Friendship

I don't want to forget what I observed at the pool the other day. I was laying out. You and Arden Butler had just purchased something from the concession stand. Y'all did the obligatory walk around the pool...I suppose to look at what all was going on at the perimeter of the pool or to just have a chat...who knows. What I do know is that I saw you put your arm around Arden's shoulder and walk with her. Y'all walked that way from the three feet all the way to past the diving board. You had your head down and it appeared as if you were intently listening to whatever Arden was saying. It was so cute. You are such a nurturing little girl and I love ya, deeply!

Sweet heart...that is you!

My heart broke for you tonight. Our kitty, Ben, isn't feeling well. I don't think he is going to make it. He is lifeless and not responding or eating food. Mom hated to tell you, because she knew it would break your heart. It has. You came in my room and I told you to brace yourself for the fact that Ben might not make it. You cried. Hard. I motioned for you to come to me and usually you wouldn't want to be consoled, but today you did. You buried your little head in the nape of my neck and sobbed. I was sad for Ben, but more sad for you. You have the sweetest little heart and love animals so much. You have tended to him all afternoon; trying to give him food and water and comfort him. Always keep that precious and sweet little heart and never be afraid to love with all you have in you. When you love, you might experience hurt sometimes, but you also experience such wonderful joys. I love you sweet girl!!!

Going Private

WOW, people can be so creepy. Due to Paige's age and need for privacy AND a very creepy and unnerving comment, I am going private. It's been on my mind for some time now, as Paige is older and deserves anonymity. Thank you for all the friends who I have met in blog world and I will continue to follow you and your sweet families. I will feel much more comfortable posting pictures of Paige on FB, since I know who is looking.

To the creep who left the comment...she is a little girl! She is NOT for your eyes any longer. Get a life You are sick!

Going private tomorrow!

Iconic

Paige had her recitals last week and I for one am SO thrilled that it is over!!! She takes ballet, tap, jazz, modern, hip hop 1, hip hop 2, competition hip hop and was in the opener and finale. That is A LOT of outfit changes and she can't fix her hair and make up yet. I was TIRED! She did SOOO well! The acts that I did see, I was super proud of how far she has come as a dancer. She really let loose this year and had fun!

This year the recital was titled, "Iconic". It was a Micha@l Jackson tribute. Love him or hate him, I don't think anyone can dispute that he was a musical and dancing icon. I have to say that this recital was by far the best that the studio has put on to date.

I love watching Paige dance, but more importantly, I love watching her share fantastic bonds with her dance friends. They are more like her sisters. She prefers them to any of her school friends and they are her "safe haven" away from the drama that surrounds her at school (man, is she in with a tough bunch at school!).

Like they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I am going to post MANY pics. Videos to follow!


Avery, Paige and Hailey


Paige with friends from school who now take hip hop.


Jessica, Paige and Hannah...I LOVED this dance!


Paige and Ava before the opener. Angie in the background, taking a pic of me taking a pic...we're funny like that with each other :)


Opener, dancing with the smooth criminal crew.


Man, her bio parents must be breathtakingly gorgeous...just sayin'


Taking a bow after the ballet (Cinderella).


Pretty Ballerina


Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy From Company B (She doesn't want to take tap anymore :(, so we'll see if this is her last year. She can be fickle about dance at times).


Mini All Stars taking a bow at curtain call ( more like having a dance party...it was a hilarious moment. They were supposed to bow, but they broke out in impromptu freestylin'. The crowd loved it!)

Here is the senior all stars during dress rehearsal performing Thriller! I'll post some of Paige's dances later :)

A new today

“The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” ~Steven Covey

Lately, I have given up on my blog, because it was too time consuming and I didn't feel like I had anything "blog worthy" to write about it. I was sitting at the pool yesterday talking with a dear friend and she kept on bringing up the word "priorities". Our discussion has been on my mind ever since.

Priorities. What are mine? How will I achieve the ability to stay true to my priorities and not let them become secondary? Hmmmm... a lot to think about.

I live such a blessed life. I am TRULY a lucky girl. I have a wonderful relationship with God (although, I could be a better Christian child to him and I am going to work on that...it is my number one PRIORITY), I have THE single best family that a person could desire to have (although, I don't always give them 100% of my attention...it is a top PRIORITY), I have soooo many beautiful friends who love me unconditionally and support me in all of my endeavors and always are interested in what I have going on in my life (although, I sometimes take those people for granted because I know they'll always be there...my dear friends WILL be hearing more from me because they are PRIORITY). I have a great job (although, I seem to put off beginning projects or doing something I want to do with the kids, because there are so many standards to be covered, etc...The KIDS will be my PRIORITY!).

