Pieces of the Puzzle: Part 1, England

The more time passes the more things I do, & the things in the past become more of a piece to a puzzle & less of a major event. SOME things, however, remain major events. Since I don't blog as often ...ok hardly at all anymore, and I want to catch up (even though the few reading this probably already saw these in other network posts) so here are a few of the things I've been doing that are still main events and will be the defining memories of 2014 as the puzzle of life continues to complete itself.

In June we took 9 of my theatre students to England for some theatre work & self discovery of sorts. Man I love that place! I go every time I get a chance, but experiencing it through the eyes of young actors is the best!

 A couple of my students got to perform a scene from Taming of the Shrew for the public in Stratford.

 At the Globe in London we attended a workshop on acting

In the lobby of The Globe Theater the actors in the company were rehearsing for a show.

...and taking giggle breaks. 

My husband & I were so blessed to have such great students willing to hang out with our son.

Years ago, we took our oldest daughter to England a few times. I have some of my best memories in Bath, because of her. She passed away a few months after her last trip there, & I was anxious to return. When we arrived I was suddenly overwhelmed with the pain of her absence and could not face the tour. While one of my students took the role of leader for the tour, my husband took me with our son around the city to create new memories. Instead of remembering the pain of an empty heart that I felt that day, I remember the beautiful day and the great time we shared walking around. Bath Abby was a place I have never had a chance to enter, and my son would have nothing to do with it, but Joseph had finished his role as leader of the tour with his peers, so he went inside with me. It is so beautiful.

Stonehenge. 

Poppies. Everywhere.

Street art.

Food that makes me laugh.

Attending another, very exciting & challenging workshop.

Just grabbing a moment with Duc. I love this guy!

Yep. It was actually as good as it looked in the window.

Another Duc moment. hehehe

My boys

One day after we left, Sir Patrick Stewart was here & posted a picture of himself with Yoda. Sometimes my timing really sucks! 

Westminster Abby

Windsor Castle

This show was SO GOOD!

Practicing panning with my camera.

Joseph ROCKS!

Lord Lawrence Olivier. My early inspiration. 

Actor on a break.

Up next... Australia!

Finding life after loosing a child...

It's been nearly 2 months since my last blog... wow, that sounds so cliche! February & March are filled with highs and lows. My birthday, our theatre competition, & springtime in Texas are the highs, but the lows are as low as you can get. My daughters passed during these months. Emily in February, & Cheyenne in March. Very dark time for me, especially this year. It's been 10 yrs since we last held little Emily, a major milestone, & as the 14th year passes without Cheyenne we also are faced with the fact that Cheyenne would have been a senior this year. No prom. No Sr. portraits (difficult for a photographer in me). No graduation.

Grieving is necessary. So is choosing when to grieve.

But sometimes you get blind-sided, and this year I got hit hard.

So, to counter attacked the pain, I focused on the highlights of these last weeks and here they are: The Rodeo, & a contest performance with my students... first, the Rodeo!

Nick & I enjoyed the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo with two very good friends, and former theatre students, Andy Dawkins (aka Mikey) & Jeff Chumley. Styx was the guest performance that night, so of course we went in honor of Cheyenne. She used the song Come Sail Away to tell us she was leaving us, and Lady to let me know I was hers. Go here for that story & more shots of another Styx concert we went to.

Next I took my students to the annual UIL One-Act Play contest where we performed scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Shakespeare's work is my passion, and we had a blast! Individual awards were received for their performances and we were the only company in 10 to get a full house standing ovation! YAY!!!!!!! 

(Disclaimer: our set had been taken to the contest sight, so these shots are with the rehearsal set, ugly!)

passing time in the dressing room at contest before our show goes up... 

...and the AMAZINGLY supportive parents of my students! Apples don't fall far from their trees, & these parents are the reason my students are SO WONDERFUL!

So now I will fill my next few months with more theatrical productions, photo shoots with clients, and fun in the fair weather of springtime with my beautiful little boy. Loosing a child is indescribably tormenting, & that never goes away, but love is real. Love is permanent. The love I have for my girls will never die. I am honored to have been their mom.