Swim team, summer, vacation...

Currently Reading The Killer Angels By Michael Shaara see related

Alrighty, time for an update.  Where to start, where to start. 

Divisionals on Saturday was anything but pleasing, for me.  In both my events (IM [a lap of fly, back, breaststroke, and free] and freestyle), I was seeded first in my heat, but I was in the slower of two heats.  In IM, I was faster than the next fastest girl I was racing by 5 whole seconds!  Therefore, I had no one to race -- nobody to push me, which is when I always swim my best.  I came in seventh in the division in both of my events, missing a plaque in each by one place.  Last year, at fifteen, I plaqued in both events, and placed in the top three in one.  This year, at sixteen, I didn't plaque in either.  Disappointing, but humbling.  At the awards ceremony, I received the Coach's award, which is awarded to someone who exemplifies an all-around good attitude, conduct, and is also a good swimmer, so I guess that's the more important award.

I'm still teaching piano lessons, and that's going well.  The kids are alot of fun, and I enjoy it.  Teaching is so rewarding, like teaching a child to read and watching the light bulbs go on.  =)  We also got our piano tuned, so I'm far more anxious to play than I was BEFORE it was tuned!  (Let's just say, it had been a while.)  My parents are in the midst of planning our kitchen and bathroom remodeling.  They have all the cabinets ordered, and the sink and faucet have arrived.  All the actual work will begin sometime AFTER evaluation season is over.  Layna is at dance intensive every day from about 10 'til 6, so the house is pretty quiet.  Today, Logan went with a friend to watch the Redskins practice for his friend's birthday.

It's been an interesting week.  Jerra is making remarkable improvements; her very life is a miracle, I am still in awe of the dramatic miracle God worked in her.  Tommy Schumaker, a little five year-old who has had many open-heart surgeries, had his mechanical valve close off and was recommended for transplant.  However, he is not a candidate by the transplant standards, so I don't know what can be done.  Baby Will, Christian and Matthew all passed away, this weekend.  So much pain, so much hurt.  It's an element of peace to know that the grieving families have Christ, and that they will be held, but it's absolutely heart-wrenching to see those who don't have that comfort in such hopeless pain.  It's been a week of rejoicing, crying, praying without ceasing (almost literally), frustration, questions, and so much more.  But it's also been one that's brought me closer to Him and made me freshly aware of His grace, which makes all emotions worthwhile.

I'm plugging away at the schoolwork.  For science, in order to finish within a timely manner, I'm doing a unit each day.  Each unit is meant to be one week.  Yesterday, I did four units and was thrilled with myself.  Today, however, I negated that valiant effort, and only succeeded in completing one and half.  I now have three math lessons to catch up on, ugh! 

I'm considering changing around my xanga.  See my LJ?  No time for that now, however.  Maybe later.

I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, on Saturday.  It was quite entertaining, if I do say so.  I'm anxious for it to come out on video.
"Do you want to know our names?"  "What difference would it make?"
"Would you stop mumbling, I can't understand a word you say." 
"MUMBLER!"
"Everything in here is eatable!  Even I'm eatable!  But that, my children, would be canibalism, which is frowned upon in most societies."

Our vacation is all planned for September.  Should be good -- a week at the beach.  If nothing else, it will be good to just get away and relax.  I feel like that is one thing my summer has definitely lacked!  There was so much more I had planned to write, but I'm not remembering it all, at the moment.  I'll edit this post when (if) I do.  Please take a look at my post about the Torres issue, below, and let me know what you think.  (I'm bumping it, to make it easier to find.)

“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own,’ or ‘real’ life.  The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life—the life God is sending one day by day; what one calls one’s ‘real life’ is a phantom of one’s own imagination.  This at least is what I see at moments of insight: but it’s hard to remember it all the time.”

—The Letters of C. S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves, quoted in The Quotable Lewis