School Life

The kids and I made it through another school year.  For them, they are headed to new schools with new teachers, new friends, and new challenges.  For me, I am starting my junior year of college with same teachers, same friends, but new challenges.

I think we all struggled at some point throughout this past year.  There were frustrations and tears.  Poor Craig was as supportive as he could be for his three students.  We muddled through and were overall successful in all of our studies.

After the new year, when God spoke to us about living a life fulfilled, we sat down together and talked about how we were going to face our school challenges over the next 5 months.  We agreed we would throw ourselves into our school work, we would tackle every new challenge, and we would enjoy every moment.

And we made it.

We saw Preston study even more for tests by creating his own flashcards, be creative and work hard on every project (and he had A LOT!!!), and his grades improved tremendously.  He was in so many after school clubs and was the top runner in Running Club for 6th grade.  He also practiced hard in percussion, enjoyed his private lessons, and received a I in his first Solo and Ensemble contest.  He is excited about staying in band and joining Athletics as he goes into middle school.

We saw Kaitlyn maintain very high A's in all of her Pre-AP classes as she had some struggles with Algebra.  She continued to seek tutoring when she didn't understand a concept and did very well on her Algebra exam.  She now has a high school math credit!!!  She did a fabulous job in her theater activities, AVID and NJHS volunteer work, and was even asked to be part of the Principal's Cabinet.  And when she hurt her shoulder in volleyball and could no longer participate in Athletics, she kept a positive attitude and enjoyed the things she could still do.  She is really looking forward to all of her design and art classes in high school.

I finally completed my 4 semesters of Music Theory and Aural Skills.  Phew!!!  I become a better piano player, developing my own accompaniment patterns.  I feel I became a better vocalist, really taking time to learn how to use my entire body to create the sounds I want.  However, there is still sooo much more to learn and to practice with all of my instruments.  I actually made it through the semester without ever telling Craig that I wanted to quit.  Most of all, I completely fell in love with my school, my fabulously talented friends, and my very understanding and helpful professors.  I wholeheartedly look forward to graduating (a very long time from now), but I will absolutely miss this school when I do.  I cannot wait to take more in-depth music therapy classes in the Fall.

We all excelled at our studies, received accolades for our hard work, and balanced our very busy schedules.  We enjoyed some really great moments and handled some really tough ones.  And we did it as a family.  We were each other's cheerleaders and each other's supporters.  We were each other's tutors and even each other's audience.  We were always there to pray for each other, asking God's guidance through each day and truly living each day to the fullest.

As we enjoy a long summer together, we eagerly anticipate a new school year as a 7th grader, 9th grader, and college junior.  But first, we rest.