Today was a day of closure for me. All of these things are bittersweet. I'm sad and happy at the same time.
We had the services for our beloved Kevin. It was so hard to say goodbye. I regret not taking the time to tell him how much I appreciated him when I had the opportunity. It was a good service and it brought us who remain closer together as a family, knowing that we all are going to miss him. We were all touched by his life.
Today was the last day to work with the 2017 Honor Choir students. We had our last rehearsal and our last performance tonight at the fund raiser. They did a great job singing the "Star-Spangled Banner." I was very proud of them.
We had our 2017 fund raiser which is a big deal for our school. It takes a lot of planning and a lot of people working together to make it a success.
Last but not least, today was the last day of the Slice of Life Challenge.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to know Kevin and work with him. His death has caused me to reflect on my own life and pray that I can make a difference and touch others like he did.
I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the Honor Choir students. Again, I pray that I have been a blessing to these twenty students and I am thankful for every one of them.
I am also grateful to have had the opportunity to put my thoughts and feelings into words this month. Blogging and reading the blogs of others has helped me to form stronger relationships with the other slicers.
Friday, March 31, 2017
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Slice of Life Day 30 - My Day in Numbers
I am going to steal Katy's idea from the other day because I am so tired after staying up until 12:30 a.m. the past two nights working, that I can hardly stay awake now to write.
My Day in Numbers
1 sweet husband hugging me and kissing me good-bye, I am so very blessed.
20 Honor Choir students minus 4 who overslept, singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in two-part harmony. Sweet!
Approximately 175 sixth grade students singing jazz together and learning to swing dance. It is good for the soul.
1 little fifth grade student who needs someone to love and accept him
3 students auditioning for solos during plan time
51 degrees and feels like a wet, cold 39 degrees
1 big black dog stretched out on the lawn enjoying the rain
1 big omelette with sausage, pepper jack cheese, spinach, red peppers, tamed jalapeno peppers, onions, tomatoes, and cilantro Mmmm!
7,807 total steps so far today
2 re-runs of "Last Man Standing" and lots of laughs Mandy said, "You could have suffered a spinal injury and ended up a para-legal."
1 hot shower to get ready for another long day
My Day in Numbers
1 sweet husband hugging me and kissing me good-bye, I am so very blessed.
20 Honor Choir students minus 4 who overslept, singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in two-part harmony. Sweet!
Approximately 175 sixth grade students singing jazz together and learning to swing dance. It is good for the soul.
1 little fifth grade student who needs someone to love and accept him
3 students auditioning for solos during plan time
51 degrees and feels like a wet, cold 39 degrees
1 big black dog stretched out on the lawn enjoying the rain
1 big omelette with sausage, pepper jack cheese, spinach, red peppers, tamed jalapeno peppers, onions, tomatoes, and cilantro Mmmm!
7,807 total steps so far today
2 re-runs of "Last Man Standing" and lots of laughs Mandy said, "You could have suffered a spinal injury and ended up a para-legal."
1 hot shower to get ready for another long day
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Slice of Life Day 29 - Jeans Day
I have enjoyed blogging my thoughts and experiences this month. It is my first year to do this. I have not even journaled since our daughters were babies.
Then, I wrote down just about every detail of what they ate and when they ate and what hours they slept and their first words and when they rolled over and when they pulled up and when they took their first steps. I think that they will enjoy looking at those journals when they have their own children.
It is crunch time for me though. I think it is crunch time for everyone. What does crunch time mean? It means we are overloaded with activities and starting to feel stressed out. So, although I have enjoyed these times of reflection, I am ready to finish the challenge. I am thankful for the leadership which encouraged me to participate and get out of my comfort zone a little and I am happy that I have made and kept my commitment to blog every day.
I am also looking forward to the reward or Slice of Life party. My husband was joking with me and said maybe I would get a Jeans Day pass for participating. Then, he said, "I think you should get to wear jeans for a month!" I like that idea!
Then, I wrote down just about every detail of what they ate and when they ate and what hours they slept and their first words and when they rolled over and when they pulled up and when they took their first steps. I think that they will enjoy looking at those journals when they have their own children.
