Blood, Sweat, and Song in Alabama, Part 1

Seven of the kids and I spent last week at Harmony Hills singing school in Jasper, AL. Although it was the 16th annual event, it was the first time for our family. For those of you haven’t heard of a singing school, here is some information that will help explain the purpose:

Our worship services include a cappella singing and our hymnals are printed with shaped notes. Singing schools teach these skills for the purpose of glorifying God. Devoted to encouraging our youth in skillful a cappella singing and in Christian fellowship, we all, [children, youth, and adults alike], work together to provide a Godly atmosphere for learning.

I’ll post specifics later, but today I want to share a story from the week, one that our family will surely tell for years to come…

Students 9 and older can sleep in dorms at the campground where Harmony Highlands is held. Most others either camp on site or stay at a hotel. Two of my best girlfriends and I rented a condo for the week with our younger children and drove in each morning. One evening a friend of ours and her children visited us to check out our place (our 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo on the lake created a buzz since a lot of people were paying more for a motel room).

We picked up a movie for the kids so the moms could enjoy some quality time and wine on the deck. Almost as soon as the movie ended the screaming began. My youngest daughter ran up to me with blood on her face and nightgown. Apparently she was tickling her little buddy, Gracie, who didn’t like it and punched her in the mouth, knocking out her two very loose front teeth.

This was my daughter’s 6th birthday and we’d talked about how neat it would be if she lost her first two teeth that day. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy!

Although this wasn’t exactly what we had in mind, we found both teeth and the tooth fairy even located us in Alabama.

The next day the girls were good as new (but probably without so much tickling). Gracie looks taller here, but really she’s a tiny thing, sitting on my little gal’s hip.