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.

Creative Opportunities for Elijah

Elijah Samuel is such a dynamic, creative little guy. No matter where he is..... playground, bathroom, dining table eating dinner..... he is bopping and grooving. He just has music in his veins, and he's seriously been like that since birth! He is still tiny for his age and I think of him as my little pocket rocket. ;)

He is studying jazz dancing this year in the best dance school in town. His teacher is amazing, very strict and expects a lot from the children - but they rise to meet the challenge. And he is loving it. A lady who came over recently asked Elijah "So what are you into Elijah? What do you enjoy?" His answer was "Dancing, suits and top hats". !

Recently at Prep, the two classes combined to perform a story dance to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Woah. Amazing stuff. It's worth seeing this for the costumes alone! I'm hoping a recording will be online at some stage so I can share it with you. The kids were divided into four groups - Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. Elijah is part of Summer - he is the "Storm Master" who rises majestically out of a painted cardboard box, and brings thunder and lightning to the stage. His facial expressions were priceless! This is him in only part of his costume.

And with the little girl who played the bee in Spring. :) She too is a little dancer and they are great friends! So nice to see my boy coming out of himself more at Prep, happy to just be who he is and to have opportunities to grow and perform in the area he loves.

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Thanks to those who have already commented on this post. Please, if you ever drop in and read my blog, if you are a long-term follower or a brand new reader, I want to hear from you! It's a chance for me to discover who is out there, and for you to let me know what you enjoy reading here or have always wanted to know! :)

Oh my...

So tired tonight, but I simply must blog something!

I took photographs of my new home the other day, but I'm having issues loading them up. Hope to share them with you soon.

Things are going pretty well, the children have returned to school for term 3, and I am basically now all finished setting up home here. It's feeling very homey and cosy now and I feel blessed with the way God has taken care of all the little details for us.

This is a recent photo of Saraya meeting the lead from Mary Poppins, Verity Hunt-Ballard. :) As you can see she was very excited!

We lost our beautiful Molly cat this week. :( She got a paralysis tick and we didn't find out until she was in the final stages. She died at the vets just this afternoon. It has been a very sad day. I'm thankful the children are handling it all very well - they really do amaze me, they're so resilient and so understanding. My heart has broken for them today though.

That's all. Just wanted to touch base with you all and say "I'm still here"! I do still pop in on your blogs. And I'll try to blog more regularly, though I can't promise anything. ;)

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.

Catch-Up Post

I'm sorry everyone - I said I was back on the blog, but have remained a rather non-existent blogger! Here is a catch-up type post on what's happening here in our lives.

* It is Easter Holidays. We are at the end of the first of two weeks holiday. This week we have been at home, and next week we will be away. It has been nice to be all together again (though the big two children are missing school!)

* I am still recovering from The Music Man. It has been a genuine time of grief for me - hard to explain unless you have been through this yourself. But I am working through this time with lots of prayer, good friends, and chocolate...

* The Music Man was a huge success! It covered the newspapers and headlines these past weeks, and the Theatre is already discussing what next year's musical may be. "My Fair Lady" seems to be the current favourite.

* We have a very positive lead on our house - a couple came through last weekend, and loved it. We are hoping to receive an offer tomorrow - please pray! It has been a long, difficult six months waiting for a buyer and I am praying these are the people we've been waiting for.

* We are house hunting again, after losing the last two homes we had under contract.

* The children, chickens and kittens are all well, thriving and happy. :) The garden, however, is sorely neglected.

* I had a very successful night on Tuesday - participating in a vocal 'Master Class', in which I had to sing "Think of Me" (Phantom) and "Show Me" (My Fair Lady) - in front of about 40 people at the theatre, and be critiqued by the current Adjudicator of the QLD Eisteddfod. It was daunting to say the least!! However, her critique was helpful and very positive. I came away feeling empowered and inspired to further pursue my singing more seriously.

* Tonight we fed the children early, and I'm about to sing and pray with Saraya then make Stuart and I a "grown up" dinner. We rarely do this and I thought it would be nice to sit together and chat.

* I received a Photo CD from The Music Man with about 200 professional photos on it, yesterday. Seeing them all brought all the memories pouring back! Here are a few for your interest....

'Harold' and 'Marian' - this one was used as the full page promotional photo in our regional newspaper.

Program head shots...