I am making a conscious effort to let go of the negatives in my life and fully embrace the positives and positive people. Life is so short. We can embrace it and all of the wonderful things that it has to offer or focus on the negative and waste so much time and energy spinning our wheels getting caught up in the rat race.

My priorities are shifting and I am glad that today is a new day!

Beauty on the beach!

I have sooo many beach shots that I just love, but this is one of my favorites from this year. Being a lover of photography and all things girly, I had to do a beach photoshoot with Paige. I think she looks so beautiful here. I will be posting more as I finish editing them.

On a side note, I am so heartbroken about the oil spill and what it is doing to the animals and their habitat. :( There are several great organizations that are giving back and I am going to research them and list links on the blog this week.

Goodbye Paradise

It has truly been a looooong year and all I've been able to think about was vacation.at.the.beach!!! You see, I truly do believe that teachers work extra hard for 10 months and then veg out for two months to rejuvenate for the upcoming school year.

Due to the oil spill :(, we had to move our vacation up and shorten it. We are not much on the "impromptu" side, but we did a great job on this getaway.

We loaded up the car and our little puppy, Marley, and headed to the beach. We had so much fun on the seven hour trip. Paige slept in the backseat and cuddled with Marley while my mom sat up front with me and shared stories of her childhood and her romance with my dad. We laughed so hard and even shed a few tears. I drove for two hours listening intently to how she fell in love with my dad and the funny stories about how they handled being new parents and starting careers and juggling crazy relatives. The hours flew by in the car and I will treasure that candid conversation for as long as I live. I hope and pray that I can get my mom to retell some of the stories about Madie and Randy Hunter and Nanny and Aunt Lottie, Uncle Rhyne, Nita, etc... Priceless!

Once we got to the condo, I have to admit, I was a little taken back. You see, we always go all out on vacation as to where we stay. Since this was last minute, we went out on a limb and booked a condo that allowed pets. When we pulled in it didn't look bad at all. We were on a lagoon and the beach was directly across the street behind some very quaint beach houses. Once we started up the stairs to the condo, I saw empty beer cases and sandles and funnels and thought, "Oh, this reminds me of my college years" aye yi yi! There was even a bit of a "college smell". We unlocked the door, closed our eyes, said a little prayer and hoped for the best. Once the door opened it was if the angels sang hallelujah! The condo was GORGEOUS!!! It was clean and decorated to a tee. As a matter of fact, I felt like we grossly underpaid the owners.

The next morning Paige and I went straight to the beach. We had a BLAST! The last time we went she let the water wash over her feet and would occasionally walk a couple of feet out. This year, OH THIS YEAR, the kid scared me to death. She got her boogie board and off she went like she had been doing this her entire life. I could not comfortably lay out, because I was constantly checking to see if her head was above the water. Scary stuff.

Thoughts while watching Paige:
- she does things on her own terms, when she is ready. No one can coax her into doing something that she is not ready to do. When she is ready, she never looks back.
- she takes such joy in the simple things. While riding the waves, her smile could light a ships way home on a dark night. She didn't know I was observing her. Her smile was not for me. It was for her. I love that she enjoyed the moment.
- she loves to hunt for treasures, whether it be shark's teeth, sand dollars, snails, tar balls :) what have you.
- she is not a whiny kid (PRAISE GOD!) When I ask her to do something that she doesn't want to do, she just sucks it up and does it.

I am so blessed!

We took pics on the beach and I am so sad to say that it stressed me out sooo much! I do not want to be stressed about silly photographs. I mean, seriously, in the grand scheme of things does it really matter that I have 100 shots of her in a pettiskirt romping in the sand??? NO! We made it through, though, and fortunately I did get "the shot", as in THE Christmas card shot. No tears were shed and all was good with the world once we got to share crablegs.

Some funnies from this getaway that I don't want to forget are:
"There is sand in places where sand should NEVER be!"
"Sissy, what I am about to tell you is very importNant. I spent my money on a ship in a bottle".
"Hang ten dude!" (with the hand motion in full effect)
"I am so happy that we are on vacation from dance!"
"No drama people allowed!" hee hee !

I will post some portrait style pics on here in a few days, but first I want to post candid pics that mean, oh so much, mure to me!

I love my family and am so blessed to have them in my life. I can't believe that God placed these wonderful girls in my life. I am loved and because of that, I am happy. Completely happy!


Paige at our favorite restaurant!


My life!


LOVE HER!


silly girl


lol


Paige took this pic of me, therefore, I love it. What I don't love is the fifteen chins, frizzy hair, crows feet, etc... Whatever, I am pretty happy...take me or leave me, this is who my family loves!


Don't mess with Paige :)


On our way to the beach.


Paige and Marley


Gorgy girl!


Couldn't love em' more if I tried!


One portrait style pic! ...hey, I couldn't resist! :)