Summer. Let it begin.

As my daughter so aptly says, "Summer, let it begin."  Joanna just graduated two weeks ago.  She auditions for a music scholarship today, and registers for classes tomorrow at Oglethorpe.  We leave for a family trip tomorrow and we are busy pulling all of our loose ends together.  Daniel is taking Latin on line this summer, so even though the work comes with, we plan to do a ton of hiking and biking, lots of picture taking and sun soaking.

In Georgia, the summers are short.  I don't mean that we have short bursts of heat, we have plenty of that.  I mean we have very little time off from classes.  School begins in the beginning of August so June and July are our only months to build memories and spend unconstrained time with one another.

Once July hits?  Football, JROTC, and wrestling.  August?  Packing and sending a daughter off to college.  And the madness continues.  But then again, "a little insanity never hurt anyone."

Anthony's First Team Sport

I don't know what it is about me, but by the time my fourth child was old enough to begin his own sporting ventures, we were so deep in theater, football, and basketball, that Anthony was the child who tagged along.  For the first time this year, we began letting him stay after class for "running club."  I am so very thankful, though, for his cousins love for soccer.  Because of this, Anthony begged me to play, and when his Uncle decided to coach, it became a no brainer.  Uncle Greg arranged for the cousins to be on the same team under his care.  So I don't even have to drive!  Thank you, Uncle Greg.  Here's pictures of the day of his first game!  Go England!

Nutty and Fun

 Enjoying the goofiness of siblings.  The last thing in the world my 15 year old son wanted to do was take his sister to the Military Ball as a "date."  That was just too awkward.  No matter how we framed it for him, he would just say, "no way!"  I get it, but all I kept thinking was how cool his older sister was...and how many of his friends knew her.  So what does she do?  Convinces me to let her come anyway (I was the candid Photographer), "help" the volunteers and (in reality) crash the party!  Well, it turns out she was a pretty cool friend to have along after all.  No, you will not see one of those formal "date" pictures.  This is as good as it gets!  But I love it!

New Beginnings...do you see the bag?

Yes...she'll be leaving soon.
It's so weird to think that my oldest will be graduating in just a couple months.  There are actually three students graduating in the house- Joanna, Alex, and Isabella.  They each have plans in the works.  Alex is actively pursuing entrance into the US Navy, Isabella is looking into BBC (Baptist Bible College), and Joanna just accepted admission to Oglethorpe University.  WOW.  This is scary stuff.

Joanna was thrilled as she filled out her housing application but at the same time afraid that it might not work out.  She's got a good bit of money to figure out, but there are a lot of scholarships available to Oglethorpe students, thanks to many of its alumni.  We told her to act in faith and put it in God's hands.

As I sat with her guidance counselor this morning, I was encouraged by the respect her peers and teachers have for her.  Joanna has been invited to fill in gaps in ensemble competitions, join shows, run tech for events, tutor other students and the list goes on.  Her counselor at school fully expects to see her in film.  It's awesome to see Joanna grab onto the gifts God has given with both hands.  We'd love to see the finances for OU come together, but I also know that God wants all of us to trust Him, so here we go! 

Learning a new sport and loving it! (MY #38)

Go Campagna! #38

Recently, our middle child decided he needed a sport he could call his own, and football was his choice.  Secretly, I dreaded the endless mandatory practices and stinky jerseys and hours on a concrete bleacher.  But to watch my son invest his time on the field and off practicing, studying the play book, and making lasting friendships has been a true delight.  It's so fun to hear the guys yell, "hey Campagna, good game."  Every Friday is Jersey day, and the boys all plan when and what tee shirt/ Jersey color they'll wear to celebrate their team. 

I'm glad for the end of the busy season, but also can't wait to get him back in for spring training.  I'm resisting the pleas for wrestling and lacrosse right now.  The amazing news is that all the 7th grade team did well in their academics throughout the three months.  Nicholas has all high B's and A's.  Last year, during a talk the principal gave at the elementary school, the students were all encouraged to be active in some school related extra curricular activity, such as sports, or chorus, or ROTC, or a club.  Research shows that students who participate in these activities actually do better in school and are more likely to finish well.

I can see that for my kids.  The ones that are involved are motivated to keep up in their work, and they are doing great!

Look at the size of those boys Nicholas is trying to block.

Headed for the action

He's coming in...

Taking the fall

A new school year...

The high school complex

It's August and our county started classes on August 1st.  How crazy is that?  The four older kiddos all began new experiences.  Joanna is a senior and is as busy as ever.  She is currently assistant directing Snow White in preparation for her senior project.  In November- January, she'll be directing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  She's currently applying to college, prepping for the ACT's, and studying for several EOCT's (kinda like a clep test for certain high school classes, but not really).  She cannot fail them or she loses her GPA status and that affects everything else.  We've been to several doctors recently to see if we can get her body functioning better.  She's been 1 1/2 years off of gluten, but a lot of her symptoms are still mysterious.  Hey, pray for her.  We desire to trust the Lord through this year.  She desires to be able to focus better on her schoolwork without the fog and pain that she normally walks through.

Daniel is now a high schooler!  He has joined the AFJROTC.  Uniform pictures will have to be posted shortly.  He also recently learned that in order to join the Navy, he must have a 3.0 or better.  Since he has a clean slate in high school, he has been working very hard to keep on top of his work.  He even looks for other students that excel to help him when he's struggling.  That means that he's not so needy of tutoring at home, which has made my job easy!  Funny thing, Daniel joined beginner band, even though he has no experience.  He told the band director he plans to play the drums.  Talk about faith!  So now we're looking for a used drum set and a teacher. I think he'll take off with this one.  He has a natural ear for rhythm and is hitting the drum pad daily.   He also has found a new love in tumbling.  He's been taking private lessons and just graduated to a group tumbling class.  He loves it.


