Exciting News!

Baby Jacqueline(sp?) Marie was born August 12. My friend Darla called me a couple of hours ago to let me know she had her!

She weighs 8 lbs 15 oz and is 20 in long. I can't wait to go meet her tomorrow. I'm sure her older brother and sister feel the same way (if they haven't already!) Yea!

In other news, I finally decided to open my big mouth Saturday night and tell my future sister-in-law that I was hurt by not being included in the wedding, when both of my S-I-L's are, her sister is, my hubby is, and my boys are too! She said she had been wondering over the last several months if it had been or how I felt about it but never said anything because I seemed ok. I had never said anything (to her. Hubby and I have talked at length!) because I didn't want to cause her more stress in an already stressful situation or make her feel guilty, etc. I so don't like to make waves...

Anyway so I opened my mouth and then I proceeded to ask her who was doing the music during the ceremony. Over a year ago, she had asked my F-I-L to play guitar but nothing ever came of it and she was planning to turn the music in to the DJ soon but hadn't yet. So I swallowed my pride and got some guts, so to speak and asked her if she would like me to do the music. She was so surprised and excited! She just kept saying, Seriously?? So now we have a secret surprise for everybody. We aren't telling ANYONE till the rehearsal! 7 weeks away! Not even Jason or my B-I-L (the groom) will know till then!

In case you are wondering what "music" I will be handling...

for the first time in 8(?) years, I will be playing my flute in a public venue, not just for fun at home!!!

I'm kind of nervous, but so excited, because I get to do this for two people I love and care about.

So in the last 3 days, I've been looking for, choosing and starting to learn music for the ceremony. They are not getting married in a church, it will be at a local hall, so I decided not to do any religious music, cause they aren't religious. It just wouldn't fit.

I've ruled out a few things, and few other things have surprised me in this process, things like songs I didn't think I could play or would like, and songs I thought would be good but turned out not to be.

Anyway, I will not have any accompaniment, which makes it more difficult and nerve-wracking.

Here's my list of songs I am planning on playing:

Prelude

Cantilena (Handel)

Symphony No. 9, Fourth Movement ("Ode to Joy") (Beethoven)

Für Elise (Beethoven)

Greensleeves (Traditional English folk song)

The Greatest Love of All (Michael Masser)

Bridesmaids' Processional (still not 100% on this one but I know this song well and its pretty)

Minuet and Dance of the Blessed Spirits from "Orpheus" (Glück)

Bride's Processional

Bridal Chorus from "Lohengrin" (Wagner)

Recessional

Wedding March from "A Midsummer's Night's Dream" (Mendelssohn)

Shh, don't tell anyone! oh and no worries about sharing it on here. Jason rarely, if ever, reads my blog. Just not interested I guess. Only comes here when I mention it and bring it up for him, LOL! Oh well, at least I can share my exciting news with all of you and it will still be a surprise to him!

And most important news of all. Ethan is going to our parish's school this year! I'm really glad that it has all worked out. I talked with the principal yesterday and she seems confident that his teacher is well-equipped to deal with Ethan's meltdowns and sensory overload problems. The school is much smaller with only 1 class per grade level (K-8) as opposed to 3 classes per grade level (K-5 and at least 3x the students!) at the public school. His Aunt Maddy goes there, entering 7th grade this year and the 7th graders get matched up with the 1st graders as a buddy system which is awesome. My M-I-L will be driving the 2 of them to school and Alex and I will be picking them up. Ethan is extremely excited about going there and Jason and I are grateful that we have the resources available to pay for it and that the school is there! Hopefully he will adjust well and have a better year than last year. I'm also hoping going to Mass on Thursdays with the other kids will help reinforce the correct behavior that I've been attempting to teach the boys on Sundays and maybe will even help him see how the other kids are and then maybe make Sundays go a little smoother. I've also been thinking about going on Thursdays with Alex during the school year, but I'm not sure if they have a separate Mass for just the students or if its the only one for Thursdays. Either way it would probably be ok.