When we lived at Brent's Place we learned about a really neat organization, Blue Star Connection. They are a great non-profit supported by musicians and music lovers alike that gives instruments to kids with various diseases and to their siblings. I went back & forth for a few days debating if we should contact them or not for a keyboard for Frannie and Lydia to practice. After some prompting from Miss Rachel at Brent's Place, I asked.
The director, John Catt, emailed me back right away and said he had just the keyboard. We made plans to go to Denver to pick it up. The next day he received an email from a family who wanted to donate a digital piano and he wondered if we had room. Well, we had the perfect place! The couple donating the piano even delivered it to our home a couple of weeks ago! We are so thankful for all the generosity. I'm excited to have something all seven of us can learn to play.
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| Mrs. Amy and Mr. Mike, the generous givers of the piano |
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| This was pre-broken leg. Everyone loves the piano! |
Because of Esther's broken leg, Frannie and Lydia just had their first lesson this Monday and have been practicing finding middle C and practicing their C-scale. They are thrilled and can't wait to learn more. They keep asking when will they be able to play "fancy songs" aka classical music and the Charlie Brown song that Mr. Jimmy played at Brent's Place. Next summer at the Blue Star Music Festival, maybe they will have a piece to play!
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| Lydia |
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| Francesca |
As the girls have plinked out the notes on the keyboard, I have been struck with how peaceful a simple scale can be. While normal is very relative, the notes sounded sweet, just perfect to represent what a day should be for little girls. We are thankful for an opportunity for them to learn and an avenue of healing for everyone.
How cool!! As "normal" as life can be :)
ReplyDeleteThe piano will be so much fun!
ReplyDeleteIf you think further on a dog for Zinnia's fear, I strongly suggest an older dog. Puppies are high energy, rambunctious and bite. a lot. They aren't mean about it, it's just how puppies play, but it can be overwhelming for a child who has a fear of dogs. Our daughter had an irrational fear of dogs. We ended up adopting a 4 1/2 yr old shepherd mix. He was the best antidote for our daughter. He was very reserved and never, ever attempted to bite or growl. He came to us already housebroken and leash trained. Taking the time to find the right dog with a mellow and tolerant disposition is worth the effort, especially when you have a young one with a fear of dogs. We now have a (almost) 2 year old lab who is high energy and happy as can be. Our daughter is the one who plays with him the most. :)
Good point. We never thought of this. I'd much rather adopt a dog anyway!
DeleteBrilliant idea, Kristin! It's bit of a commute, but Boulder Valley Humane Society has a fantastic website with lots of information about each dog, and definitely some older & house-trained ones. It is a commitment, but not having to housetrain makes it a LOT less stressful :)
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