Live Big and Laugh Often

Thankful Heart

2011-11-23T21:04:00.000-08:00

How does time escape me so quickly? I have been busy and have meant to blog more often. Oh well, I can't beat myself up over it. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I would like to list the things that I am thankful for this year.

Thankful that my family is healthy and happy.

Thankful for my little fur babies, one of whom is snuggled up next to me right now and is looking at me with such admiration!

Thankful that I have been soooo busy with my photography business this year. It has forced me to change things up for 2012 and I am super excited about my new venture.

Thankful for some of the sweetest, most devoted friends a girl could ever have. Truly, I adore the friends I have had my entire life and those made along the way. WOW, I am so undeserving.

Thankful that Paige is loving life right now. She is thriving in school, dance, church, friendships, and in her first real relationship. Her BF is as cute, precious, and sweet as they come. I hope that hearts aren't broken too badly and that they can keep it light and fun.

Thankful for friendships made through this blog.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and I promise to update with some pics soon!

Country Girl

2011-10-22T22:43:00.000-07:00

I have been a bad blogger. First of all, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the comments, emails, FB messages about my last post. I appreciate the friendships I have made through this blog. I was in a funk. I can't say that I am completely out of the funk, but I am working my way through it. Actually, I have a plan that will hopefully make my future a little brighter and I can live the life that I have dreamed about for so long.

I could write a novel about things that are going on with me, however, I would rather document some fun things that Miss Paige has been up to. She lives the most fun life ever. She is a mover and a shaker and has her hand in something all.of.the.time!!! I love it :)

The high school that we are zoned for is a great one. It's exactly where I would want her to go even if we weren't zoned there. They have a two time national winning dance team and are seven time state winners. They are amazing at technique and pom, but they ROCK at hip hop which just happens to be where Paige shines.

They had a dance clinic and then they performed at the half of the football game. The theme was "Country Girls Shake it with the Golden Girls". They danced to a song, "Country Girl". Paige did AMAZING! She will be trying out for this very team in a little over a year. She has a lot to still master, but many of the Golden Girls told her that she would make the squad even if she tried out now. Talk about an ego booster for Paige. I hope she continues to work hard, because nothing is ever promised us.

Here are some pics of her fun night. Oh, how I love watching my girl! <3

Before the game. Sassy "thang" :)

Paige and Holly, one of her hip hop teachers at the studio. Holly was a former Golden Girl.

Paige, Avery, and Jessica. Dance studio buddies.

Channing, Paige, and Bethany. Friends from school and hopeful GG's.

Samone, Paige, and EG. Samone is a "little" at the studio and she LOVES Paige and the feeling is mutual. EG is a Freshman GG and a great friend and mentor to Paige.

All of the kiddos from our studio who participated in the clinic, with Mrs. Jamie, the GG coach. She is the winningest (sp?) coach in the state of Tennessee!

Emily, Paige, and EG. Emily is a Junior and is a wonderful mentor to Paige (she will be graduated when Paige gets to high school. Sniff! She is a great role model!)

Megan (Senior Captain) and Paige. All of the Golden Girls say that Paige and Megan are two peas in a pod. Both are major goofballs, love to laugh, don't care what others think of them, are good dancers, and try to keep things light. I'll take those characteristics anyday. Proud of my girl and so happy she has had positive role models who have taken an interest in her.

My next post is an exciting one for Paige. She had an amazing opportunity a month or so ago and you will be able to see her on TV in the next couple of months. Pics and a post coming soon.

On a side note, I have been SOOO busy with Fall Photo Shoots. Are the trees as gorgeous where you live as they are here in Tennessee?? It's GORGEOUS here! Happy Fall Y'all!!!

Jealous

2011-09-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

I am, I know it's not the godly way to feel, but it's the truth.

This school year has been hard. No, it's been pure hell. I wish I could take a year off and stay home.

My students are precious. I still have the same old wonderful friends. My Principal is on my side. I can't describe why I feel this way. Perhaps it is that everytime I turn around my girlfriends are "doing lunch" and decorating their homes, shopping, and running carpool. That is the life I want.

It's Friday night. The two biggest schools in our town are battling it out on the football field on this glorious fall evening. I am crying in my beer. literally.

She was RUN NiiNG

2011-09-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

In my best Forrest Gump voice, I am constantly saying, "Run, Paige, RUN!"

My little dancer extraordinaire has shown this year what an incredible athlete she is. I am not surprised that she is doing so well at Cross Country, because when we first brought her home from China, we used to tease that her feet never touched the floor...they skimmed on top of the carpet as she ran from room to room. She has always ran everywhere she was going. It is quite comical to think back on her first few years home.

Paige chose to try out for Cross Country this year on top of her full dance load. I knew she was a fairly decent little runner, but she has far surpassed what I thought. There were so many kids who tried out for the team this year (67 to be exact) that they had to cut the teams into an A team (Competitive team) and B team (run at home meets). Paige was chosen for the A team!

She has had about six meets and she is shaving off time at each meet! At her last meet, she came in 12th out of 113 girls!!!

The only caveat is that I spent time with some of her dance teachers this weekend and they said while her strength will serve her well with her fourettes and jetes this year, it is hurting her flexibility. She is becoming more muscular and tight. So, we are going to have to make sure she stretches really well after she runs. No matter what, she loves running and I am THRILLED that it is something that can keep her little heart healthy!

Here are some favorite pics of my girl! RUN, FORREST, RUN! :)

Fixing her hair before the run! Always some "girl time" :)

Look out now, she's 13!!!

2011-09-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby girl, is, ahem...NOT a baby anymore :(

Paigeee poo turned 13 in August. I just cannot believe we have a teenager in our midst. She is still as silly as ever and enjoys snuggling on occassion. I am so proud of the young lady she has become. She is kind, compassionate, independent, funny.as.all.get.out, smart, athletic, determined, coy, mischevious, dry, adorable, irresistable, loving, and so many other adjectives that I just don't have time to mention.

At 13, she is:

SOCIAL, RUNNER, ACADEMIC, DANCER, FRIEND, SISTER EXTRAORDINAIRE, STILL NOT WEARING MAKE UP, LOVER OF PHITEN, PREFERS BASKETBALL SHORTS OVER JEANS, WEARS A PONYTAIL WITH A RIBBON DAILY, SLEEPS WITH HER BLANKET CHECKY, AFRAID OF CARNIVAL RIDES, GOD FEARING, NON GOSSIPER, LOVER OF CATS.

She let me take her for my a fun photo shoot. She allowed me full reign on this one...Did I mention I LOVE this kid??!?

We had a little shotty carnival at our local mall. One day I had the idea to dress her up like Betty Boop and take her for a fun shoot. Here are some of my favs!

LOVE THIS PIC!!!

And a black and white...

Happy Birthday Paigee Poo!!! I lobster you to the moon and back! (I texted her one day and my phone automatically put in "lobster" instead of "love", hence our new term of endearment!)

Check out other fun photos at Lisa's Black and White Wednesday!

Seventh Grade

2011-08-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

Sigh! Wasn't it just yesterday that I was holding her little hand walking her into Kindergarten? Paige is growing so fast! I know everyone says that all of the time, but sometimes it is scary how quickly time slips by.

Paige has been in school for two weeks now, so I am awfully late on first day pics. I've been busy with school starting up as well.

Per tradition, Paige attended the annual Ellis Cougar Breakfast for her friends. She has so many girls that she calls friend. She is blessed, but I think they are pretty blessed to have her.

Here are a few of my fav pics from that morning...

Paige and JM...these two are best of friends and have a stare down contest everytime they get together...goofy girls :)

6:30 a.m. I don't know about you, but I sure didn't look that cute when I was a 7th grader!

So sassy...

Pretty typical of this crew.

After school that day, we all took the kids to lunch so that they could unwind and of course for the cute photo ops :)

This has been a great year for her already. She got the team that she wanted (blue) with lots of great teachers, she is being challenged academically, she has lots of friends in her classes.

She was so excited to be a seventh grader, because they can play sports. She is a great runner (she runs a 7 min. mile!). She tried out, along with 60 others, for the Cross Country team. Because so many tried out this year, they had to make an A team and a B team. The A team is the competitive team. Paige made it!!! She is sooo excited. She has her first meet next Saturday.

I think this is going to be an amazing year for her!

Counting our blessings

2011-08-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

This past Wednesday is a day I'll never forget. Paige had been invited to go to a waterpark in our area with a friend. I knew the friend through dance, but had never met her family. I have friends who know the mom and dad and always so spoke highly of them. I knew the little girl was very sweet, so I didn't have too many reservations. Besides, I was just going to be running errands that day, so Paige wouldn't enjoy that.

The last thing I said to her when she left for the waterpark was, "Be careful. Have fun! I love you".

Fast forward six hours and I am home cleaning. The phone rings and it's the mom who Paige went to the park with. She said very calmly that there had "been a little accident" ... those words are the ones that you never want to hear. She said that Paige was en route to V@nderbilt hospital via an ambulance and we should get down there asap. I.FREAKED.OUT!!! As I got into my car, the EMT called and said they had changed their mind and were taking her to a closer hospital. I took that as a good sign and said I would meet them there. About five minutes went by and the EMT called me back and said the hospital turned her away due to the nature of the accident and to meet them in the ER at V@nderbilt Children's Hospital.

At this point, all I knew per the EMT was that her vitals looked good and that he thought she was going to be ok, but couldn't tell me much more.

I got across town in record speed and flew in the ER. The lady at the front desk said "Who are you here for?". I said, "Paige ... " she ran me back to her room, because she saw how frantic I was.

As I entered Paige's room, she was lying flat on her back, hooked up to IV's and was red from crying. She couldn't lift up her head, because they had her restrained. They were trying to keep her still before they took her back to xray.

I have never been so scared in my entire life. When I walked in, she started crying and said she was hurting. Her eyes looked very hazy and I knew she was scared. I kissed her and told her she would be just fine.

In the meantime the mom and Paige's friend arrived at the ER. Both were absolutely hysterical, so I had to calm them down :/ However, after hearing about what happened, I can now understand why. Paige was on a ride where it looks like a giant skate ramp. You go down one side 20 feet and go up the other side 20 feet. You land in the middle in a puddle of water. Apparently, per Paige's little friend, the teenager who was working the slide pushed Paige's raft before she had planted herself in it. The raft took off without her and she fell ( air born ) 20 feet to the bottom where she rolled up the ramp and then rolled back down. The lifeguards pulled the sirens and rescued her.

Turns out all that baby endured was a concussion and full body contusions. The doctor in the ER said she was a living miracle, because per the EMT report, she should have had a broken neck or back.

My baby was able to walk (slowly) out of that ER and enjoy a frosty and hug from a new teddy bear and actually went to school the next morning.

Everyone who knows Paige knows she is a TOUGH COOKIE. She is stubborn and that will serve her well in life. However, I have NO DOUBT that God has BIG plans for this child of ours. She will do big things. Blessed!

Coming to an end...

2011-07-26T16:16:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe that summer is almost over! I go back next week to start setting up my classroom... UGH! I do love what I do, really, I do. It is sooo stinkin' hard to get back into a routine. I will miss my lazy days that I have spent poolside, sleeping until my eyes pop open, staying up late, spending quality time with Paige, etc...

Sometimes I feel like a kid again. Do you remember being little and feeling anxious and sad about school starting back? I have always enjoyed summer so much. This summer I have really relaxed, because my body NEEDED it! Now, I am going to join the rat race again.

Paige starts back on the 4th. She found out her schedule and she will be pushed academically this year... YAY! Last year, she wasn't placed in any accelerated classes and she breezed through with little challenges. Paige thrives on a good challenge. She performed well on the state testing and the school placement tests so finally she will be in advanced classes. She is also changing dance studios. It will give her another really great challenge. Without going into it with great detail, she was waaay behind in technique and since she's changed, they are whippin' her little butt into shape. She comes out with a bewildered look on her face, usually saying "I had no idea I could do that!". Once again, YAY!

It's going to be a year full of change, but that's a good thing.

As an aside, I would like to ask for prayer. I'm having a procedure this week. I am hopeful that it will bring about some much needed change personally. Thanks!

Britney

2011-07-19T22:45:00.000-07:00

So, I realize that a night out downtown for dinner and a concert doesn't sound all that bad to do with a few moms and daughters, right? Would you still think it was ok if the said concert was Britney Spe@rs? My mom about had a hissy fit when I told her that I was taking Paige, but after a lot of convincing, I got my way.

I have been a fan of some of the most ridiculous entertainers ever as I have grown through the years. I guess it is a quirk of mine that I thoroughly enjoy wonky, kooky types of singers, bands, etc... I love Britney. Paige has grown up listening to "some" of her songs while I drove her to and fro and has developed a liking to her songs, too.

Sooo, my girl is turning 13 next month and I thought it would be fun to surprise her with tickets as an early bday gift. She was so excited, but I think I took the cake with the excitement factor.

I am friends with some great gals whose daughters just happen to be some of Paige's bffs. We jumped at the chance to spend some girl time together. For those of you who have ever visited Nashville, you know it is truly a happening and alive city. We went to eat dinner at The Hard Rock, Nashville and the girls had all of the tables around us singing Britney songs. My daredevil sister decided to start the bandwagon of "planking" after dinner. For those of you who don't know what planking is, google it...so random! Here, in all of her glory, is Paige "planking" aye yi yi!

We had a "rockin'" waiter. He was playing Britney songs for the girls and would get them up and dance with them. Too cute!

