Its been a while..

I can't promise I will be able to stay too long, but I needed to tell you of our adventures...

WOW its been busy.

Last school holidays Brid entered an Eisteddfod - festival for US friends. She performed a Solo she had been working on for some time.

It took quite a while to perfect it because Brid has been en Pointe at the Barre' - using a barre', and not in the centre. Because of her age, she needed to do this solo en pointe..
Brid has moved rapidly with the greatest care of her Ballet teachers, from Ballet flats to Pointe shoes.
This has not been without injury though. Let me explain, as Brid has advanced so quickly, it meant that her muscles and joints needed to catch up.
She performed her Classical Solo to lovely classical piece, which showed her ballet style off beautifully.
Before the performance Brid had the opportunity to warm up and use the dance studio to go through her dance again. This was a very special opportunity that her teachers had given the students. It really showed how much they care for there students. The venue was quite close to our dance studio, so we drove there, got Brid settled and prepared for her solo dance.Miss Kristy had a chat to her and then it was up to Brid.. and some little friends who waited with her..
I only have one picture.. Yes I forgot to take photos. I was so nervous for her that I forgot to take photos. Her ballet teacher, Miss Kristy took a photo..
Her hair was twisted at the and placed in a bun. She had flowers in her hair rather than a tiara or head piece.
Her tutu was redecorated by a friend, it sparkled and shone with the lights of the stage. We nervously waited for her to be announced on stage and then we proudly sat and watched her dance en pointe. I had seen the routine twice, but it wasn't until that evening that I saw her dance to her full potential.
She executed every step and presented herself very well. Her teachers looked around at me when she was finished and stated, "Its the best she has ever danced this routine." They were very happy. I couldn't ask for more. Dermot & I were happy, Her teachers were happy and Brid was happy.
So that an amazing night..
She can't wait to perform again...soon...

NBT Open WEEK...

At the end of each school term, our Ballet school has an open week. We are able to sit and watch our children’s ballet classes.

These are just a few photos of her open week.

Monday night class

Saturday open class

saturday open class

A look for Dad

Ready to close the combination


I thoroughly loved watching Brid and her class. There teachers are amazing...oh and did I say patienr and loving and kind and interested in each student........ 

A humble beginning ........

It was 9am and Dermot was determined to get to the airport early. 'Why' I say.?
He has been caught many times in all those Customs and Immigration lines. I knew we had pre-booked plane seats so I was a more layed back...
After a final check and a clean up of the house- I know a women thing to do, we put our 2 suitcases and 3 carry on bags into the hire car and off we drove, down the highway to Sydney international airport, excited and nervous...and yes we went straight through to 'No mans land' after we checked our bags in. We were in a long queue.! I had packed a couple of cut apples and water so we munched on them as we waited our turn- then it was time to dump the water and the fruit in the bins as we are not allowed to take anything on the planes from Australia.....and say Arriverderci to Australia for a few weeks.
Sitting in our seats we settled for our very very long flight to Rome via a 3 and a half hour stop over in  Hong Kong- at 2am Aussie time.!!! Not Fun, but part of international travel. A sleep- haha in the airport was how we spent our time in Hong Kong Airport- in between hearing the various announcements in both Chinese and English.
So a very weiry little family arrived in Rome. I wanted to freshen up, but before I knew it Dermot had navigated us out of Customs, so  before Brid and I knew it we were meeting the driver who would take us to our apartment. He spoke very little English, but that was Ok its all in the fun of it.
Dermot and I booked everything except the Airline tickets using online booking sites. It was stressful but fun, as we ticked off yet another city or town that we had booked..
We arrived at 7am, so by the time we cleared customs etc it was 8.30am. It was time to acclimatise ourselves. Ok Sunday morning, why am I so tired !!!!!. Our driver literally sped us to our accomodation, which we booked near the Piazza Navona. My favourite part of Rome. We looked outside the windows of the car to see the many ruins scattered through the streets of Rome. We said goodbye and thanked our driver, paid him, and as we were far to early to access our accomodation, we had a long breakfast at the local cafe'. Italian coffee, cakes, hot Chocolate and water, YUM...

 

So tired, but very excited to finally be here..
 

 

As I was familiar with this part of Rome after staying here in 05, with a group of teens and young adults from World Youth Day 05, I convinced Dermot it was OK to take our bags and have a look around. So 2 minutes walk away was The Piazza and I was finally taking my Sweetheart Dermot and our Brid to see it. I was excited to be doing this as a family.  

