, so they have ventured far! Time for rests, then the rest of the grocery unpacking, and some singing practice for Saraya and I, and more outdoor play before winding down with baths and dinner. Have a great Tuesday everyone.

Dot Points

* I am feeling much much better than I was a week or so ago. So much has been going on..... I just needed to pray, to slow down, to have some good talks with my husband, and things are feeling better. Not health-wise (we've all been sick!), but spiritually and emotionally better.

* Homeschooling has been slow and steady this week. We did a huge maths component, some science and a whole lot of reading. Saraya hasn't been well, so we've been resting a lot too. We watched Mary Poppins. Again. ;)

* In our reading piles: I am reading The Secret Garden (unabridged) to the children and we are all LOVING it. The children know the musical well, and so the story is familiar to them already. It is beautifully written and I would highly recommend it. Stuart may be starting The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe with them next week. Eek! They are growing up so fast. And I am re-reading Wuthering Heights (for myself), one of my favourite classics. Next on my pile is Atonement by Ian McEwan. Stuart is re-reading The Silmarillion by Tolkien.

* My little brother turns 21 today!!! We are off to his party tonight. He also announced last Sunday that he and his girlfriend are engaged! They have been friends since they were 11 - she is absolutely lovely. Very exciting. :)

* Stuart's big sister had a baby this week also, baby Ezra. Hooray for another nephew to love!

* Piano teaching is going so well, I am going to take on a couple more students. Lots of positive feedback from the children, they seem to be enjoying themselves which makes me very happy.

* Eisteddfod planning commences in earnest on Monday. We have 5 songs to get polished and costumes to organise before the 2nd of August!

* Our kittens Molly and Slinky Malinki are growing so much, and are so loved. I feel very blessed to have them in our family. :) Great decision.

* The garden is sorely neglected lately, though potatoes seem to be doing very well - hopefully there are some developing below all that mulch..... The tops look great!

* My dear friend Kate left last night for Victoria. :( Parting was hard, but I pray the time away will be wonderful for her. And we do get to look after her car while she is gone (could be 6 weeks, could be 6 months....) which is a little bonus! It will be such a help to have a 2nd vehicle.

I need to go pack. Will hopefully have some nice family photos to put up next week. Have a great weekend everyone. xx

Annie Orphan Photo!

Act 2 of Saturday's Gala Concert was a series of medleys, celebrating / representing the six musicals which have been performed at the Brolga Theatre over the past 10 years. One of them was Annie. And Saraya was cast as the littlest orphan, "Molly" - whom her kitten is named after!!! Needless to say, she was SO happy and enjoyed every minute.

Here is a photo of the six orphans in the wings (minus Annie, not sure where she was when this was taken), with Saraya in the front. Isn't she gorgeous?! I know I'm biased and all. But she was so encouraged by lots of positive comments regarding her singing voice and facial expressions on the day. :) So onwards and upwards for Saraya! I can't wait to see what's coming her way.

Oh My.........

I feel a catch-up is in order!! My blog has been sorely neglected lately; so much has been going on here that I simply haven't made the time to fit in blogging as well. Today is the last day of the school holidays, and Stuart has kindly taken the children out for a little while. So while I have a chance, I'll do a quick catch-up!

* Yesterday / last night was our local theatre's 10th anniversary Gala Concert, for which our family has been rehearsing for many weeks. After much time and energy singing, staging, costuming and driving hither and thither, it's all over.

In some ways, it was a success despite extremely limited rehearsal time. In other ways, it was a total disaster. :) I'm not going to go into it here..... but suffice to say there were MAJOR issues with the sound (microphones primarily) which made it very difficult both for the performers and the audience. Quite devastating after all the effort the cast had put in to this show!!!! I am still reeling. But. Lots of positive and encouraging feedback despite all odds. And amazingly, I still enjoyed myself. And it was a blast to have our whole family on the stage together - yes, even the children were involved!! :D

* My parents came along to watch, and met us in the foyer with these beautiful gerberas - all individually wrapped, one for each of us. So sweet! Mum did take a few photos too, so I'll get them from her sometime soon and put them up.

* The time I spent away in Brisbane has given me an amazing new perspective - God is really helping me deal with my self-induced guilt over ever doing anything for myself! I've lived with it for years and He is showing me it's unnecessary and time to change. Hooray!!! So I am really trying hard. I am sitting down more often despite mess around me, am taking the pressure off with cooking everything from scratch during busy seasons (like lately), and truly taking more time out just for me. These holidays have been pretty wonderful, and I'm already starting to feel better.

* I have a new plan for homeschooling this term which I am hoping will make things smoother for both Saraya and I. Will share more in another post.

* Eisteddfod planning begins this week! Only 3 weeks to go. I am entering 2 solos and 2 duets (hopefully), Stuart is singing a solo and duet (with me :)), and Saraya is in for 2 solos. This will be her first Eisteddfod so it's very exciting.

* It's now Monday as I didn't finish this yesterday - see what I mean?!! I just can't seem to fit blogging in at the moment..... We are still resting today, unpacking bags from our busy theatre weekend (lots of banana peels, and makeup.... ;)), and cleaning my very neglected house. I can't stand mess and dirty floors - hopefully by tonight all will be back to normal! Homeschooling will begin more formally again tomorrow. Saraya and I will sit down shortly and work on our plans for this term.

