I'm with the band

The girls and I were excited to hear Andrew's band compete in a festival-type competition at the school where he used to student teach a few weeks ago. Instead, I received a call on our way out of the neighborhood saying that his bus driver cancelled at the last minute so the band couldn't get there. Bummer.

But since we were already gussied up, strapped in our car seats, and in possession of a packed diaper bag, we headed on over to the Tara High band room to wait with Daddy while all the kids got picked up. Not one to let a change in plans slow her down, Lucy made quick friends with all the percussion instruments while sister bopped along to the beat. She's become quite enamored with the whole big-kids-playing-big-instruments thing this year; can't wait to see what she ends up wanting to play!

Seeing these pictures reminded me of a cute video I got of Lucy dancing along to the band last fall during a football game. I was having problems posting videos back then, but here it is for your viewing pleasure!

Andrew has encountered so many difficult and frustrating situations this year -- student apathy, misbehavior and fighting, a severe lack of resources, little or no parental support, etc. I could go on, but you get the idea. And through it all, he's kept his head up and kept moving forward, shaping young lives and leading by example. The road was long and steep, but we're so very proud of Mr. Powers for all that he's accomplished this year.