MRI

We've had a rather challenging summer and start to school.  I guess it's to be expected to some degree with puberty and all.  But I'd like to say, this might just push me over the edge.  Needless to say, it was suggested that Zachary have an MRI to rule out some concerns.  So, off we went to Galveston's UTMB.  He was quite a trooper.  I do believe the iPad mini helped tremendously because he was nervous about shots, even though there were none.

iPad mini in full swing

It was an all day affair, but the results were that his brain are normal.  Zilch, nothing, nada problems.  That was a relief.  Now I'm still wondering why he acts like a turd some days.  Oh yes, something about this age.

8th Grade

He's growing up so fast!  Here is his first day of school picture.  He chose his pose.

4th of July

Dear Blogger friends,

Life has led to some challenges, and I find myself challenged to post.  As for now, I'm going to try and catch up from a few things during the summer to the first day of school last week.

For the 4th of July, we headed in to town to take the Metro-train to the Miller Outdoor Theater.  The Houston Symphony has a free concert, which really was a lot of fun.  They played a variety of music and had the audience interact, and followed it with a spectacular fireworks show.

Granmommy and Pops joined us at the tram parking lot and we rode in together.  That was a bit of an experience in itself because the tracks flooded in one area, so we had to switch to a bus, then re-board the train.  Thankfully my mom and step-dad were game for the adventure.

After we returned from the concert, we stopped at McDonald's for Zachary's first McDonald's sundae.  He was funny to watch as he delighted in a half fudge and half strawberry sundae. 

One time, at band camp...

We met a wonderful woman last summer at oboe camp.  She has been so helpful in introducing us to many opportunities to play, compete, and audition.  Needless to say, she told us about band camp and how could we say no since it was only fairly inexpensive and just in Clear Lake.

And then to top it off, this wonderful oboe mentor was in charge of the oboe's at band camp.  So Zachary played with her, and she offered him the opportunity to play English Horn, his true love!

It was a fun week of playing small and large ensembles pieces.  It was only from 9-1P, so it worked out perfect for Zachary's schedule.

He really wanted me to take some pictures of him holding the English Horn.  I almost think that was the most important part to him.  He badly wants an English Horn, but has postponed his saving efforts, at least for now.  He wanted some "cool" photos of him holding it.

"Ok, take it now." (notice the lean)

"let me adjust my hands."

"How about like this?"

"Ok, just the English Horn."

I think he is pretty cute.  And he makes me laugh, posing like he is a professional player.  Oh to be in his head for a day.

Summer Experiment

With summer allowing us a little more time, we decided to try neurofeedback.  Wikipedia defines it as a type of biofeedback that measures brain waves to produce a signal that can be used as feedback on brain activity to teach self-regulation.  It can address areas such as attention & focus, anxiety, stress, self-control, plus many other areas.  I listed the items we are hoping it will address.

Last weekend, we got took the initial test that simply reads your brain activity with your eyes open and then closed.

Amazing little cap reads his brain activity

We start sessions this weekend.  I'm not placing my hope in this, but still trusting God for Zachary's healing.  I am praying this could help him get off or reduce his medicines, and that he would feel more in control of himself.  Whatever happens, I know God is always working in Zachary's life.  As I am praying, will you join me.

Chess tournament

Zachary decided to play chess again in the spring.  It happened that we were unable to make it to any chess club meetings.  When our school tournament rolled around in June, he said he wanted to play.  And funny as it may be, he took first in his division.  He hasn't really played since the last chess tournament.  It was a joy to watch him receive his trophy.  He doesn't tend to express much emotion, but he was excited to be on stage.  I didn't get a good picture of him receiving the trophy, but I thought this one was good!

1st place winner

CLCS school winner

Summer has begun

And it is already hot!  There won't be many days going shirtless, and Zachary is pretty modest these days.  I caught a few photos of him with Kirby in the yard.  I know they are all just about the same, but each one captures a different thought.  And Kirby looks so relaxed.

Spring Band Concert

Tuesday, the school band put on a Spring concert that just featured its members.  Typically, the band is put in a little corner during Spring Show or as a side-note at the Spring Sports Banquet.  In order make the concert more than just 30 minutes, the band teacher asked a few students to play their solos.  He also asked Zachary to conduct a piece.  I thought he did a very good job and he tried very hard during practice.  Here is a YouTube link.  I'll apologize upfront for my giggles.

