spring has sprung, our first broken bone, and other happenings

I can't tell you how much I really, really miss being able to blog whenever I want to, instead of just when I have a few extra minutes when we are at the church, especially since I am supposed to be using this time to finish this week's bulletin.

Our weeks have been busy ones lately.  Ronnie's Mom came for a visit a couple of weeks ago and we enjoyed spending time with her.  His brother and sister-in-law even came over on Sunday afternoon to eat lunch with us.  It is rare for all of us (minus their grown kids) to be together.

With the arrival of spring (and spring allergies-oh joy!) has also come the arrival of baseball season.  D moved up from t-ball to coach pitch baseball this year and is incredibly excited about it.  JW is still in the 9 and 10 year old league, but his season is looking doubtful ... more on that later.  I have yet to attend a baseball practice to meet the coaches and other parents.  I have taken advantage of all three kids going with Ronnie to the park to spend a little quiet time at home.  I have felt a little guilty about Ronnie taking all the kids, but since I have (for the most part) used the time to get things done around the house, I guess it isn't too bad.  Soon, games will begin and we will all be at the park together - every night (except Wednesdays) - for weeks.

I suppose I should be thankful that it has taken this long for one of our children to break a bone.  If I had to pick which child I thought would have been the first, I have to admit that it would have be D (aka: the hurricane or wild child) rather than the calmer JW.  Last Sunday, while playing at a friends' house during our Sunday afternoon swap, JW jumped out of the back of a truck (parked, of course) and tripped, landing on his left hand.  From what I can understand (we don't see the bone doctor until Monday) he has a small break above his wrist.  This is new territory for us and I have no idea what to expect when we go back to the doctor on Monday morning.  JW is taking almost all of this in stride with the exception of the fact that he will most likely miss some, if not all, of this baseball season.  Since this is the only sport he plays, I really hate to see him have to miss it, but I am very thankful that he didn't break his neck, so I guess one baseball season isn't a bad trade off.

In other happenings, LB is getting ready for her 7th dance recital!  She has started pointe ballet this spring and is loving it ... she and her friend, Desi, are the only two in their class taking pointe and their teacher told me that if they continue doing well, she may allow them to show off a few steps in the finale of the recital.  Desi and LB are also planning another duet for the recital ... and I am happy to say that they will be doing tap this year, and they are going to let their dance teacher help them choose their music, so I am sure it will be good.

We have been sandwiching school into all these activities.  Our big thing this year has been reading.  LB has continued in her love for reading and I am thrilled to say that JW has now joined the bandwagon and has gotten excited about reading as well.  D is progressing quickly with his phonics and I think he will be reading well by the end of the school year!  I am busy trying to decide what curriculum to order for next year and am looking forward to getting some of the new things ordered.  Just for the record ... I LOVE new school books!

Hopefully, we will soon get the issue with our computer at home resolved and I will be able to go back to blogging on a regular basis - not to mention being able to read everyone else's blogs!  Until then, I hope you have a wonderful spring!

dance on demand

LB's sixth dance recital was last weekend.  I can't believe how much she has grown up since we started in this whole dance thing when she was only 5.  I think she still loves it as much as she ever did and each year I can see progress in her and in her class at their dance recital.

This year she danced a duet with another home schooled girl in her class.  They chose a lyrical ballet to the song You Are My All in All.  They did a beautiful job and looked really well matched for dancing together.  The night of the recital they were already talking about doing another duet next year.  As much as I like the fact that they chose a worship song to dance to, I hope that they will do a tap number next year.

This year's recital was a little unusual because Mrs. Gerry, LB's dance teacher had an appendectomy just two days before the recital and wasn't able to attend.  Her husband, Mr. August, was the emcee as usual, but you could tell that the girls were thrown off balance by Mrs. Gerry not being there.  Mr. August told the crowd that this was the first recital she had missed in 58 years of teaching dance ... wow!

LB and Desi waiting to dance their duet
(and me showing off the bun cover I made)

Pretty girls

The class costume

my favorite picture of LB

she loves getting flowers every year

her Daddy chose these flowers especially to match her dress

right before my eyes

This past Saturday night, LB danced in her sixth dance recital.  She was 5 the first time and I was just as nervous as she was. 

Two years ago she danced a tap solo to Singing in the Rain.  It was cute and she did great. 

Last year, LB and her good friend LK did tap duet to Sea Cruise.  They found out that it is harder to cover up mistakes when you are dancing with someone else.  Still, it was a good learning experience for them and they had fun working together.

This year was different.  From the first time we talked about it, she was determined that she wanted to do a ballet solo this year.  One of her classmates had done a lyrical ballet solo last year and she really liked it, and then this year her class began working on their own lyrical ballet to Amazing Grace and she was even more sure that this was the kind of dance she wanted to do.  So, when the time came, we talked to her dance teacher, Mrs. Gerry, and asked her to choose a good song for LB.  She chose Love by Chris Tomlin.  I had never heard the song, but it was a good choice.

I guess I am sharing all of this information with you because of what happened to me as I watched my baby girl dance on Saturday.  Some of you probably already know that I am not given to tears.  I don't think there is anything wrong with tears, they just don't come naturally to me (unless I am angry).  So, I was surprised to find myself tearing up when LB danced her solo.  She looked so beautiful and so confident as she waited for the music to start.  I don't know what she was thinking about, but her poise astounded me. 