As for the concert, it was ALL THAT AND A BAG OF CHIPS!!! She sang some of her best older songs and the best of her newest. Actually, I don't think she "sang", rather did an amazing job of lip syncing. We didn't care, though, as she is one fierce dancer and so are her back up dancers. Paige and I danced and sang the night away. I had a BLAST!!! The night reminded me of when my mom took me to see NSync when I was younger.

Paige woke up this morning still talking about the night. I'll never forget it either.

Fellow in the red, teaches hip hop workshops at Paige's dance studio and is SUCH a nice, Christian guy. Who'd a "thunk" it?!

As a side note, there weren't any curse words or anything too suggestive throughout the entire show. I was impressed!

You mean I have a blog?

2011-07-15T00:16:00.001-07:00

I have been so awful about blogging. I feel like I constantly write that when I post. It's not that I don't want to blog anymore, but for some reason, it feels like a chore.

First, I would like to say a sincere thank you for the comments and emails about my last post. We've had a bit of a rough beginning to the summer, but I am happy to say that we have come out on the other side and MAN does it feel GREAT!!!

I don't want to document publicly what actually happened, but I will say that "sista bear" had to come out and it wasn't pretty. I generally take a lot from people. I have been wronged so many times in my life, but I easily forgive. When someone/someones hurt my girl, it's a different story. I have always run from confrontation, but not this time. I feel so much stronger in my convictions, but the most important lesson that has been learned is Paige knows that we have her back and NO ONE will hurt her as long as I have anything to do with it.

Everything is great for us right now! We've enjoyed a very nice, relaxing, sunny summer. Paige has been working at a summer camp as a counselor. The camp is called "Gym and Swim". It's right up her alley. She gets to lead in canoeing sessions, obstacle courses down by the lake, swim games, etc... She has been the leader of her group and the little 5 and 6 year olds LOVE her. She feels like a rock star :)

My sweet, little mama fell a few weeks ago while looking at a cute little pup. She was able to drive herself home, but once I saw her wrist I knew a trip to the ER was iminent. She fractured her wrist, basically shattering it. She has been such a trooper though and is sporting a pink cast that goes above her elbow. She is such a tough cookie. I love her vivaciousness and zest for life. She is such a precious lady and I couldn't love her more if I tried.

As for me, well I have been super busy with photo sessions. I photographed a mid size wedding this evening and lets just say, I will never do that again without a second shooter. I probably sweat off 10 lbs running to and fro, but it was a challenge that I met and I am proud of myself. I have also found a new niche and am photographing mostly newborns. Who'd a thunk it? I'm in the process of building a new website, logo, branding, etc... It's been fun and I am blessed, blessed, BLESSED!

School begins in a few short weeks, so I intend on lounging by the pool as much as possible, drinking my share of fruity drinks, watching my little girl blossom, and just enjoy life!

Aaaah Summer 2011 you have not disappointed!

Trying to have a forgiving heart

2011-06-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

I think that most of us want to think of ourselves as forgiving souls, at least, I do. I'm working so hard on stretching that forgiveness muscle right now and quite honestly could use some prayer, if you are so inclined.

Without going into too much detail, my girl has been mistreated. Not in a way that is physically damaging, but emotionally. What makes it worse is that it was by some people whom I entrusted her with for hours every week.

I'm heartbroken for her, for me, for what used to be "normal". We are going to have to find a new "normal" for my girl. It can be done, without a doubt, but it will be hard.

Please pray that I find forgiveness in my heart, but more importantly, that Paige finds it in hers. Life certainly has bumps in the road and it is those bumps who make us the people we are. Praying that this bump is resolved soon so I can have my happy girl back.

Father's Day Photo Shoot

2011-06-19T22:42:00.002-07:00

It's no secret that I miss my dad sooo much. If you are my FB friend, you will see that I speak of him often. Father's Day is always a day I dread since losing my dad. I know I should rejoice in the fact that he is in Heaven and on most days I do, but Father's Day I allow myself to just feel.

Paige and my brother dread the day as well. This year, Paige asked me if we could do a photo shoot and if she could style it and pick the location. I was so excited to see what she came up with. Well, she did a GREAT job. She chose some of my dad's clothing and then we went to the Goodwill to pick up a pair of old frames to complete the look. She wanted to go to our local high school and take pictures on the track.

Before we went to our shoot, my brother came over and we all laughed and remembered funny times with my dad. It was very cathartic. I love, love, love my family!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful day celebrating all of the fathers in your life!

Dance Recital

2011-06-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

Another year of dance for my girl (and my mom and I) is over! Whew! It's been a whirlwind for us all, but most importantly for Paige. Her dance studio just puts on the most amazing show. My sister-in-law came for the first time and told me that she thought it was going to be a bunch of kids pointing their toes and parents oohing and aahing...after the recital, she had to pull up her jaw. She said she felt as if she had been to a broadway production. It really is quite impressive.

Paige has really worked hard this year to step it up. She has worked hard on her leaps, fouettes, Cjumps, and many other french words that I can't pronounce :) I was so excited to see her do her intermediate modern dance and it didn't disappoint, but the ABSOLUTE highlight of the second night was her intermediate hip hop performance. It ROCKED! After the girls were finished dancing, the crowd rose to their feet and were hooting and hollering. I was FLOORED! I am so excited for what is to come. Paige's goal is to dance for her High School dance team, who have been the national champs twice in the last 5 years. The coach talked to me at the end of the show and said "Paige is looking good! Can't wait for her to try out!". When I told Paige, she about jumped out of her skin.

I could go on and on and yes, I realize I am bragging, but hey...she's worked hard and I am proud...what can I say?! :)

Here are some pics and I am going to try hard to link a video if I can. Youtube is giving me fits.

Terrible pic of me, but I love my sweetie. This is what I look like after getting her through 11 costume changes. YES 11!!! Ugh :/

Paige's Godmother, Dawn.

Me and my friend, Shannon.

Cast of the ballet. The Little Mermaid.

Paige and her "girls".

Paige and friend, Avery. Look for Avery on the Disney Channel in CoC@ J@nes video in the next two weeks. She is a back up dancer!

Getting hugs from guh guh after the finale!

My brother Greg, sis n law Laurie, and me

Paige and besties being sassy backstage :)

Have mercy!

The girls were jellyfish in the ballet. Aren't they beautiful?

These videos are from previous dance competitions throughout the year. I am going to try hard to upload the wonderful dances from recital. They blow these out of the water. (Even though I think these dances are cute!)

Visit other black and whites at Lisa's!!!

Life

2011-06-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

I finally had my last day of school on Friday. Woo hoo! I do have to go back for two days of inservice next week, but those are generally fun days and we get to go out for lunch (treat for teachers!). It has been such a long year. We had so much unexpected snow and our system didn't have that many built in snow days.

Anyway, I had a great year teaching 3rd grade. I learned a lot and hope to be more effective this coming school year.

Paige has been leisurely spending her days at the pool in between her many hours of dance practice. This week is her dance recitals. She has dress rehearsals downtown all day on Monday from 8 until 7, then has dances Tuesday night and Wednesday night. This year she is in a total of 11 dances. She loves it, but it stress me out so much to get her ready in between acts. Her dances are so different, so it's not like I can leave her hair one way and that works for the remainder of the night. She also has a ton of make up changes. It's going to be wild and crazy. Some days I wish she were still little and relied on my mom and I for everything and then other days I wish she could do her own hair, make up, and drive herself to and from dance. I need to just relax and enjoy every stage. She is growing so quickly!

On another note, her eye condition has come back with a vengeance. She is having a terrible time seeing out of one of her eyes and the white cloud that once was so pronounced is back on top of her cornea. We were seeing specialists at Vanderbilt and they thought she would have a cornea transplant, only to tell us that she wouldn't, and now it looks like we are back at square one. If you are so inclined, I would appreciate prayer for good news on June 16th as we visit the hospital again.

I will leave you with a video of the senior performance of Alice in Twisted Land...this is just a tidbit of all that goes into recitals...let the show begin :)

Awards Day

2011-05-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

Paige is now a 7th grader! WOW, wasn't it just yesterday that I was holding her hand and walking her into Kindergarten?

She has had a wonderful 6th grade year at EMS. We were nervous that her safe coccoon at ILE would come to a screaching halt at middle school, but that wasn't the case. They kept the 6th graders contained to one area of the building and gave them a little bit of independence, but not so much that they could stray too far.

As a sixth grader you cannot play any sports, but there were a few clubs that you could participate in. Paige was ALL over that. She is a born leader. She stands up for what she believes in and gives everything 110%.

She became a member of Cougars Don't Do Drugs and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She met early each Wednesday for CDDD and on Thursdays for FCA.

CDDD became a club that she really enjoyed. She loved the teacher sponsor and also really bonded with the kids who were in the club. This year, a few of the students competed in a county contest and Paige and three friends placed 3rd in the county for their project. Because of the placement, she was invited to the Honors Assembly at the end of the year. I thought there would be more 6th graders invited, but apparently it was only around 12.

The assembly was very nice. At her middle school, after an awards banquet, they allow the students to leave with their parents for lunch. They let them come back at noon. We took all the girls to Cr@cker Barrel and had a great time.

Waiting in line for her award.

Paige and friends! Aren't they cute? I might be biased, but I think they are precious.

Mrs. Poe, the Principal

Sassy chicks :)

Me and my girl!

Sassy sisters :)

Looking forward to 7th grade!

Be Yourself - Everyone Else is Taken!

2011-05-25T00:16:00.000-07:00

Quirky, funny, kind, compassionate, sweet, tomboy, talented, stubborn, smart, dry, independent, clumsy, fiesty, God fearing, fun loving, and precious.

These adjectives describe my little sister. Anyone who reads my blog knows the love that I have for this child. I love her as if she were my own. When she smiles, I smile. When she cries, I cry.

Paige had an experience last week that made her question the adjectives that I used ot describe her and it made me sad. Things did work out in the end, with valuable lessons to be learned along the way.

Since the fourth grade, a little boy in Paige's class has been pulling the edges of his eyes to Paige. Her fourth grade teacher took care of it for us then. In fifth grade it happened again. We chalked it up to "boys will be boys" and he is just immature. Well, wouldn't you know, Paige was walking to the gym on Friday and said kid stood in front of her and wouldn't let her by. He started pulling at his eyes again. This time, Paige's little guy friend (yes she still has the SAME boyfriend...ack), came up to the boy and shoved him out of the way so that Paige could pass.

I picked up Paige and two friends from school Friday afternoon to take them to a sleepover. As soon as they got into the car, Paige said, "He did it again". I knew exactly what she was talking about. I listened to her. I heard the sadness and doubt in her voice. It broke my heart. Paige is extremely well liked by her peers and sometimes they make her head too big. She is so full of positive self esteem, but she was like a wilted flower speaking about the incident.

For the life of me, I couldn't let this go on any longer. In fact, I probably let it linger for longer than it should have. I took P and friends to the party and came home and looked in the school directory and got this child's phone number. I dialed it up without really planning how I would handle the situation. His mother answered and listened and listened. She didn't sugar coat the situation or make excuses for her son. She apologized and said that she would talk to him.

The phone rang an hour later and she asked if she could bring "him" over to speak to Paige. I told her Paige would be home after the sleepover and they could come the next day. Bright and early on Saturday, the mom brought her son over. She stood back at the bottom of our steps and this young man rang the doorbell. Paige opened the door and received an apology from a teary eyed little boy. He didn't look so big and bad standing there with all of the adults around.

I was so proud of Paige. When he apologized she didn't say "It's ok", because she told me it's not. She told him that it really hurt her and that he needs to be more careful with his actions. WOW! I was stunned. He agreed and gave her a hug. She smiled and told him "let's still be friends, k?" He smirked and agreed.

Do I think they will ever be the best of friends? No. Do I think he learned something? Maybe. Did I learn something? Yep! My girl is a sweetheart and is forgiving and stands up for what is right. I love her so much!

Her dance competition was this weekend. At these competitions, the vendors sell tshirts with the companies name on the front and dancers on the back. This time, there was one more option. The shirt she chose said, "Be Yourself. Everyone Else is Taken". I couldn't agree more!!!

Check out other black and whites at my friend, Lisa's blog!

More Dance!

2011-05-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

I will be sharing LOTS and LOTS of dance pics in the weeks to come, because, well, that's all we do. I say "we", because it IS a team effort. My mom takes Paige to her 10 hours of dance a week, Paige dances, and I am on take home duty. Paige loves it to the core, but I think we are going to re-evaluate our priorities for her 7th grade year. She wants to run cross country and study more (YAY!). I don't like her to be pigeon holed into one extra curricular activity. ANYWAY, I digress... this week was "dance picture week" or as I so lovingly refer it, "The week from HELL!" Sorry about the explitives, just stating my feelings :)

Paige takes: ballet, jazz, intermediate modern, advanced modern, intermediate hip hop, competition junior hip hop, competition senior hip hop... and she is practicing for the opener and finale of the recital. This child does it all at the studio...except for tap. She detests tap dancing...she says the noise hurts her ears. I think she might be like her sissy and have some sensory issues.

So, not only did the child have to go to the studio in FULL make up and hair for ALL of these class pictures, but her teachers called dress rehearsals since they were fixed up. I felt so bad for the kids...they were TIRED!

Here are a few cute shots from the week. I have a ton, but I am going to surprise Paige with them in her memory book at recital. Hi Paigee Waigee :) xoxo Proud of you and all of your hard work!

