The Other Van Gogh In The Family

Only a few days after we received the letter informing us of Jacklyn's art exhibit, we received a letter inviting us to the Leander ISD art exhibit for secondary schools. Reily was one of the artists from Henry Middle School to be showcased. The exhibit was held today at Vista Ridge High School. There were three high schools and six middle schools represented, so there was a lot of art being displayed. There were many different mediums used, everything from pencil sketches to computer-generated art. I was truly impressed by all the wonderful artwork I saw. Reily's art was a pastel piece of a plane flying into the horizon over the ocean. I love it! Notice the blue streaks across the ocean. The plane must be a jet and it's flying really fast and really close to the water. That's what I see. Reily was kind of shy about it and didn't say much, he just walked around and looked at all the other pieces. I'll have to ask him if I'm correct in my observation. Reily's art teacher, Ms. Winston, was there and it was great to talk with her about Reily and the art program at the school. She told us she loves Reily...and who wouldn't! It was great for Jacklyn to be able to talk with Ms. Winston as well, because she will be joining the art club at Henry Middle School next year. I am so proud of Reily and love that he has this wonderful talent!

"Young At Art"

Jacklyn's artwork is being displayed in the Leander ISD elementary art show called "Young At Art". Each elementary school in the district chose artwork from about ten students to display. The artwork is being displayed at the Cedar Park Police Station until Saturday. Last night they held the opening ceremony which gave us the opportunity to see all the art before everyone else and talk with the art teachers. Jacklyn's art that was chosen was a fish drawing and clay sculpture of the fish. The drawing was on display with a photo of the sculpture. Her art teacher, Ms. Kellerman, was there and told us how much she enjoys teaching Jacklyn. Jacklyn did a fantastic job and we are so proud of her!

Easter Sunday And Birthday Monday

I was a little sad this Easter thinking about how the juvenile magic is now gone from the holiday for us. It's been years since we've had an Easter Bunny photo and only Jacklyn wants to dye eggs. There's not even a twinkle of surprise in their eyes when they produce the contents of their baskets to Ron and I on the not- so -early -because- we're- old Easter morning...heavy sigh. On the other hand, what made me so happy this Easter was the fact that my children are older. They're now old enough to really appreciate the deeper magic and meaning of the holiday. Easter serves as such a wonderful reminder of life and rebirth. Watching the colors come back to the backdrops we live in, hearing all the critters coming back to join us and feeling the sun intensify her fertilizing rays are all things that renew not only the place I live in, but they renew my soul. It's something that doesn't ever fail to happen and I am so grateful for that!

Today is my brother's birthday. Today Jim is 39. As most of you know, Jim was diagnosed with cancer back in November. He quickly had surgery to remove the tumor and waited. We all waited through the winter for his scans and tests that would tell us if the cancer had come back. Two weeks ago the day finally came for those scans and tests...cancer free! The feelings of rebirth/renewal/Easter/spring I've had this year have been so great because of Jim. The sights, smells and sounds at this time of year are wonderful, but my brother has served to remind me why it all really matters. How appropriate that his birthday fell the day after Easter! I love you Jim and Happy Birthday!

So, I don't have pictures with the Easter Bunny, or even pictures of Jacklyn dying her eggs. All I have are pictures of the little floral centerpieces I made for the table. However, even though I don't have pictures to show it, my children are old enough to truly understand the blessings of Easter and have paused this year to take in the news of their uncle along with the birds, flowers and warm Texas sun.

Our Visit With Jennifer

This has been such a great week! My sister, Jennifer, came to visit us. While it wasn't nearly long enough, we packed in quite a bit of fun while she was here. We went to San Antonio to visit the Alamo and the River Walk. The weather was beautiful, the food was great and the sights were wonderful. This was my second time visiting the Alamo and I was in as much awe as the first time. Only part of the Alamo is still there and it sits in the middle of downtown San Antonio which is somewhat misleading. You expect something much bigger for what took place there, but as soon as you enter the church you are filled with the enormity of it all. As hard as I try to wrap my mind around it all, I can only imagine so much. For those of you who are interested here's the web site http://www.thealamo.org/. I think the best part for Reily and Jacklyn was their Aunt Jenn buying all three of them cap guns in the gift shop. They had their own battles all throughout the house for the rest of Jenn's stay. It was a lot of fun for Ron and I to watch these battles!

Here's a picture of the front of the church and part of the beautiful grounds.

The River Walk was just as wonderful. We ate lunch there (BBQ of course) and took the boat tour. While not as dramatic as the Alamo, the story of the River Walk is very interesting. It is so pretty there and we had a great time!

We also saw some of the sights here in Austin. We walked around the state capitol, drove down 6th Street, drove over the Pennybacker Bridge and ate lots of yummy Mexican food. We all had the best time and the sadness I feel missing my sister is worth all the great memories we now have. We love you Jenn and please come back soon!

FIRE!

I'm not kidding! This afternoon I was on my computer (downstairs) when Jacky and her friend Maddy run into the room yelling "Reily's computer is on fire". I asked them if they were kidding because I thought they were. I run upstairs as quickly as I can and sure enough, Reily's computer tower is on fire! The computer has see-through plastic on one side so you can see all the components light up with a really cool blue light. It was lit up, but it wasn't blue! I could see a fire had started in two different places. One on the bottom and one on the top. Ron could tell you what exactly was on fire, but to me, it's only the bottom and the top. As Jacky and Maddy are downstairs trying to find the fire extinguisher the fire is getting bigger inside the computer as I am frantically trying to unplug everything. The metal box is also getting really hot! I realize that there isn't enough time for the fire extinguisher because things are starting to melt and flames are starting to find their way out of the tower. I was scared that the carpet and desk would catch on fire. I had a sweatshirt on, so I pulled the sleeves over my hands and pulled the computer into the bathroom. By the time I got there, the smoke alarm was blaring! I got the computer into the tub, pulled the fabric shower curtain down and turned the water on. The bottom fire went out easily, but the top one had melted the plastic and shot up into the air. I screamed, and pushed the computer over. The tub continued to fill with water and the fire was out. Meanwhile, Maddy's mom had called (no one answered) and was outside my front door listening to the smoke alarm. She must have been scared to death! I called a few hours later to see if Maddy was okay because as soon as they left the house, Jacky broke down in tears. Maddy was fine and her mom said she thought it was all rather exciting...thank goodness! Other than a charred computer, a scratched and chipped tub, an awful smell and a daughter that is sure to have nightmares tonight we are all okay. I can't stop thinking about what could have happened under so many different circumstances.





We moved the computer to the backyard to get the smell out of the house. It still smells so bad!