So it is back to School !

So it is back to school for me and soon all the kids. On Monday Jon and Amy, a violin student of mine, came to my school and helped me put up bulletin boards and fix up my room. Amy also came Tuesday all afternoon. We found that I had lots of thick dust and dead bugs under my instruments and Amy helped fix the broken instruments. Also we had 40 sets of drum sticks missing from my room. Crazy huh! Summer Activity program will replace them! Whew!
What does someone want with 80 drum sticks?????? The Fun Slap Stick was still in the tupperware container, figure that?!?!?
Today I sat for 7 hours listening to and sometimes participating with 1-3 grade levels writing projects and grade level curriculum planning. I really could have spent that time doing other music things in my classroom, but the time today accumulates for extra monies, so that is OK.
Thursday I'll stay home and have the mechanic look at my car, but Friday is the official day back and it will be filled again with meetings, as well as Monday and Tuesday, meetings meetings, meetings and a sore behind from all the sitting!

These are so cute!

So here is the point of this post, I am so glad the Olympics are starting

08-08-08 because I will use the Olympic and all the good things that go with it as a theme for my music classroom. (At least the 1st Quarter) The kids will come into my room on their first day, which are actually the first three days of School -the 6th,7th & 8th. The classes come every three days to music, or PE or Art/Computer. The it is done again.

I plan on having the students walk into the music room to the Olympic theme Music from Arnoud that is playing hoefully on the blog, and then after that theme some John Williams Olympic music....

We willl have some introductions, talk about rules, play a name game where we introduce ourself and do a fun music moving activity to the Olympic theme music.
For the next two months I will teach music lessons and Music activities incorporating the Olympics. I am also lucky I worked out many of these lessons back in 2002 when we had the Olympics in Utah. For my Master's degree project I worked on a whole Olympics and Music notebook. I had so much information and activities that it filled a 1 1/2 inch folder.
So from time to time I may write about some of the activities we are doing in class because isn't the title of my blog "thoughts from the "Musiclady".....well, maybe not lesson plans but fun things we have done. I am plannin gon a good year no matter what!
I forgot my camera, so later I will post the buletin boards Jon and Amy worked on. I really appreciate their help! Jon could reach all that high stuff and he ran so willingly across the hall to get the printed papers from the Printer in the Library that we sent to be printed from the computer in my room. So that is it for today. I hope the opening ceremonies will be fantastic. I will have my VHS recording the whole thing!!! I don't have the fancy smancy DVD stuff yet. (Crazy thing that same night our ward is having an adult activity!)
Aren't these girls adorable!!!! This one is for Debbie and her China "Doll"

Till next time...

My Sweet Mama

Today on July 24, 1916 my sweet mama was born in Erfurt, Germany to Alfred and Elsa Ludwig, (more details in history)

Mama was born on July 24th which is also a celebration of the "Mormon Pioneer Saints" into the Salt Lake Valley. Mom always wanted me to know this.

I love my Mom and I miss her very much but know that she has gone ahead to a better place in this plan of salvation. Having passed away March 10, 2005.

Mom was a very faithful, devoted, hard working, intelligent and loving woman. She had integrity and honesty in all her life. She loved Dad with all her heart and loved our Heavenly Father and the Lord very much. She sacrificed so much for her little family and made sure all was well in the home. She never let me know that we were "poor" as the world sees it for we were as rich as the kings and queens and we were always able to endure anything with a smile and faith in a greater being than us all.

Mom's loved the scriptures and she was always saying these.... "Trust in the Lord" and "This too shall pass!"

Instead of writing a whole lot on this post, I think I will just share with you her life in pictures, so sit back and enjoy.....

On the front row in the middle of this Sunday School picture is my uncle Alex who is sitting on the lap of the missionary and right behind him is my mama at 3 years old.

Mom as a little "Doll" in a church play Mom in the 6th grade
Mom in the 8th grade (notice they are all girls except a teacher)Charlotte Mom liked to be in pictures and she looked like a model!

