Carthage Scholarship Competition

(click on banner to see the beautiful Carthage campus on Lake Michigan) We're back from the land of snow and cold. Drew was a finalist in the Carthage College Lincoln Scholarship Program this weekend, so he and I headed to snowy Kenosha, WI on Fri/Sat for the activities.

We left on Fri for the 4 hr drive and got there in time to check into the hotel and explore a bit. Then on Fri night the college hosted a welcome reception for the finalists at our hotel, so we spent 2 hours there talking to faculty and admission staff, as well as some current students. Sat morning we were up early and off to campus at 7am for the day's events. We checked in and had a welcome session from the Carthage President, and they divided the finalists up into 3 groups for the competition, which consisted of a 50 minute timed essay writing on a topic revealed at that time (which wasn't as bad as Drew thought it could be), and then he had a 20 minute personal interview with 2 faculty members. He was happy to learn that one of his interviewers was head of the Education Dept, and they had a great conversation about why he wants to teach music instead of use his musical talents in a performance role. He felt the interview went very well, and that's all you can hope for!

While he was doing all of that, I sat through parent sessions telling me what essay question was being sprung on the finalists, what the interviews would be like and exactly what they are looking for in the students they will choose as the winners. There is a lot at stake for the kids, because the winners receive full tuition scholarships for 4 years ... which is worth a six-figure dollar amount, total.

Just for participating in the competition, Drew received $4000 in scholarship money to be used over his 4 years at Carthage, should he end up there and not be a recipient of one of the large awards.

After the competition they brought the kids and parents back together for lunch, and then we dashed off for 1pm music department activities. All music majors have to pass a music theory test to be accepted into the dept, so he was able to get that out of the way. Then we waited for his turn at a vocal audition, which is also worth a nice amount of scholarship dollars. The full tuition scholarship is much more of a long shot than these music dept dollars ... so this was very important ... and it was his first chance to sing in front of the music dept chair and faculty. It went very well, and they told him they really want him to come and be part of their dept.

Then we hit the road about 4pm and it took us 4.5 hours to drive through some snow, strong winds and marginal road conditions to get back to Galesburg, where Mitch and the kids were staying for TJ's basketball tourney. TJ had 3 games yesterday ... they won 2 and were eliminated in the 3rd game, so it was all free time by the time I got there. The kids were in the pool and having a great time when we arrived, and we hung out for a bit this morning and got back to Tremont about Noon. So the laundry is going and I'm playing catch up to get everyone ready for work and school tomorrow!

Next weekend Drew is a finalist in a similar competition at Eureka College, with the winning students also receiving full tuition scholarships. We are so proud that his background put him in these competitions, and happy that he just had the opportunity to interact with other students and faculty ... because at one of these schools, they will be his classmates and professors in just six short months!

I'm including a slide show of some scenes we found in Lake Geneva, WI when we made a pit stop on the way to Kenosha ... we found the ice fishing and vehicles on the frozen lake quite interesting. Plus there was an area with some really neat snow sculptures from a recent festival. The last pic is of Lake Michigan from a building on campus ... it was amazing to see the 10-15' high glaciers of ice that have built up on the beaches of Carthage College! Kenosha received about 14 inches of snow just last Wed, so we saw many snowpiles taller than our car and much higher than that. It gave Drew a good taste of what going a few hours North for college might bring! HA

IMEA Honors Chorus

(click photo for larger version) We were proud to see Drew perform this afternoon with the IMEA Honors Chorus, a group of approximately the top 2% of high school voices in the State of Illinois. The kids audition in a district format, then move on to a district music festival, and a small percentage of the thousands of kids who audition get a chance to take part in the 3-day Illinois Music Educators Association conference, which is capped off with this concert.