I was standing to the side of the photographer and this is blurry, but you get the gist of it. This is her advanced modern. It is an AMAZING dance!

She is the Ringmaster in the dance. Doesn't she look scary?!? :)

Paige and bestie, Ava Jo. They have been dancing together since the first grade. SWEET ANGELS.

Here are Paige and Ava when they were in the second grade!!! PRICELESS!!!

Run this town dance... middle school besties!

In my most southern voice, I bug her and tell her she is so, "Gangster!". She laughs hysterically and tells me I am such a nerd! :)

Stay tuned for many more and some videos as well!

Alice in Twisted Land

2011-05-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

The entire cast of Alice in Twisted Land :) I have been so behind in blogging, simply because our lives are crazy busy with dance (and school, work, etc...). Paige has really stepped it up in the dance department. She was offered an opportunity to perform with the studio's Senior dance company in their production of Alice in Twisted Land. The performance is A M A Z I N G!!!

They competed with this dance a couple of weekends ago and did such an incredible job. I never thought I would enjoy being a dance spectator, because quite honestly, I prefer sports, BUT, I am enjoying it more and more.

Paige likes to say that she dances, but don't refer to her as a "dancer". I think it's too girly in her mind. However, lately she has been changing her tune and thinks being a dancer is pretty cool.

Here are some cute pics of the kiddos, teens, and teachers from the competition.

The Baptism

2011-05-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

On Sunday May 1, 2011, Paige was baptized. I have never been more proud and my heart has never been as full. Throughout the confirmation, Paige asked so many questions, some simple and many profound. I had an idea that she was toying with the idea, but didn't push it. About a month before the Confirmation, she told my mom and I about her wishes to be baptized. We, of course, were over the moon. We made sure she was ready to make that decision and she was adament that it was the right thing to do.

We attend a Methodist church and she chose to be sprinkled. The water came from the Jordan River (how cool?) and she was given a wooden cup that was made from Jerusalem. She was one of three little girls to be baptized...all three girls have gone to school together since Kindergarten. It was a special day.

We had family and friends who are like our family attend. They helped to make our girl and us feel so loved! We sure do appreciate those in our life who support us. Here are some pics of her special day...

Our sweet family, minus my brother who HAD to work :( He is the only other person who can run his store and the other fellow was on his honeymoon.

Mark, Laura, Annslee, Coby, and Paige! Our other family :)

Paige and Mark. He is such a blessing to Paige. It makes me want to cry!

Loren, Ava who were fellow Confirmands with Paige

Her "girls" :)

Paige and Mrs. Betty. Mrs. Betty has been a staple, actually a backbone to our church for many, many years. She is one of most endearing, kindhearted, women you will ever meet. She puts the Lord in front of everything that she does. Mrs. Betty is in the fight for her life. She has brain cancer. She had been to most of the confirmation classes until she became quite ill. She did, however, attend the Confirmation and Baptism. She is who orders the water and the cups. She held each Confirmands hand, looked them deep into their eyes and told them, "Jesus loves you and don't you ever forget it". It was powerful. Please pray for Mrs. Betty. She is a precious soul.

This little beautiful girl is known on the blog circuit and just happens to be like a little sister to Paige. She chose to skip out on Sunday School and sit by Paige until after she was baptized. Miss Annslee is sooo darling. She is growing up right before our eyes. We couldn't love her more than we do. She and her family brought Paige the cross that the girls are holding, a bracelet, a necklace and a bookmark. Paige keeps the cross in her pocket everyday, even to school! Sooo special!

I LOVE this picture!!!

After church, we went and had a special brunch with many of our friends whose children were Confirmed at the country club. They had reserved the big, glass room (as it is referred) and we had such a lovely brunch. Here are some favorite pics...

My mom and sister-in-law

"The Guys" they are one silly bunch :)

The guys and girls

The girls being silly!...what they do best :)

Paige, Channing, Bethanny and Leah

Just a little funny...on the way to the brunch, Paige said "Arden got drenched when she was baptized. I guess she needed more baptizing than I did. Sometimes she can be a pistol" :) It wouldn't be a day unless Paige had something silly to say. We love her more than life itself and are so happy to know that she has God in her heart and we pray that she leads the best Christian life she possibly can!

Confirmation

2011-05-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

For the past school year Paige has been in a Confirmation class at our church. There were 42 confirmands this year, which seems to be an awful lot of 6th graders to me. It also excites me to know end to realize that that many children are learning about God and living a Christian life.

I'm not going to lie and say that every Sunday morning was a breeze trying to wake Paige and get her out the door to church, but for the most part, she really enjoyed the experience.

Along the Confirmation journey she made a life changing decision and I will share that for my next post.

Here are some pics of the Confirmation practice...

Paige and her best friends. I am so happy that they went through this process together.

I heart faces...Viewer's Choice

2011-04-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

This week's theme at I Heart Faces is Viewer's Choice. It is fun to participate in this theme, because everyone gets a vote. I love taking portraits of Paige and this one is my newest favorite. We were out and about shooting at different locations and while we were sitting and pondering where to go next, I called her name and she looked up at me and I snapped. This is what I got and I love it and love her! Moments with my girl, posed or not, are what memories are made of. I (heart) her to the core!

Girl with many faces

2011-04-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

So, I generally post posed, edited, serious pics of Paige. While I love those, that is only one teeny tiny side to her personality. She is suuuch a trip! She talks nonstop and is a clown...clown, I tell you! Here are some favorite memories as of late:

She still calls things "ImportNant". She doesn't realize that she is making a mistake and who am I to tell her? It's CUTE!

Last night she told me that she only wants to adopt and wants boys. Girls are TOO much trouble. haha

She has a boyfriend and talks about him nonstop. Tonight they are going in a big group to the movies. Remember my last post where I said "a simple hello in the hallway?" Yeah, not so much! Good news is that five of us adults are going to the movie, too, and are sitting ohhhh about two rows behind them :)

She is a tomboy to the core. She dislikes all things pink, girly, fru fru, or prissy.

Her friends all wear make up. Paige, no, she wears a little foundation on blemishes and chapstick... atta girl :)

She loves modern and hip hop, but detests and I do mean DETESTS ballet. She is only sticking with ballet because that is a required class in order to take modern (her love) and jazz.

Little sister can move like nothing I've ever seen. She has gained confidence this year and others are noticing. I am proud of her.

She spends way too much time on her ipod touch. She loves the game, "Angry Birds".

Her favorite food is ramon noodles...at least she'll be content in college, right?

She'd prefer boyfriend cut jeans, an Abercr@mbie tshirt, and sperrys any day.

Her ears are pierced, but she doesn't wear earrings.

She pulls the skin off of her thumbs. They look like she was in a fire. She does it while she sleeps. It concerns me.

Her voice is getting deeper and she is sounding and acting more and more like a teenager. Stays up late and wakes late as well :/

She likes to get to school at 7 a.m., even though it doesn't begin until 7:30. She goes to talk to her friends.

She is one of two sixth graders who are in the Cougars Don't Do Drugs club and doesn't care if it's not "cool". She went and competed with other schools last weekend and had a blast.

She wants to be a basketball player sooooo badly! She walks, talks, swaggers, dresses, looks like and moves like a "baller", but the child can't make a basket to save her life. She is short and that bothers her.

She is looking forward to running cross country for her school next year and continue on with dance.

She asked me to buy her a purity ring for Easter! She said she didn't want to "kiss" until she gets married.....PRECIOUS~!

Here are some straight out of the camera pics of my girl! Love her!

In a relationship

2011-03-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

"In a relationship"...three little words that usually don't phase me at all. Not phased until those three little words are written by Paige on her facebook page. Oh my! First, I was extremely reluctant to allow her to get a FB page at such a young age, but after lots of dialogue and rules set in place, I let Paige open an account. She has been so responsible with it and truth be known, rarely even gets on to check it.

So, much to my dismay, I am perusing FB and I see an update from my little sister. When I saw the three little words, I gasped and my heart jumped into my throat.

In.A.Relationship.

Why should I be surprised? After all, Paige is so sweet to everyone and she's not too hard on the eyes (thanks to her genes). She is in middle school and has never really had a "boyfriend". Why would she? But, some of her girlfriends have recently started "liking" boys and some feelings have been reciprocated. I knew Paige had a crush on someone, but didn't think it would manifest into anything.

Well, little bit came home the other day and asked if she could talk to my mom and I. Of course, we obliged. She sat us down and asked if she would be allowed to "go out" with "A". We discussed what going out with meant in middle school terms and were so relieved to know that they were extremely innocent. A little walk to class, maybe a hello in the hallway, a text here or there, but never phone calls or "dates". So, we decided to let her spread her wings a bit and were happy she at least was responsible enough to ask our permission.

No matter how hard we try to keep her young forever, truth is, she is growing into a beautiful young lady. She has a heart of gold and is such a sweet child. She really is. I wish everyone could know her. I think her little "friend" is very lucky.

Wonder if it'll last over a week or two? Is it bad to say, "I HOPE NOT?" :)

GracyLu Originals...

2011-03-05T20:58:00.000-08:00

I have long admired these beautiful headbands that so many photographers integrated into their photo sessions. I was fortunate (or so I thought) to have snagged my two favs back in January. I cannot even begin to describe the quality that these pieces are and I don't know if my pics can even do them justice, but I will try.

Paige modeled them for me, but empatically told me that they weren't her style, while pretty, she is too "old" to wear them. Whatever!

I purchased each headband for $40 a piece, but am willing to part with them for $25 each or $45 together as a pair. I thought I would offer them here before I try to sell them elsewhere. They are TRULY gorgeous, but I'd rather them have a home where they will be used.

I believe this piece is called Gracie's Garden (not positive though).

This is "The Meg" and is my fav., but Paige says no way :/

My Funny Valentine

2011-02-28T16:04:00.000-08:00

Why yes, I do indeed realize that it is way past Valentine's Day, but I just haven't had the time to blog. For Valentine's Day my gift from Paige was to allow me to take pics of her :) Yep, we're at that age. The only time she likes me to take her picture is when she is surrounded by her girlfriends. So, I enjoyed this time with Paige. Here are a few of my favs...

She has "the FEVER"

2011-02-12T07:40:00.000-08:00

Paige has a really bad fever, it's called "Bieber Fever". Last night, she and twenty of her best girlfriends went to dinner and got all psyched up before the ten o'clock showing of Justin Bieber's Never Say Never 3D movie. Usually I am recruited by all of the moms to go and be the photographer for the evening, but luckily, I escaped this event. I had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic and my lips looked like I had lip injections. Hilarious!!!

These pics were taken by Anne (thanks so much Anne!!!) and I think they certainly reflect the excitement in the air.

As an aside, I just have to say, I am sooo happy Paige has such wonderful friendships. These girls are so beautiful on the outside, but more so on the inside. Most of them have been friends since Kindergarten. Priceless!

Good thing I like the snow...

2011-02-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

...because it looks like we are getting more this week! I do love the excitement of school letting out or closing, playing in the snow with friends and family and curling up in a warm house with a good book.

As of now, we are looking at getting out for summer break the first week of June! That part, I don't like. My students are growing restless and so am I. I think we are all itching for spring break. Speaking of...I had to cancel our trip to the beach with friends :( I just have too much on my plate and couldn't manage. School is going great, but is keeping me sooo busy. I only pick up my camera for my own little personal project. I haven't taken a portrait of anyone in a looong time. I miss post processing and playing with actions and such, but can say the break from trying to get that "perfect" shot has been nice. As a matter of fact, I am looking at photography in a brand new way and am not sure I will go back to my old way of thinking. This is a GOOD thing :)

I have found a condo and am wheeling and dealing with my realtor to see what kind of deal we can get. It's a bit pricey, but it has been sitting a while and so I am determined to bring them down. If not, there are many others that have caught my eye.

Paige is doing well. She is a SOCIAL girl! She didn't have school today due to snow, so she and "the girls were doing lunch". Oohh la la. Time seems to be slipping away and she is growing up whether I like it or not. I have loved each and every stage with her, but I think I can honestly say that she is my very best friend. I like the person she is and is still becoming. She is sooo funny and kind and thinks of others before herself. She's a keeper, for sure! :)

That's it in a nutshell! Hope y'all are doing well!

I Heart Faces ... My Angel!

2011-01-31T17:22:00.000-08:00

This week I Heart Faces is having a contest that I just couldn't pass up! It's the best face photo and it's people's choice. Whether or not my sweet girl gets one vote or one thousand, she is the face that I love to come home to each and everyday. She is my angel and I thank God for her all of the time. I am so unworthy!

Head over to see all the other "angels" that grace the page! There are some amazing entries!!!

Has anyone seen spring?

2011-01-29T11:10:00.000-08:00

This little cardinal gave me hope that perhaps spring is around the corner??? As much as I would like to wish it into existence, I don't think that is the case! The temp. is in the 50's today, but they are calling for more snow and ice this week. Ack!!!

I wish I was blogging more on this site, but I have really thrown myself into my new blog endeavor and am having a blast! I have had several emails asking about what I am doing. It's truly nothing special, but it is therapeutic. I promise I will share in the months to come. I need to do this for me right now and not worry about "putting on a show" that sometimes comes with blogging. Please do not misundersand me...I think there is truth to everyone's blogs, but I also think we put things out there that are our best portraits, or positive thoughts. There is sooo nothing wrong with that. I think I do that on this blog, but my new one is allowing me to be fully transparent, because I know I don't have any readers. Does that make any sense?

