An Amazing R-L Wrestling Season

I could (and should) write the world's longest blog post about the Ridgeview-Lexington wrestling season that just ended, but ain't nobody got time for that. Sorry.  I will just say that it was pretty amazing! 

Some highlights:

- 1st time since the team started 6 years ago that there was a full roster!

- As a TEAM it was a winning season, with far more dual meets wins than losses!

- REGIONAL TEAM CHAMPS!

- NINE wrestlers in the championship round at Regionals!

- SIX wrestlers competed at Sectionals! 

- Caeden had a wonderful winning season! He got 4th at Regionals in a very tough 160 weight class and ended up getting to wrestle at Sectionals!

- SECTIONAL TEAM CHAMPS!

- 3 wrestlers advanced to individual state!

- Going to TEAM STATE!!!

So much fun, improvement, goal-reaching, learning, teamwork, and achievement to be proud of!

Survival

 We all survived the first week of school! It was different, painful, weird. But it was also necessary, empowering, and accomplished. 

So many schools in Illinois have given in and decided to go strictly online, but we are fortunate that we get to go in person. 

Here's a another bulletin board in my classroom that features more than 50 quotes about how music helps us heal.

I used old (only songs that were incomplete) sheet music I had as a background.

The girls put together most of this board. I cut out the sparkly letters and drew the letters for 'YOU,' but they did everything else.  Annah put up the die cut music notes that are the last 2 phrases of the school alma mater. ("All your sons and daughters ever shall be true to the diamond in the prairie--the silver and the blue."

I really want my students to know that their music does belong to them. A teacher can teach them, but they are the ones who have the talent, who work to increase their skills, and who use their voices to create the music.  It belongs to them, and no one can take that away from them. 

I started with teacher in-service days Monday 8/17, and the first two were forced online at the last second because someone who had been in the building had been exposed to someone with Covid19 and the school had to be deep cleaned. 

The in-service days were great, and helped me a lot. I thought it was awesome when our elementary principal put this quote on the screen at the beginning of our first in-service day.

My office has been painted, and I've made it look as different as possible from how it looked before. It's still a work in progress, but it is functional enough for now.

I need something really big and great to cover the door!

The elementary classes are cohorting, and I will travel to them. This is my classroom-on-a-cart!

It's actually a desk on wheels, and I probably won't take it with me every day if I can get away with just using a backpack. But it allows me to have speakers and play songs on the keyboard. 

The girls stopped at the Dollar Tree and got me the colored containers for each class.

I also have my own school website now.

We went on a walk around town the night before everyone started school.

We started Friday 8/21. Jeremy moved Annah in at SIUe that same day, and she started classes (both in-person and online) Monday 8/24.

Jeremy is still working from home, so he took our first-day-of-school pictures.

SENIOR!

Sophomore!

We go together!

Every morning before we go to school, I have to complete an online self-certifying wellness check for the kids and myself.

 The staff has been so supportive and encouraging of me.  I received these beautiful flowers from the elementary guidance counselor on the first day of school. 

It has been an uber emotional week. I’m exhausted in every way, and went to bed at 7:30 a couple nights this week. (Hey, I haven't worked full time in 19 years!!) 

The disappointments continue to pile up. But! We continue to hang onto Jesus. Good things and blessings are in the mix too. I will continue to fight to focus on those things...

Mr. M taking a moment after school to show Caeden how to re-string a guitar I found in the music library.

Annah checking in to tell us how much she loves it at SIUe...

The art teacher and I with our classroom carts--and our photo-bombers in the elementary office!  Haha!

Encouraging emails from our Principals and Superintendent, and an anonymous donor providing lunch from Subway for the entire staff!

There are blessings in there. We will be thankful.

Every weekend since mid-May, Jeremy has driven to and from our parents' places in Indiana regardless of whether or not the girls have switched places watching their cousins. He has been working in his parents' yard, mowing, killing weeds, cutting up fallen trees, and cleaning brush and such. He has bought a chain saw and enjoyed his time outside working. Here's a little before and part-way-through of one area he's been clearing.

He has also enjoyed getting to spend time with his fellow "firebeards."

We busted out the Wii Just Dance 4 one night this week and Sylvia, Caeden, Jeremy and I had a little dance party. We also laughed a lot!!! 

Annah got to help Tessa give Luna her first bath!

I can't even explain how incredibly thankful I am that Annah and Sylvia are getting to spend so much of this summer with our family in Indiana. 

Meanwhile, back at home, this kid has many "vibes..."

20 years

It's our TWENTIETH wedding anniversary today! Clearly, we are not on some tropical getaway relaxing in the sunshine to celebrate. But, to me, being at home together with my dear husband and children is even better. I am so in love with all of them, and so grateful for the life God has given us. It is not "perfect" in the eyes of other people, but the Lord has blessed us in more ways than I could even try to name.

Obviously, we spent the day at home.

