Visiting Time with Noelle

Wednesday/Sunday, June 1-5, 2016

Around noon on Wednesday, June 1, Dan, Jen, Abbi and Rachel climbed into a very loaded van and set off for Lancaster, PA for a Veritas gathering of website learners from around the country and world. (Abbi was able to connect with one girl from Taiwan whose parents are missionaries and happened to be in the US at this time) It is a time for seniors to go through a graduation ceremony and all learners to enjoy time together doing a variety of things including taking tours of the area, sharing in a huge picnic, and participating in a dance with a theme of USO in the 40s.  They had a live band and an instructor who taught them how to do swing dancing so they could fully enjoy the dancing of those days. The girls were extremely excited because they could finally spend time with kids they've shared classes with online over the last several years.  Many have become good online friends.  One of the students was coming from California and staying with them at the resort.

Meanwhile, Noelle was at her Portersville Christian Academy where she was finishing up the seventh grade.  So we were blessed with an opportunity for some one on one time with her while she was here alone.  Since she leaves at a little after 7 in the morning at doesn't get home till 4:00 we were limited but we did as much as possible.

Her mom and dad left behind a card and a couple of presents to unwrap while they were gone.  On the second day of their absence she opened this package to her great joy.

Brand new tennies!!!!  I don't think she wore anything else the rest of the week except when she had to dress up for her piano recital and church.

We added a leaf to our little table in the motorhome and she came out to our place for dinners except on Thursday when we took her to her favorite restaurant, Fortune Star, for dinner.  And of course we had to make a trip to Mazzanti's for an ice cream.  This place is awesome and something we look forward to whenever we visit.  I adore the white chocolate mountain raspberry!! She taught Ken and I a new game Ticket to Ride which we played several times.  What fun creating train trips across the USA.  I love  the game Qwerkle so we played that one too.   This spring she was in a musical at her school called Back to the 80s.  She was able to get a video tape copy of it so we could see it and she could see herself in action.  It seems so funny to think of that being long enough ago that it was something to return to.  But then that was the period of time when her dad and all 3 siblings were in junior high and high school with graduations in 83,85,88 and 89.  I'm sure many of the parents watching really had a great time seeing the kids sing and dance to tunes they grew up with.

During this same period of time Noelle had her piano recital and also played all the music for the anthems and special music during the church service on Sunday.  That meant we got to attend rehearsals

for both and see her in action.  The piano recital was especially impressive as she got to show off her present talent big time.  Her part alone was about 25 minutes long while she played Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, Brisk Winds, and Sonata in C (16 pages worth!).  The last song was a real challenge with many runs for both the left and right hands often together and with notes as fast as 1/32.  It was really amazing to see our 12 year old granddaughter in action!!!

Here she is with her teacher who just graduated from college and now working on a music performance degree: Rebecca Eyth.

All of the students received certificates and enjoyed a little reception that followed

Noelle now is taller than Ken and I

as are both Rachel and Abbi.  I'm beginning to feel short which I've never experienced since I'm 5 foot 9 inches.  Noelle already is wearing size 12 shoes so who knows what height she will reach.

Because she is actively growing, she has grown out of all her summer clothes so we did take a little time on Saturday to go to the local Salvation Army store to see what we could find.  This is a favorite shopping spot for the whole family.  She added a shirt and 2 pair of 3/4 pants to her wardrobe.  We weren't able to find any shorts that she liked and fit.

Noelle loved having the house to herself and wanted a fair amount of time to do that since she could sing as loud as she wanted, watch TV with no one demanding something different and of course a computer free and clear for her use.  Kids today really want lots of time for playing games, writing to friends and generally just exploring different websites.  She has found many friends across the US and Canada from her years of homeschooling so there are many to send notes to.

Her family returned late on Sunday night all bubbling over all the fun they had but truly eager to get on Facebook and Twitter to share with others quickly putting an end to Noelle's freedom but she was mighty happy to see them.