Hope that you all are warm wherever you are in this crazy snow globe that we are in :)

Bullet style

2011-01-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

Today is another snow day.
The snow was the prettiest, fluffiest snow we've had in a while.
It's my dad's birthday.
He would have been 64.
61 is too young to die.
I had a physical this week.
I am having to go back and have an echocardiogram.
I'm scared.
My thyroid was waaay off.
They upped my milligrams....by a lot!
I've been so tired lately. Guess it's due to the thyroid issue, huh?
Paige danced this week at the half time of the HHS game. She rocked. I think she will be a Golden Girl or at least will try out. Girl's got moves.
We are going to Florida in one month and two weeks. I am PUMPED! I need a vacation.
We are out of snow days so we will be going to school until June. Thank goodness we are going on a holiday over spring break. May be my only beach experience until next summer.
I just read Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpos.
I'm not afraid to die. Heaven sounds DIVINE (no pun intended).
My next read is Queen Bee's and Wannabe's. I was told that anyone who is raising a daughter should read this book.
I am working on a photo project and it is going really, really well and I am finding that is changing my whole outlook on photography. I hope to share it in the next few months. It is requiring that my camera never leaves my side. FUN!
Did I mention today is my dad's bday? Yeah, I miss him. A LOT!

Great expectations

2011-01-14T15:23:00.000-08:00

I am beginning a new project. I am not going to share until I have proven to myself that I can actually stick with it and have the passion for it that I do at this moment. I was inspired last night. Truly inspired.

*************************************************************************************

Paige funnies that I never want to forget...

At Cracker Barrel:

Me: Do you want to stay with me any when I move?
Paige: I would worry about mom. I think for her birthday we should get her one of those alarms that she can use if she falls and it dials 911. She would LOVE that!
(I don't think my 60 something mom would LOVE that, but do think she would appreciate the super sweet concern).

Also @ Cracker Barrel:

Me: Is #)$*) weird? (a little person she talks about and well, I was just curious...just being honest).
Paige: It's hard for me to call anyone weird when the person asking the question is dipping their biscuit in turnip green juice.
(Good point and point taken!!!)

At Barnes & Noble:

Me: Go and get something to read.
Paige: I've read everything.
Me: What are you curious about?
Paige: The Catholics. Yep, I want to learn about "the catholics!"
(Her two best friends are Catholic and she is enthralled. I just think it is funny the way she worded it!)

Snow, beautiful snow

2011-01-13T08:43:00.000-08:00

Like all but one state in the U.S., we are enjoying a little of the white stuff. We woke up Monday morning to a beautiful winter wonderland. Paige sprung out of bed and we were out and enjoying by 9am. If you know what it's like to have a pre-teen, I don't see her sweet little face before at least 11, so it was a treat.

We live in the south and we don't see a ton of snow, as a matter of fact, this snow only produced a couple of inches at best. I don't care, though. It's the whole romantic feel of a snow day. Waking up like a kid and jerking open the curtains to see everything white and glistening and still. Getting bundled up in mismatched hats, gloves and scarves. Running outside and feeling and hearing the crunch of the snow under your boots. Falling down and making snow angels and feeling as if there isn't a care in the world. Sledding, making snowmen/women, throwing snowballs. Going in a warm house where hot chocolate is waiting and a warm fire in the fireplace. LOVE IT!

Here are a few of my favorite snow pics...

Ready for the snow to go bye bye now...just sayin' :)

Wanna see what cabin fever looks like???

2011-01-12T14:31:00.000-08:00

We've been out of school for three days and delirium has set in!!!!!!!!! HELP!!! :)

I think I can, I think I can...

2011-01-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

Whewwww, what a week!!! We started back to school on Monday and received students on Tuesday. I tell you what, coming back after Christmas break I always notice such a difference in my students. It's like they've grown physically and emotionally.

We have had a fantastic week thus far, but I am one tired sista! I spent so much time during the holidays "playing" and forgot how hard it was to do the day to day grind.

Lots of new things going on for me right now and I am hoping and praying that I can keep my head above water and not lose my connection with my family and friends...

-I am going back to graduate school!!! I am sooooo stinking excited, I can barely stand it. I'm in my 10th year of teaching and I DO love it, but I am wanting to go into another arena of education where I will be out of the classroom. I am so excited to begin this journey, but am asking for prayers that I can keep it all going. You see, when I am a student, I become so type A and get stressed to the max if I am not making all A's. Crazy silly, I know, but that's the type of person I am when it comes to education. I am also hoping that I can stay "present" in Paige's life and not have my nose stuck in books too much. My plan is to do as much school work as I can while P is at dance or gymnastics. My online time will definitely have to take a back burner, but I can live with that. Actually, I think it is healthy.

Another big thing I am adding to my plate is that I am house hunting! Well, actually condo hunting. I am so very thrilled about all of the listings that I have looked at lately. I found the cutest bungaloo style condo that is within five miles from where I live now. It is so quaint and just what I am looking for. I am hoping to have a few more places to look at so I can make a decision. Now is definitely the time to buy!

So that's it in a nutshell! Sorry I am such a slacker at visiting blogs. I do try to drop in on everyone on my sidebar when I see you update. If you don't hear from me, you might want to check either my local Starbucks or Barnes and Noble. I'll be the one with my eyes propped open with toothpicks reading a big textbook :)

Have a great weekend!

1.1.11

2011-01-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!! I know I just posted about my New Year's Improvements, but I just had to blog on 1.1.11, because it is just too cool of a date, ya know?

I hope that everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve! You know what I did??? Nothing! It was GREAT :) Paige was at a party with her besties and my mom and I ordered take out and tried to stay up, but was unsuccessful. That's ok! I have spent many a new year ringing it in in style. A low key evening was just what the doctor ordered.

It is so hard to believe that my Christmas vacay is over. I go back to school on Monday and students report back on Tuesday. I am so excited to see them. Something, I can't describe it exactly, happens to students over a break. They come back more mature and seem so much more able to handle difficult skills. Generally, they are more focused and are ready to hunker down. I love the second semester.

Well, that's it for today! I'll leave you with a fav pic of my growny girl. She was decked out in her absolutely OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive Miss Me jeans, Gap sweater and Uggs. She had a Starbucks Frappacino in hand and I just can't help but think I've created a monster. Oh well, she has a sweet heart and loves to serve others, so a little spoiling can't be too bad, right? :)

New Year's "Improvements"

2010-12-30T10:27:00.001-08:00

What are resolutions really? In my mind, they are ways to improve upon your life in the upcoming year. I never keep resolutions, so instead I am aiming for ways to improve my life, hence New Year's Improvements.

You see this gorgeous little girl in the gray fur lined sweater? See how clear and vibrant she is? Yeah, me too! See the lady behind her...a little blurry, not as in focus? Yeah, I see her too. How can I improve upon this picture and what does it have to do with New Year's Improvements???? Well, let me tell you.

While I do make an effort to spend quality time with Paige, it could happen much more frequently. She dances soooo much and the times that she is not dancing, I try to spend time with her but it could be so much more productive.

My New Year's Improvement is to be less of a blur, as in the pic above, and be more clear and present. Starting Jan. 1st, I will ONLY get on the computer in the evenings when she is at dance. Goodness knows that if I can't get my FB or blog fix in during those hours then I have a real problem. I want to spend time talking, cooking, praying, reading, playing games, etc...with my family.

Life goes by in the blink of an eye and I don't want to look back and have regrets. If I were to leave this earth today and I think it would be fair to say that I am not living the way God would intend me to or how I want to. So, family FIRST!

Another New Year's Improvement is going to be my overall health. Physical, emotional, spiritual health. I have plans for all three.

Physical plan: I am rejoining WW. It is the only way I lose weight. I am also joining a local church's gym with my mom. We are going to walk while Paige dances. This will also help she and I to spend quality time together. I am going to make and go to doctor's appointments. I have a tendency to cancel appointments, because I am "too busy". Yeah right!

Emotional plan: I will NOT be around or entertain others who have a negative attitude. I won't, I won't, I WON'T!!! There are too many people in my life who have a glass half empty mentality. They are only hurting themselves, but ultimately, they bring me down, too. I am going to surround myself with people who genuinely are happy and care about my feelings. I am not going to be the "dumpster" that I have been in the past and listen to everyone's problems and feel like I have to carry them as mine. NOPE, not going to do it. I love my friends and am here for them wholeheartedly and will stand by their side, but I also have trials and tribulations and for crying out loud, they can listen, too!!!

Spiritual plan: I am going to set out to read the Bible in one year. I am going to use the plan that several of my friends have. I am soooo excited, but a little nervous about this. I think I can do it, though! I am stoked!

I am going to purchase more books and read for pleasure. I am going to learn more about my camera. I am going to plan a big trip for the summer. I am going to enjoy all that 2011 has to offer.

BRING IT ON!!!! Out with the old and in with the new!

Happy New Year, Friends~!

Highlights and thoughts of Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T22:13:00.000-08:00

We have had such a nice Christmas here in Tennessee. As Amy Grant sings, "Another tender Tennessee Christmas, is the only Christmas for me". I couldn't agree more. For the first time since 1993 (I was 19 yrs old), we had a white Christmas. It was truly magical. The snow began falling right as the sun went down on Christmas Eve. It hasn't really completely stopped until today, although we didn't get tons of accummulation. It made for the best memories and photos.

I have never been a fan of Christmas. It started when I was a little girl. My emotions always get the best of me...can't fully describe it. I am very nostalgic and love the Christmas music, lights, decor and such, but something about the holiday depresses me. Maybe because Christmas is always such a grand event and there is a let down afterwards. I'm not sure I can quite put my finger on it. I think I feel that it is a holiday geared for children and I am PERFECTLY OKIE DOKIE with that. I don't like sitting around watching adults unwrapping unnecessary things that just don't matter much. I sound like a grinch don't I? I don't mean to, really.

Our family has decided that next year, we are going to buy for the littles (Paige), but instead of buying for one another, we are going to put the money that we would spend on each other and adopt a family. I cannot think of any Christmas gift in the world that I would enjoy more.

Enough about all of that...it was a lovely holiday. I was glad to spend Jesus's birthday with the people that I have been blessed to call my family. We slept in (thank goodness for the teenage years in that regard).

Here are some thoughts about the holidays and Christmas:
1. Start pulling out decorations with the Halloween decorations. Have them assembled and ready to go the evening of Thanksgiving. We spent entirely too much time decorating this holiday and didn't have everything done until...until... oh, who am I kidding, we still don't have it all done! :)
2. Adopt a family and provide them a Christmas meal and tons of goodies to make their day happy!
3. Don't expect a lot from extended family. Everyone was on edge this year. Make a plan so that if someone gets testy, I have an escape plan :) hee hee just kidding...well, not really :/
4. Do NOT spend so much money on Paige. Rather, spend time doing activities that unite us. Not purchase things that will put her in her corner doing her own thing. More board games, more project based activities.
5. DO NOT LISTEN TO THE CHRISTMAS SHOES OR WATCH THE MOVIE!!!!!!!! Most people think it is utterly cheesy. I do not. I feel sorry for the little boy whose mama is going to meet jesus tonight. Deadgum, I want the woman to have some nice shoes for crying out loud.
6. Stop trying to hold in my emotions and cry when I miss my daddy. Like, the ugly cry, the kind where you have swollen eyes, snot flowing, fists pounding cry. Get it out. I missed my dad sooo much this year. I always do. It's heightened during the holidays.

Shew, I feel better having said all that. Here are some photos to prove that we really, really did enjoy ourselves. As a matter of fact, the fun isn't over yet...we still have a couple more celebrations to attend.

If you are still reading at this point, you are my new hero. If you stay for the pics...well, you are still my hero, just a SUPERhero!

Olivia Grace and Paige Frances Christmas Eve 2010

Kids being silly!

Our dear friends, the Craigheads

Brenda and Bob

Me, mom and Paige Christmas Eve 2010

White Christmas Eve

Paige and Moo on Christmas Day! I swear to you my dog is camera shy...it is a running joke in our household.

Blake and Paige...friends/like cousins since they were babies, because...

...their moms/sisters have been friends for 33 years. Suzanne and I. We know EVERYTHING there is to know about each other. She was my across the street neighbor starting when we were three. She is like a sister to me.

Suzanne and my friendship started because our moms met at the mailbox and started chatting. They quickly learned that they had kids who were the same age and husbands who were golf obsessed. My dad and Suzanne's dad were best friends since I was three, too. They are truly our family.

Now our brood has grown by husbands/kids etc... Sadly, we are missing my brother, Greggie Poo, as we used to call him. We also miss my dad terribly. Suzanne and her sister, Stacy, pictured with her boys, thought of my dad as their own.

My mom, Eileen (Carol's mom), and Carol (Suz and Stacy's mom). Three women whom I love and admire. I could cry just looking at these ladies and thinking about all we've shared.

Lastly, my little fam.

A funny about this last pic...as I was scrolling through the pics that I was going to upload our conversation went like this:

Me: Ughh, I am so overweight. I hate it!
Mom: One day you will be skinny.
Me: (giggling)...Thanks for the encouragement mom, but no I won't.
Paige: Sure you will...in Heaven!
Me and Mom: CRACKING UP!
Me: Thanks for the vote of confidence, Paige. You were supposed to say, sure sis, you'll be skinny one day! lol!

Now everything that we say, we end it with "In HEAVEN"...and on that note, hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T21:34:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Missy and Paige

Ten FAB years!!!

