Happily Wicked

Way back last summer when we took our big vacation to NYC, the girls and I wanted to see Wicked. I called the box office 3 months before we were scheduled to leave to buy tickets. Didn't happen. Couldn't get 3 seats together...3 months in advance! Even if I was willing to pay $150 ticket (which I wasn't) I couldn't get tickets. So we ended up seeing Cirque Dreams instead, still a good show, but not Wicked. We decided we would see the touring show even if it meant driving 4 or 5 hours to another town because nothing comes to Tulsa...except it did!

42 semis and I forget how many people have descended upon our town for a month and I couldn't be happier. Alyssa and I were blessed with someone's season tickets last Saturday...orchestra center, 12 rows back. Perfecto! I really didn't know what to expect. I just knew it was what happened before Oz when Glinda and the wicked witch of the west were roommates in college.

Little did I know, I would be entranced from the minute the curtain opened, feel sorry for Elphaba (WW of the West), question Glinda's motives, and discover all the things I never knew about Oz but never thought to question, like why was the lion a coward and where did the tin man and the scarecrow come from? Thankfully, I have a date with Katie to see the closing show in a couple of weeks so I get to see it again. And if I had disposable funds, I would see it again and again and again. But at $50 a pop for balcony seats, I'll have to be happy with just twice.

So if the touring company is coming anywhere close to your town, GO! You can click here to see if they are coming to a city near you. A word to the wise: start saving now for your souvenir t-shirt; they are a whopping $39!

Who said summer was supposed to be relaxing?

Every year about May 15th, I have visions of grandeur of a relaxing summer where I have nothing to do but take kids to the pool and work on my tan. And every year about July 1st, I'm thinking 'I can't wait till school starts so my life will calm down to a normal schedule.' You would think I would learn, but year after year somewhere inside me there is a small glimmer of hope that this year's summer will be different. And if you could see my white legs you would know that this year isn't my year. (sigh)

School starts again in less than 3 weeks which means it's time to buy school clothes, schedule yearly check ups, and for the first time ever....buy college textbooks for Alyssa's dual credit classes. She's enrolled for Spanish I and College Algebra at the local community college and she'll receive high school and college credit for the classes. By the time she graduates high school, she'll have at least 24 hours college credit plus credits from CLEP tests hopefully saving us a year's worth of tuition. (Her tuition at the CC is covered by a scholarship. We just have to pay class fees and books...about $200 per class.)

So back to my summer drama...this week Alyssa, Zac and Katie are all participating in a mission camp with their youth group. They are going out in teams in our area and doing VBS, soccer camp, and basketball camps. Our youth pastor shared with us that Katie led someone to Christ all by herself today and there is just no greater feeling of pride (the good kind)for your child than knowing they are growing in their faith and sharing it with others. My shy child is very bold in her walk with Christ and shares with her friends at school constantly. Who knows, maybe that's why God led us to enroll her in public school!

The 'big 3' get home Saturday around 8 and Sunday morning at 9, the girls and I leave for our semi-annual must-go-to-a-real-mall-and-eat-at-La-Madeleine Dallas trip. That's 11 hours to do a whole lot of laundry and squeeze in a little sleep!Katie and I will return home on Wed. after seeing lots of old friends and fighting lots of temptation not to shop too much. Alyssa will fly back on Monday, Alone, which I'm not at all nervous about this year. I guess after letting my child spend 10 days in a South American country, a 45 minute flight from Dallas doesn't seem like such a big deal.

A little bit of heaven

One thing I love about missions is the little glimpses of 'all nations' worshipping together that we get. In this video, John, on the right, from our mission team is singing in English. Then, Alexi, one of the workers from the Venezuelan church joins in harmony in Spanish. Absolutely Beautiful!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Another licensed driver in my house, Yippee??

I just watched Alyssa pull out of my driveway, driving herself to church tonight for the first time ever. I thought I would be so happy when this day came. Finally, someone else to help with all the taxi driving and since Alyssa is the cause of most of my mom-taxi trips anyway, I thought I would enjoy this new surplus of free time with which I would fold the laundry faster and clean the toilets more often. And I'm sure that relief will come eventually, but for now there's a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach brought on by the thought of my child being in command of a moving vehicle that is not a bicycle. And wondering how long she'll make it before she has an accident because all young drivers do eventually. Then praying that whenever it does happen, it'll only be minor.