Charlotte and Klara (her sister)

ModelingThe model, her escorts and her protective brother Alex This picture was taken about the time Mom met Dad

(I couldn't download the other picture with him, sorry) Drama Night at church, Oma is the 2nd from the right
A little blurry ....Oma is the 2nd from the left

A special program about genealogy

the words translated: Book of Remembrance

Oma 2nd from left. the man sitting I think is Opa Ludwig

Mom and her "Gleaners" YW

New Year Eve Party... can you find Oma and Opa?

Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad with Oma and Opa Haase

I think this is my Mom and Oma Heinze & ? man Friend?

in preparation in getting papers and legal matters to immigrate to America I think this is a picture in NYC October 30,1953 with my parents' friend

Notice I am trying to blow a bubble with bubble gum, it was something "new"

In front of the "Old" Chapel on 1st Avenue here in Mesa

with the Dieter family who immigrated before us.

He worked with Dad in the Branch in Germany.On the "Outlook" Going to Canyon Lake"

We look like tourists!This is the typical smile I remember my mom having.

Dec 1964

the following are ramdom pictures

They just radiated their love for each other!

I am glad they could be sealed for eternity! 4 generation picture

Eva, Leslie with Layna and Charlotte

Oma at Jane's Home (This was closer to the end of her earthly Chapter of life)
I LOVE YOU MOM!

Memories

Memories...
Carmen, Leslie and Jon did this on their blogs...So I thought I would give it a try too...
Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together.
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.
It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

As Leslie said "this could get really interesting and I like my family members to leave a memory too"...

Zakje voor zeeziekte

"Zakje voor zeeziekte" (sack for seasick)

The Groote Beer:

pronounced "bare".... boy this English language is complicated. Wait that is Dutch!!

My last post was about coming to America and seeing the Statue of Liberty so this is a continuation ........ so get comfortable, grab a soda and sit down to read or come back later when you have time to read for a little while.
I hope as we all celebrated the 4th of July that you maybe had some time to reflect on our country of America. I am thankful to be living here and I pray every day that our leaders don't make a mess of it.
This past week Bryan asked me more about my family's voyage on the Groote Beer in 1953. He asked me about details that I didn't have concrete answers to. Remember I was 6 years old at the time. I have some memories especially about the beginning and the end of the trip. I guess I may have been sick too much during the middle of the voyage across the ocean. I remember the boat evacuation drill and being separated from the rest of the family briefly. I was so happy to find my Mama! I remember the playroom where Mom took Kurt a little toddler we were bringing to America to play with all the toys. He was an orphan and we were bringing him to America to live with a family that was adopting him. I remember the seasick sacks, the dining room, the metal stairs, our quarters, throwing up over the boat edge. (I almost pucked on a man on the lower deck with my yuck! I guess that is why they wanted us to use sacks.) I remember the statue of Liberty and more….

Well, I went on "ancentry.com" and signed up for a 14 day free trial. To utilize my precious time on this family history site I looked up passenger lists. After looking in different files and area of this site I found the passenger lists for the Groote Beer, I finally found out the date of our departure from Rotterdam which was on October 20 1953 and I found the passenger list. I looked page after page and finally there we were. Page #9. I copied the 26 pages of the document of passenger and crew lists. I even found extra pages about some of the crew.

(After I found all that I wanted, I unsubscribed from the site, as it was going to be a $299 service, and I got what I wanted, free! ... in three days)

What interested me was to see how much luggage we brought with us.... NOT MUCH!!!

I also found a website of someone in Australia who immigrated there on the same ship. He had gathered a collection of letters, emails, photographs from others who have taken that immigration plunge. This has fascinated me and as I search more my curiosity has grown. I want to create a small memorabilia book for my family but I will share a little bit here today.

Picture of people looking anxiously from the decks.
Don't lean over too far!

I also decided to ask my brothers about their memories of the immigration voyage as they remembered it, so I asked them to make comments and maybe answer these questions....
Would you write anything you remember of the passage, what you boys did, what we did as a family, how you felt. And in the end I would like to have your feelings about how you felt when we saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time. How you felt in NY. Did this immigration make a difference in your life and our family? What you feel about the whole thing and add any other thing you can think of.
Thanks
Love, Eva

Memory --- I remember Mom saying a few years ago that she paid for a different Ocean Liner than what we got and when we were boarding this substitute Liner we were not placed in accomodations that was equivalent of the price she paid to come here. But Mom and Dad were so set on coming that they took what they got and made the best of it. They felt discriminated against but, America was the goal not the sleeping arrangements! Now you may understand a little better about Uli's joke about the "rowing." But Mom did say, It really didn't matter after all about the rooms and bunks because we were so sea sick that no matter what the accomodations were, we would probably still have been pucking.