2010-12-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

Sunday, we celebrated a decade, YES A DECADE, that we have had Paige in our family! I just cannot believe that we have been a family for 10 fabulous years! She is the laughter, the heart, the sweetness in our family. She makes all of the bad days, beautiful!

She had open house at her dance studio so we spent the day there, but afterwards, we went to dinner and she received her first little blue box. She was sooooo excited! It's a paloma heart necklace. The solid heart represents her, the surrounding hearts represent her biological parents, my parents, me, Greg and God. She LOVED it! She has been showing it off with such pride...sooo cute!

Blurry, but the BEST gift of all!!!

Here are a few favs from her Open House and a video clip that I LOVE!!!

Get it girl!!!

Here is the dance that won them BEST OVERALL in the City Parade for the fifth year in a row! It's sooo cute! I love the little hip hop girls in the purple. Paige and friends are in the powder blue eskimo outfits.

Love moments like these...

2010-12-15T21:13:00.001-08:00

A friend of mine just came home from Uganda with his two beautiful baby boys (well, toddler boys, but babies in my book). As I was reading his FB wall and seeing all of the pics and videos my heart was all a flutter with the emotions of bringing home new lives. It is suuuch an overwhelming experience, isn't it? Whether born under your heart or in it, it is all such a miracle. Sometimes I am on an emotional high and I think I have been floating in the clouds all week.

Tonight I went to tuck Paige in bed. She was on top of the comforter, basketball shorts and tshirt still on, mismatched socks and drool on her pillow. Her CD player was still playing and as I started to pull off her socks and pull the covers up, Cinderella from Steven Curtis Chapman began to play. I seriously froze in my tracks and just looked at the little miracle that was in front of me. I mean seriously, how in the world did WE (my family) get so lucky to have HER? I sometimes feel like I am so unworthy of her. I hope and pray that I teach her right from wrong and that she knows just how loved she is. I don't know if I do a good enough job telling her exactly what she means to me. I am going to be better at expressing myself.

Her family day is coming up and I get all choked up just thinking about it. It's a special one, with some extra special surprises for her. I hope she loves what we got her. It is very sentimental and we loved picking it out for her.

Children are such blessings! ...just sayin' :)

A simpler life

2010-12-09T18:48:00.001-08:00

I have done a lot of reprioritizing and looking inward. I have decided to scale back on so many aspects of my life that were draining me and so time consuming. Some examples: I went from 800 to a little over 200 friends on FB. That has made SO much difference with the amount of time I spend on this silly computer. I was finding myself so intrigued with what families were eating for dinner, clothes little ones were getting, hearing tidbits of people's lives, etc... Yet, I was glued to the computer at night instead of living my life.

I usually send out over 100 Christmas cards. This year, I only ordered 40. I thought about the most important people in our lives and they are the recipients of our Christmas cards this year.

Paige has five packages under the tree, albeit expensive (realllly expensive gifts), but I don't feel the need to go and buy lots of fillers just so she can feel like she received a lot. That is not the reason for the season anyway.

We are spending time going to activities with close family friends rather than spreading ourselves thin and trying to attend every.single. party we get invited to during the holidays!

I am really feeling waaaayyy less stressed~! I think I can get used to this. NO, I know I can get used to this!

Christmas Parade 2010

2010-12-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

Today was our town's annual Christmas parade. Paige's dance studio always performs in it and has won best performance for the past four years. The verdict will be out for a couple of days, but I can say, the dancers did a phenomenal job this year.

Now, I love bundling up for a chilly parade, but today it was below freezing, spitting snow and LOTS of sleet. It was sooo cold and as you will see by my pictures, Paige wasn't as bundled up as I would have liked. At the completion of the parade, her little cheeks were so red and her teeth were chattering. Poor baby. She had fun, though! Here are some of my fav. pics of the day...

My best dance mom friends :)
We had a ball!

Don't let em' fool ya!

2010-12-03T20:37:00.000-08:00

Beautiful girls, right? Right! Sweet little faces, so angelic, right? WRONG!!! lol!

I received my cell phone bill and OH.MY.WORD!!!! Paige has a line on my package. I bought her a cell phone, because she dances, takes gymnastics and is at church every night of the week. There is not one night during the week that the child is home with me, so I needed a life line.

For the heck of it, I inspected my bill to see how many texts I used this past month. An astounding 200! To me, that is A LOT! So, why not check out Paige's texts for the month? 5,012!!! Yes, you read that correctly, five thousand, twelve texts in ONE month....mostly between those angelic, sweet little girls from above!

Good gravy!!! I had a HUGE talk with Paige and she promises to limit the texts to a minimum of 5 per day. Geez...seriously, what could one have to say to their friends that they can't say at school, dance, church, gymnastics? I mean, seriously?!?

I have a feeling that this little preteen is going to keep me hopping! As I type, she is away at a "girl's night!".

I have created a monster! :)

A little stalking anyone?

2010-11-28T17:50:00.000-08:00

Last night Paige and I were in our pjs and were cuddling and watching a movie, when all of the sudden I get a text message from a friend. She said, "Tayl@r Swift and J@ke Gyllenhaal are sitting across from me at An@hor High!!!!". I told Paige and she jumped up soooo quick and set "Get dressed!". I couldn't believe she was so excited to see T@ylor Swift! Well, she wasn't!!! She was more excited to see Mr. Gyllenh@@l! She said, "You do realize he is the HOTTEST guy on the planet, right?" OH MY!!!

I looked at her like she was crazy and then a flashback ran through my brain...I remember when I was young (er) and Justin Timberl@ke was at a restaurant in Nashville and I begged my friends to go with me.

You only live once, right? We hopped out of our pj's and into some cute clothes and drove to the restaurant. I had texted my friend and told her we were on our way and she had us seats ready once we got there.

I had my camera with my zoom lens in my purse, just knowing that I would be brave enough to take a pic. Well, we get there, and low and behold there they are. Just a cute, young couple eating dinner and listening to live music. No one was bothering them, as a matter of fact, there were only about three families in the entire restaurant (it's a summer hotspot). Paige gawked (and I did, too, when they weren't looking :). We decided to let them eat in peace and not pounce. It was so tempting, though.

They smiled at Paige several times and she would look away real fast, embarrassed!

It was such a fun night and we have giggled about it all day! For sure, one that goes down in the memory book!!!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-27T11:21:00.000-08:00

We had a nice day and I have so much to be thankful for. I love my family and friends with all of my heart. Here are some of my favorite pics of the day!

The most important people in my life!

My little brother, Greg, and me!

Paige adores Greg and her kitty :)

My favorite girls!

Thankful!

2010-11-23T19:53:00.000-08:00

Thankful for:
Faith
Family
Friends
Career
Coffee (Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte to be exact)
Snuggly fur babies
Sweet students to educate and mold daily
Good health
Saturdays
My new lens for my camera ( a little vain perhaps ).

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you and yours have a blessed holiday!

Hop on over to Lisa's pad for some black and white love!

...then there's little ole' me :)

2010-11-21T08:04:00.000-08:00

Thanks for allowing me to vent and be so vulnerable for the past few posts. I appreciate all of your suggestions for books and what to ask my doctor, etc... Amy, I also LOVE your holiday tradition and am definitely going to borrow that one. Afterall, HE is the real reason for the season and instead of being down and out, I should rejoice in the fact that it's a happy occassion! Love ya, girly!

So, this weekend I got together with some dear friends who were such a special part of my past. I was so stoked to see my old friends and talk about all of the exciting things that have been going on with them. You see, one is Mrs. Tennessee, the other is Mrs. United States, the other was the prom queen/homecoming queen, etc...and then, well, there was me :) One would think that being surrounded by such beauty (on the outside and the in) you would walk away feeling a little down about my overweight, bags under the eyes, hair needing colored, frumpy self. However, the opposite couldn't be more true. It's so nice to be around friends who love you for who you are. No put on, no pretense. I have so many incredible relationships and I want to give thanks for those this holiday season. I had so much fun reminscing about our past, present, and our hopes for the future. I feel sooo blessed to have such great friendships in real life and in blogdom.

I love the saying, "A good friend is someone who knows your past and loves you anyway!" These girls know my past and they still love me. I love them, too! I hope that Miss Paige grows up with as many lovely ladies in her life as I have in mine.

Thanks for all of your friendships! Mwah!

Holidays get the best of me

2010-11-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

As the holidays approach, I always get a little blue. My mom shared with me the other day that even as a child I was not into the magic of it all. She said that I would often become introverted (which I am not) and seem melancholy (which is not my nature). I feel that since my dad is gone and my brother is married now, our little family unit that was once so very tight is fading. While realistically I know that I probably have never been as close to my mom and Paige as I am now, I still long for the days of being a little girl and waking up on Thanksgiving to hurry and snuggle with my daddy and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. He would ooh and aah over all of the floats and in my true bah humbug nature, I would roll my eyes, while inside thinking that they were amazing and how I loved watching them with my dad. My brother would usually be bouncing about the house driving me crazy as he played with his nerf guns or bounce his basketball in the hallways. My mom would spend the day preparing dishes to take to my aunt's house. We'd usually be in a BIG hurry and would sometimes even fuss over the silliest of things in the car. It always was a hurried time, but even though things didn't always run smoothly, I enjoyed it. Something about traditions, good or bad, leave a romantic feeling inside. I may not express to my family that I wish for these traditions, but secretly I do.

I am sad that our hectic family days of old are now gone. I am trying hard to remain positive and happy for Paige, as she is such a sweetpea and deserves traditions to grow up with. It's just a hard time of the year for me.

Next week, I am attending a grief seminar in our town. It is held every year and is meant to help get through the holidays while missing a loved one. I haven't done too much in the department of healing and I think it's time. The one thing that I do hold on to is that my dad is with God and that he is complete and happy. If he can be happy and whole, then I think I owe it to myself to do the same. Sometimes easier said than done, ya know?

What are some of your fun traditions that you have for Thanksgiving and Christmas? Perhaps you would let this little family borrow some of them? I want everything for Paige to be magical and special. I want that for me, too!

36 feels awful today!

2010-11-16T17:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, this might be "TMI" (too much info), but I am putting it out there for all of blogdom, hoping and praying that some of you can shed some light on what is going on with me!

As a teenager, I had a "fairly" easy time being a female (if you get my drift!). My twenties weren't bad at all. Short and simple monthly visits and I was on my way.
Lately, however, I have been MISERABLE! I am turning into a MEAN, grumpy gal once a month. I am weepy a week before, during and a week after. I cry and cry and cry some more. When I am not crying, I am sad, or OVER the top anxious. This is sooo unlike me.

I have cramps that bring me to my knees and often I spend hours on a heating pad. I am taking ibuprofen like it is candy.

HELP! Did any of you feel like this in your mid to late 30's? I have an appt. with my doctor, but it isn't for another month. I am a little stressed out, as this isn't the norm for me. Any advice or calming words would be appreciated :)

Again, sorry for the TMI, but I am hopeful someone can relate.
Thanks in advance! If I have any male readers, see the joys you miss out on!!! LOL!

Sixth grade

2010-11-15T20:26:00.000-08:00

I took this pic this morning before school. I mean, seriously, isn't she a cutie? Sorry I am biased, but when I was in the sixth grade, I had buck teeth, glasses, pimples, big hair and a goofy grin. I NEVER looked this adorable.

Paige has taken to middle school like a champ. Her day doesn't begin until 7:30, but she begs to be dropped off by 7 a.m. on the dot, so she can "hang" with all of her friends.

She has become even more independent, if that is even possible. She asks to be dropped off at a "secret spot" so that she can walk in without us gawking or hovering. I giggle when I see her meet up with her friends as they walk into school. They are trying to act so growny, yet they are still so little and just adorable.

Her Vera Bradley bag is bigger than she is and yet she carries it with confidence. She wears lip gloss now and actually WANTS to brush her teeth before she leaves the house. No longer are the tree hugger days. Now, she cares about deodorant, abercrombie perfume, cute camis, and mismatched socks ( ? )!

Paige is not your "typical" asian stereotype. Yes, she is little and petite, yes, she is interested in math and science, but NO, she is not a genious. She is very smart, but has to work hard for her good grades. She has really done well so far and is striving to be on the Honor Roll throughout her middle school years. I have no doubt that she can do it.

She isn't too into boys just yet, however, a few have caught her eye. She got her first phone call from a boy last weekend and was so tickled by it. He is such a cutie, but they are FAR too young to be talking on the phone, so we had to put a stop to it. I am sure it won't be the last time.

Friends are not scarce. I love how social my girl is. She doesn't know a stranger. She is a friend to all and everyone loves her. She said tonight while at the basketball game, some of the kids got in a play fight as to "who loved Paige more". She said her response was, "I love you all equally and there is enough of me to go around" lol! She has such a dry little sense of humor, but when her giggle box gets turned on, it takes forever to turn off and will leave you in stitches.

She still pronounces her \r\ as a \w\ and while I shouldn't encourage it, I just can't help to think it is THE cutest thing ever. She said at lacrosse practice they "wan and wan and wan" (ran and ran and ran). I am not making fun of her...just documenting this precious little part of who she is. When she stops and thinks about it, she is able to pronounce everything correctly. I just love her...every single little precious part of her.

My sweet sixth grader is growing so much. I don't want to forget any part of it. I love her to the moon and back.

Priorities!