This one was also in the paper - myself with 'Mrs Paroo' and younger brother 'Winthrop'.

Full cast photo.

More to come, and I'm looking forward to catching up on all your blogs soon too!

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. :)

Some Books to Share

I recently finished reading my novel from under the Christmas Tree, "The Distant Hours" by Australian author Kate Morton.

"I've lived in this book for the last three days. Every time I've put it down, I've done so with regret; regret that I couldn't read more, regret that the world I'm living in is not the world portrayed in the book. This story appealed to me on so many levels, from taking influences from books such as Jane Eyre, Rebecca and Wuthering Heights to providing drama on such a perfectly, laid out scale.

..and honestly, how can you go wrong with a story centered around a crazy old man and his daughters, with quirky names suchas Persephone, Seraphina and Juniper?

I've struggled with how to write this review and not reveal anything - and it is a struggle because all I want to do is talk about the story. This was not a light, comfort read - but I don't turn to Kate Morton for that sort of read. I picked this tome up.. (and at nearly 700 pages, it's a doozy) expecting an interesting book with well-developed characters. What I got was the following:

- Well developed characters, I particularly loved the evolving relationship between one of the main characters, Edie, and her parents.

- A perfect setting. Morton did a beautiful job of describing the castle - decaying it was.. and I could practically smell the mold, hear the leaves crunching and see the bathing pool as she describes it.

- A haunting mystery. I actually was disappointed about halfway through the book because I knew I had it all figured out. Did I? Well... you tell me once you've read the book.. did YOU?

- The "Chill Factor". I got chills so many times while reading this book I lost count. Also, I didn't sleep the first night with my light off after reading the opening of the book. I get spooked easily.. and this book qualifies as "spooky" - much like Jane Eyre does.

The Distant Hours is, simply put, fantastic. One of the best books I've read this year and my battered ARC can testify to how much handling it has had over the past few days. I liked Kate Morton after The Forgotten Garden, but The Distant Hours has made me a firm fan and I can't wait to see what she writes next."by Lydia Presley

I found this review and thought I would include it as it sums up exactly how I feel about this wonderful book. It's a big read - it took me a full month to get through it - but it is worth every page. "The Forgotten Garden" is still my favourite of Kate's novels, but this one comes close. ;) And any nearby friends are welcome to borrow my copy if you like!______________________________________
Saraya too had a great month of reading in January. I admit I was a little concerned her reading would slow down once she started attending school, but to my relief it hasn't. Her teacher includes a half hour of quiet independent reading time every afternoon at school, so she gets a good few chapters in then. :) And once home, it isn't long before she has a book in her hands again. In bed at night she gets another half hour to read, and she often reads in bed before rising for the day as well. Plenty of time!
People ask me all the time for book recommendations for their similarly aged children (you guys all know I'm pretty picky!), so I'll share the list of books Saraya read last month. Sorry I didn't include all the authors in my list - just google them or check your local library if you want to track them down.
The Boxcar Children books, numbers 10 and 11
Susan Leads the Way
Ten Girls Who Made History (which she read twice, she loved it! - a great non-fiction book)
Stories For You by Enid Blyton (again, she read this twice)
Stories to Remember (a book of short stories, would be great for boys too)
Raggedy Ann and Andy Treasury
Mary Poppins
The Careless Astronaut (another book of short stories)
Dream Team Mission 1 : Flying Solo
The Adventures of Pip by Enid Blyton
The Thief in the Library
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Understood Betsy (excellent, though very tiny font!)
The Adventures of Pinnochio
Laura Ingalls Christmas Stories
The Enchanted Wood by E Blyton
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (contemporary fiction, amazing book, I had to read it myself it looked SO interesting - it's the journey of a china rabbit)
The Book of Fairies by E Blyton
Tomboy Terry
Children of Cherry Tree Farm by E Blyton
More Adventures on Willow Farm by E Blyton
A doozy of a list, I know!! As you can see, she went on an Enid Blyton spree this month. ;) We found a few in the library she hadn't read, as well as a couple in a second hand book store.
Saraya is doing much better settling at school in the mornings - I am leaving her with her Papa in the morning as he works there in Prep, and he walks her over to her classroom - and she has discovered the School Library. More Enid Blyton than you can poke a stick at!! So that has made her very happy. Her reading level was ascertained last week, and she's on Level 30, the highest level possible (which hasn't exactly surprised me) - but the great thing is this means she gets to chose a lot of her own reading material, and her teacher is really encouraging this aspect of her education.
I'm happy this week. :) We are madly rehearsing and learning lines around here, and there are books and smiling children.......... and well, it's a happy home.
Blessings friends!