The gasp from Dermot was worth it all as we turned the corner. A huge square made of cobble stones, a fountain and the people just getting ready for the day, setting up stalls. A church or 2 in view. We took our bags with us and found out when the Sunday Mass times were. The Deacon was a little concerned about our bags but we reassured him and the Priest that  there was not a bomb in our bags and we were staying for Mass. This was there main concern.
Although Mass was in Italian, you know where the pauses are, where to respond- most of time. Where to say Our Father etc, etc.
We thanked the Priest and Deacon for letting us keep our bags in our view, and walked back to gain access to our apartment, along the cobble  stones and dodging the various motorbikes and cars along the way. It was now 12.30.
Now we could relax, have showers and put our feet up for a couple of hours.  

End of an Era

Brid joined the Gilr Guide movement in 2008 after our difficult ordeal that year. It has been a great movement to be involved in.
She has learnt a lot of skills and has been patrol leader for the last year.
She has been able to do many things we could not have done with her.he slept out under the stars at the Zoo.
She has been on walks and camp fires, ttended talks and fundraised for various different charities including Diabetes and the Blind society.
Late last year the Guide movement asked the Girls to Vote to modernise the Promise.
For those who don't know I learnt it as this"
I Promise to do my best, to do my duty to God, to serve the Queen, help other people and to keep the Guide law.

Brids' promise was fairly similar to mine.

They girls were kept up to date and recently there was a flyer she recieved in the mail which upset her..
It said that We were taking God out of the Promise.
Brid was Far from impressed..She was quite at first but I could see she was mulling it all over.

Out of the blue, I should have known it was coming she said " Mum I don't want to go to Guides any more".
I pressed her for why? The day before she brought home a worksheet on the the new Promise. "I have to learn this".
I Am not surprised really. She brings Our Lord into every area of her life, and if He wa to be taken out then she really had no option.. She is 14, she made an informed decision, and I totally respect that decision..
Good on her for standing up for what she believes.
We wrote an email to the Movement and to the Unit explaining our decision. .
The  movements head office were surprised by Brids reaction.
The unit were very sad but understood. Brid has passed into a new phase of her life and as the saying goes. "It was good while it lasted".

Its all about Ballet

This week Brid has been fortunate enough to attend the International Summer School- for Ballet. A dear friend invited her along, and after a few weeks of deliberation, the decision was made. Yes we would go.
Firstly where to stay, easy !!!!. We stayed with our dear friends in Sydney,  Jen and Phil.
So we arrived Sunday evening to share a meal and Sunday evening Mass with our dear Friends.
After a restless nights sleep, we drove to the venue- Mcdonald college, North Strathfield. We needed a little help from the gps and the google maps to get us there.
We arrived, Brid was terribly excited and was itching to dance and meet new friends. She just took the whole experience in. I picked her up late that afternoon, and apart from telling me about her awesome male Jazz teacher, she told me about a couple of girls she met in class.
I was delighted that she could just adapt and chat to new people so easily.

2005.

Today, is Tuesday, and apart from knowing which state these girls live in, she was continuing to connect. She is loving every class and is saying its the highlight so far of  Ballet since she began many years ago .
Brid was adviced last year by the college, on our enrollment, to continue her stretches. This certainly has been beneficial to her, with the long days dancing various disciplines of dance. Classical, Jazz, contemporary, character ......
Apart from the tiredness, her muscles have not terribly sore. She is however, ravenous on the 35 minute car ride home though. Thank goodness, I have had a little snack to give her.

2011

So she is still full of beans and loving every minute of her experience.

So what am I doing on these days. Well they are long days for me, but I spent many hours in St Marys cathedral, Sydney on Monday, Coffee and shopping with a dear friend. Washing Ballet clothes and pacing ourselves as far as sleep is concerned. This is part of my job this week as well.
Our hosts are looking after us so very well and I am really trying to help out in return for there gracious generosity.

2011.

On Friday, Dermot will return- (He drove down with us, stayed overnight, but called back with a work issue)-  to see a wonderful Ballet dancer and to see Brid and Chantelle dance in there classes Saturday....

Girls Retreat..

It was quite a weekend..
We were send out an invitation to this weekend some time ago. It was just what we have been looking for. Teens 13 to 18 were called to a weekend of their journey through teenage hood.
The weekend arrived. There were 9 girls and 2 mums to stay at a homeschool mums home.
She wasn't able to be present, but she felt committed and comfortable to leave us the hospitality of her home. Thank you so much.  Her Son stayed to help us, as we needed.
We arrived a little late, thanks to the long weekend traffic. But Thanks to God we arrived safely.
Now reality check. 9 girls all in the same room. !!! oh my, I was taken aback- me the control freak..
'Ok Leanne its Ok', I said to myself.  I would leave that worry for another time.
There were people to meet and say hello to.
We had the Religious Sisters of Mercy already and waiting for us to arrive. Mums from Homeschool camp to say hello to and a quick catch up with the ones I knew.
The Sisters shared a meal with us all, and took the Girls straight into the comfy loungeroom to watch Little Women. The girls were asked to reflect on this in there lives. They were asked to observe silence and enjoy a good nights rest. .....

bedtime...

