Home Schooling

1. Listening to inspiring music while I work (Music Appreciation)
2. Cuddling up on the couch with school as the storm rages outside
3. Playing outside all day long in spring and fall (P.E.)
4. Pretending the floor of the whole house was lava
5. Making up ‘recipes’ for lunch
6. Practicing piano (Music)
7. Rocking out to 50s music while cleaning the house (Domestic Studies)
8. Going to Disney World FIFTEEN times (can I say Field Trip…sssss?)
9. Celebrating your birthday (School holiday)
10. Jumping off your sisters’ four poster bed because they promised you if they sprinkled fairy dust (i.e. dust from the window sill) over you, you could fly
11. Cutting off your hair because you were in a fiery passion while pretending to be Jo from Little Women and “you needed the money”
12. Watching Mr. Rodger’s at 11:30 and knowing when it was over it was lunch time
13. Writing secret languages just for you and a sister
14. Thinking you were digging to China when in reality you were messing up the horizontal levelness of the back stairs for life
15. Making mud pies just the right consistency
16. Climbing the mast of a ship (or the trunk of a tree, whatever)
17. Weaving May-Day baskets, and leaving them on the doorsteps of unsuspecting neighbors
18. Naming a street, and putting it on the map (zoomed in times a million)
19. Taking snow-days even though there was no need
20. Taking nice-days because they were…nice
21. Cleaning out the fridge, a science lesson in mold
22. Taking cleaning days in spring to clean the house
23. Running in the back pasture with your arms stretched wide, simply believing you could fly
24. Hearing you siblings run around the house yelling and screaming, and still be able to do your school
25. Yelling at your little siblings thinking that will make them understand long division
26. Singing at the top of your lungs to an unwilling audience
27. Playing ‘college dorm’ with your sister
28. Having your little brother be able to out spell you any day of the week
29. Watching your big sisters’ Algebra tapes and wondering what in the world
30. Living
31. Loving
32. Laughing
33. Wailing
34. Whining
35. Wacking
36. Evaluating Equations
37. Reading, reading, reading
38. Conquering imaginary nations
39. Sword fighting with butter knives
40. Experiencing cave life at the end of a dark hallway, complete with blankets, flashlights, and snacks
41. Traveling the Oregon Trail with bunk-beds for wagons
42. Collecting American Girl dolls and accessories
43. Holding an American Girl doll club for a record three weeks
44. Joining Keepers at Home, and having secret sisters
45. Picking up pinecones from the front yard, and getting paid
46. Getting blown away in your house boat (i.e. the front porch) on really windy days
47. Escaping to foreign lands via book (no passports necessary, merely a place to sit)
48. Being a part of Family Theatre in the good old days
49. Doing everything a certain older sister did (pure peer pressure guys)
50. Living, breathing, worshiping, praising, loving, admiring the Lord, God most high!

I am going to preface this story by telling you that I have a 50% hearing loss in my right ear. My left ear, I am told, is perfect. In fact, my left ear probably hears better than any of you hear with both ears. That being said it is this imbalance in the abilities of my ears to hear that causes me to be unable to tell where a sound is coming from.
We discovered this when I was little, I guess about five or six. Mom would be calling me from some place in the house and I would be running around searching for her frantically. It always seemed like it took me hours to find her, when in reality I'm sure it was more like minutes, or seconds. As you may or may not be able to imagine it was all very scary for someone that small. The whole time I was looking I would be yelling, "I'm coming! I'm coming!" Mom took me for my check up (maybe it was the 5 year old check up, or the six year old, I don't know, one of the standard ones.) and our pediatrician told us to see a hearing specialist.
Since that time I have figured out how to logically place where someone calling my name would be. Simple things like if the T.V.'s on they're probably in the living room, or the blow dryer's running so they're probably in the bathroom, or the pipes are running which means they're in Mom and Dad's bathroom. Or I just saw them two seconds ago they said they were going to take care of the laundry, laundry room. I saw them walk around behind me. All very simple reasoning devices, so simple I don't even realize I'm doing it anymore. The whole thing could take place in a split second and I know where to turn to look, or head to in order to find the speaker.
(This is the place where I begin my story) One afternoon I was in my room reading. It was a very good book (Twilight), consequently I was totally immersed in what I was doing and had no idea what was going on around me. (I do this quite frequently when reading. The real fades away into oblivion, and the unreal becomes real.) All of the sudden I heard my Mom's voice calling for me, and the 'real' slammed back into focus. I jumped up with a start, and ran out of the room. Only to pull up short with the realization that I had no clue where to find her. My heart leaped, and than began to race. THIS had not happened to me since I was seven. I started to begin the frantic search when...(picture a light bulb blinking on over my head). Du-uh! "Mom where are you?"
"In my bedroom."
The whole thing took place in a matter of seconds, but it was enough to make me pause and think. Maybe I should start learning sign-language NOW.