Three groups participate in the event ... and they are all seated on the floor of a large arena ... the Honors Chorus, Honors Band, and Honors Orchestra. It's hard to imagine that these are all high school juniors and seniors when you hear the level of talent and skill these kids have vocally or with their chosen instruments. Here's a slide show of some of the performances. Of course you can't spot Drew in the shots taken from afar, but in the more zoomed in shots, he's on the left side about 5 rows down from the top, burgundy choir robe, 2nd from the end and next to a girl in a light blue robe ...

and a video of the Honors Chorus peforming one of their songs ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT0AnQr_vbA

and a video of the three groups peforming "America the Beautiful" in unison. Quite a feat with probably almost 500 kids on the floor in three different performing groups!

Snow Day!

We got a surprise snow day today! When we went to bed, we were forecast for 4-6 inches of snow, so that would normally not be enough to call off school in this area. But then we woke up to this ...

So a snow day it was! Mitch spent a lot of time shoveling and only got about 1/3 of the driveway cleared. He went on to work about 7am and had an interesting trek to work, but made it fine. Drew is at a hotel in Peoria from yesterday through Saturday for the Honors Chorus activities, so he missed the snow day opportunity but is having a great time with all the kids, I'm sure!

The kids and I made some cookies and then they played in the snow for a bit. It was really too deep for them to walk around the house and sled down the hill, so they spent most time right off the cleared driveway. The neighbor took them on a quick sled ride behind his four-wheeler, so the day so far has been a huge success for them! HA

Enjoy the slide show of their day!

Basketball & More Birthday!

TJ had two games this weekend and we took in a Tremont HS game also on Sat. He had a good game Sunday and scored 8 points, so he was a happy camper. (click picture to see a larger version)
Saturday night we did our favorite Mexican restaurant and Abby especially loves it because they clap and sing for birthdays, plus you get a sombrero and ice cream. She looked a bit startled when they sang to her, but she was all smiles about it afterwards!

The kids had fun and it was a good weekend. The weather gave us a bit of a break and it has been nice to be out of the deep freeze the past 2 days. Almost 50 today, and I think warmer tomorrow. Makes me want Spring to hurry up!

Happy 5th Birthday, Abby!

Abby had a very fun day becoming a 5 year old. She woke up this morning to find that Drew had bought her a fun purple Dora chair, so she watched her regular morning shows (Elmo and Curious George) and then we headed out to celebrate with her friends at school. We took cupcakes for her to share with her class. In the pics with the cake, she is wearing the birthday crown that she made at school today, and wore all day and all evening!

After we got home it was time to decorate that Hello Kitty cake ... and I think it turned out pretty good, considering mom is not at all artsy or crafty! We sang Happy Birthday and she blew the candles out multiple times (her favorite birthday activity) ... but we were all too full from dinner to have cake, and Drew wasn't home from choir practice yet! So I think the cake is going to be a Friday night treat.

Today I have watched my baby girl reach one of those age milestones ... to me, turning 5 is crossing that threshhold from early childhood into becoming a big girl. So hard to imagine, but it has been fun and rewarding to watch her grow. My heart is also with a family on the other side of the world, that for reasons that will probably never be known to us, did not have the privilege to watch this beautiful child grow and blossom. But they will always be part of Abby, and always in my heart as well.

Happy Birthday Abigail Kui Yan!!

Last day as a 4 year old!

At school today, for part of their "Around the World" pre-k unit, it was China day! The teacher told me on Monday that when she reviewed the week's plan and told the kids which country they would discuss each day, Abby was VERY excited to hear they were going to talk about China! She told the teacher "I was BORN in China!" and I was happy to hear that she feels proud about that at this young age. So the teacher asked if we might have some things to bring in and share ... and Abby was thrilled to take a special children's book about Chinese New Year, a bracelet and tote bag from China, a CD of the "Twelve Girls Band" and her Ling doll that speaks and counts in Mandarin. She also took one of her special silk dresses from China (Qi Pao) and they let her wear it all afternoon (after nap, snack and painting projects! HA)

After mommy cleaned up dinner, it was time to get serious about making a birthday cake for the big day tomorrow! Abby is soooooo excited to be turning 5. She knows that she has to be 5 to go to school, and I know she's going to drive me crazy now asking "when-when-when" she can go after tomorrow and she's 5! It is going to be a long 7 months til school starts in August ... but we do register her for kindergarten in just three weeks. EEGADS!