Receiving a recognition award.

Acting Experience

Zack continues to show interest in acting.  This spring, the school prepared it's performance with the intention of using the drama class for the major roles.  There again, we found favor with Mrs. Rutledge, as she created a role for Zachary.

His name was Fred and he was one of the students in the classroom for Life School Musical.  This was his biggest role yet, with more lines and several times he needed to pay attention so that the interactions looked natural.  A change was made the day of the dress rehearsal.  With a bit of anxiety, I waited.  And he did a great job, even with a smile several times. 

Front and center, with girls all around him.

Thank you Lord for your goodness!

Finished with victory!

Back row:  Emma Brown, Megan Ritthaler, Isabella McGovern, Gabby Darko, Danielle Gomez, Yovanni Cano.  Front rows:  Zack Sansing, Hunter Green, ?, Nadiya Blair.

Houston Youth Symphony auditions

Zachary's oboe teacher suggested he try out for the Houston Youth Symphony, so we gave it a shot last Saturday.  They have five symphonies; two for just strings and three that are full symphonies, so there is a better shot of him making this symphony than the Bay Area Youth symphony. 

As the time drew near, he was a bit concerned about various issues...excessive water on his lips, reeds not working, too young, not enough time to practice, etc.  In the weeks approaching, I told him to do his best and if he offered a position, he could turn it down if he really didn't want to join.  I reminded him that his schedule next year will be drastically different because of some adjustments we have made and work he will do in the summer.  He could only see what was before him.

You prepare for weeks, and then the audition is about five minutes.  I stood outside the door.  I couldn't help myself.  He made a little blip on one of his solo pieces, but other than that, I thought it sounded good.  I did hear him play a scale three times in a row.  I asked if the judge asked him to play that, and he said, "I gave him a bonus."  I snickered.

Now we wait until the summer when the letter comes.  And then we have Bay Area Youth Symphony auditions May 18th.  This symphony is in the Clear Lake area, so I would prefer this drive vs. a weekly 40 minute drive.  Until then.

While we waited for John at Rice University after the audition, we went and explored.

Neat little structure to pray and take in nature.

Easter cookies

It started out with me wanting some Leta's Tea Cakes (one of John's family recipes).  I had been busy and let the ingredients sit on the counter for a day and a half.  So, John decided to be sweet and make the cookies for me, which was probably for the best because I was struggling with the Crisco.  Sometimes it's better not to know what goes into a recipe.

Zachary happened to catch his dad's culinary activities, and he decided to join in on the fun.  So we busted out the best Easter cookie cutters we could find...fish, star, angel, and baby chicks (or maybe they are ducks, but whatever).  We all enjoyed a little dough during the preparations, and followed up with the cookies just 10 minutes later.  Yum!

The Clear Lake Christian Band went to competition in the spring, and received superior marks for the piece they performed.  As for site reading, I'm not sure, but I know it wasn't a superior rating.  They are a young band, so we are excited for their accomplishments.  And not to mention that Mr. Hernandez is able to produce nice sounding music with limited players.

The performance

Can you imagine for four girls and all those boys!

Beta Club at the Food Bank

We headed back to the Houston Food Bank last Friday with the Junior Beta Club.  This students separated donated boxes of food into smaller divisions.  With the help of about 10 other adults,we sorted 6400 pounds of food which would have made 5,333 meals. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but it sounds really cool!

Was so proud of Zachary.  He got right in there and helped very well.

All members present!

What do you know about embarrasement?

Often times, Zachary lacks the filter that most of us develop as we grow.  He has said and done a few things where I wish I could sink in my chair or walk in the other direction (actually, I have walked in the other direction).  I've come to realize, it is just part of the beast and of most of the time I don't really care what other judgmental people are thinking or whispering. 

The other day, Zachary and John were in the front of the house talking.  And Zachary proceeded to tell John all the different slang names he knew for his private area.  I sat in the back giggling and listening.  It is normally me on the receiving end of these conversations.  In the end, he stated that John should call his private part Johnson.  This was humorous to me because just a few days before, he told me to call his part area Willy and was quite adamant about it. 

You should know, we've had strict control over internet usage.  He did check a book out from the public library titled 100% Me.  I think this puberty book is the source of the conversations.  Oh, and we use the anatomical name for his private area.  I know I was embarrassed about using those terms as a child, but Zachary sure isn't.  I'm glad he is comfortable talking to us about it.