It is crunch time for me though. I think it is crunch time for everyone. What does crunch time mean? It means we are overloaded with activities and starting to feel stressed out. So, although I have enjoyed these times of reflection, I am ready to finish the challenge. I am thankful for the leadership which encouraged me to participate and get out of my comfort zone a little and I am happy that I have made and kept my commitment to blog every day.
I am also looking forward to the reward or Slice of Life party. My husband was joking with me and said maybe I would get a Jeans Day pass for participating. Then, he said, "I think you should get to wear jeans for a month!" I like that idea!
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Slice of Life Day 28 - King Kevin
This morning, I was thinking a little more about Kevin. I had thought about how he was going to be crowned king at our basketball fundraiser but now he will wear a crown in heaven. I know he is in heaven because he was a Christian and talked about his faith, so I did a little Word study on the word "crown."
In II Timothy 4:7 & 8 it says in the New Living Version, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me - the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to His appearing."
Then, in James 1:12 it says, "God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."
There are several scriptures that mention the "crown of glory."
I of course have no idea what the crown of righteousness, the crown of life or the crown of glory look like and we may not receive them until Jesus comes back.
I do know that we'll cast our crowns at the feet of Jesus, the one who died to make a way for us to live eternally. Revelations 4:10 & 11 says, "The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created."
I am not really crazy about Southern Gospel music, but as I get older, whenever I sing or play a special on the violin, I look for old hymns. They are familiar, comforting, encouraging and up-lifting. I knew that there was a hymn with the lyrics, "I shall wear a crown," so I looked it up on youtube and listened to this Gaither version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izXNUVkc6jQ
as I was putting on my make-up this morning. It is a toe-tapping song that just brought joy to my heart as I thought about Kevin in heaven so I wanted to share it with anyone who reads this blog that might enjoy it too.
In II Timothy 4:7 & 8 it says in the New Living Version, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me - the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to His appearing."
Then, in James 1:12 it says, "God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."
There are several scriptures that mention the "crown of glory."
I of course have no idea what the crown of righteousness, the crown of life or the crown of glory look like and we may not receive them until Jesus comes back.
I do know that we'll cast our crowns at the feet of Jesus, the one who died to make a way for us to live eternally. Revelations 4:10 & 11 says, "The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created."
I am not really crazy about Southern Gospel music, but as I get older, whenever I sing or play a special on the violin, I look for old hymns. They are familiar, comforting, encouraging and up-lifting. I knew that there was a hymn with the lyrics, "I shall wear a crown," so I looked it up on youtube and listened to this Gaither version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izXNUVkc6jQ
as I was putting on my make-up this morning. It is a toe-tapping song that just brought joy to my heart as I thought about Kevin in heaven so I wanted to share it with anyone who reads this blog that might enjoy it too.
Monday, March 27, 2017
Slice of Life Day 27 - A Difficult Monday
Today was our first day back to school after Spring Break. I was ready to come back. My voice was back after getting plenty of rest over the break.
It was raining all the way to school and as I thought about Kevin and prayed for his daughter and for our principals who would have to lead a meeting about how we would tell our students, I choked back tears. Then, I fought back tears all through the meeting.
The students seemed fine but I was the one that cried as I started each morning class and asked if everyone was okay. It went better than I expected and we were able to have almost normal music classes. I was able to finish handing out speaking parts to the White Day classes and tried the students on them and made necessary changes and also introduced a new song.
Today was our March Club Day as well, so I brought my violin, ukulele and guitar to use during our String Club. I was pleasantly surprised when three of the students remembered to bring their instruments today and another called his mom who brought his banjo before our time was up.
It was the best Club Day so far. We actually got the instruments tuned and learned the chords to "Down By the Bay." A couple of students played the melody and the rest of us sang and played the chords. I was thinking I would go back to Dance Club next year because we weren't having good success with String Club, but after making such progress today, I may stick with String Club after all. It was fun for everyone.
It was a difficult, rainy, blue, Monday, but creating music with students brings "sunshine, in a cloudy day."
It was raining all the way to school and as I thought about Kevin and prayed for his daughter and for our principals who would have to lead a meeting about how we would tell our students, I choked back tears. Then, I fought back tears all through the meeting.
The students seemed fine but I was the one that cried as I started each morning class and asked if everyone was okay. It went better than I expected and we were able to have almost normal music classes. I was able to finish handing out speaking parts to the White Day classes and tried the students on them and made necessary changes and also introduced a new song.