I am now several labs/weeks into my Principles of Chemistry lab, and am loving every minute of it. I have made two A's and B thus far, and am very pleased. I have also discovered that teachers are more likely to be easy on the sweet innocent looking little girl than the boy. You say "how do you know?"
Well we were doing a lab requiring crucibles (a small porcelain 'bowl' with a porcelain cover). During the course of this lab several crucibles (about ten, no joke) were broken. Our professor understandably was getting more and more frustrated. He finally told us that the next person to break a crucible was going to get points taken off.
The next week we were doing another lab involving crucibles. This time I broke ours (My partner's and mine) while my partner had left the room. I didn't know what to do; tell the professor now, or wait until my lab partner show'd up again and ask him to tell. I took so long deciding however, that my partner came back before I was quite decided. So I went ahead and asked him. He told me to tell Dr. G because I looked more innocent. I thought "Ri-ight." However, if he didn't want to do what I knew I should do anyway than that was more than just fine.
So I went over to our professor, Dr. G , and told him what had happened. He asked me to show him where the mess was, so I did. My lab partner was sitting there, rather innocently I might add, when we walked over. The first thing my professor proceeded to do was berate my partner for messing up. He tried (unsuccessfully) to tell Dr. G what had actually happened. I stepped in and said "no, no, it was all me. He had nothing to do with it."
The immediate change in the man was astounding, to say the least. He said, "Oh, don't worry about it. I will have this cleaned up. Wait right here and let me get you a new crucible. Don't worry." True to his word the mess was gone in seconds and a replacement crucible was at our station in minutes.
I'd say being 5''1 does have some merits, not to mention looking like you're two years younger than your classmates. I will never complain again........except when I want the book on the top shelf at the library and have to ask someone to reach it for me.

Today I went to my first Chem Lab. I was terrified. I thought "What if I don't know enough about density, and Millimeters?" Or worse yet, "What if my partner doesn't know anything either?!" Or what happens if I completely mess up my experiment? Huh? What then? Yup, I was definitely freaked.

We all sat down when our professor walked in the room. He handed out the pre-lab quiz that he expected us to complete in five minutes. I saw the first question and freaked. "I need a calculator!!!!" I wrote my name, Mary Lou, at the top, than proceeded to write an equation out for the problem. Then I skipped down to the next question and calmed down. All I had to do was explain a procedure from our experiment that I had read the other day. I'm writing it out when out of the corner of my eye I see my professor going down the row collecting papers up. "Nooooooooooooooo!!" I start scribbling fiercely now,...He gets closer, madly,...He reaches my side and stops, speedily... He reaches for my paper. One-last-word. Aghhh. I can't think. Um...-amount! Done!!!!! You can have it sorry. Whew!

Than he explains the experiment to us. Than he started telling people who weren't wearing long sleeves to leave the classroom. I looked down and reassured myself I was wearing a jacket. Than he says "okay, I excuse you this once." That's when I discovered my partner had no goggles, also required. We in turn began to wig out, that's when our professor offered to lend goggles/glasses to those with out. Whew! Safe again. How fortunate can two people be? Thank you God! Than he leaves the room.

Come to find out, I knew more than some, and was actually helping others out. My partner also had it all together, and gave me some tips. We were the second to last group to leave, but hey we did a good job! He came back towards the end and gave us our quizzes back. I got two points out of five. He took a point off for not putting my last name down, another for not completing the equation, and a third for putting down "amount" instead of "mass". All pretty lame things I could have corrected. I found out I'm no good under pressure. Not a good thing for a person who is aspiring to be a doctor, hum? I will get better, I will work on it! I know I can do it. (Yeah! That's the spirit, Lou!)~Louly

I did the unthinkable. I know, I know. What was I thinking? I watched Twilight, and I liked it. Now hear me out before you go berserk and start telling me what a poorly made movie it is, and what a weird plot, and blah, blah, blah.
I watched with an open mind. I watched and saw the potential. I loved Bella, her straight- forwardness, her sincerity, and her great trust. She was so endearing; she drew me in, and intrigued me. Watching the movie made me want to read the book (Which Joe informs me we are now second in line for at the library.) I am more than sure that the book will be more detailed, and give a better back story. I think when I read the book it will fill out the movie, make it meaty...you know? I am sincerely hoping that I will not be let down when I read the book, can you tell? If I am...well, it won't be the end of the world, just really, really close to the end.

