Suzuki Violin & Piano Recital - #14

First the musicians performed.

This was Emily's senior recital - #14

Recital #5 for Sam.

Then came the party.

About Joseph

I asked the kids to each write a paragraph or two describing their relationship with Little J.  I thought it would be a nice testimonial about the gifts these lovely little ones with Down syndrome bring to the family.

Hi, my name is Amber.  I'm Joseph's sister.  He is so cute.  I love it when he smiles and giggles.  It is so funny.  He is just learning how to walk and stand.  I love him.

Amber is such a caring big sister to Joseph.  She happily practices her piano songs in a lower octave just so he can sit and play with her.

I Recommend...

Michael Perry and the Long Beds.

To backtrack a bit, I bought Warren Coop for Christmas. He'd already read Truck and Population 485 and it was all I could do to keep him out of the book store so I could "surprise" him Christmas Eve with Coop. He read it within the next 48 hours. He'd read me just enough passages and I'd snuck off with the book just enough times to know that it would definitely make its way to my "must read" list. I also discovered his blog (Thanks, B) and from a link in his sidebar found out he'd be in our neck of the woods January 29. Perfect! A book reading (my first ever) and a chance to hear the band. And only an hour away with our favorite restaurant marking the half way spot. So we lined up a babysitter which was no small feat. Try finding a babysitter willing to sit for 5 kids at the end of a dead end country road. And even harder is having enough jing to pay said babysitter for watching 5 kids for say, 7 hours. Times are different now days; I remember babysitting 3 kids for $1.00/hour, 40 hours a week all summer. Let's just say last night cost us more than I earned in a 1985 week.

So he quietly walks on stage wearing a red plaid flannel shirt and carpenter jeans. He has this well they paid for this so I might as well read something attitude and then has the crowd roaring with laughter within the first couple of sentences. This was quite easily the best performance I've seen next to anything my kids have ever done of course. One minute my cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing so hard and the next that spot under my chin where it curves into neck hurt from trying to hold back the tears. And if I'm not mistaken he even had a mist in his eyes when reading his memoir of preparing for the birth of his daughter.

Be prepared, though, if you get a chance to attend a reading you will walk away with a serious understanding of the pain and resulting heroism of passing a kidney stone. You might want chickens. You might Google M.C. Escher illusions. If you have a secret yearning to give birth at home, you'll definitely want to drink tea with Leah. And for the entrepreneurs, Timothy hay will be your next big endeavor.

Then the band played and they were all great. I've been thinking all day of stepping outside the box of classical violin and trying my hand at a little fiddle. But I cannot express how much I loved the acoustic bass guitar. Before last night I recognized two types of guitars: electric and acoustic. But the long haired bass player with the overgrown mustache-you know the kind that stores lunch's best crumbs for a mid-afternoon snack-he made the best music on that longnecked guitar. The deep bum, bum, bum hooked me right in. I'm listening right now.

Now do yourself a favor and go read some Michael Perry.

Two Things I'm Loving

Anne Pellowski's book series - I came across this series in the 4th grade recommended reading list at Real Learning. What a treat! Originally I checked out the four book series from the library for Grace to read, but after perusing the first book I knew I had to read this one aloud for me as well as the other kids. For starters the first book takes place around 1876. I absolutely love pioneer stories; if it weren't for the lack of proper medical care I would be content to live that life. Then it takes place in Wisconsin and is based on a real Polish family; growing up in a Polish town in Wisconsin I can relate to the Oszewski's and Jazgewski's and Pellowski's, well in name anyway. I actually have Peplinski and Kurszewski cousins. Large families are near and dear to my heart and after a brief read through of a couple chapters I note the family is Catholic. What a treasure of a book. Just half way through the first of four books I dare say I like this series better than the Little House series. Here's why - I can relate to the Pellowski family. Ma Ingalls in gentle, soft spoken, kind hearted; I am not. Ma Ingalls has all girls; I have two boys and two girls. The Pellowski family is full of boys and girls, 5 boys and 3 girls to be exact and according to the family tree it appears Mother will be having two more boys. The mix makes for great stories my kids can relate to. The teasing by the boys of the girls is just one of them. Mother Pellowski is stern yet loving. She is not afraid to reprimand the children when the work is not getting done; that's me, rules, work before play, serious, blunt. I love this first book. See the sidebar under Morning Read Aloud for a link to the first in the series.

Jack Johnson - Have you heard of this music artist? I received this CD for my birthday back in June and was told you'll feel like you're on vacation while listening. I turned it on as background music, but didn't pay much attention. With four kids the music has to be pretty loud to hear it over all their chatter. Now months later, I pulled it out again to listen while walking around the marsh. I try to fit in a walk a few days a week in the afternoon and use Grace's portable CD player to listen to music up close. This guy is awesome. The lyrics are fun, inspirational, thought provoking. The guitar playing is better than anything I've heard in a long time. I set the CD in the van for DH to listen to the other day. I figured he'd listen to a couple songs and swap it out for Nickelback or something along those lines. He came home and said the CD was so good he forgot where he was going and what he was doing. Truly, he went to Fleet Farm with the kids so I could have an evening to sew and came home with nothing on the list. No canning jar lids, no burlap bags, no 60 watt lightbulbs. Just licorice and furnace filters. We've often talked about how angry I feel after listening to some of his music and I can't believe he can listen to that and still want to be alive. With this CD we both agree that you can have nothing but good feelings while listening. Topping it all off, the kids love the CD as well. It's not often that 6 people can agree on what CD to play in the van. And did you see Curious George? Did you like the music? Every song is a Jack Johnson original.

Choir Camp

Grace began Choir Camp yesterday, which is a big commitment on my part. Each day this week she needs to be in Marshfield from 2:45 - 4:45 pm. Which means we have to leave at 1:45 and don't get home until 5:30 - 5:45. And as we travel in a pack the rest of us need to find something to do while she is singing her heart out. A quick search of the Marshfield Visitor Center gave us a list of places to go and there is always grocery shopping to be done, too. While we were shopping at Target and then dodging the sheets of rain at the Wildwood Zoo, Grace was singing about animals with 30 other kids. It's an annual program run by the Continuing Education program at UW-Marshfield Center. Three age groups of kids meet for 2 hour choir practices and then give a final performance on Friday night. This year's musical is A Carnival of Animals and as Grace said yesterday, I can't wait to go back tomorrow, I made a new friend named Rachel and my teacher is really nice. It must be going well and I'm glad they are allowed to bring home the songbook. She's singing the lyrics all the time, reading time that's fun and useful. It's hard to get Grace to read just for fun. She's not a nose in the book kinda kid. She's a, I made a new friend, I'm going swimming, when can I go___________ (fill in the blank) kinda kid. So anytime she has to read, as is the case in choir camp, it's a bonus.

Plans for our week include:

*visiting Jurustic Park

*swimming at the local pool

*shopping/looking at Fleet Farm (Lee's pick)

*playing at the castle park

*stopping in at Thimbleberries (used and rare book store) (my pick, of course)

*Foxfire Botanical Gardens

Pizza and Movie Night - Postponed

It's not a bad thing though. We will make homemade pizzas for tonight's supper before violin. In lieu of the typical movie night we will attend a Tom Pease concert. We can't wait to hear, Free Ride In and The Belly Button Song.

More on Tom Pease
Click here, scroll down to Love Grows One by One and click to hear
Click here to see our favorite album