2010-11-10T17:46:00.001-08:00

Tonight I received a wake up call and it couldn't have come at a more crucial time. Tonight, Paige told me she misses me. She said that I spend way too much time taking people's pictures and editing them. I agree! She then went on to say that she missed me taking her picture (she must really miss me to say that :)

I have been SO busy taking fall portraits. I teach during the week and am averaging three to four sessions a weekend. Then I have to grade papers, edit pics, take Paige to and from her extra curriculars, help with homework, etc... I am not willing to mess up any quality time with my mom, sister, brother, sister-in-law, friends, etc...

I lost a childhood friend last week. He died in an automobile accident. He was 35, newly married with a one year old baby boy. Life is far too precious to not spend it enjoying every last second with your loved ones!

I am hoping to blog more and post about all of the wonderful things my family and I are doing since I will have some free time!!!! YAY!

Tough choice

2010-10-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago, I shared that Paige had made the bball team and dance competition team. Well, turns out that bball practice and games were at the exact same time as dance classes. Paige was so conflicted. Anyone that "knows" Paige, knows that she is a tomboy to the core. She is all about being aggressive and athletic. She has been dancing since she was 5 and is really good at it. She had to make a choice...bball or dance. SOOO sad that a 12 year old has to choose between two things that she loves at such a young age...

...she chose dance.

Choosing dance came with a stipulation...she HAD to play something this spring. Lacrosse is big where we live and the Catholic school that we are playing on sending her to for high school has a GREAT program. Looks like my little tomboy will be gearing up for a different sport this spring...AND it isn't on dance nights!

Check out the other black and whites at Lisa's blog. She has THE most beautiful baby girl with her...send them some major LOVE!

10/10/10

2010-10-10T14:18:00.001-07:00

On this tenth day of the tenth month of the year in the year 2010, I thought I would document 10 things that make my little sister very special. Here's to you, Paige!

1. You are a great student and always go the extra mile!

2. While you are small, you are LARGE and in CHARGE on the basketball court! I love watching you hustle up and down that court and play with great sportsmanship!

3. You love your family and give us sooo many laughs on a daily basis!!!

4. You allow me to take many photos of you, even when you think my ideas are corny (they always turn out cute, though!)

5. You have such a tender heart for animals (particularly your sweet Sambo!)

6. Laughter is YOUR best friend!!!

7. You cherish your friendships and would NEVER intentionally hurt anyone's feelings!

8. You are a princess and tomboy all wrapped up in one!

9. You were such a sweet baby girl and provided us with so much love and laughter!

10. You are proud of who you are and where you came from!!!

Black and White Wednesday

2010-10-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

Paige finally let me take some pics this weekend. She is SO over photoshoots that we used to love to do. Now, she wants pics with her friends making the silly "duck" face and throwing up peace signs...BIG SIGH!

I am glad to have caught this sweet moment. I love my beautiful preteen. She is as sweet on the inside as she is pretty on the out. Tonight, I went to check on her and she was reading her Bible. She said she wanted to "brush up on the ten commandments". Hopefully, she'll rub off on me!

For more black and whites, go visit my friend, Lisa!

She made it!!!! umm, now what?

2010-10-03T08:52:00.000-07:00

Most on f@cebook know that Paige has been playing basketball A LOT and has been dancing A LOT, but I have yet to share it on my blog. I know, I know (head hanging low in shame) the blog has taken a beating due to FaceCrack :)

If you have followed my blog for any time at all, you know that dance is a HUGE part of Paige's life. She dances five, yes five, days a week. It is truly remarkable to me that the child is able to function, let alone have a social life and still maintain an all A average at school.

Well, we have known since she was old enough to hold a ball that she was our "tomboy princess". She LOVES, HEARTS, CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF basketball! That would have been music to my Coach of a dad's ears. She has played little church leagues and such, but now that she is a middle schooler, the "game" so to speak, has changed.

Consecutively, while dancing nightly, every Mon. and Wed. after school, she has been attending her school's "open gym". Open gym is a couple of months of conditioning, scrimmages, conditioning, shooting, did I mention conditioning??? for the coach. Sixth graders are not allowed to actually "make" the team, but lo and behold, this year they have a sixth grade team. They also have the ability to make manager (yes, managers have to try out to give water to the ELITE bball members, upperclasswomen :). Well, Paige made the cut!!!!! We are ELATED! She made the sixth grade team and will find out in the next couple of weeks if she made manager. She is OVER.THE.MOON!

Next,

She is a dancer. Elegant, graceful, full of poise, shakin' her groove thang, ...you get the picture. Well, try outs for the elite competition team were last weekend. She was on the Mini competition team last year. This year, for the fun of it, and just because she thought she wouldn't make it, she tried out for the next level up...the JUNIORS. Well, hot dog, if the child didn't make it! We were all stunned, including Paige. Not that we don't believe in her talent, because we certainly do, but we thought that level would be a couple of years away.

So, besides being tickled about her accomplishments, we have a problem...

Both her sixth grade bball team and dance team require Saturday morning commitments.

WHAT TO DO?????

We sat Paige down and told her that it looks like she will have to make a decision...bball or dance. She literally fell apart. She loves them both so much and for different reasons.

She told us to make the decision. We told her to make the decision. So, of course, no decision has been made.

My heart is telling me to let her play basketball and see what that might hold for her. She smiles more when she is playing than I ever see her smile in real life (and the kid smiles a lot).

Sometimes when she comes out of dance, she feels defeated and let down. She LOVES her friendships with her "dance sisters" and I think that is what she would miss the most.

We are going to talk to both coaches and see if there is any way at all that she can still do both. If the coaches agree, then it looks like Sat. dance will have to be missed for a couple of months and she will have to take privates during the week. If it isn't an option, well, you'll know! :)

I love that at this age, she is so passionate about so much. When I was a kid, I was twirling my baton and riding my bike and picking on my little brother and being bored. So much has changed in such a short time. I am sad that kids can't do it all, as so many of these activities require year round commitments. I mean, seriously, do I think Paige will end up in the WNBA, NO. Do I think she will be dancing on Broadway one day, No. She doesn't either. Why do these activities require so much time and commitment? Why can't they be for recreation???

Venting here, off my soapbox. It's a beautiful fall day in TN. and I am going to introduce my camera to a cute little girl named Paige. They are long lost friends who need to become acquainted again! :) Hopefully, i'll have some new pics of my ballet baller soon :)

The "R" word

2010-09-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

I know I am always talking about Paige on this blog, but hey, what can I say...she is my world!

She has started middle school and has merged with another elementary school. She has always been a great friend to others and is liked by everyone. She says that school has been great and meeting new people from the other elementary has been exciting, but difficult.

Paige, if you can't tell already, is a VERY STRONG little girl with a huge personality to boot. She is verrry dry, but as funny as they come. People crack up at her and with her, because she is constantly saying things that leave us all in stitches. She is not a cheesy or fake girl. She doesn't care about style (her sissy does, though :), she is not fussy and does not shriek and shrill at all things girly. She is who she is and in her little mind, you can take her or leave her...she just doesn't care.

She has come a loooong way from the days of being a Kindergartener who got teased and picked on because: a. she was Chinese, b. she was adopted, c. she had older parents, d. she had a speech impediment. She hung in there and proved to all of the kids that THEY were lucky to have HER as a friend. By the end of fifth grade, she was being chased by all of the boys, was invited to every party and is a social butterfly!

All of that said, mixing with the new elementary kids has kind of been like starting over, except this time she has a slew of kids who "have her back". She is in a diversified tech. class with this little girl and the story goes like this:

Paige: Sis, K. is my partner in DT. We are working on a module and today she looked at me and out of nowhere called me retarded.
Me: WHAT??? What did you do?
Paige: I looked at her and said, "You did not just say that to me!".
Me: ...and, then what?????
Paige: I told her that if she ever said that again I was going to tell the teacher and tell you to call her mom.
Me: Good for you. Did she react to that?
Paige: No, she said the teacher was retarded and so was I for tattling.
Me: You do what's right, kiddo. Always!
Paige: "Oh, don't you worry. I will! She doesn't have a chance against me or my friends. She can't get away with using that word. My friends overheard her say it and their jaws dropped. We are sooo mad and are not going to take it!"

Now, as a teacher, I do NOT like that word and if I were to hear it, I would call a parent in a heartbeat. As a HUMAN, the word makes me sick...physically sick to my stomach.

The fact that some kids, teens, adults, etc...throw around words like "retard" or "gay" or whatever else really, REALLY bothers me.

I'm going to meet with the teachers next week for conferences. I will be letting her DT teacher know that this happened, but I am not sure how much good it will do.

Any advice, thoughts on what to do??? I cannot sit by and not act on this. I realize that some might say, "Oh, they're just being kids", but I disagree. We HAVE to make a point. It has to stop somewhere. I don't want Paige thinking that she needs to take that from another kid. The little girl is the "queen bee" from the other school and is all about the gossip and apparently stirs up drama. I don't want to be overdramatic, but I am very bothered. Just curious what you would do if you were me or suggestions as to what to tell Paige.

Setting the trends

2010-09-27T19:42:00.001-07:00

EMS had Western Day last week and I had to snap a couple of pics of my cowgirl. I took the day off to rest and got to see her off to school. As I was driving her, I told her how cute she looked and how I bet everyone would get a kick out of her outfit. I asked if she and her friends had planned to dress up and she said, "No, I don't need to plan outfits...I set trends!" Do you think she lacks confidence? :)

I love how secure she is in herself. I never was at that age. I still am not. I wish a little of it would rub off on me!

Sometimes I want to ban her to an island and ask for her back in a few years, but for the most part, this is a FUN age!!!

Love my girl!

Baller

2010-09-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

Paige is attending a weekly basketball clinic to improve her basketball skills and I just adore watching her try to be the best she can be. She is trying out for her middle school team and is working out with the team two times a week. I am not sure if she will make the team, but I am so proud that she gives it 110% every time she gets out there.

This past week they ran bleachers and as active Paige has always been, she was HURTING. My dad was a basketball coach for over 30 years and I forgot how intense the practices and conditioning can be. It is not for the faint at heart.

Win or lose, I am proud of you, Paige! You are a great sportsman and you have a drive that cannot be unwaivered. Love you, my little baller!

Boundaries

2010-09-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

I do realize that the past couple of posts have been a little on the negative side, so if you are looking for a pick me up, you might want to move on to another blog (kidding, ... well, sort of).

Today was a really, really rough day. I was interrupted today by colleagues, no less than 15 times throughout the day. Not only was my instruction halted, but the kids started getting antsy and talkative. While one colleague "stopped by to chat" he commented on how my students were awfully squirly (sp?) ... this being said while he had been in my room chatting excessively for 10 minutes. I mean, seriously people, have some boundaries here.

I never interrupt a class or waltz into another classroom unless it is an emergency or I have been invited. I value my colleagues and the students time. It is precious and I think it is RUDE to barge in.

Then, a teacher across the hallway from me comes in every morning to sharpen pencils. That is not a problem, I don't mind if it is before the students arrive. However, now she is sending her children over throughout the day while I am teaching. I have an electronic pencil sharpener, so it is loud. I don't let my students sharpen throughout the day, so why should another teacher's students come and interrupt us and do it.

BOUNDARIES! I have to create some or this is going to be a bad year.

Then to top things off today, Paige and I got into a disagreement. She is definitely showing the signs of being a teenager and while I am sensitive to that, I am not going to allow disrespect. She just fell asleep and didn't say goodnight...for the first time...EVER!!! :(

I desperately need a good devotional right now. Does anyone have an uplifting one that they would like to share? Maybe a good bible study??? If not, I suppose I can hit the bottle (just kidding...well, kind of :)

Thanks for listening to me vent! Tomorrow is a new day.

Sad day

2010-09-10T20:12:00.001-07:00

Today I received news that a sweet mom in our community passed away from breast cancer. She was in her forties and such a vivacious, selfless wife, mother and friend. She had a college age daughter and two middle school sons. One of her sons, Cameron, is Paige's good friend. They've been in class together several years and have remained friends since. Cameron is such a sweet little boy and was so attached to his mom. With him losing his mom, it seems to have sparked a sadness in Paige. I think she is feeling the loss of our dad all over.

I don't really know what to do or say, but would like to ask if you are the praying type, please keep this sweet family in your prayers. It will be a difficult road ahead for them. Their middle son has autism and requires a lot of attention. He is an amazing fellow and I just pray that he continues to thrive.

I am reminded again to live life like it is your last day!

Keeping it real

2010-09-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

So, this is two posts in one day, but if I don't get this off my chest, I could possibly burst. I guess I forgot what it was like to be a preteen 12 year old. I remember my mom always told me how difficult I was, but I never thought too much of it...that is, until now. Geez louise, hormones are in full effect and with those come eye rolling, closing bedroom doors (and trying to lock them...not successfully I may add), talking back, etc...

Please, someone please tell me that we will survive the next few years unscathed and still smiling! Ugh! Tough night!

Justin Bieber came to Paige's party!

2010-09-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

Actually, it was Kennner impersonating JB! Once the bday girls and guests got into the limo, we gave them tasks to receive clues for their final destination. One of their tasks was to be serenaded by Justin Bieber. The musician had recently come to N@shville and the girls have this wild and crazy friend who happily wore a JB tshirt and serenade the girls. It was too funny!

Here is a little video clip...Kenner is a HOOT!

Love the way he sings, "Ava, Paige Oh Loren, where's Loren?" He is not shy!

Afterwards, the girls had to break off into teams and see which bday girl could be wrapped up first to win the next clue.

Here are the bday girls :)

More to come later :)

A little of this and that

2010-08-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

We have been so very busy lately! I haven't made the rounds on my favorite blogs in forever and if I do pop in, I usually don't have enough time to comment. I hope to do better soon. I also plan to post more to my blog so I can blurb it for keepsake.

