A "Dusting"

We did a snow dance. We wore our jammies inside out. We slept with spoons under our pillows. We had pennies in our socks. We flushed ice down all of our toilets. Apparently, these were all little tricks Sophie and Ella had heard about at school to help bring the snow. We got literally a dusting. Not enough for a snowball or a snowman. But enough to close schools. So the girls were excited. Well, except for Ryan. Her school did NOT close. Little girls and I just got in from making snow angels. About to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate with LOTS and LOTS of marshmallows.

First we did a snow dance......

A Weekend with the Arts

We had a very busy weekend. On Saturday, the little girls and I had "Annie" rehearsals. The girls were so stinking cute working on "Hard Knock Life" up on the stage. My best friend, Ashleigh, is playing Grace Farrell. Her girls, Meg and Campbell (Sophie and Ella's best friends), are both in the show as well. We ended up having to sneak Ella and Campbell plastic buckets because the metal buckets were as big as they were! They rehearsed for three hours on Saturday afternoon. All four of the girls were so patient and attentive during that entire time. Ashleigh and I were really impressed with how well they behaved. AND with how much the little bitty girls were able to catch on to the choreography.

We are so enjoying our "Annie" rehearsal time. It is a lot of work, but we cannot wait to be on stage together! Our only sadness comes from Ryan not being able to be in the show because of other school commitments. However, she is going to get to work backstage, so we are thankful that she will be there with us each night and be part of the crew.

On Sunday Sophie had her very first Cub Chorus performance at the Shelby County Schools Race for Education. The Cub Chorus at her school is made up of Kindergarten through Second graders who go to school EARLY each Friday morning for rehearsals. When I say early, I mean EARLY. She is out the door and at the school by 7:15 each Friday, even though school does not start until 9:00 am. Sophie is loving her time with these kids. She looks forward to it all week long, and I get absolutely no complaints from her when I wake her up so early those days.

The Cub Chorus was absolutely precious! They were up there on stage in front of a LOT of people. Parents and children from almost every school in the entire Shelby County School system were there to participate in the race. They sang four very cute songs, and we had a blast. Sophie showed us once again that she seems to be right at home up there on the stage. :-)

We all participated in the race after the choral performance. Sophie and I did the 1-mile fun run, while John and Ryan did the 5K. Ella went along for a ride in the jog stroller. Sophie really impressed me. I kept trying to slow down so she would not get tired, but she kept telling me to run and go faster. She ran the entire mile without once stopping or complaining. I was blown away. There came a point (I am ashamed to admit) where I was having trouble keeping up with her anymore. We had a sweet time together, just my little-getting-bigger-by-the-second girl and me. Then we waited and cheered on Daddy as he crossed the finish line a little while later with Ella.

All in all, a very busy weekend but a very good one, too!

There are no words....

This has been my life today. My poor Ella girl had a head full of
those nasty buggers this morning. Got them from a friend at school
earlier this week who was all to eager to share, I guess. Think we got
all of the nits, but the washing and spraying and cleaning and boiling
is far from over, I am afraid.

Wordless Wednesday

Our little Bielke

Lots of Treats. No Tricks at all.

Today was a wild and crazy day, but it was absolutely WONDERFUL! Sophie has been participating in a camp at our local theatre for the past three months. Two days a week for two hours after school, she headed up to the theatre to be with other community children who like to act and want to learn more about being on the stage. This is the same theatre where John is acting in "Fiddler on the Roof", so the kids in the camp were working on "Fiddler on the Roof, Jr". Sophie was cast as Tevye's youngest daughter, Bielke. She has been loving every minute of this camp.

Today was their first of two performances. It was PHENOMENAL! Aside from Sophie, all of the other cast members were between the ages of 7 and 13. These are some talented children, and we loved the show. Sophie was precious up there. She held her own with those big kids and you could tell she was just soaking in the moment. She delivered her lines right on cue, and John and I were really very impressed with her poise up there.

We got home from that show (after John took Sophie for some celebratory ice cream) at about 4. John had to be back at the theatre at 6:30 for the evening performance of "Fiddler". We let the girls rest for a while because sweet little Ella was sleepy and a little puny - most likely from all of this stinking rain we have been having! Then we got the girls ready for trick-or-treating early so Daddy could go with us.

Luckily, it was light enough outside that I was able to get some pictures of the girls with my good camera. I have yet to get the flash repaired, but it still works great in natural light! :-)

Sophie was a cowgirl and Ella was Minnie Mouse. They were so precious this year. We only went to about six houses before John had to leave for his show, but the girls had such fun.

We are just so blessed. Our girls are healthy and happy. God provides us with these awesome opportunities for wonderful life experiences for our girls. His mercies are new each morning, and we are so thankful for that! Seeing my girls dressed up always makes me yearn for my sister. I know she would just eat them up. I am thankful for the time we had with her. I am also so thankful for the time she had with Sophie. And I know that she wouldn't want to come back from the Paradise she is in now - not even for my little princesses. But I see so much of her in them, and that is such a treat.