Well, I must say, the sleep and rest didn't happen.
the girls were very excited. Some of them don't see each other for many months. So it was a time to come together as young women, but as friends and have a special weekend together.
It also happened to be the weekend of St Therese's feast day, so she was especially central in Brids and my day.
The girls were up very early, leaving lots of time to get them ready for the day. I made sure they were ready, so Sarah could take the girls early to the Sisters residence by train. We were up so early we had mostly prepared the evening meal, so I was left to finish as much as I could.
I myself went off to meet up with friends for the day. But beforehand, I found a lovely church close to were we were staying to begin celebrating St Therese of Liseux and her feast. I was delighted to find that Adoration and Benediction were offered after Mass. What a way to begin my day.
I prayed for the girls and the Sisters. I hoped they were having an inspiring and lovely day together.

My day was filled with news from a family I only see at homeschool camp. It was a great day, ending all too soon.
On arrival  'home', I chatted and waited for the girls to arrive as we completed the cooking of our meal. The girls arrived with many wonderful stories. They celebrated Mass on arrival, were able to attend Confession, Adoration and Benediction were offered later in the day. So Talks, meals, games so much to fit in, and the girls were not shy to tell us about there day. I asked them as we ate our evening meal together to share one thing each they enjoyed.

that photography course came in handy

After dinner the decision was unanimous, Everafter- the movie. There was a lovely atmosphere that evening as each of the girls settled in to watch and explain parts of the movie that way not have been understood by others.

Volleyball

All to son it was bedtime,  and the clocks were due to change to Daylight saving time. Therefore, 1 less hours sleep. We explained this to the girls. 'oh no'..they said. They hurried to get organised and into bed. This time they slept much better, awaking early again, as we had another day with the Sisters planned. This time we were to take them in by car. All the girls gear had to be fitted into our 2 cars. Joy oh Joy, that was  a challenge, but achievable. Did I tell you it was Raining- not sprinkling but raining..It was a 25 min trip, and I was following Sarahs' Husband this time. I was unfamiliar with the roads, but we managed to follow with no wrong turns. yah!!
This time we were able to attend Mass with the girls at the Church next door to the Convent. Beautiful Mass and a Priest so reverent to The Eucharist.
We had been invited to lunch, so Sarah and her husband there little children and myself occupied ourselves drinking coffee and chatting in a coffee shop until the hour arrived.

All the girls at the Sisters

It was a very Blessed weekend. The girls really enjoyed there time together and with the Sisters. They will remember this weekend for a very long time. Thank you so much Sr Moira and your Sisters.



    

Homeschool resource / book meme:

How Blessed am I. I was tagged twice within a day by two lovely friends Michelle & Erin.So here I go...

 1.One homeschool book you have enjoyed.
There have been many books I have enjoyed. ....  

Suzie Andres- A Little Way of Homeschooling: and then her other book  Homeschooling with gentleness.... Thank you Sue and Leonie for lending me these books. Now I really would like to have these books as resources.

A Mothers Rule of life.. holly Pierlot. Thanks Tricia for lending me this one, all those many years ago.  

2. One book/ resource I wouldn’t be without.
Now thats a hard one..
My Blogging Friends
Home Ed community
Google search.
4 real community  and on this email list group

3. One resource you wish you never purchased
I would say the general Science Apologia. I got rid of it quick smart.
Well trained mind was a necessary read to decide I wasn’t that type of teacher and it  wouldn’t suit our learning style.

 4 One resource you enjoyed last year
Geography- Physical GeographyBrenda Runkle. I love Geography, and we have always looked at Geography but this book took us into a lot more depth. Brid thoroughly enjoyed it.

 5 One resource you will be using next year.
Now thats too hard.
The library, book depository if they are considered resources. Of course they are

Elizabeth Foss'- Literature for Young ladies ideas. We are really enjoying this collection of books.

6 One resource you would like to purchase.
A year with a Novel. We have seen it, We have it to look at. So I have touched and looked at the content. But now will we really use it to its potential.?? Brid really likes it.
An ipad and a ebook reader- its on the list.

7 One resource you wish existed.
I like  Erins suggestion a Junior Didache’. 

But for me.. its not until I see a need that I realise we do need it. Like the list of books for Women of History unit we are doing.

 8 One homeschool catalogue you enjoy reading?

I could say Bethlehem books. – but I rarely use homeschool resources catalogues because my resources are my like minded friends, and brainstorming with them.


9 one homeschool website you use regularly.
Our Blogs
Our hunter home ed board.
4 real learning community.
Occasionally Aussie homeschool board

10 Tag 6 other homeschoolers.
Leonie
Gae
Tricia
Anne
Joyfilled families
benmakesten
Marina

I would really love to read your responses. Come join in the fun.....