Spring Break fun

I headed out of town on a retreat on Friday while Granmommy and Pop's kept Zachary for the weekend.  This was the first full weekend since Granmommy's retirement.  We had planned to stay at Granmommy and Pop's for a few days after I got back, but had some other fun stuff at home to tend too.

What might that be, you ask?

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Here is how I found him reading one morning...dad's glasses.

His first science project, right up his alley with movies and music!

As always, he was a trooper.  It helped that he enjoyed the science project.  And now, the countdown is on till summer!!!!!

Valentine's and responsibility

For Valentine's I made my two boy's scones and shakes.  I also decided it was time to get Zachary a cell phone, and the one I selected happened to be red, so it went with the theme.  It's a basic phone with texting and calls.  He doesn't need much more as we work on responsibility.  I don't expect he will go over minutes or texts because he is not a social butterfly looking to visit with friends.  But he does need to be able to call us and make contact with family if necessary.

Bed head so early in the morning!

I guess I should confess, I really got the phone for me.  He likes to wonder around school and visit with teachers after he has finished in 7th period.  I figured a phone might help me find him a bit faster than tracking through the whole school looking for him.  So far, he hasn't gone to visit anyone lately, so we haven't had to use it.  But on the good side, he hasn't lost it and remembered to take it to school every day.  I've told him to turn the ringer off as he gets out for school, but who knows if he is.  His 7th period teacher said he would remind him to turn the ringer on at the end of school.  Just one of the perks of a little private school...teacher's often go above the call of duty. 

I think his favorite part is the camera.  He loves to take pictures of whatever he happens to be interested in at the time.  If you think of it, send him a text.  We are working on how to respond and loading in contacts.  Everything is a process, but I'm thankful he is willing and able to learn.  713-876-86xx (text me the rest)

English horn reed

As we were packing up after our oboe lesson, Zachary asked his teacher if he could see her box of dud reeds.  These are reeds that just didn't work out for some reason and the staple can be re-used to make another reed.  As he was sifting through it, they came across a piece of English Horn cane.  His teacher knew he would want it, so she offered it to him.  Of course he said, "I need a staple."  And she caved and gave him one of hers.

We proceeded to gather our stuff and they talked reed measurements as we left, since the English horn reed is longer and would have different measurements.  Not much was discussed and we headed home.

After that, there wasn't much more on his mind than to tie that reed.  And tie he did, and actually, it was absolutely beautiful when he finished it.  I will say, we had to look at a few online images, but that only clarified some measurements for him.  There is not much on the web on English horn reeds. 

He was so pleased of himself!

First Solo & Ensemble contest

Tuesday was Zachary's first solo and ensemble contest.  This is all new for us since neither parent has had any involvement in choir or band.  We have been lucky to meet an oboe instructor in the Clear Lake area that has pointed us to a school she works with.  They have allowed us to participate in their Region auditions and now their solo and ensemble.  I have since learned that the private schools may have a solo opportunity for Zachary as well.

As I signed him up, the teacher at the Intermediate school asked me what class the music was. I had no clue what that meant, but come to find out, Zachary was playing an easy Class I piece.  I figured Class I was the easiest grouping...nope, it's the hardest.  It was then I think I began to feel a bit more nervous.

My friend played as his accompanist.  She was very impressed from the first practice, so I figured that was a good sign.  Jennifer was instrumental in walking Zachary through the steps and allowing him to practice what the contest would be like.  And she was so giving of her time to come to our house and play with him on three separate occasions. 

When he played on Tuesday, Jennifer said the judge looked up very surprised.  And her comments were nothing but nice.  He received a rating of a 1, which is a Superior rating, so he received a little medal.  He said, "I've officially received a medal."  It was sweet, and he was proud of himself in a humble sort of way.  I said he could wear it to school, and he said he would look like an oddball.  :)

By the way, I'm not sure why it is called a contest.  You are playing a piece, and receive a rating.  That is it.  Zachary kept thinking he was going to win something.  I think he hoped it would be money.

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An Old Find Equals New Fun

We were at my mom's over Christmas break and Zachary found a sleeping mask I had sewn in Girl Scouts.  I'm not sure where he found it, but this is how I found him. 

He thought he would pose.

He made me giggle when I found him.  I'm not sure if he slept with it on or not, but he slept until about 11am the next morning.

