Happy, Happy, Birthday, sweet Analiese!

It is MY day!
Trying to blow out the candles!
Did that candle really relight?????

What a great day for Analiese! She woke up with a song from Mom and happy birthdays from everyone else. We had cupcakes for lunch, a pencil from the principal, a hat from the teacher and love from an entire school! Not to mention the numerous phone calls from family members that just reinforced how special this day is!

This weekend we'll celebrate as a family and open gifts and on October 4th we will celebrate with friends at The Ritzy Pixie and a fabulous tea party! It sure is great to be SIX!

Yikes, there's a "Mouse" in our house!!!!

Sarah practicing before her audition


Sarah auditioned for a part in the Atlanta Ballet's Production of the Nutcracker today. She was chosen to play one of the mice!!! We are all so excited and proud of her!

We talked about the possibility of auditioning a few weeks ago; Sarah was just not sure. Even though she has been dancing for 8 years she has only had formal ballet training for one year. I encouraged her to audition, if only for the experience. Sarah finally agreed after learning that her best friend from her dance company was also going to try out!

Sarah and I went with her friend, Isabel and her mother, to the audition. The girls (and moms, too!) were all excited and not knowing what to expect. Once we got there we moms filled out all of the paperwork and the girls seemed so relaxed; practicing their leaps! The AJC photographer took some photos of the girls so maybe they might be in the paper this week!

When they took the girls to the studio for the audition, we found out that the girls would be told if they had been selected and for what role before they returned to us. I cannot tell you how nervous that made me. I know that Sarah and I talked about the possibility she wouldn't be chosen and how she should look at the whole audition as a learning experience. But, I also know my daughter, she would be SO disappointed if she were not chosen but she would hold in her emotions until we were alone. I did not want to see a little girl trying to be brave come out of that audition!

The time finally came and the girls were headed toward us. Both Sarah and Isabel were holding papers, each wore smiles and Sarah was shaking!!! Sarah came over and said, "Mom, I'm a mouse!!!" I could not have been happier for her, nor prouder!

We have lots of rehearsals between now and December but are anxious for it all to begin. This experience is so wonderful for Sarah---she will be performing at the beautiful Fox Theatre in Atlanta! Sarah will most likely perform in at least 5 shows; I'll post the performance schedule when we receive it. I sure hope that some of you will come out and watch my little mouse perform!


HOLIDAY TRADITION AT THE FABULOUS FOX THEATRE
Nutcracker
December 5–28, 2008
Choreographed by John McFall
Magic can be hard to come by these days, but it is alive and well at the Fox Theatre this
holiday season. Presenting more than 250 of Atlanta’s young dancers, Atlanta Ballet’s
Nutcracker ushers in the season with an extravagant performance full of wonder and
surprises–dancing Snowflakes, mischievous Mice, and lively Nesting Dolls. Nutcracker is a
holiday treat, a story you grew up with, and one you’ll want to pass on to generations to
come–an Atlanta tradition for more than 40 years!

Growing Pains

Matthew is having some real growing pains. His mastery of english is awesome but he is so lacking in the social mores that it is having quite an effect on his schooling.

He yells out in class during tests.
He yells at the teachers.
He tells it "like it is" (this is not fun)
He hasn't quite grasped that ALL adults must be listened to, not just Mom and Dad!

He was very sad today because his teacher had to come and speak to me. We have meeting set up for Friday morning. Dave, myself and his teachers will be there. Matthew must learn and follow expectations but he also must accept that we are his biggest supporters.

We've taken away his TV and computer time until the meeting. Matthew told me that he felt "bad". I responded that I also felt "bad" when his teacher had to come and talk to me about his behavior.

Lessons are hard to learn. Matthew has come so far but he has miles to go. Having a family is great but the responsibilities are overwhelming. It is hard for ALL of us but the benefits are immeasurable. Some day we will laugh at the early years.

And so it ends

Even though summer doesn't officially end until the middle of September, it is over for us. We enjoyed our three day weekend even though the weather wasn't the best. We didn't get any rain but did get some clouds and wind from Hurricane Gustov.

Sarah went to a sleepover, we rented a movie, went to the swimming pool, played outside, and had a barbeque. It is always sad to see summer end as the lazy days are replaced with full schedules. We can feel Fall in the air and see the days getting shorter.

