Changes

Alicia, Anabel and Jessica

VBS Program 2008

If you would ask our 3 girls to pick their favorite event of the WHOLE year, I am absolutely sure it would be Conference and VBS. There isn't anything quite like having a ball with their fellow MK's that they only get to see once or twice a year. Mix that with 5 days of lessons, crafts, games, snacks (from the US!), prizes, competitions, and LOADS of other activities, there isn't anything that even comes close. The memories are priceless.

Jessica pulled out all the stops and earned the grand prize in the teen girl's category for verse memorization (and a bunch of other stuff)...a new MP3 player. Except for recharging it, she hasn't been without it since...

Jessica is also headed for some big changes in her life. For that matter, so are we! On the 22nd of January our soon-to-be-15-year-old is moving to Fortaleza (a 4 hour bus ride from Mossoró) to study at the same high school where Ken graduated from just over 20 years ago.

Jessica and Ellie (who has taken on the incredible challenge of being "dorm mom"!)

For Jessica there will be new classmates (currently there are only 3 - 9th graders at Fortaleza Academy)...doing all her studies in English (she has studied all her subjects in Portuguese since 1st grade)...participating in a new church, and living with a new "family". Ellie, a missionary collegue, has offered to board Jessica while she studies at FA.

Did I mention we are ALL in for a few changes? It won't be 5 minutes after she is gone and I will feel like my right arm has been cut off, so, the adjustment will be mutual. Talk about tough to let go. I don't think I even need to ask anyone to pray...it's a given!

OOOPS! Spoke Too Soon!

Alicia with birthday cake and rose. Happy 11th!!!

Every year I say that I just can't handle the stress any more. Don't know how on earth I can possibly do another one of these programs. The day before each presentation I wake up with stomach cramps and once even had a migraine. Just too much.

Well, we had our 2nd performance of previously said musical and it went off pretty well. We had a jam packed house. More people than you can possibly count. At the end of the program, Ken thanked each of the teachers who had been a key part of getting the show put together.

After that Ken and I had arranged to call Alicia up on stage to give her a rose and a gift in honor of her birthday, after which I hopped down to where I had been directing the musicians. When, lo and behold, he motioned me to go back up...and look what I got! Yes, I counted and there really are 12. :)

My family...the people who put up with me the most when I didn't deserve to be put up with. They are the ones who deserve most of the credit!

So, am I going to do it again? Probably. I have a really bad memory. :)

Alice in Musicland

Alicia played "Alice" in the first performance of "Alice in Musicland" ALPHA's school musical

We are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel at ALPHA. Only a week of school left, but it is the busiest week of the whole year: school musical, enrollment, testing, report cards, staff Christmas party, goodbyes, etc.

Alicia turns 11 today. She played Alice in our school musical "Alice in Musicland". We had a double cast (that way anyone who didn't make it had someone else who could fill in without any problems). The first cast performed for the student body and the second one performed for the closing night of the pre-school program.

Our two music groups, the recorder ensemble and the band, provided live accompaniment for the songs that were sung by the pre-school department.