The Night Shift at the Falafel House

Before Xmas break, our school put on its annual Christmas show.  Well, it was very cute and involved all grades.  Zachary has taken to acting, which I think is wonderful as it encourages him to use his imagination and to apply what he has seen others do.

Zachary was asked to play a little solo before all the actors streamed on stage for the final number.  He was a customer at the Falafel House.  He played Come and See.  I expect at a Christian school you can guess who the cast was coming to see.  He played the very sweetest sound in his oboe solo. 

 I was so proud of our little shepherd soloist!

Happy 13th Birthday

He's officially a teenager!  And for his actual birthday, which happened to be on a Friday, he wanted to go to his Nana and Papa's.  No, I'm not hurt (sniff, sniff).  We celebrated on Sunday with many of his favorites from hamburgers for lunch and his favorite nacho dinner.  Plus a cake, that John and I thought was to die for.  Zachary said it was good, but he liked Nana's better.  "More for us," John told him.

On Friday morning, before he left for school, we opened presents.    He received 20 pieces of spare cane for making oboe reeds, a robot puzzle, LOTR calendar, and I finally finished his scrapbooks and had them published in books from 2nd-5th grade.  Most children would not be so excited about this, but Zachary enjoys reading about the past.  And his most favorite gift was receiving his iPad mini back after six short months of parental confiscation.  He also received Forever Comfy from his favorite Aunt Traci.  He thinks advertisements are still 100% truthful.

Happy about Forever Comfy

With an added favorite - Hershey's chocolate

Finding money at the bottom of the box - woohoo!

Notice the leaning candles because the cake was just out of the oven & they were melting in the cake!

Blooooooowww!!!

I'm 13!

Zachary always enjoys his birthday, but as a special treat for me this year, he declared it was his birthday as he walked out of his room in the morning.  "I'm 13 today!"  We were a little late to school because of opening gifts and pictures.  The Front Office ladies told me he walked in and said, "I'm late, but it's OK because it is my birthday."

Cute picture

Zachary and I volunteered at church for the Santa and baby Jesus pictures.  I was milling around and apparently he snuck in and took a picture.  We knew the photographers, so I expect they thought nothing of it.  It wasn't until we were sorting pictures, I came across this jewel. 

He looks like an elf.  He really enjoyed the movie Elf and a several other older Christmas movies this year.  It made me laugh when I saw it.  Cute and silly, often his personality.

A sneaky Santa

Zachary did not want much for Christmas.  A few oboe accessories, a few Lord of the Rings items, and some Lego sets.  This age can be hard to buy for, but when Zachary's band and oboe teacher suggested another oboe that has a full conservatory, I had an idea.  I must say, we've had a challenging year, and really a new oboe was not even on the radar.  But I presented it to John, and he thought that sounded like a good idea. 

We did not have much time to pull this idea off, but Zack's oboe teacher was instrumental (no pun intended).  She had a contact that sold oboes.  After discussions with the vendor, we decided on a used Loree oboe.  He wouldn't make any money on this oboe (vs. another brand we considered), but he felt it was the better investment, had great tone, and had recently been overhauled.  And a big concern of Zack's is whether his oboe is cracked.  This little 12 year old oboe, has never had a crack.  Score!

The vendor shipped it, and then I snuck over to our oboe teachers, who played it.  Linda, Zack's oboe teacher, said she would buy it.  It really sounded great, and all keys were working correctly after one minor adjustment.  I was so excited!  And honestly, I was going off of what both of them were telling me.  But Linda's face really assured me of the purchase. 

So we dove in and made a purchase.  Little did Zachary know, he had just paid for 80% of an oboe, but I didn't expect he would be too upset.  We had discussed how much he had saved and what he wanted to spend.  He was ready...I didn't know if he was really ready though.

Christmas morning arrived and we had finished opening all gifts.  We put this one off until the end because, as expected, Zachary asked if "that one" or "that one" were his to open.  I honestly think all adults were more excited about this gift before he opened it.  And we received the expected reaction...little smiles and smirks.  A delightful, joyous sigh was about all we got.  But after that, he was all oboe for the rest of the afternoon.

What could this be?

"F. Loree!"

The soft squirm of delight

Reality.  "A Loree oboe!"

"Let me play it"

And this was the position for much of the day.

We did hear "this is the best Christmas gift ever!" followed by "I need a Loree thumb rest."  The days that followed consisted of new Loree oboe accessories needed.  And now, we are saving for a Loree English Horn.