Today was our March Club Day as well, so I brought my violin, ukulele and guitar to use during our String Club. I was pleasantly surprised when three of the students remembered to bring their instruments today and another called his mom who brought his banjo before our time was up.
It was the best Club Day so far. We actually got the instruments tuned and learned the chords to "Down By the Bay." A couple of students played the melody and the rest of us sang and played the chords. I was thinking I would go back to Dance Club next year because we weren't having good success with String Club, but after making such progress today, I may stick with String Club after all. It was fun for everyone.
It was a difficult, rainy, blue, Monday, but creating music with students brings "sunshine, in a cloudy day."
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Slice of Life Day 26 - Last Day of Spring Break
Today was a beautiful day for an afternoon trip to the Tulsa Ballet with my Choir Club ladies. We saw Peter Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. It was absolutely beautiful.
I loved the live orchestra. My favorite instrument had to be the harp. It was so beautiful. I also loved the cello and the clarinets and the violin solo and . . .
The dancing was amazing. It was the general consensus of all of us, that the villain, Von Rothbart, was our favorite dancer. He was the bad guy, but his dancing seemed effortless. He was fantastic. All of the dancing was beautiful, but he was the best.
Afterward we drove to the next parking lot so we could pay for more parking at the STG Pizzeria Gelateria. It was wood fired pizza and Gelato. It was the best wood fired pizza I have ever had. All of the ingredients were imported from Italy. The mozzarella was sweet and delicious. They had the boot-shape of Italy artistically created on the wall with boom boxes. It was a unique place to eat.
As we were leaving, we received the call that our beloved Kevin had passed away. It was so unexpected. We will miss him dearly. He was so great with the kids at school. I always noticed him encouraging the students as they came in during his crosswalk duty. He always gave them high-fives and told them to have a great day. One day he came in to the music room while I was teaching, to help me with something and the kids attacked him, surrounding him with hugs all around. They love him. When we would need the risers set up for a concert, I would have my "stage crew" help Kevin to put them together. He was so patient and kind, gently teaching them what to do. I am sure that Kevin will be our king this year at our fundraiser, only he will get his crown in heaven. We love you and will miss you Kevin, but are happy for you that you get to see Jesus. We will be praying for your daughter and your family.
I loved the live orchestra. My favorite instrument had to be the harp. It was so beautiful. I also loved the cello and the clarinets and the violin solo and . . .
The dancing was amazing. It was the general consensus of all of us, that the villain, Von Rothbart, was our favorite dancer. He was the bad guy, but his dancing seemed effortless. He was fantastic. All of the dancing was beautiful, but he was the best.
Afterward we drove to the next parking lot so we could pay for more parking at the STG Pizzeria Gelateria. It was wood fired pizza and Gelato. It was the best wood fired pizza I have ever had. All of the ingredients were imported from Italy. The mozzarella was sweet and delicious. They had the boot-shape of Italy artistically created on the wall with boom boxes. It was a unique place to eat.
As we were leaving, we received the call that our beloved Kevin had passed away. It was so unexpected. We will miss him dearly. He was so great with the kids at school. I always noticed him encouraging the students as they came in during his crosswalk duty. He always gave them high-fives and told them to have a great day. One day he came in to the music room while I was teaching, to help me with something and the kids attacked him, surrounding him with hugs all around. They love him. When we would need the risers set up for a concert, I would have my "stage crew" help Kevin to put them together. He was so patient and kind, gently teaching them what to do. I am sure that Kevin will be our king this year at our fundraiser, only he will get his crown in heaven. We love you and will miss you Kevin, but are happy for you that you get to see Jesus. We will be praying for your daughter and your family.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Slice of Life Day 25 - Spring Break Day 6
It was cold and wet outside today so I slept in and stayed in most of the day. I did some more work on our daughter's room, did my stretches, and some laundry and of course watched some HGTV. My husband put up my new towel ring and did yard work. It was pretty much like a regular Saturday but then we decided to get ready and go to town for a Subway salad and a little shopping! No Spring Break is complete without a little shopping trip. I got a dress to possibly wear for Easter, a spring sweater, a top and some leggings. Success!
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