I expect we will see lots of changes as a family this year. Matthew will learn to read, as will Analiese. Sarah's last year of elementary school means lots of physical and emotional changes for her and Grace will have the busiest schedule she's ever had. William and Thomas are experiencing their freshman year at Georgia Tech and James is the only one left at home with his Mom.

Dave and I will watch and enjoy the kids growing up and hopefully will have some time to spend together. Analiese's birthday is right around the corner. I sure can't believe she is going to be six years old!!!

And this is why I became a teacher!

I was at Publix today and one of my former students was bagging my groceries. After he greeted me he told the cashier that I had been his 5th grade teacher and I was the meanest teacher he ever had! I laughed and reminded him that I had always told him that one day he would thank me for being so hard on him.

And what did that young man say? "Yeah, I remember and that day is here." He is now a senior in high school, passed all of his graduation tests in his junior year and is planning on becoming an airline pilot. He has been accepted into a program with Delta airlines.

That young man came to me when he was in fifth grade barely able to read. He had been in special education for two years and had the unfortunate luck to have had a teacher who believed her job was to babysit the dummies. So by the time he got into his last year in elementary school he learned, along with 5 other boys, that if he misbehaved and acted out then no one would know he couldn't read.

When those boys came into my class I set high expectations and refused to let them get away with anything! I pushed and pushed and promised them that if they did as they were asked then they would learn how to read and write. I also told them that it was OK not to like me, to be angry with me but one day, in their future, they were going to realize how much I cared and they would want to thank me.

Out of the six boys I had that year, four left elementary school reading on a 4th grade level; up from barely reading at all. I've seen the boys over the years and they've all hugged me and laughed at how hard I pushed them. But this boy was the first to brag on his accomplishments and to let me know that he was grateful that I had the faith in his abilities.

I can't tell you how proud I am of this young man! Maybe I'll get to see him graduate this coming May.

An Olympic gymnast????

Today Grace was evaluated at the gym where she has just begun taking classes. Her new coach, after 2 classes, referred her to the developmental team director. What does that mean? It means that our sweet Grace is a natural gymnast!

The reason why we moved over to the gym rather than continue with the tumbling classes at the dance center, is because I was told by her teachers that Grace needed more than they could give! They felt she had great potential and needed to go to a gym to develop her talents. I'm glad I listened to their advice!

After the evaluation, the director told me that she recognized Grace's potential. However, Grace did not have the immediate skills needed to move right into the "preteam" class. What she is lacking is: upper body strength and knowledge of the technical gymnastics terms. When I told the director that Grace has had only 1 year of tumbling and 3 classes of gymnastics she told me that they were very interested in having Grace train with them to become a competetive gymnast---in the USAG level gymnastics!!!!

Once again I hear you say, "so, what does that mean?" Well the USAG stands for United States of America Gymnasts--yes, where they choose their olympians from!!!!!

The director told me that it is her job to identify young girls that have the potential to become competitive gymnasts and she feels that Grace has that potential. Grace was evaluated on her body type, her strength and her flexibility.

What we decided is that Grace will participate in a class that will prepare her for "preteam", which is the level right before the competition level. They want to build Grace's upper body strength and teach her the technical terms of the sport!

Once Grace moves into the competitive level (USAG) then she is on track with other girls training to be olympians! Grace's coach is so excited for her. She told me that at the first class with Grace she was intrigued and the second class convinced her that Grace had talent and she knew that she had to refer her to the developmental director! And the director agrees....Grace has great potential!!!

Unfortunately this means that Grace will not be doing any dance performances with the dance company. We've had to choose and Grace wants to focus on gymnastics. But, she does want to continue with her tap class and we are considering it. My concern is that she is only 7 and once she is put into the preteam class she will need to be at the gym 6 hours a week---that's an awful lot for a second grader.

Who knows, in the 2017 Olympics you may see Grace Feizhen Evans, from Georgia, adopted from Wenzhou China, representing the USA in the summer olympics!

Horrible tragedy

Please take a moment to pray for two young girls, adopted from China, who were viciously attacked by their overwhelmed mother. I do not, and will not, sit in judgement of the poor woman who only now will get the help she searched for but never received.

If you know of someone, or if you are feeling overwhelmed, please reach out! Things are never so bad that there isn't a solution, a solution that does not involve tragedy. Take a moment and read the article:

http://www.startribune.com/local/27284789.html?page=1&c=y