June Snapshots

June was absolutely beautiful in Coastal Virginia. Cool temperatures enabled us to savor the outdoors before the crushing humidity we know is coming in July and August.

The very first day of June we hosted our church Home Group. I have a note in my Bullet Journal to further embrace my goals of minimalism and a more vigorous regular cleaning routine. Sigh. The weather was cool, so we served our favorite Tortellini Soup (quadrupled in a big stock pot so we would have enough), bread and Blueberry Cobbler made by The Daughter.

The next day was “Guild Day.” Guild Auditions are a service of the non-profit American College of Musicians. Piano students prepare a program of music to play from memory and are “judged on individual merit, by a well-qualified music professional, in the areas of accuracy, continuity, phrasing, pedaling, dynamics, rhythm, tempo, tone, interpretation, style, and technique.” The Daughter works towards this every year, and is well-prepared, but it is still stressful. She played, beautifully, from memory, a demanding program of pieces covering the periods Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Contemporary and Modern: Bach’s Invention 13, Scarlatti’s Sonata in F maj, Mozart’s Rondo alla Turca, both movements of Beethoven’s Sonata in G maj, Satie’s Gymnopedie #1, Chopin’s Waltz in Db maj (my favorite), Tcherepnin’s Bagatelle #1, Joplin’s The Entertainer, Rocherolle’s Easy Livin’, von Webber’s Sonatina in C, a duet, with another student, and Sheppard’s My Father’s World in a modern arrangement by Phillip Keveren. For her transposition requirement, she played the praise song, Alleluia, in three keys. What an accomplishment!

Guild was the last end-of-the-year event so we took a deep breath and enjoyed having a week or two of empty calendar. *Thank God.* The Daughter caught up on some school reading. We went for walks on the beach, at the Botanical Gardens and around the neighborhood. Mr. Garner and Papa Gene both celebrated an additional year as well as their paternal status!

And then we launched into a hectic series of activities: a six-week Bible Study for the Patriot level (teens) American Heritage Girls, a six-week Painting Class, and four weeks in a row of Monday-Friday morning camp and volunteer commitments. What was I thinking?

Choir camp at Young Musicians of Virginia was a wonderful week of singing and vocal technique which culminated in one of the best choral performances we’ve heard at YMV. It was amazing for one week of rehearsals! This was the first year they offered a Choir camp and we hope to see it on the schedule for next year!

The following week The Daughter and I “dove deep into the Word of God” as we “submerged” ourselves in “Deep Sea Missions” for our church VBS. There were videos, and games, and crafts! The last day, the kids put together “Tide You Over” bags for the homeless in our community. They were filled with toiletries, bottled water and snacks donated by the families. Each child colored and wrote a message in a card to go in the bags.

In homeschool news, The Daughter is finishing up a biography, Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation by Harlow Giles Unger, so we squeezed in a homeschool field trip to Richmond and Scotchtown, Patrick Henry’s home from 1771-1778. We returned to Hampton Roads by way of Williamsburg, in order to grab some dinner and visit Yankee Candle, which is one of The Daughter’s favorite shops.

On my reading list this month: I started and finished Honest Evangelism, by Rico Tice. (I found him while listening to sermons by John Stott, recorded during his time at All Soul’s Church at Langham Place, London. Many of the sermon series include other pastors at the church, Rico Tice among them.) Tice’s book is an excellent, convicting, short read. I am pondering and praying about what to do with what I’ve read. On my classics list, I (finally) finished Tale of Two Cities, so I’m starting Silas Marner by George Eliot. On my parenting list, I started 10 Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child by Anthony Esolen. Wow. There will be quotes at some point. I’m also still plugging along with the AO forum reading of Charlotte Mason’s A Philosophy of Education. In addition to our Morning Prayer and Daily Office with the family, I have At the Still Point: A Literary Guide to Prayer in Ordinary Time, compiled by Sarah Arthur on my nightstand and A House for My Name by Peter J. Leithart on my desk.