Anyhow, let's see... I started teaching 3rd grade after teaching first and second for eight years. After the initial "oh my gosh, these kids can DO", I am settling in nicely and feel like I have landed in Heaven. My students are AMAZING and such busy little bees. They are intrinsic learners and that makes my job very easy. I am finding that the day is flying by and before I know it, it's time to pack up and head home.

Unfortunately, one of the hazards of being a teacher is catching everything! It's the third full week and I've already had a bad stomach bug and now I am on zinc and vitamin d daily while trying to fight a cold. Ugh!

Paige started middle school and has transitioned beautifully! Her social life is far better than mine and she is loving life. She is trying out for her middle school's 6th grade basketball team (the sixth grade team is an unofficial weekend league). I hope she makes it. She has her heart set on it. She is becoming burned out of dance, so we have let her drop a few classes. She keeps asking to take a year off from it all together and while I really don't mind, I am afraid they will hold her back and she won't be with her friends. We'll have to really think about that one.

My mom is busy doing projects around the house and is so involved in church. We have a few little weekend trips planned and that has her excited. We are going to Chicago in November to get in the Christmas spirit!

Hope to make it around to other's blogs soon! Until then, take care and have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend~!

The party of the year (Part 2)

2010-08-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

So, I left off with a little teaser...here are some of the attendees and the bday girls getting ready to take off on a night FULL of adventures.

Birthday girls with the guests!

Add in just a smidge of SASS!

My beautiful birthday girl in the limo...ahhh, she is growing up so fast!

JM, Arden, Paige and Gracie

And for a little video pleasure, we have lots of squeals and att-i-tude (some which some mama's had to take care of later :/), but mostly lots of fun! I get tickled in one of the videos where Paige's friend, Gracie gets excited about "fancy water!"...lol, it doesn't take much :)

The journey begins here and has several pit stops along the way to reach their final destination... more to come later :)

The party of the year (Part 1)

2010-08-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

Someone had a PARTAY this past weekend and it was a HUGE success! Remember not too long ago I shared that Paige was having a joint bday with two of her besties??? Well, it was this past weekend and it was sooo much fun! I'm going to have to break this into several parts, because it was THAT over the top. I told Paige that she won't be having another party like that until she gets married. hee hee

Paige posing before the guests arrived!

Each lady received a pink rose as they stepped out of this...

...oooh yeah, baby, a white stretch Hummer Limo with disco lights, surround sound stereo and lights on the ceiling. It was a tween's dream come true!!!

The cake was soooo cute and YUMMY to boot! Paige wanted to take a little finger "dip" before the guests arrived, but she held off! :)

Loren, Ava and Paige...BIRTHDAY GIRLS!!!

The girls looked quite regal and so elegant in their cocktail dresses! It was so much fun to have an occassion to see all of their friends decked out.

The girls before going for a pre party ride. The whole evening was a surprise for the birthday girls and the guests! It was a very difficult task keeping such BIG secrets from sooo many girls and moms, but we did it!

Sooo much more fun to come...check back for more!!! :)

I converted a pic of Paige and I into black and white and wanted to link up to Lisa's black and white Wednesday since I haven't participated in a while. This was taken at the end of our evening and while we are sweaty, I love this pic of me and my sweet girl! To see more black and whites, head over to the new MOMMY to a beautiful SPICY girl!!!!

Look out EMS...here they come!

2010-08-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

Paige's first day of middle school couldn't have been more wonderful! I will let the pictures do the talking...

It started off with a "Cougar Breakfast" for Paige and 16 of her closest friends. Look at how precious that table is! My friend, Kim, is so creative and doesn't leave a single detail out.

There were chocolate chip and blueberry muffins, fixings for parfaits, fruit, milk and OJ, but quite frankly, the girls were too excited to eat much. I think they look pretty darn cute for 6:15 a.m.

They giggled and talked and wondered who their teacher's were going to be, what team they were going to be on (Paige is on the BLUE ...YAY), and who was going to be in their classes. I am sure they had a few conversations about boys, but the moms and I weren't privy to those :)

They posed for some group shots while the mama/sisterazzi went NUTS with our cameras!!! Such sweet girls to allow us to be in their faces ALL.THE.TIME!

They sat with their besties and talked about how they are SOOOO glad to not be in elementary anymore (I didn't buy that for one minute, though).

They talked about hoping to not get lost in their new BIG school!

They shared the latest trends...

They started to look soooo grown up...

They struck a pose...

Waved at buses and passersby who honked their horns...

They took pics with lifelong friends...

They gave us a glimpse into their future...

They gathered for prayer...

We said our goodbyes to the days of wiping noses, drying eyes, tying shoelaces, helping with handwriting or sounding out words...

and we all said hello to a brand new phase in our sweet girls lives.

I hope and pray that God watches over these girls and helps them to make good choices, be kind to each other, learn all that they can, study hard, play harder, and never forget to cherish each moment!

In my mind...

2010-08-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

...she is still this little! :( Tomorrow, my baby girl, starts middle school! I know most people don't see this as any big deal, but she is our one and only and each and every milestone just means she is growing up. While I am so proud of the young lady she has become, sometimes I just wish she were this little again and I could still scoop her up and sing to her and love on her like I did when she was so teeny.

No matter what, Paige, you will ALWAYS be my baby girl!
I love you more than life itself! Be the sweet, unique individual you are and you will KNOCK their socks off!

To the moon and back...

National Dance Day!

2010-07-31T18:41:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a day devoted to just about everything these days and dancing is no exception! Today, I was perusing FB (FB stands for, ya know that social network where I get on and plan to spend 10 minutes and then end up spending two hours? ... yeah, that one!) and I found out that it was National Dance Day!

Sooo, what does one actually do on this day? Well, you grab your little in the house and you put on some tunes and you shake what your mama gave ya :) Paige and I did "the butt", "twisted and shouted", the hand jive, the macarena, the running man and many other dances. We danced to Michael Jackson to Etta James. We swung and slided and serenaded and sang into the brush. We had a BLAST!

I highly recommend getting up every now and again and busting a move!

Here are a couple of my favorite dance videos...some from Paige's recital to some that just make me smile!!! Enjoy, NO WAIT.... DANCE!!!!!!

Where did my filter go?

2010-07-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

Has anyone seen my filter? Ya know, the filter that lives underneath your tongue, in your mouth? It seems that mine is gone and I am just letting my thoughts roll off my tongue these days!

My mom once told me "one day you are going to grow up and find your voice and you will not just stay quiet because you don't want to rock the boat". Well, my friends, that day has come and I feel like a brand.new.person!

I could list the occassions in this past week alone where I have either spoken out for the underdog, or said...are you ready for this??? the word "NO" without any explanations, or given my opinion on something when I usually would have stayed silent or walked right on by someone at the pool who would normally keep me in conversation for close to an hour and I would know everything about them except for their blood type...while I am DYING to get away and spend time with Paige.

I feel great!!! Priority life, here we come :)

No longer are the days of nodding my head in agreement, biting my tongue, or being the "yes" girl.

My life is just as important as those that seem to take my time, without apology, and then don't bother to ask how my day was or how my sweet family is doing. So if you call or see me out and I seem in a hurry, it's because I am. I am in a hurry to spend time with my mom, Paige, brother, sister-in-law, friends whom I adore and love. When you think I am being rude, ask yourself why. Why does she seem different...the answer might shock you.

DONE, GONE, Bye Bye Miss DoorMat!!! :)

Mama said that there would be days like this, my mama said :)

***disclaimer*** I am still a very sweet and sincere person, however, friendships and commitments and all of that jazz is a TWO way street, ya know? My time is just as valuable as others and I intend on spending it with people who TRULY have my best interest at heart! :)

Party planning fun!

2010-07-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the year again for our family...Paige's birthday! Since she is our one and only, we tend to go a bit overboard. She didn't have a party, per se, last year...just a little sleepover, but THIS year, she is turning 12! It's a big year for her.

She has two friends that share a birthday within the same week, so the moms and I decided to pull our funds together and have a joint bday party. We met last night to plan and boy, all I can say is, it's going to be a doozy!

The girls know about the biggest surprise which is... a stretch Hummer is taking them and their guests out for an evening of fun and TONS-O-SURPRISES!!! That is all they know. Since Miss Paigee Poo reads this blog from time to time, I can't post details here until after the event.

Here are the pics that we are using for their invitation and for some other surprises...I think they are so precious!

Ava, Loren and Paige

My personal fav! We are saving this one for thank you cards!

I think I am more excited than the girls!

Been too busy to blog

2010-07-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't believe it has been this many days and I haven't blogged. We've just been so busy enjoying our summer. We've done a lot of sleeping in, going to the pool, enjoying new movies, lounging around, trying new restaurants, going to camps, getting braces, hanging with friends, fixing up classrooms, etc... whew, NOT a boring summer. I have loved every minute of spending time with my mom and Paige. We have giggled all summer over the silliest of things. A new favorite, and yes perhaps a bit much for our "almost middle schooler" is, watching the Bachelorette. We (mom, Paige and I), all have distinct favorites and none are the same. Paige's fav went home last week. My fav. better come out the new Mr. Ally :)

Here are some snapshots of our summer. None are edited or fixed up...kinda tired of doing the whole photog thing lately. It's too hot :)

Look who got braces :) Isn't she adorable???

She went to a sleepover and didn't go to sleep...I had a camera in her face trying to make her laugh and wake up. I'm such a pest! :)

He learned to get on the beds...SOOOO NOT COOL Marley Moo!!!

Cutie pie cheesing it up before dance! I am sorry that I am bias, but I think she is soooo stinking cute in her new "metal".

Wiggling her eyes. I swear this child can do the strangest things, like cross one eye and let the other one roam or she can make a four leaf clover out of her tongue...Weeiirrdd! ... always good for a laugh, though!

Such a tween!

Spending time with dear friends who are like family... LOVE THEM!!!

Jumping for Joy with her bestie...ok, I snuck one edited pic in :)

What have you all been up to????

Black and White Wednesday

2010-07-13T23:05:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy the past week going to workshops, playing taxi driver to the empress and friends, getting together with friends and doing a couple of photoshoots that I forgot to edit my own black and white. So, while there really isn't a great story behind this pic, I just love the photo and the girl in front of the lens...is that story enough??? :) Hope so, 'cause it's all I got this week! Hope you all are having a fantastic summer, filled with fun, sun and laughter...I know I am :)

She's pretty adorable, huh? To see more adorable children and beautiful black and whites head on over to Lisa's pad :)

Besties

2010-07-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

So, as I look at this picture of two of the worlds most darling best friends, I reflect upon my own friendships and I how much I value my "besties".

Today I met my four best girlfriends for "lunch". We met at our fav. little restaurant that has the most charming atmosphere with the yummiest food around town. We met at 11a.m. and didn't walk out of the restaurant until 3:45 p.m. We giggled, caught up on each other's lives, shared prayer requests, cried a tad (we're such saps), gossiped a little (ok, maybe a lot, but not at the expense to hurt anyone :), shared sangria and reminisced about the funny things we did growing up.

I love these girls like sisters and I am so incredibly blessed by their friendship. We have watched each other get married (I am still waiting on that honor), have children, get hired and sometimes fired from jobs, shared recipes, drank "mama drinks", vacationed together, called each other at midnight to laugh or cry and have been each other's rock at one time or another.

I am feeling extremely grateful today for my many friendships, but especially for my besties!

My only hope is that Paige can share the same joy with her friends as I have with mine.

Life is not complete unless you have good friends to share it with!

It's inevitable...

2010-07-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

Dear P,
You are growing and changing everyday. At almost 12 years old, I see less of your little girl self and more of your young lady self. I predict that middle school will be enjoyable for you, as you are a good friend to all. I hope that you don't fall prey to peer pressure or "mean girl" behavior. You have a beautiful heart and love for your fellow human. Just last night as we went to see Toy Story, you had such compassion for the little girl sitting a few seats down from you. The little girl seemed so sad at parts of the movie and you would look at her and smile sweetly and then whisper to me that you felt bad, because she was sad.

You are THE funniest character I have.ever.met! I can look at you and you will immediately strike one of your funny poses, keep a straight face until I bust into laughter. I love the person you have always been, the person you are and the person you will be.

You make it easy to be your sister! Thanks squirt! Keep on with ya bad self! ha ha
Love,
Sis

Inevitably, you are growing and changing and I am so proud of you!!!

Fourth recapped...

2010-07-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

My beautiful mom joined us for a picnic at the pool and decided to stay and watch the fireworks (which were great btw).

Paige and friends enjoying the water :)

Cheering for their relay team!

I wish I had rhe width on my blog to show this entire pic...the look on P's face as she tells a story and how the girls were intently listening made me laugh... :)

Waiting on their relay team. They are always so smiley :)

P and T

Paige and her besties...and their ginormous sunglasses :)

We had a nice fourth and hope that you and yours did too!!!

Black and White Wednesday

2010-07-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

Well, didn't take me too long to be gone from blogdom. While truthfully I had a scary comment, it wasn't the main reason I chose to close down shop. My blog had become sort of a place for others to come, look at pics and leave a sweet comment, but then go to FB and discuss what I or my friends were posting about. Ya know, that's quite silly indeed. I have had this blog long before I met my online "friends" and I am certainly going to have it for a lot longer. That said, I have made some very dear friends (you know who you are, because at one time or another, I've told you so).