* Piano teaching starts up again this Saturday. I'm looking forward to seeing my little students.

And that will do for a catch-up for now! I haven't even been consistently reading blogs lately, but will endeavour to do so more as life settles down again. If it does. ;)

All in all, things are going well here. My clouds of recent depression seem to be lifting, and as a dear friend said to me "Be proactive about changing the things you have some control over, and leave the rest up to God. Just trust Him with the rest of it." So that's what I'm aiming for. :)

Blessings to everyone! xx

Trying to Rest

This is us today.

Just trying to rest. Blankets and pillows and books. And even some tv this morning. We had a HUGE weekend, and are all feeling exhausted! Funny when your weekends do that to you. :) Yesterday we rehearsed all day for the gala concert we're involved in. It's coming together well. Tiring work but such fun!

We've caught up on a little school and house work this morning, but mostly just trying to find some time to rest.

Lunch soon, then baths and groceries and dance class later today.

Hope everyone is having a good Tuesday.

I Can't Keep Up!

It's true. Her appetite is practically insatiable.

3 weeks ago, she picked up her first chapter book. And her independently-read list now consists of:

The Boxcar Children #1

The Boxcar Children #2

The Little Missionaries

The Wishing Chair

Snugglepot and Cuddlepie

and

Christie's Old Organ

All these books have been fairly lengthy, at least 150 pages each. And some of them she's read in 24 hours. She reads in the bedroom. She reads in the loungeroom. She reads in the trees. She reads in the bathroom. She literally keeps reading while she takes out the rubbish, book in one hand, rubbish bag in the other. She reads while you brush her teeth!!

Am I complaining? No! This girl is a busy little girl. Always playing, always moving, always creating, pulling out craft stuff, wanting to cook, wanting to make, etc. etc. etc. Reading is something she can do all by herself, and she's sitting still, and doesn't need help, and it doesn't make a mess. Ahhhh. :) Bliss.

Only thing is, she's wanting to read the third book in the Boxcar Children series - and I need to either find it in the library or purchase it from the Book Depository for $5.04 - in either case, she'll need to wait a few days. So instead today (after whinging that she didn't have a new book to read) she's pulled out The Rainy Day Book (things to do when there's nothing to do type book) and is now constructing a giant cubby on the verandah. With sheets, pegs, indoor chairs, outdoor chairs... and Stu's help because it simply wasn't working!!!!! Yep, that's what happens when I can't keep up. :) Not that I'm really complaining. She's a great kid. She's just so so so busy.

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Just wanted to mention we had a lovely day yesterday. Definitely a golden day!!!

I taught my first two piano students in the morning, and both were successful. Enthusiastic boys who actually learnt far more than I anticipated in a half hour lesson. I'm really excited about this. Something I am doing outside of mothering / homemaking, and even earning us some money too. I'm hoping to end up with 4 or 5 students, just keeping it to Saturday mornings.

Stuart worked on report cards at work for the entire afternoon/evening. And the children and I shared that time with Kate, at her place. A win-win-win situation! We picnicked and talked and played and the children climbed the same giant climbing tree that she climbed when she was a little girl. :) Another friend arrived with her 3 children, and we had a regular playgroup! So nice to sit in the sun and just hang out together. Later I bathed the children in Kate's lovely claw-foot bath (they were stoked!!!) and we all ate dinner before we left to pick Stu up just after 8pm. Poor man. Fancy spending 8 hours on a Saturday, working on report cards. I just feel blessed to have a friend to share all that alone-mothering time with. We all had a great day.

And today, Sunday. Pyjamas and dressing gowns and slippers. Worship music playing. Pancakes. The paper open on the table. Coffee about to be brewed. :) And kids constructing cubbies.

And tomorrow's a public holiday!

Things are looking up. :) Happy weekend everyone.

Oh I Love Musical Theatre!

If you know me or have been reading my blog for awhile, you will know that music and theatre have both played a huge part in my life since I was a little girl. And musical theatre is my absolute passion! I am thrilled to say that Stuart has also embraced musicals in a big way over the last 10 years, and is pretty much as passionate about them now as I am. :D Which means this house tends to be filled with recorded or live, spontaneous music just about constantly! It is not unusual to hear our youngest babe singing songs from Singing in the Rain, Oklahoma, Mary Poppins or Wicked.

We have a beautiful theatre in our town, which is turning 10 this year. And to celebrate, we are having a musical gala concert made up of medleys of songs from each of the six community musicals performed at the theatre thus far. The director is lacking a few key performers who have since moved away or are unavailable.... so I've scored 'Maria' in the Sound of Music segment, and 'Laurie' in the Oklahoma section! This makes me very very happy!!!! I'm also singing in the Les Mis medley because I couldn't possibly not. :)

Today was our first rehearsal, and it was so nice to have our whole family involved. Stuart is back to reprise his role of the Lion in Wizard of Oz, Saraya is once again a munchkin, and Elijah too is a munchkin!! He is one of the Lollipop Guild boys. So cute. Elijah tends to be a bit shy in public (NOT at home!), but today he sang out and surprised us all. William seemed happy to be there. I can't wait until he's old enough to join in too.

It was a looong day, and there will be several more weekends like this, but it will be worth it. July 10th is the performance date, matinee and evening shows - so if you're local or feel like trekking up here, please do!!

So nice to share my passion with my family. I am so grateful for music in my life!! :D

Happy Sunday friends.