Tirzah's Piano Playing

A little over a year ago, Tirzah started taking piano lessons from a fantastic piano teacher named Julie. One thing I've realized from homeschooling is that it helps to have my children learn from other adults, too, and not just all from Mama and Daddy. Every Wednesday Tirzah has lessons, and starting on Thursday, she and I spend time together practicing her new songs for the week. Once she gets the hang of them, she practices them on her own while I provide a listening ear. Tirzah loves to play the piano and has even started playing the offertory for church about twice a month!  

Because I'm often asked how I manage to spend time with Tirzah while she practices the piano or how she gets the practice time in that she needs every week, I thought I'd share just one piece of advice--never underestimate the value of ten minutes.

For instance, we start school at 8:30. However, if Tirzah is done with her breakfast before Hardy and before school starts, I'll set the timer and tell her she has ten minutes to practice the piano. At this stage, that's enough time for her to run through her finger exercises and a song. Though ten minutes may sound small, when added up at the end of the week, those ten minutes are how we got her songs accomplished. I want to encourage you that if there's something you want to do but are feeling crunched with time, just try giving it ten minutes a day--and you may be amazed how those minutes add up. 

 

 Tirzah playing "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee."

Tim and Ruth Ann's Getaway

For Christmas this year, Tim and I made a deal. We were to buy each other only fun gifts, not the usual clothes, socks, or other practical items. I decided to buy Tim a getaway gift to Sedona for a day. (Tim bought me a nice necklace and a lime green drill, which I love!) I arranged for a babysitter and even for Brother Hastrich to be in charge of Tim's responsibilities for church. Tim loved his gift (and, I confess, I enjoyed the mileage I got out of his gift too!) We stayed at a nice hotel in the Village of Oak Creek (close to Sedona), and the next day enjoyed seeing the sights of Sedona. 



One of our stops was to see the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Ruth Ann has lived in the area for eight years and Tim for twelve, and we had never seen the magnificent chapel. We enjoyed hiking up and around the chapel.

Tim inside the chapel.



Ruth Ann by the candles. You can see the front of the chapel is enclosed with glass, showing off Sedona's beautiful views.

If you and your spouse haven't had a getaway for a long time, I really want to encourage you to plan one. You both need it more than you know and the kids and work will do fine without you. Our kids had a ball at the babysitters, and not only did Suzannah enjoy them, but she also told us she was volunteering to watch them every other month for us to do another getaway! Also, Brother Hastrich did a great job filling in for Tim. It was a great way to kick-off our new year.