My Life Now

Sorry I've been a slack blogger lately. Life has been very full of wonderful summer holiday things! With the flood seemingly over and behind us, lots of other things have been keeping us busy.

We've had trips to the pool and the water park and the indoor playcentre, we've been school shoe shopping and school book covering, pencil labelling, etc. - and I even had a spontaneous trip by train last weekend for my little brother's engagement party! We are meant to be travelling to the city again next weekend to see the musical Wicked, but it may be cancelled due to the recent flooding. We know up until the Friday night performance is cancelled - but Saturday is still yet to be announced. I'm not giving up hope yet!

The children start school next week so we've been talking lots about that, praying, preparing, etc. I think we're all feeling a combination of excitement and nerves.

But mostly my life right now has been full of this:

Remember this post? Well, Marian is slowing entering my subconscious as I learn all my lines and music and try to get my head fully around this rather complex character!

Our first rehearsal was on Monday night. The whole cast was together for the first time and we worked on a chorus number. I'm not in many of the chorus scenes, so won't be required Monday nights again for the next few weeks. Wednesday nights are Principal rehearsals (SO excited for tonight!), and Saturday mornings are purely singing with our vocal coach for the show. I've had to shift three of my own piano students to lesson times through the week. Life is certainly going to be full for awhile. Once we get into February and March, rehearsals will be Monday and Wednesday nights, plus Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. Final couple of weeks before we open we need to be available to go in every night of the week. Eeek! With no family in town, this is an enormous challenge for me. Thankfully Stuart and I can tag-team quite a bit as we're mostly in different scenes - but once we start doing full runs of the show, our wonderful babysitter Hayley and a couple of special friends will be caring for our little ones at night time. It will be a whole team effort! :)

I am so excited about this opportunity, and am going to be working very hard to ensure life stays as calm and smooth for the children as possible for the next 8 weeks........ until it's all over. Theatre is my passion, and it's so good for my spirit to be working on a project like this one. While the children are at school, William and I will be busy keeping all the cogs of home life turning. :) And he will be in care two days a week in a fantastic day care centre here in town. He is calling it "Kindy" and is beyond excited about going! We went to visit last week and I just feel a huge sense of peace about it. I will use that time for piano teaching (I've got three, maybe four students to fit in on weekday afternoons), housework, cooking, appointments, shopping, singing practice, exercise, etc etc. And maybe a bit of rest here and there. ;)

Last year was quite a harrowing year in many ways. Health problems were the main concern. Then there were issues within our family - things that just weren't working well. We are all feeling quietly hopeful that 2011 will be a year of balance for all of us. Balance for good physical and mental health, balance of work and play and rest. Balance of time at home and time 'out in the world'. :) Time to read and time to delve into scripture, intentional time for prayer and spiritual growth. I just want to draw closer to my Saviour this year and trust and rely on Him more than ever before.

Wishing you all a balanced, happy and healthy year too my friends! Oh, and thank you for listening to my rambles.

Some exciting news

Just a very quick post to say.......

I just got the lead role in a musical last night!! It's the role of Marian in "The Music Man" for anyone who may know the show. Our town is putting it on as a community musical next year, with a professional director and vocal coach on board! Auditions were earlier in the week, and Stuart and I both got call backs. He has a principle part too - the funny off-sider friend of the lead actor. :)

I am in shock. Call backs were intense last night. It was just myself and one other (beautiful, amazing and talented) lady who I have admired for years who were called back for Marian. So it was full on. Singing, script reading, character acting, you name it. And all on the stage in front of lots of fellow actors. Eeek!

But the announcement was made at the end of the night - Stuart has been cast as Marcellus and Saminda has been cast as Marian - and we couldn't be happier with the news!!!

Rehearsals start January 17th - so we have a huge amount to learn off by heart by that date. The rehearsal schedule is only 8 weeks, which is very very short - so it will be a busy and challenging 8 weeks. But hooray!! What an opportunity!!! I'm still getting my head around being "the leading lady" - first time for me. :)

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

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.

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.