Another week

It's been a long, short, interesting week. Know the feeling? 

I spent a long time on Monday getting the folder for the school program director ready. I fix it so that she can flip a page out with prompts for the song or recitation piece that is to be given. The side toward the students says the same thing that the director's side says so we are all "on the same page". I helped sing in the program this time which we presented on Thursday Eve. This was the Christmas program which is given biennially. 

Thankfully I didn't need to babysit on Mon or Tues. I had so much to do. Tues was my birthday and I almost forgot it. Thomas & I had a date last week on Fri eve and the boys were at Mom Lapp's. When we stopped to pick them up Mom said, "Give me the menu and I'll cook it for you Tues eve." I was so puzzled what she means. She said, "For your birthday!" Thomas and I had been planning the week and I had something in mind for Tues eve but we did take her up on the offer. She cooked a good BIG meal of meatloaf, creamed potatoes, Ceaser salad, lime jello (with pears, pineapple and cream cheese), and then a dessert of ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and date pudding.

While she cooked our supper I sewed on a new dress I wanted for the program. I was amazed at myself that I sewed a dress in 3 days! Usually I work on one so sporadically that it takes months. 

I thought it was so funny that Google was the first to wish me a happy birthday on my birthday. Sister Yvonne and brother Paul wished it ahead of time. I opened Google Chrome Tues morning and Google was spelled with birthday cakes. So often it's someone's birthday so I hovered on it saying to myself, "Now who's birthday?" It said, "Happy birthday Marie!" I was so taken aback- until I realized I was signed in. :)
  
It snowed again on Tuesday so schools were canceled. We practiced the program Wed & Thurs morning at school. No one really felt ready for it but I was amazed at how well it went then. I just wished I could have sat and listened to it. Our boys sang a verse of Silent Night in German. They wouldn't have chosen to but they were asked to and they did well. Everyone did well. The place was full of visitors and we didn't get home till about 11:00! There's usually a snack afterwards.

 It was also Philip Eash's graduation night. His sister Melody pushed for him to get done and graduate while she's home from El Salvador. She teaches at a school for the deaf there and their school years are on a different schedule than ours. Her vacation is now and school resumes in Feb or March. 

I also did a power point for all the recitation pieces. Seems a lot of the students are hard to understand so the power point helps people to know what they're saying. In my opinion recitation needs as much or more practice as singing. But I'm not the one in charge (except for my own children. And they get drilled! :) 

Once the program was behind us we were all "shot". Very worn out. Friday and Saturday we worked on getting the house & food ready for visitors because we were host family today. Host family means you are prepared to host any visitors who happen to be at church. So we usually like to invite a family or two from church while we're at it. No visitors today but we had Al Wengerds, Lloyd Beachys and Mom and a lady she brings to church (Kathy) here for lunch. My men helped me in 101 ways the last couple days to get ready. What would I do without them?!

I told Thomas that it seems every time we host visitors, I am out of so many groceries. It takes me awhile to think up what I can cook. I found a recipe for potatoes and chicken that I adapted to fit what I had (making my own mozzarella cheese for it), made an apple jello salad and cooked green beans. For dessert I served chocolate cream pie & coffee. One thing we have in abundance is milk. :) 

Yesterday we had another snow- 4 inches or so. Wow. It just stays white out there. The boys can spend hours playing in the snow- building forts and igloos, sledding, snow boarding, snow ball fighting. My delight is to look out the window.

Enter a new week with new challenges.....