Spotlight on...CHARIS

I'm way behind on life in general, so it stands to reason that my blog has been neglected of late. Rather than try to re-hash what our family has been up to over the last couple of weeks, I decided to take some time to spotlight each of our sweet kiddos this week. Today is Charis's day.

A recent highlight for Charis has been her re-entry into the world of drama! I took her to an audition for a local youth theater production a couple of weeks ago, but she wasn't selected for any parts. This, I felt, was actually a good thing, since the rehearsals would have eaten up three days a week and performances will run December 4 - 13. Additionally, all the main parts likely went to older kids (they wanted ages 8 - 18), so it would have been a lot of time and effort with little return.

So, though she was a bit disappointed, Charis took the results in stride and continued on her merry way. Last Friday, I nearly threw the paper out without looking at it, but I ended up flipping through the Life section and saw on the last page that there was an open audition for Oz: The Musical, and that they would be casting about 100 local kids to be Munchkins or flying monkeys. Charis and I looked at the web site, and she decided she'd like to try out. Since I had a stamp club meeting Saturday morning, Ted took her downtown for the audition. They put the kids in groups of 18 to teach them some choreography and part of a song, then had them perform in groups of 6. Nearly 200 kids auditioned over the course of the weekend, and Charis was one of the ones who made the list!

We're very excited for her opportunity to get some experience and have fun doing something she loves...without having to spend so much time in rehearsals! There will be 2 rehearsals plus the dress rehearsal the week after Thanksgiving, and then the performance weekend. I think we can deal with that!

Charis continues to enjoy her piano lessons and has progressed really quickly. She is teaching herself a number of songs from my old piano books, and I love hearing her play hymns and Christmas carols while singing along very loudly. She enjoys going to music rehearsal with me or Ted and has made quite an impression on the other members of the worship team. I can't wait until she can perform in church someday!

In school, Charis is learning division and has picked up on this very quickly. I attribute this partially to the fact that she learned her multiplication facts so well (thanks, in part, to Timez Attack). She has recently begun writing more on her own and has completed some fun creative stories. She has asked--and I have agreed--to have her own blog so she can share her writing with others, and I hope we can set aside some time before too long to set this up. For those who are interested, we can give you an invitation to her blog, as it will be private.

And of course, Charis stays busy with her own crafty creations. She spends way more time in my stamp room than I do. :-) It's always amazing to see what she comes up with!

And now, a few last tidbits about Charis:

Favorite foods--Chicken pot pie, spaghetti pie, lemon chicken, yum!
Favorite colors--Red, white, and blue
Favorite animal--Horse
Favorite activity--Oh, boy. Crafts, singing, and spending time with my family.
Favorite subject--I think it would be language arts.
What I want to be when I grow up--A seamstress.