I think I just wasn't ready for it to happen today even though we're 5 months past when she could have taken the test. In our 'wisdom' gained from talking to Alyssa's friends who all had to take the test twice, we were expecting her to get failed today for some silly mistake and to have to try again next week. So when she pulled back into the parking lot and said, "I passed!" I was so proud of her for doing what her friends couldn't, but caught off guard that this was really happening at the same time.

Thank goodness for cell phones. She has to text when she arrives and when she leaves which brings some peace of mind. Some...not a lot. I don't know how my mother did it without knowing for sure that I had arrived at my designated location. I think in a few weeks I'll be happy. Maybe if Kevin was here to share my angst it would help. He actually doesn't even know she has her license since he's still in the remote villages of Mexico and is being spared all this parental drama. I'll have to remind to him to thank me later for living through this rite of passage alone.

Short and Sweet

I picked up Alyssa from the airport a couple of hours ago. We're just sitting on the couch catching up on all the shows I DVR'd for her while she was gone. I'm savoring all of the stories that are pouring out about her trip. I'm taking notes so I can share them with you later.

I took Kevin, Zac, and Katie to the airport at 5am yesterday to begin their travels to Arizpe. I wasn't expecting to hear from them at all since there is no internet in Arizpe and phone service is not great. But I guess the Daddy had to make sure his baby girl made it home safely because he called tonight. We had a whole minute and a half to talk and I got that it was raining, which is highly unusual, and they are supposed to have a movie night in the town square tonight. There was also some trouble at the border and Kevin's van didn't get to Arizpe till 4 am so there are some things for you to pray for---cooperative weather and no border issues on the return.

My lips are sealed

I've been a full 26 hours with no news from Venezuela..no phone calls, no blog posts...but who's counting? Of course, today I have HUGE news to tell Alyssa and no way to tell her. I have her ACT scores and I am very happy with them but I can't tell you how she did because that just wouldn't be nice for her to find out after the 6 people who read this blog find out so I must be excited for her without sharing the news....a very difficult task when you have good news and a blog.

So to distract myself from the fact that I haven't seen my child in 6 days and had to go see 'The Proposal' by myself since my chick flick buddy is out of the country, I'll tell you about how Nathan got to have a light saber fight with Darth Vader.

At Disneyland, they have a Jedi Training Academy. Kids are randomly selected to be 'trained' then they get to fight Darth Vader using their newly acquired skills. Nathan could discuss Star Wars with you for 12 hours straight, go to bed, then still have more to say the next day. There have actually been times when I have banned him from discussing anything related to Star Wars with me. My brain can only take so much Darth Maul, Ewoks, and Yoda debate in one day. He also uses 'the force' to open automatic doors.

When I tell you that this was the highlight of his little life, I am not exaggerating. I think my heart might have broken if he hadn't been picked, but seriously, who could pass up that cute face?

Darth Vader didn't stand a chance!

All My Fears Calmed for $1.50

I got to talk to Alyssa on the phone tonight! Woo Hoo! She actually called while I was still at work, time difference and all. (Apparently it's a genetic thing to not be able to figure that whole time thing out because she didn't realize I was still at work.) I'm sure everyone in my office thought I had lost it. I sounded like a giddy school girl when I answered the phone. And may I just say that technology is a wonderful thing when my child can call me from another continent for $1.50.

First, I had to get all the 'mama' questions out of the way: Are you sunburned? A valid concern since she is practically sitting on the equator and has her father's redhead fair skin. Thankfully, she reports just some pink cheeks and that they're staying in the shade most of the time. "Is your stomach upset?" Also a valid mama question given the fact she's in a South American country where she can't drink the water. Good news on that front too! No one on the team seems to suffering any maladies. All that paranoia and trip to the dr. for prescriptions for doxycycline and cipro paid off.

I had to calm the potential mama fears first before I could move on to the actual important news of her trip just in case our call got dropped. We were dealing with a pay phone in a small town in Venezuela and a cell phone in America after all! Anyway, the ministry is going well. They are visiting different villages each day. Some team members are doing door to door evangelism while others do VBS or sports camps with the kids and teenagers. The team all wrote their testimonies in Spanish before they left and they also have translators with them. Alyssa's also part of a drama team and they are doing a drama in each of the areas they minister to also.

It was great to hear her voice after 5 days, now just 5 days to go. I'm glad she has this opportunity of a lifetime to make an eternal difference in the lives of others, but I'll also be glad when she's home again. Because seriously, The Bachelorette and So you think you can dance just aren't the same without her. We're going to have some serious DVR catch up to do next week!