My baby girl isn't a baby anymore, and yet even as I realized that she looked so grown up, she still looked like my little baby girl to me.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to find words to express how this moment touched my heart, but I also knew that I wanted to try.  It is as if that tiny baby that I brought home 10 years ago is transforming right before my eyes.  Each year, as I look back at the recital pictures from years past, I see the baby disappearing and a young woman struggling to find her way into the world.  Just typing these words brings tears to my eyes again.

I don't want to rush the process that is taking place in my girl, but I don't want to spend too much time trying to hold on to the past either.  I just want to enjoy this moment with my beautiful baby girl young lady, who will always be my baby girl.

my dancing girl

Today has been a big day already and it is only 10:00 in the morning. First, I got a call about 7:45 to let me know that I have a new nephew ... Asher Gallatin (I hope I am spelling that right!) born at his home early this morning ... mom and baby are doing well. LB is already over the fact that HE isn't a SHE ... the girls are seriously outnumbered in our family ... 12 grand kids, only 3 girls! But a baby is a baby and my little girl LOVES babies, so even a boy is better than nothing!

This morning was the morning that LB's dance school does a recruitment day at the local elementary school ... no, they don't call it that, but I am sure that is the purpose. We don't mind, it is fun and it gives the girls a chance to practice in front of an audience before the actual recital. This year, LB's class danced their tap number ... I don't know the name of the song they were dancing to, but the girls did a great job. There are six girls in the class and only two of them could be there this morning, so LB and LK danced a duet. These two girls have been dancing together since they were six years old ... they have known each other all their lives because LK's mom and I have been friends for most of our lives, specifically since about 3rd grade. I videoed the girls dancing, but when you watch it, remember that there are supposed to be six girls doing this dance!

One final note before the video ... if you like giveaways take a moment to visit Blessings at our House and check out Donna's giveaway in honor of her 100th post.

Without further ado ... here is my dancing girl!

a mixed bag

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to catch up a little of what has been going on around here.

We are down to our last week of summer baseball. I suppose I should be sad, but I'm not. Baseball three nights a week has really thrown a kink into our "normal" routine. Now, I am not what you would call a "scheduled" person, but I do like to be at home some and for the last couple of months we have been going at least 4 out of every 5 weeknights. Ugh! On the bright side though, JW's team is still undefeated. Of course, the best part is that he has had fun and I think has made good progress this year. I will definitely give credit to his coaches for the progress. They have been wonderful ... not once all year have I heard them raise their voices to the boys on the team, except to cheer them on. When correction has been needed, they have done it quietly and with lots of positive encouragement. They have done a great job boosting my very timid child's confidence and have helped him to have a desire to get better and play harder next year. I'd call that a successful year of ball.

We have also ended another great year of dance for LB. She has now completed 5 years of dance and loves it as much today as she did when she started. As a matter of fact, I think she loves it even more now than she did at the beginning. Last year, she did her first solo in the dance recital. She did great and we were extremely proud of her. This year, she and a friend decided that they wanted to do a duet. Their teacher approved and after some discussion, she chose for them to do a tap number to Sea Cruise. They did a great job on their duet, though they did forget a few steps in their 2nd recital, and I think they learned a great life lesson ... when you make a mistake, just keep going. They also learned that sometimes it is easier to dance solo!

On a less positive note, our van is dead. Well, not the whole van, just the transmission. Which, in a van older than my marriage, (it's a 1996) with 175,000 miles, it might as well be the whole van. While we take our time and try NOT to make any mistakes in buying a new(er) vehicle we are driving the car that my mom bought the year I graduated from high school. Early on, my mom was very protective of that car, but gradually, as it began developing symptoms of old age, it became my dad's junker ... the one he uses for trips to the hardware store and such. It has no air conditioning (have I mentioned that I live in the deep south? and it is June!) and we have been admonished to drive it like Daddy ... which means that we can't drive over 40 miles an hour. Let's just say that it has been really, um, interesting for the last few weeks. Oh, and I guess I should also mention that this is a REALLY small car and I have 3 children who can't ride in this car without touching each other ... really interesting.

I shouldn't complain, though and, I am extremely thankful that my parents have allowed us to use the car so that we can take our time in finding a new van. Well, actually, we are looking for the used van that we want to buy. We have already spent more time praying about this decision than we did about the other two vehicles we have bought combined. I guess the up side is that I am looking forward to having something reliable to drive (and it won't hurt that it will probably look better!) and I can honestly say that we have matured enough to know that this is not a decision we want to make on our own ... again!

It is late and I have to get up early to have the older two kids at the 1st of 3 Vacation Bible Schools they are planning to attend this year. This one is at the church where some of our home schooled friends go and will be the kids' 1st experience with a daytime VBS. Later this month they will go to my parents' church and then next month will be our church's turn. Unfortunately, D can't go to any except ours since he is still only 3. It is okay though ... he will get to hang out with Mama most of the week and even has a play date with a friend one morning ... I think he'll survive.

With ALL that said, I hope everyone has a great week and now I am going to bed!