My brother texted us this...

Jeremy worked [from home] all day. I made us grilled cheese for lunch. 

We made and kept our pact not to buy each other gifts. We are getting a water softener next week.

There was silliness...

This evening, he grilled some fantastic ribeyes, and the girls made a peach cobbler and we all had a lovely dinner together. We played Tenzi and hung out in the living room. It was a great day. Lots of love and time together with those we love most. Thank you, Jesus.

 Today we watched the Anikin-turned-to-the-dark-side-and-killed-younglings-and-is-cut-in-half-and-burning-on-the-side-of-a-hill Star Warms movie. It's so sad and dark.  

Annah eats all the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms, and she has no shame about it. I personally don't care because marshmallows are disgusting--especially rock hard ones in cereal--but everyone else in the house is annoyed.  I think it's funny!

I think this is funny too!

This afternoon, in his daily COVID19 public address to the state, our governor officially announced that Illinois schools will remain closed and classes online for the rest of the school year.  While we assumed this was coming, the fact that it was put off and we were given false hope for the last several weeks made it more difficult to take.

We have a wonderful new superintendent this year, and he sent out a voice message and this letter to our entire district:

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It is difficult to process all of this.  For me personally, only minor inconveniences:

 *I am not able to work as a substitute teacher. I was supposed to cover a maternity leave teaching HS and JH health from 4/24 through the end of the school year, but now that classes are online the teacher will cover it during her leave (God bless her, with a new baby!)  

*I was also hired in January as the Theatre Club Sponsor for the high school, which includes directing the annual Variety Show...which is now a "no-go."

*I don't know whether or not to even bother planning to direct a fall play.

For Caeden, I think he feels that he will have opportunities to do all the things later, since he is a freshman.  But, he is struggling with focusing on his school work online.  And he really, really misses his friends.  He is thankful for Zoom classes, Fortnite with his boys, and SnapChat to keep him in touch with some people besides the ones in our house! 

Sylvia, on the other hand is missing out on a lot.  This most recent announcement was the straw that really broke the camel's back for her.  She has felt like she couldn't grieve things she's missing out on because she's not a senior, but today she did break down and cry, finally.  

She has (or will) missed out or can't move forward on:

*Performing in Guys and Dolls

*Going to Sectionals with the WYSE team

*Spring concert for choir, vocal jazz, band

*Being part of the induction ceremony for National Honor Society

*Junior Prom and AfterProm

*A chance to perform in the variety show

*Going on college visits

*Taking the SAT and ACT

*Walking as Honor Guard for commencement

*Going back to Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp this summer (closed for the year)

*And possibly the most devastating is that she won't get to perform the Haydn cello concerto as the featured Howard Rye soloist competition winner with the Bloomington Normal Youth Symphony this spring.  It is a really big deal, and we are all really sad for her and pray she will be able to compete again next year. 

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Although the announcement today doesn't change anything specific for Jeremy or Annah, they are both dealing with loss too.

It has been really hard for Jeremy to remain at home.  Not that he doesn't like being at home, but in his job, he thrives on the social interaction with others.  He was explaining to the kids the other day that it's not that he loves the content of his job, but it's the relationships and interactions with others that makes it enjoyable for him.

He also feels that way about going to the gym.  It is his sanctuary! He has cleaned the old weight benches in the basement and is using those every morning, but not having the social interaction at the gym is difficult for him.

Poor dear Annah is just really struggling to get through her coursework online.  Her theology and philosophy honors course is difficult and very time consuming for her. Music is not really something that works online. 

She is working with SIUe on her transfer for the fall and has an advising appointment to schedule classes next week.  However, she is really worried that the university will have to remain online even in the fall and it won't be worth it for her. Then when she thinks about that, she worries that music will be cut from schools for the near and foreseeable future, and getting a degree in music education would be fruitless.  She is very overwhelmed on a constant basis right now, and I am praying hard for her.

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Dealing with so many unknowns right now is so difficult.  Everyone is facing challenges.  People are getting angry.  Some are angry at the government.  Some are angry at the media.  Some are angry at protestors who are angry at the government. 

I am not angry. I am overwhelmed at times.  But I know there is only one person who holds the real truth. So I will look to Him.

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.

 No one can come to the Father except through me. 

- John 14:6 NLT

New snapchat filter...

Caeden is always dancing.

I asked Jeremy to get me a pair of bluetooth headphones, and Caeden wanted to try them out.

Yesterday, Sylvia took an old pair of Jeremy's jeans and made them fit her, then painted and doodled on them!

Jeremy bought 3 new puzzles at Meijer, and Annah finished one today!

Our friend Tracie sent me some photos of books she was giving away, and I chose some I thought our family might enjoy.  JEREMY IS READING FOR THE FUN OF IT!!!  It has been YEARS since I've seen him enjoy a book for relaxation, and it makes me so happy!