A night out at Big Boy...

Tonight was celebrity server night at Big Boy restaurant... the night when the principal and some of the teachers from Amerah's school wait tables and 10% of the proceeds, plus all tips, go to the school.

Never mind that I had already had both beef stew and vegetable soup simmering away all day in dueling crock pots... ahh well... it was for a good cause!

The hard part was keeping Amerah in her seat long enough to eat!

We ended up with a table full of girls, all giggling and chattering away!  I actually enjoyed it, as long as we didn't have to pay for them it was all good! :-)

Amerah and her friends were pretty happy to pose with their principal...

What a fun way to celebrate her recent promotion in karate!

Amerah the Karate Kid

Back in February, Amerah tested for a stripe on her orange belt. 

There was a large group testing, so it was a long process! 

They test in front of a panel of Dans (the higher levels in Moo Duk Kwan Soo Bahk Do).

Amerah did well, she was also consistently one of the first to raise her hand during the question and answer portion of the test.

At the end, they obligingly posed so we could take a photo...

The way it works is that they send the test results to the federation and then wait for the federation to send official certificates before the kids get the stripe put on their belts.

It was a long wait this time!  Amerah finally got her stripe today!  She was presented with her stripe in front of the more advanced class.

She then bowed to the class...

And was excused...

She asked to have a photo taken with Jonathan... the youngest kid in her class...

Next test is for a GREEN belt! Woo hoo!

Talent Show at church

So the girls in Amerah's Sunday School class had a talent show on March 14th.  I am always amazed by how talented some children are! 

After much consideration, Amerah decided to create a display of her duct tape creations and demonstrate some of the martial art forms that she has been perfecting. 

 The girls were remarkably poised and they got up and talked about their displays and demonstrated their talents with confidence.  I took a random assortment of photos during this... 

The girls sang...

They played the piano...

 

They played other instruments...

 

They spoke with pride about their accomplishments...

 

 

Can you believe some of the talent these girls have?!

 

Amerah was intimidated by all of it.  She kept commenting on the ribbons and medals and I could tell that she was feeling nervous.  When her turn came, she stood up... walked to the front of the room... and froze.  We tried to nudge her... we tried to encourage her... we tried to give her hints...

And then she turned and gave me THIS look...

Well, all my mommy instincts kicked in and what else could I do but get up there with her so she wouldn't feel alone.  One of her teachers was kind enough to bring us some of her creations to talk about (she is holding the shoes she made and her teacher is holding the purse. 

 

She absolutely, positively, refused to do her forms... ahh well... we'll have to get her used to doing a little public speaking...  All in all a great night and a wonderful opportunity to share talents will all of these great girls.

A day at Kensington Park

Way back on March 11th, Dave and I took Amerah and Lily out to Kensington Park for the day.  Yes, I know, I am WAY behind on my blogging!

As usual, Amerah's favorite past time was hunting for shells...

It was bittersweet for me to sit in my wheelchair and watch them, when I wanted to run and play with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at our favorite little grassy area, next to a tiny little beach, for a picnic lunch...

 

 

Then Amerah hunted for more shells, and Dave and Lily explored the little beach

 

 

 

 

Aside from a flock of ducks and various birds, the only wildlife we saw were these deer...

All that fresh air and exercise had everyone worn out...

 

 Some waited until we got home to give in to exhaustion!

 

A trip to the Detroit Institute of Art

On March 4th, Dave and I took Amerah to the Detroit Institute of Art.  Yes, I am a little behind on my blogging... It was her first time going to an art museum (in fact the only museums she has ever been to are The Henry Ford and Earthworks!)  It was high time to broaden her horizons!

 

I was just excited to be able to go ANYWHERE!  This new wheelchair, with which I have a love/hate relationship, has at least allowed me to go places that require more walking than I am able to do.

Amerah likes The Thinker... although her knowledge of it is limited to "FIREPOWER!" courtesy of Night at the Museum.

 

 

She was enthralled... for a while... then she realized that she couldn't touch anything... and that Daddy and I are very boring because we enjoy looking at everything...

 

Amerah did get to do some drawing.  Unfortunately she is not a perfectionist, thus her interest in this activity lasted about 10 minutes during which she drew a hasty sketch of the object she chose... and expected us to proclaim it a masterpiece...

 

There were many incredible things there that caught my eye...

 

 

 

 

 

 

This painting especially interested me... perhaps because he is a distant relative...

 

It was interesting to see what captured Amerah's interest...

 

Our little "work of art" was agreeable enough to pose for some cute and silly photos outside...

 

 

Next time we hope to try the science center for a little more "hands-on" fun!