I am pleased and proud to announce that Little Son was the First Place Winner of the violin solo scholarship competition of a local music association in our state. He was just thrilled, and so were we. He wanted to win this very badly, mainly because there was a money prize. Okay, so it was a ribbon and $25, but that is a very huge sum of money in Little Son's world.

There were four contestants in his division, and we were so pleased with his performance. His 1/2 size violin just sang out beautifully throughout the small sanctuary of a local church that hosted the competition. It was a difficult piece with a lot of vibrato and a distinct mood, and he captured it: it was by far the best we have ever heard him play in public.

We were just proud as could be today, and we celebrated with a big dinner at a local Italian restaurant. We were joking around at the dinner table regarding the possible factors that may have contributed to his success, but he summed it up best when he said "I knew when I was up there that God was helping me." It was a great opportunity to talk about giving all the glory to the Lord at times like these. That's what it's all about, after all.

Days like these really help me, too, because violin is such a difficult road sometimes. Those of you out there who are violin parents know what I mean. This has been very encouraging to both us parents.

By the way, Self-Reliant Man finished the job of changing out the alternator yesterday, and it was more difficult than one would expect on account of the design and layout of our vehicle's engine compartment. But he did it, and I am proud of him, too. Unfortunately, he is not feeling well today. At first, he thought it was muscle aches due to the physical strain of the repair work, but now I am afraid he might have flu or a bad cold. Please keep him in prayer.