Auditions!

So we had kind of a crazy weekend.  There's this billboard on the main street we travel a lot advertising Actors, Models, and Talent for Christ.  Gilly has pestered me for a good year or so about looking into it, and I really just kept blowing it off.  After all, this is the girl who would burst into tears if you smiled real big and clapped your hands like you might be proud of her.  We have pictorial evidence of such.

And it wasn't just when she was a baby.  This was a birthday party she went to when she was around 3 1/2 when we were proud that she went down the big slide alone...

So yeah, she's a pretty girl and people tell her all the time that she should model, but I just didn't really think she wanted to do it.  Even if her pictures come out like this, there's more to it than that...

But anyway.  A couple weeks ago she finally wore me down, and remembered about it when we were actually home and not just driving by the sign.  MOM!  Look that place up right now!  I really want to do it!  And they have open auditions in our area twice a year, one of which was coming up in two weeks.  So we registered.  And I'm still telling her, it's a cattle call!  There will be a million people there and probably nothing will happen from this!  Don't get your hopes up!

Saturday we went.  I had no idea what to expect.  I was super nervous, and not sure how seriously to take this agency or its people or its claims.  But oh look- Megan Fox started here, and so did the girl who plays in the American Girl movie Gilly loves.  So did that adorable Mathai on the Voice this season, and a bunch of American Idol people, and the little girl on We Bought a Zoo.  The guy talked to us for almost an hour and a half and I really felt like he was totally upfront about the cost (HUGE) and the commitment and their mission and focus.  He talked about how the most important thing we can do as parents is to help our kids find God's calling on their lives, and how this isn't it for everybody.  He's told people they should only sing in the shower, and that God needs dentists to spread His word too.  That made me laugh.  But I came away from it feeling really uplifted and peaceful.  He said that if we received a callback, he didn't want to hear that we were so happy because we wanted this so badly.  He wanted to hear that we prayed about it as a family, and what did God tell us?  Is the timing right?  Are we peaceful?  And to me that said a lot about them not wanting to just take our money.  They gave us lots of opportunities to NOT do this, and really stressed the whole family being on the same page, with God, feeling right about this.  Not to say there aren't obstacles, he tells us, we love obstacles, but there must be peace.  And be sure, because this is too expensive and time consuming to be a hobby.  This is the launch of a possible career.

Then she auditioned.  She walked the runway and spoke to Philipa Booyens about her calling and she sounded so poised.  They gave her a commercial to cold read and she did well.  Philipa was all, you're only EIGHT?  She walked out of there going, Mama, I got this.  They're gonna call me back.  Miss Philipa liked me.  I could tell.  And I kept saying, baby, there were 200 people in that room.  Don't get your hopes up...

They called back.  9:00 Sunday morning right as we were leaving for church.  I'd read through all the material, including the amount of money we'd be required to come up with for Shine, but I hadn't had a chance to really talk it through with hubby, so I asked them to call back in a couple hours for our decision. 

Have y'all met my husband?  He is a researcher.  He is cautious, a studier, and kind of cynical when it comes to things sometimes.  He worries about scams.  He worries about his daughter getting in over her head.  He worries about giving control of big things in his life over to God.  And he looked at me in the car on the way to church, and he said, "I'm scared.  Let's go for it!"

And that right there, folks?  That was God.  All God.

So we spent three more hours yesterday afternoon at AMTC.  We signed her up for the Bridge program to train for Shine, and we're slated to be at the January 2013 convention in Orlando.  She's got a modeling class scheduled for next Thursday.  She did improv and cold read and more runway walking.  She received instruction about how much water and junk food and sleep she should get.  She is not allowed to cut her hair without first receiving advice from her STYLE TEAM.  My eight year old has a style team.  We are to send them pictures in the next three days so they can evaluate her.  She must always wear sunscreen.

She is loving this.  She is soaking it up.  She is people watching and practicing accents and writing mini monologues today.  She is obeying every nutrition command Miss Philipa gives her.

 And we're fundraising like crazy.  CRAZY.  I'm going to be asking everybody who's ever met our family to love on us and send us something.  If you have any cool ideas I want 'em.  I'd love to have something to raffle off, like anybody who donates five bucks or more has a chance to win .... something.  Got something to donate?  Got cash?  We'll take it.  Hubby looked at me last night and goes, "We just bought a BMW."  The monthly payments to prepare for the convention are pretty similar to that, actually.  ACK.

But you know, I feel absolutely RIGHT that this is what we're supposed to be doing right now.  Even if she goes nowhere with this, just has a great time and doesn't get contracts at Shine (although they say they have an 87% success rate), I feel so great.  She's so empowered right now, but not cocky at all.  She's excited and still talking about the opportunity to show Jesus to people.  And we're working on giving finances to God and trusting and obeying, and that's so new and so important for us that I don't have any reservations.  This journey to Shine is crucial for our family, no matter what happens afterwards.