The big dining Hall. The food was delicious until we could eat no more........"sakje voor zeeziekte" (Memory)I remember someone saying a family style dinner prayer. I don't remember if that was for the whole boat or just our family or table.

Picture of berth.. yah, we slept on bunk beds!

The List of our baggage.....to "move" to America
4 sc Suitcases right?
2 tr Trunks-right?
1 bag (How big? and what was in it?)
4 boxes (How Big?)

1 cs (What is a cs?) ANy of you travelers have an idea?

That sure isn't much to immigrate with. Did we ship anything before or is this all!!!??????
Mike said that was all we took to immigrate with!

Uli’s Email (check out the title!) (My oldest brother) Here s what he wrote me today.....
"Gone With the Wind"

"Sorry but my memory is a big blank of those years. I just do not remember very much of the Sea Sickness Voyage except that I drank real Black tea for the first time in my life' cause they thought that might help. Ice cream was a no=no but sour herring was good. I was more excited prior to those fateful days, cause we were going to travel on one of those BIG Ocean Liners however that did not come to be instead we were going first class 6 people to each Oar and had to follow the beat of the Drummer. Little sisters etc were furnished a Ping-Pong Paddle and had to hang over the side and paddle. Lost a lot of little ones that way…We actually went to Canada and most of the passengers got off there and then it seems like that early the next morning we saw the statue of Liberty.What stuck more in my mind was the riding in the back of the bus reading Comic Books. Actually just looking at pictures couldn't read English.And then the strangest thing happened we got escorted out of a toilet at a bus stop cause we were not Black and we had to use the White only one.What was wrong with this country? Didn't they just get all upset 'cause the Germans persecuted an ethnic group of People and here they are doing the same. Love you Sis ...Sweet Uli"

(FYI = We traveled by bus from NY to Arizona. The Mississippi was a mighty river!)


Uli's thoughts were so funny to me. I hope you got the jokes. Especially since he must have known Mom had paid for a larger ship. (Maybe we wouldn't have been as sick?!?!?! But we did hit open ocean and I think there was a storm. So who knows?)

Mike wrote back that he will email or work on it latter as he is at this time ready to embark on an adventure in Russia with his wife Natlajia.

Here are just a few pictures to share.....................most of them I took off the internet site of the person who immigrated Australia on the Grote Beer. I hope they don't mind that I share them again. They are already somewhere else on the internet.

Another view of the dinning hallA sitting room or lounge to read or visit with other guests

On the Deck (not our family) The deck... Memory - - I remember playing on the deck!

The Groote Beer

Another edition from the Musiclady....... Isn't Family History fascinating! Don't be afraid to leave a comment....

God Bless America

Just another thought from the Music Lady..... I Love America. It is a choice land. We read in 2 Nephi 2:5

"But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands: a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also (*** and this was always my parents and my favorite part)....

all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord."

Just study the rest of that chapter and you will know this is a choice land and that we need to work hard to keep it that way.

Have a Wonderful 4th of July Week!

I wish I could play for you all my favorite patriotic songs and show you all my powerpoints, but it is not possible, so get out your CDs and listen to some patriotic music in your homes and do some

activities with your families this week that show your love for freedom.

A view from inside a ship looking out... (Not Our Ship)

Immigrants Looking from ship deck at the Statue of Liberty (Not Us) This is Not my family, but it sure could have been. I have this photo in one of my music books at school and when I play the music that goes with the picture it always brings back memories and tears of that October 31,1953 morning. I was about the size of that child and my dad loves wearing a cap like that man and mom wore a scarf on the ship because it was always windy. The Real Immigrants? YES!

(I am the little one, see it could have been me in the above picture!?!)The Real Ship! "The Grote Baer"

(see the widows at just above sea level? Put yourself looking out one of those windows)GOD BLESS AMERICA! ***All pictures with the exception of my family pictures were downloaded from the internet.