Dear Rea,
I think you would have loved to have known that the Academy's, or at the very least the A-3s' motto all summer long has been "Today will be a wonderful day!" It seemed every where I turned I heard some one singing, or saying "Today will be a wonderful day!"
We sang it on the forth of July as we paraded down the streets yelling, and generally making joyful noises. We carried our tapestry of memories of you as we walked down those streets. We knew that if you had been there you would have been as loud and joyful as the rest if not louder and more joyful than all of us put together.
Later we put those memories up high where all could see, and sang Happy birthday to our country. I wished I could have heard your voice mix with ours'.
All of summer was joyous, light, and colorful. Just the way you would have wanted it. We did a beautiful show, you would have cried. (I did when I read it through for the first time.) You would have been proud of my fellow cast members, they were incredible.
Thank you Rearcous. Thank you for your joy, your love of life, your enthusiasm for life, and your giving nature. You gave so many people a motto, a drumbeat, a joy for every day. It was a very encouraging thing to walk down the hallway exhausted beyond belief, and hear someone behind you humming "Today will be a wonderful day!" Than you start singing what they began, and they join in, and perhaps someone else joins in; suddenly you've got enough energy not only for you, but for everyone around you, and the rest of the day becomes a truly a beautiful thing. I will keep this song, and your bright smile with me wherever I go to remind me what living for Christ looks like, and to spread the Joy of life to others. I love you Rea! I miss you.~Mary Lou

So definitely been away for awhile. Where I have I been? I have been down at the Springer Opera House for the past two weeks. Doing what? Oh the usual; you know putting a show together in eight days. No big deal. However that's the crazy part it really is no big deal. These kinds of things happen all the time. It's called Summer stock. Theater's all across the nation are putting shows together in very short amounts of time to run through the summer. Is what we're doing incredible? Absolutely! Unique? Maybe not so much. I mean yes in some ways it is, but not the idea.
What show are we putting on? 'Bambi, a Life in the Woods'. You remember that post about being in the Springer Academy's company class? Well this is what it's all about. Do also remember that list of names? Well here it is again only this time it will tell you who got what part.

BAMBI CAST

1. Betsy Flournoy Bambi

2. Jasmin Anderson Blue Jay/Marena

3. Nicole Broach Mother

4. Melissa Cone Ena

5. Mary Lou Garcia Screech Owl/Fawn

6. Ashley Jay Nettla

7. Victoria Leggett Faline

8. Cameron McCarty Ronno

9. Stephanie Reeves Gobo

10. Dylan Stephan The Great Prince

11. Scott Valentine Blue Jay/Prince

12. Alex Willis Friend Hare

Now you may look at this and think who are these characters? I don't recall these names from the movie. Well it's the same story, however the play is more closely adapted from the book than the movie is. The play is very charming, and beautiful. It's got lots of things that will catch the young audience members' eye; like wise it has a beautiful story line that will intrigue the older children, and charm the adults. Truly a show for audiences of all ages.

Wow, i fell like I'm trying to sell you a ticket. Oh you might have noticed (thogh probably not) that the first name on the list is different from my previous list. The reason being that Lisa Anders (trhe other name) had a conflict and could no longer do the production. And for some reasson unkown Betsy's name was omitted from the first list. It's a great cast, great group of people. I am truly honored to be working with them. Our show is coming along just great we just completed day six which included a run through, photo shoot, and newspaper interview. This is truly an amazing expreiance. We'll be adding lights, costumes and crew over the next three days. We open on Friday the tenth. Here's the springer website. Check out show dates and ticket prices. http://www.springeroperahouse.org/childrens-theatre.html. I am supper excited! I hope you all get the chance to come see it; it's gonna be great!~Louly