Nicholas entered 7th grade and joined tackle Football for the first time.  He left this morning (on Friday) wearing his jersey.  He gets out the playbook regularly to study, and talks all the time about what he's learning.  For a little guy, I think he packs a big punch, so I'm curious to see how he does in the game.  Here's the thing I love about Nicholas.  He comes home and does his assignments ahead of time.  I saw a note from the teacher yesterday to say that a paper was due, and when I read the assignment, I realized that Nicholas had done it earlier this week, printed it and had it ready in his binder.  So cool!

 Anthony loves taking 5th grade Chorus with Mr. Gunderlock, who also leads worship at Sovereign Grace Church. And he can't wait for the local track club to get started.  He plans to start running so he can join a team when he gets older.  He's still working on making his bed in the morning and keeping up with his socks.  This is the one kid that I walk around after.  He always leaves his mark!

Lastly, this year also marks the expansion of our household. ( No, we're not having a baby!)  But we did acquire 7 new inhabitants.  Well, 8 if you count the dog.  Nick's sister and clan are sharing the home with us and it has been a blast.  Everyone gets along well, and with our families sharing the expenses and responsibilities, the load around here is quite manageable.  We have three seniors in the house!  Looks like we just may need a big party come May!

Brigadoon!

Joanna joined her first adult only cast in February 2012!  She played "Bonnie Jean" in Brigadoon.  Again, she got to act along side Dad!  Nick has the best accents.  He would teach some of the cast how to speak in an Irish accent, and then teach the main character how to talk "New York."

A Christmas Carol 2011

So it's been a little too long not to post!  Much has happened in the last year!  This past school year, Joanna did her first Shakespeare show, a minor role, but good experience in "Much Ado about Nothing."  She also began performing back at Elms Street Arts (formerly Towne Lake Arts Center).

Here's her first performance back on the stage in Woodstock! (with DAD) Once she started, she kept going.  Also, she began attending Etowah High School in January, so there was a lot of transition in our home. 

In A Christmas Carol, Joanna played one of the charity workers, and Nick played Bob Cratchet.  It was a long running show but loads of fun.

The (latest) Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

So this year, I got the chance to direct The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I took over directing mid-year to serve one of our teachers at Masters. This production was primarily middle schoolers. Joanna helped with make-up and back stage managing. It was neat to sit up in the tech booth and orchestrate the behind the scenes stuff, wearing our cool headsets. Haha.

Here are a few fun pics of the students (Daniel is the Dwarf :).

Work and Wind

The Cast of Wind in the Willows

It turned out to be a tougher school year than we thought! I think we are finally (after 5 months) beginning to find a rhythm. First we had to cut back on a lot of outside activities. Then I began spending a lot more time with my older children to keep them on task! Now, back to helping the little ones more again! How does one make this all work?

One thing is a constant. Joanna will forever be an entertainer! Since Annie, she played Ms. Hawkins in Treasure Island, co-directed Anne of Green Gables, ran tech for It's a Wonderful Life, and did some reenacting for a "Ghost Tales" tour of downtown Woodstock.

She also led worship solo at school this past fall. It looks like she may be playing and singing more in the future!

This semester, she and some great friends at Masters performed The Wind in the Willows. Joanna is "Mole." She's made some longstanding friends at Masters, as have the boys. Up and coming? Daniel will play the Dwarf in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe this spring!

"Mole" and "Ratty"

"Frog" and "Mole"

Our little darling :D

Autumn

Since Facebook entered our world, there's much less posting here. But I finally decided there are enough people out there that would like to still see a picture or two, that I'm putting a few recent ones up!

In this post we were in week 13 of school- 10th, 7th, 5th, 3rd. We manage to get schoolwork complete most weeks, and were are being fed, but I need a maid. Any takers? We have no money so we'll have to pay you with smiles and thank you's for eternity :). Joseph has entered the world of running and talking - and loving toothpaste. I have to pull the tube away from his little hands every morning. LOL He doesn't know how to get the lid off, but he tries to suck any residue. Minty fresh!

We took one day this fall to hit the apple/pumpkin country around here, and here are some fun pics!

Annie Jr.

In her next show, Joanna played an awesome role in Annie as Miss Hannigan. She was amazing! Here are a couple pics!

Joseph's Baby Dedication

March 28, 2010 The day we dedicated Joseph to the Lord!

Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe

So we've had such a blast at TLAC. This is week 2 of performances, and I got a chance to get backstage last night. Here are some fun pictures of the children getting into theater! -oh, and the BIG KID too. Nick does his solo as Father Christmas among other roles.

There he is, Father Christmas


Here are some minions of the White Witch


Joseph likes the role of a star as well! He's got makeup in his hands!

Daniel turns 12!

So, it was quite the crazy party. Daniel had 11 boys at his birthday party. We made a royal mess! Throwing chocolate covered marshmallows into mouths, finding a whistle inside of whipped cream and blowing it (without using hands), donut chocolate dipping!

How do you like Daniel's new doo? The "gel" look is really whipped cream. Makes a great styling agent!

Christmas 2009

We had a great trip to Ohio to visit Nick' sister and an overnight outside Toronto, Ontario with Nick's Canadian Campagna cousins. It was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. It was the best Christmas holiday away from home ever!

Vito Antonio and the clan in downtown Toronto

Crazy cold Georgians at Niagara Falls!

Some fun and crazy pics from last month

Some fun pics from our trip to Columbia and a bit of randomness!

We went to the Columbia Zoo and Botanical Gardens and the Children's Discovery Museum!

Joseph was enamored by the animals.