The birthday princess is tucked in and ready for her big day. I'm sure we will have lots of pics to share ... not exactly sure when the festivities are going to happen tomorrow since Drew goes straight from school to work to choir practice on Thurs nights and doesn't get home until about 8:30pm, and TJ has bball practice tomorrow night as well. Guess the princess will be up for a little two-on-one pampering until the bro's get home to help celebrate. Or we can always have cake Fri! :-)

Basketball on the Brain!

Basketball has ruled our world this week for some reason! On Wed night, Mitch and TJ went to the Bradley University game, and TJ loved his first taste of college bball. On Fri night, Mitch and TJ took in the Tremont HS game, and Drew played with pep band and sang the National Anthem with a group of Madrigal Singers.

Saturday afternoon we were off to Pekin for TJ's 4th grade traveling team game, and Sat night Mitch and I went to the Bradley basketball game and had our first "date night" out in a long, long time! Today we worked the concession stand prior to TJ's 4th grade game against Morton, and then watched TJ play and score a couple of baskets. Now it's time to relax and enjoy the fire and what's left of this cold, cold weekend!

Abby's ready for her big bday on Thursday, and we're counting down the days. Watch for some bday pics to come in a few days!

Trip Blog is Complete!

Four years ago today we arrived home with Abby ... and had a wonderful and emotional reunion with friends and family at the airport. I have posted the final entry of the trip to our trip blog,

http://our-beautiful-sunflower.blogspot.com/

It was fun to read each days posts and relive the special memories of the trip. I do look at the world differently now after being in China and walking the halls of Zhuzhou Children's Social Welfare Institute. It's easy to get caught up in our life activities here and think of other things ... but I will never forget the trip and our experiences.

Next week Abby will celebrate her 5th birthday, and in just a few weeks it's time to register her for kindergarten. Hard to believe how the time flies!

China Trip Blog

Since we are in "anniversary week" of our trip to China, I decided to do something tonight I have always wanted to do ... and that is convert my daily posts from the trip from our original Yahoo Group to a new blog. I have moved the posts up through Jan 8, 2004 to this blog ...

http://our-beautiful-sunflower.blogspot.com/

and will add another day's trip journal entry each day until I have all the trip posts updated. I am also adding a favorite "picture of the day" because I just don't have time to do a slide show for each day!

So follow along as I review the daily entries and enjoy our trip (again)!

Four Years Ago, in a Changsha Hotel ...

Four years ago today, we met our baby girl. It was an amazing experience, and the crowning moment of a journey filled with anticipation and even some frustrations as we waited. But finally our baby girl was here, and the memory of waiting was gone.

We arrived at the Grand Sun City Hotel in Changsha, Hunan and did some shopping at a local grocery store across from the hotel. Then we waited, and finally the phone rang. It was Echo, our facilitator, and she said the babies were getting close to the hotel and we could go to the lobby and watch them enter, but let them come up to our floor on the elevator and we would meet them upstairs. Mitch saw the van pull up in front of the hotel, and the cameras of our travel group started rolling. The babies and nannies hurried past us in the hotel lobby, and we followed up in a separate elevator car. The doors opened, and our girls were before us. It was kind of chaotic, and one of the nannies looked at Mitch and said, "Kui Yan?" and he said yes, and she placed Abby in his arms. Abby was not happy about that, HA. So I took her in my arms and she settled down a bit. There is actually a picture of this! Mitch took about the only picture he has taken in the last 20 years of that moment.

Once we got to the room, she settled in pretty well ... and daddy became her favorite in China. It wasn't until after we arrived home that she learned to love her mommy as well, but you wouldn't know that today.

The last picture in the slide show is of Abby in that same hot pink marshmellow suit that she arrived in ... but she has grown a bit! :-)

Happy Family Day, Princess Kui Yan!