Senior Thesis Defense (updated with video link and abstract)

 Genevieve completed a nearly year long senior project by defending her thesis in front of a panel of three teachers.  She wrote her thesis stating that women complement men in such a way that redeems society using Saint Pope John Paul the Great's proposed four feminine characteristics.  These are generosity, receptivity, sensitivity, and maternity.  The texts she used were The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, The Odyssey by Homer, and Antigone by Sophocles.  She wrote a 20 page paper with multiple character analyses to defend her thesis.  

Genevieve's Abstract:

The genius of women is just as necessary as the genius of men but in a different and complementary way. When not constrained by prejudice, women are able to use their unique abilities and virtues to provide a balance to society. The women of ancient times particularly struggled with overcoming said prejudices in order to aid humanity by following God’s (or the gods’) plan for them. Penelope, Antigone, and Lucy Pevensie are three examples of women who overcame perversities in order to fulfill their roles in serving humanity.

She did an outstanding job surrounded by an audience of family and friends.  We are so proud of her!  This senior year is going by all too quickly though.  This was her last big thing that had been hanging over her head.  The rest is mostly just fun stuff like the senior retreat, prom, and the senior banquet before graduation.

Her closest friends!  She is loved by a great group of girls!

Here is the link to the video of her defense.

Senior Night

I mentioned recently that Genevieve is super busy right now and rarely home. That has lent itself to a few illnesses. She had a stomach bug that many people in the basketball team also had. And last week she was home with a fever and a sore throat that my mommy instincts led me to take her to get a strep test which was positive.  When she started to get sick she was panicking that she was going to miss her senior night for basketball. The last home game for seniors they do a special presentation and they give them a personalized basketball, team photos framed, and a basket of goodies that the teammates collect.  

Luckily we got those antibiotics just in the nick of time for her to be allowed to go back to school Friday afternoon so she could be a part of her senior night. However she had missed several days of practice, had been in bed, and was very weak still.  But Genevieve has all kinds of drive and motivation, and she played almost the entire game with a beet red face.  It was a good game, and I'm sad for the season to be ending.  I only have one more that's interested in basketball, Isaac and Judah are playing baseball this spring.  I don't have anything against baseball but it's just not as exciting to watch as basketball and the games are so very long.  Roman really enjoyed watching basketball all season and I'm not sure how he'll feel about baseball since it's harder to see what's happening and much slower.  He loves all the action and all the noise of a basketball game.

Back to Genna's night, her coaches said that she was "tenacious with a smile" which is so very true!  Her friends in the stands made cut outs of her and some of the other seniors and put them on Popsicle sticks which was kind of adorable.

Another 4th Generation Aggie!

 Genevieve applied to three colleges and got into all three before Christmas. She has decided that she will be going to A&M where her sister is. She, like Hannah, will be a 4th generation Aggie. My grandfather, my dad and all his brothers, my mom, and Brian and I all went to Texas A&M.

People keep asking me if she's excited, and I realized I really wasn't actually that sure. I asked her and she said that yes she is happy that she got in and somewhat excited. However, she said that she is enjoying her senior year so much she just wants to live in the moment not really think about next year.  She and Hannah are so very opposite. Hannah couldn't wait to get through her senior year and go to college.  

With college applications and her play behind her, Genevieve's focus right now is on her senior thesis which is on the feminine genius using the books, the Odyssey, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the play Antigone for her defense. She is also in the middle of basketball season where she is the starting center Post and usually starts the game with the ball tip.  She is also working, has a very full social life, and a constant stream of babysitting requests.  This makes it so that we rarely see her, and she doesn't even make it home for dinner most nights. When she is home with free time she is painting, drinking hot tea, or snuggling with Roman.  She loves to take Roman on walks when the weather is not quite so bitterly cold.  I often will go with her if I have time and we have our very best chats during these walks.  I am working on her senior photo board and gathering pictures for her senior banquet. Once we pick a date for her graduation party her announcements/invitations will get printed.

The aforementioned play that she was in was a one act Little Women in which she played Meg, the oldest sister.  She killed it and we were so very proud of her!  She particularly shined during the engagement scene in which she gets very flustered and played it to a tee.  That scene filled the audience with giggles.

In costume

Homer and the First Lost Tooth

Genevieve had her 11th grade Homerathon which is a party they have every year at their school and there was a competition for the best costume.  I put her hair in a crown braid and she hand painted some leaves from a garland that we used at her birthday party and pinned them in.  She won second place!

And my little Bobby, at age 7 years old, finally lost his first tooth!

 

My girls!

I mentioned that this is Hannah's senior year.  She got to paint her parking spot, and she did a fabulous job!  I helped her come up with the idea.  I was hoping she'd do something with some meaning.  When discussing this with her sister, we decided she is very much like the Queen of Hearts in Alice and Wonderland sometimes.  She hand drew this with chalk and then painted it for like five hours straight.  In fact, she squatted the whole time and couldn't feel her feet for more than a week.  She literally collapsed several times because she couldn't feel her feet.  So she learned a valuable lesson, and hopefully will take breaks next time.

This is a screenshot.  I still need to get a picture of her with her spot.

Hannah has also been running a little side business where she sells dog portraits that she draws.  One of my mom's friends ended up having her draw every dog she's ever had and hung them all up.  Here is the screenshot of her dog wall.  I am super proud of her!

Genevieve dressed up like one of her favorite teachers for "Dress like a Teacher Day" during Homecoming Spirit Week.  I snapped a picture right before she walked out the door in the morning.  I was seriously amazed at how much she nailed it though when I saw the school's Instagram post.  She straightened her hair and wore a different pair of glasses (not prescription) to complete the look.  The only thing she was missing was the Doc Martins.

Her teacher is in the middle of all the students that dressed up like her with the lanyard around her neck.  She complimented Genna on her outfit being so similar to her own.

 

The Socrates Award Winner

 Genevieve got the Socrates Award at the end of last school year for her "sense of wonder" in all classes.  Their classical school does not give many awards, only a handful per grade.  I am so proud of her Great Heart and all she does in school!

Genevieve's Sweet Sixteen Birthday Party

Genevieve is nicknamed Lobster around her because she always chooses the most expensive thing on the menu (completely on accident) and pretty much just has high society taste.  She wanted a Cottage Core Aesthetic Birthday Party on our new covered porch.  I was unaware of what "Cottage Core" even was prior to this request.  You may be shocked to find out after reading this post that I tempered her requests quite a bit.  We went all out on decorating the back porch with greenery and plants.  She wanted picnic style finger foods. 

Unfortunately, the flies were really bad and it was quite hot, but her birthday month has really unpredictable weather.  One year we had a pool party and it was freezing!

A friend of Genevieve's has a grandmother that makes and sells macarons.  They were beautiful and delicious.

Then it was picture time!

I got a special picture with the birthday girl too!

Then came to real fun.  We did a mini Chopped Junior Sweets competition.  I had basic baking ingredients available and each group got three of the same mystery ingredients that had to be used in a creative way to make a dessert.  The ingredients were French Toast Crunch Cereal, dried cranberries, and a can of Pillsbury biscuits.  While the girls cooked, they sang and danced and it was such a precious thing to watch!

Roman really enjoyed watching and dancing to their singing while they cooked.

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

This was the only one I got a picture of before I taste tested them as the judge. 

The mess left behind from this frantic cooking competition was so big and so deep that it took me the entire movie to clean the kitchen.  The girls piled up on the trampoline and watched a movie on our projector outside.  Luckily it had cooled down enough to enjoy this.