i'm early - its AMAZING

I'm so proud of myself...early to a family blog post. WOOT! WOOT!

Anyhoosers...

I've been completely absorbed so far this semester in Dead Man's Cell Phone. It performed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday a week ago. Thanks to all who were able to attend. And for those of you who weren't able to make it this time around, thanks for your support on the side-lines. Here is a poster of the show.

It was truly a highlight of my directing career. I'd put this one up in the same category as Nunsense! and Assassins. It was really delightful. Lots of great feedback from professors, public members and my peers. And most importantly, I felt really good about it. Now comes the fun part: Analysis and preparing my thesis book.

It should be a little bit of a push but nothing I can't handle. I'm working hard on my other projects.

Fall is always a rather depressing time for me. Especially this year. 2011. 2001 was a highlight year for me because of the bad things that happened that year. I came out and was emotionally abused by unsupportive friends, I got stuck in the never-ending Diary of Anne Frank, Uncle Roger died and many other little things. The body and mind remember these times almost subconsciously and can often tear me down. But I'm adapting and am more prepared for these moments to occur. So far, so good. I'm dealing really well this time around.

Hope you all are finding life to be wonderful. Love to all.

Another Rivers' Ripple

When last we posted it was June.  The hot, hot summer has gone and fall weather is inbound!  :)  This makes Sarah very, very happy.  Fall is a great time to be outdoors.
Olivia turned 10 months old last week.  We are fairly certain she will be walking in the next few weeks.  YIKES!  It is amazing how much she has learned in the past few months--crawling, clapping, feeding herself, looking at books, "dancing", signing "more"...the list is endless.  Two of last Tuesday's accomplishments: 1-figuring out how to climb into Alex's carseat, 2-figuring out how to push the bath drain in to empty the tub.  Olivia and Brisco are beginning to have a fun relationship.  Brisco will entertain her and try to engage her to play with him by squeaking his toy.  Olivia will encourage him to play with her by offering him his toy.  Olivia looks for Brisco and says "da", which probably means "dog" or Brisco.
Sarah continues to watch Alexander 2 days a week, keeps up with the house chores, and tries to avoid the ironing.  She presented on infant/toddler feeding in August for Rainbows and decided to provide some consult services for feeding to Rainbows families.  The goal is 6-8 hours a week, so far it has been less which is fine.  Sarah continues to work one Saturday a month for ViaChristi Rehab and still enjoys it!  In between, she teaches the 2&3 year old Sunday School class, Women's Bible study, and a Praise Box class for G-Force.
Dan has had the itch to play live music more frequently than Threads has allowed and found a band called Bayless.  He has already performed 3 times with them!  Dan still plays on Sunday mornings and has added occasional electric guitar to his repertoire.  His mobile apps are up and running for KWCH and he continues to make revisions to the websites.  :)  Dan's current house project is our backyard lawn.
Be sure to check our blog for more fun stories and pics!  theriverscurrent.blogspot.com

Stacking cups are fun!

Crawling...

Xander and Olivia--good way to start your morning!

Sarah, Olivia, and Dan with Charleston in the background (USS Yorktown to the left).

Olivia--10 Months old.

Brisco in with the toys...

Whirlwind

Big picture... my life can be seen in the following two pictures!

But it sure seems a lot busier than that between the time I wake up and go to sleep at night. Between planning for our wedding and teaching, I don't have much free time. I am in my third year of teaching in Temple, TX where I teach at one middle school and two elementary schools. This year I also started teaching two private students and conducting an orchestra on Wednesday afternoons at Temple College. I'm also still playing violin in the Temple College Orchestra and flute in the Temple College Band.


This Sunday my Varsity Orchestra is performing and All-Region Auditions as well as our Fall Concert are all coming up in October. Now, hopefully you understand the title of this post. Sometimes I feel like I'm just along for the ride :-). Thankfully, I have God cutting a path in front of me. (I'm picturing Him on cross country skis making new tracks in the snow and me following right behind. Believe me, it is much easier to follow than create the tracks.)


James is also keeping busy with work, classes, and private lessons. He is taking a class in ethnomusicology this semester. Oh, and we better not forget football! It takes time to keep up with all of the drama in the Big 12 right now :-). There is no game this weekend, so I think we'll actually have time to go look at rings for James! Better get one of those soon as the wedding is coming! Some days I feel it can't get here soon enough, and other days I feel there is not enough time to finish what needs to be done. More than anything, I am so thankful to all of you that you are willing to make the trip down to Austin to share in this special day! I am so lucky to have a family whose actions truly speak louder than words. And for us cousins (as Kate likes to call us) it all goes back to the love you share and show, Grandma and Grandpa. Thank you.


I love you all!!!
Hannah

2011 State Fair Part 2

Family Blog--State Fair Part 2
Some new sights























All of the 911 items were made out of thousands of small bricks.

A tractor like Granpa Billie use to drive (Grandma’s dad)

And finally our day at the fair with Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa rented a cart and we had a great time, although he was a bit of a wild driver.

Click here to see a You Tube video of Grandpa at the Fair!