Sweet Sounds

Sam fell in love with the sound of the marimba before he was born. He loves to listen to Scott practice. He's been picking up mallets and playing since he could stand on a chair and reach the bars. He's actually pretty good at playing with 4 mallets! See how much he loves marimba:



Here is video from right after Scott taught Sam how to play loud and soft. It's obvious which Sam prefers:



Now, Sam spends time practicing what Daddy is teaching him. Listen as he goes into Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:



So, now, Sam thinks he's pretty hot stuff. He has started composing his own music. He describes this unnamed piece as "Japanese minimalist."



God has truly blessed us with a child who loves our passions: music and reading. :)

Sam's Skills

At 23 months, Sam has some skills! He walks around singing his ABCs and counting. He recognizes more and more letters everyday. He can find letters in really obscure places-like the underside of a table! I love when he starts naming letters he sees.

Here are the videos to prove that I'm not making it up:

Sam can usually count to 10. Sometimes he decides he only wants to count to 9, though!



The day I shot this ABC video, Sam was getting stuck on "ABC...sing with me" so I had to prompt him to get the song going. But he usually starts with no help.

Here I go again...

Just when I thought all was settled, I got a call for another interview. Of course I'll go. I won't be responsible for closing doors that have been opened for me. And actually, I would really like to get this job. Everything is just changing too much in my district. If I'm going to face changes, I might as well face them while I teach Reading Recovery and make a little more money. I still want to get another degree and prepare for the future. I'm working on that plan but it may take a while. Anyway, please say a prayer for me about this new job possibility. I'm trying to believe that God wouldn't continue to be so persistent if he wasn't trying to show me the way. So, here I go again...

Spring is springing!

Spring is my most favorite time of the year! I love the sense of everything waking up from a long nap and seeming new and refreshed.

Sam is enjoying Spring, too. He enjoys smelling flowers, discovering baby leaves and just getting to spend so much time outside. He has loved being outside since he came home from the hospital. There were times when he was really little that the only way to get him to stop crying was to walk outside. He didn't care if it was 200 degrees outside and you were sweating to death, he just loved being there.

Yesterday, we were in the yard soaking up Spring and I couldn't resist grabbing the camera. I used to love Spring for the daffodils, robins and dogwoods. But now I love spring for the look it puts on Sam's face.

I found the open window!

It has been a very long, sick week around this house! The flu could not have hit me at a worse time. I am so busy with school work right now. I have thanked God many times this week that Scott was on Spring break. Sam's babysitter had the flu, too, and Sam had to stay home. But, we all survived and now it's time for me to get back to work! Sam did get sick, but he had a virus that just gave him a high fever all day and he seems to be fine now. I am just praying to God everyday that Scott doesn't get sick. I'm not sure how I'll finish the work I need to do by the looming deadline and take care of Scott and Sam.

For Stef: Thank you for your words a few weeks ago. You have truly set my life on a course I didn't see coming but I am most accepting of now. Thank you for showing me how God was working in my life when I couldn't see it.

For the rest of you, I have finally found peace in all the turmoil and sadness in my career (not to sound so dramatic, but it has been a dramatic year for my friends and I). A few weeks ago, I interviewed for a job in another district teaching Reading Recovery. I was excited about the opportunity to teach RR again, but very sad about the changes in my district and my school and having to leave all that I knew. (I wrote about the interview March 3) Anyway, the impact of the possibilities that were at hand were not soothing my soul. However, everything changed the day after the interview when I talked to Stef. She helped me see that perhaps God had brought me to this place so that I would look beyond RR and consider other possibilities. I had never done that before because teaching RR was all I had wanted to do since I student taught in college. I've worked all these years to get to exactly where I was and I was very happy. However, is this how I want to spend the rest of my entire career? Probably not. I had just never looked beyond RR. Stef helped me see that perhaps it was time I moved on so that I could make a difference in the lives of even more children. The next morning, with a new sense of purpose and peace lifting my wings, I talked to a few colleagues and my principal about what else was out there for me. I decided to stay at my school for now so that I could pursue another master's degree in curriculum and instruction. This will lead to even more opportunities down the road and staying where I am will help make the process a little easier.

All of this happened really fast after my interview but I cannot describe the peace that has settled in my heart. I literally think I heard the angels playing their trumpets at some point and everything just seemed to make sense.

By the way, as great as I thought my interview went, I never did get a call. I found out yesterday that a friend of mine was hired and I can't be happier for her. I enjoyed the ladies I met and I know that they will love working with my friend.

Perhaps I shouldn't have cried DURING the interview...oh, but things might be so different now!