So, now that that's out there...I will begin blogging again, but only about things that I think are blog worthy and not for the dog and pony show that appears to be spreading like wild fires. If you like what you see and read, continue on, if not, well, kick rocks :) All this big and bad attitude to say: " I really value the friendships I have made and don't want to lose them! So, let's carry on, shall we?

My good friend Lisa does a Black and White Wed. Tonight I had three pics that I wanted to share and I would like your feedback which you prefer! Don't say, "Oh, I love all three". Be specific...sound fun??? Ok, I give you the color version
#1

#2

and lastly,
#3

What we've been up to this summer...

2010-07-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

After recital was over (which was great, btw), we have been busy, busy, busy. We have been spending most of our days lounging by the pool. Paige has done a basketball camp and is gearing up for Sea Star camp this coming week. I have been laying out and getting my tan on :) A few people have commented and said that I was "too" tan :? Not too sure if one can ever be too tan, but maybe I should lay off a bit. Mom's cousin from Decatur, Alabama passed away and she was sad to hear it, but rode up with Francine and Kaitlin and had a great time seeing Alabama family.

Here are some pics of the things we've been doing...MOSTLY pool pics :) Oh, and of course, the obligatory photoshoot :)

Having fun on the diving board :)

Paige and buddy since Kinder, Arden

Tori, Paige and Delaney

After Haleigh's sweet 16 party!

Paige being such a cutie! Love the warm sunlight...so pretty!

My pretty girl ... LoVe!

Friendship

2010-06-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-06-25T17:31:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

“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!

2010-06-07T20:36:00.001-07:00

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

2010-06-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

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! :)

She graduated!

2010-05-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

Well, we officially have a middle school child living in our house...YIKES! Paige graduated the fifth grade on Friday and I am so proud of her. She received an amazing education, she made life long friends and went from a shy little girl to a confident young lady. Her future looks so bright!!!

Receiving her safety patrol trophy from Mrs. McGhee, her principal.

receiving her diploma from her teacher, Mrs. Pursley

Mrs. Pursley and Paige. Mrs. Pursley sent me an email one day and said that Paige was one of the most intrinsically motivated students she had ever met in her years teaching. That statement made this teacher very happy.

Paige and her principal, Mrs. McGhee. Mrs. McGhee has always been so kind to Paige. She runs a TIGHT ship and I think is top notch!

Paige and Meghan

Kendall, Paige and Charlsi Jayne...friends since Kinder!

Paige and Mitch

Me and my girl!

For the grads :) I thought this was a cute idea ... think I will use it for my classroom next year!

Paige's besties...Olivia, Paige, Molly and Arden...GREAT girls!!!

P and Olivia...otherwise known as peep buddies or yin and yang!

Gracie and Paige... wild and carazy girls!

A sweet moment between Corley and Paige...and...

...how they act 99% of the time...lol!!!

Weston and Paige

Paige and Ciannon....sweet girls!

Caroline and Paige

Silly girls!!! Yeah, they are sooo sad to be leaving elementary...yeah right :)

Me, Kim (Olivia's mom) and Bonnye (Weston's mom). We've been in this together for six years. Great friends!

Paige and Ava..school and dance friends.

Paige and Matty

Paige as she leaves Indian Lake Elementary for the last time!

It was a great ride! On to the next chapter...stay tuned!

So many milestones...and counting!

2010-05-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

Paige and friends after they performed their hip hop routine in their school's talent show. They were so good! I went to the same elementary school and was in the talent show every year, as I was, ahem...a ... majorette :) Hey, don't knock it :)

I love that her peers love her so much. When they were announcing the girls' names, I beamed with pride when they said Paige's name and the crowd roared. I just wish you could all know her. She is such a funny kid. Her sense of humor is dry and she is so funny and silly and NEVER takes herself seriously. She is a great friend to everyone and I was tickled to hear the crowd cheer for her in such a big way. I beamed!

These four cuties were in Kindergarten together. I am not going to lie and say that everything was hunky dory with this group. There are two that were the "mean girls" and would often pick on Paige when she was little because of her speech. They would also make fun of her being from China. I'm not trying to show all of the bad here, what I want to focus on is that these girls have really grown up and are now great friends to Paige and love her for who she is. They have all grown up and matured and it does my heart good! Forgiveness is one of Paige's most wonderful traits. I could learn a lot from her.

Here is Paige and her friend, Meghan, before the Just Say No dance. This is an annual dance that is held for the fifth graders at the end of the year. I was asked to be the photographer for the evening so I got to be a fly on the wall....sooo fun :)

Silly kids!!! I mean, just look at all the different facial expressions :)

Paige and her bff's. No matter what, this kid always ends up being picked up! lol

Sweethearts!

Paige and Molly...friends since second grade! Two peas in a pod!

Gangs all here!

Stay tuned...big graduation is coming up Friday!

The many things...

2010-05-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

...that I love about you that I NEVER want to forget!

You are beautiful on the outside, but far more beautiful on the inside. When I took this picture of you, you politely asked if I got "the shot". You were so concerned that I got a good pic to edit...you little love!

You are laid back and such a dreamer. You always talk about the future and how you want to be an engineer. Before you wanted to become an engineer, you wanted to be a DJ. You would talk about mixing music and getting a crowd excited. You'll be great at whatever you choose.

You don't take anything from anyone and are not afraid to give the "stink eye" if and when it is needed...(you are not afraid to give it to me, too!...you turkey :P).

You forgive easily and often with a slight smile. I love your forgiving heart. I wish I were as mature at times.

You CRACK yourself up! I love that you laugh at yourself and all of the silly things that life has to offer. Your favorite thing right now is potty humor. I swear you remind me of a boy at times. If I say the word, "poot, fart, diarrhea" you laugh out loud and A LOT! You love to tell me knock knock jokes that are on the cusp of being inappropriate. While I try to keep a straight face, we usually burst into laughter jointly and I can't help but love it!

You break into dance at the drop of a hat and don't care who is around to see it. Right now your fav. moves are the running man, roger rabbit, the sprinkler and the white man's overbite. You love to watch the youtube video of the young couple whose wedding party danced down the aisle to the Chris Brown song. You watch it over and over and always say, "I am going to do that when I get married. So cool!".

You think you are all that AND a bag of chips. However, you are quite humble when people pass around compliments. You always say thank you and blush. It is quite cute.

You say you have something "importNant" to tell me and will bust into story. You are a good storyteller, but sometimes lose me as you will start one subject and jump to the next and get tickled when you realize I am not following :)

You're soft and squishy and crack up hysterically when I grab the inside of your thigh and tickle you. You laugh so hard that no sounds come out. You are teeny tiny and have a figure most would kill for, yet, you refuse to wear booty shorts or tank tops and are extremely modest. You would live in basketball shorts, abercrombie t's and converse tennis shoes. You bite your nails and your toenails are longer than any I've ever seen (ick!) You love to stick your feet in my face and say, "Cut em' sis" and laugh as I get completely grossed out! Yet, you are still simply beautiful!

You are a daughter of God, daughter to mom and dad, sister to Greg and I, sister-in-law to Laurie, student, friend to many, dancer, dreamer, lover of animals (particularly Sambo), avid reader, great listener, singer of Opera :), basketball lover, Steeler's fan, precious little girl.

Never ever lose who you are. Stay true to your character and never follow the "norm". Don't be afraid to stand out! I love you to the moon and back!!!
xoxo,
Sissy

To see more black and whites visit Lisa's site!

Welcome to the Mad House!

2010-05-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

Paige had her first "big" dance competition this weekend. She was so nervous. She awoke early Saturday morning asking if she should get ready at 8 am, even though they didn't go on stage until 3:20 :)

The girls did SUCH a great job performing. Their performance is a bit "edgy", but fortunately the judges loved it, as the girls took first place Platinum in the hip hop division and received fourth place overall out of 29 dance teams!!!

Paige loves these girls like sisters, as they have all danced together for six and seven years now. They have such a special bond. Here are some pics that I think are so stinkin' cute!

Paige and her best friend, Avery, prior to competing! Paige is a wild child...she thinks she is a rockstar (in my book, she is :P )

Sassy girls! The name of their dance is "Welcome to the Mad House"...they look pretty "Mad" in my opinion :)

Beautiful girls, inside and out. Avery's got her "game face" on!

Ava and Paige being dramatic...crazy girlies!

Girls on stage awaiting their awards. I caught this pic of Paige and I love it. She is my little angel.

Congratulations girls on your first place Platinum!!! Here's to many more dance competitions, but more importantly, great times with special friends!!! I am so proud of you girls!

Here is a video I took on my flip camcorder. I thought they were just precious. YES, that is me "wooooo-ing". Paige always tells me to yell for her and that, I do! No apologies for being my girl's biggest fan :P

What we see

2010-04-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

Check out more Black and Whites at Lisa's blog, The Long Road to China!

It takes a Village!

2010-04-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all of the sweet comments and support from Paige's post about being adopted and dealing with racism, etc... She was happy that she could help and so am I!

Ya know, several of you asked what we did to raise a confident little girl and it really got me thinking. I don't think we have done anything in particular, but some things that I think have helped Paige's self confidence is we tell her ALL of the time that she is all that AND a bag of chips. We are her biggest fans and she knows that we have her back 110%. Granted, when she is not using nice manners or has a sour attitude, you better believe we settle that quickly. Unfortunately, with the tween years on us, we are having "heart to hearts" more often than not. (Sorry Paigee, but we are getting there, huh? :)

We try to keep things light and don't focus on a lot of negativity. She has some "mean girl" issues in her fifth grade class and I just don't harp on it. She'll tell me how so and so picked on this one or that one and I just listen, ask her how it makes her feel and what she can do to help. We have LOTS of dialogue...I am sure she would say almost to the point of nauseum :)

We also make sure that she is SURROUNDED by positive, loving, confident people. It really does take a village to raise healthy, happy, poised, confident young people. I believe so deeply that we should speak positively about all people in front of young ones. They are SPONGES and soak it all in. We are their role models right now and we can make em' or break em'. In our household, we choose to make em' :)

Racism, bullying, mean spiritedness is going to exist and unfortunately I think we will all be touched by it in one way or the other. It is how we react to it all that makes all the difference.

Thank you for allowing us to share a bit of our thoughts with you!

Have a GREAT weekend! Ours is going to be a wet and rainy one! I'm going to catch up on some good reading and movie time :)

She speaks!

2010-04-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

I got to know my girl so well throughout this little experiment. Thank you to everyone who wrote questions. She answered as many as she could on video, but there were a few she wanted to write about on the blog, so without further ado, meet Paige!

"Hi, i'm Paige. I am 11 years old. I am glad that you asked questions on my sissys blog. She is the best isn't she????? I heart her!!! Someone said there little girl gets made fun of cause of her nose. No one has ever really bugged me about my nose mostly my eyes. I would tell you to tell your little girl to tell a teacher or an adult when she is being made fun of. She could also say to that person, Are YOU perfect? I happen to like my nose, so there! Tell her that it is her nose and she should love it. SOme people have big noses that they don't like, like my sissy :) No one is perfect, except for God."

"Someone asked me if I wished I could visit China. I would rather visit Italy first :) I am more fasinated with Italy. My family thinks I am crazy, but, I mean I only lived in China for two years and don't really remember it except for the stories my family tells me. I know it will be important to go back some day. Maybe when I am in college."

"Someone else asked if I wished my family took me to more Chinese functions. We used to go to a lot when I was little, but since I've gotten bigger and more active in school and dance and hangin with my friends, we don't go as much. I don't really feel like I have anything in common with those girls, so it is awkward. Id rather just hang out with my family and go eat chinese food...yummo!"

"I get asked this question all the time...am i glad i have older siblings and do i wish i had siblings closer in age. Yes i LOVE my big brother and sister. They rock!!! I know that my mom is my mom, my sister is my sister, my bro is my bro and that my dad was my dad. People usually think my mom is my grandma, but she's not. My sissy helps out with raising me a lot and I love her like a sissy/mom. I usually call her sisser/mom and she giggles. I am glad I have a lot of people that love me. I don't see anything wrong with that. Sometimes I would like to have a sibling close in age, but I love Annslee and Coby and consider them family. They live in our city and I know my sis blogs about them. I love them. My family says I am spoiled, so maybe I wouldn't be able to share with a sibling. I think I could........maybe? :)"

Questions for Paige...she wants to hear from YOU!

2010-04-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

I told Paige that I shared on the blog that we had an amazingly, open conversation about adoption and her feelings. I made sure she knew that I didn't share any of what she said, as that was not my place. I then explained to her that there were other little girls, younger than her, who might experience some of the same feelings or encounter similar situations at school, etc... I asked her if I could share what we talked about, but she had a much better idea.

She would like to hear from YOU!

If you have any questions at all, please leave them in the comment section of the blog. We will wait until Sunday and then she said she would respond. She also said that she might share some other feelings. She is happy to know that she can maybe help others like her and that they can all learn from each other and know they are not alone.

So, there you have it...ask away!!!

Black and White Wednesday

2010-04-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

I just adore this child with all of my heart and soul. On Easter Sunday, she and I spent the afternoon together and had so much fun. She poured out her feelings about so many adoption issues that she is facing at this stage in her life. It was a really deep and raw conversation and I am going to ask her if I can share some of her thoughts on the blog. In the meantime, take my word for it when I say, this child is as beautiful on the inside as she is the outside. She inspires me daily!

I love the color version, too.

Happy Black and White Wednesday! For more incredible images, visit my friend's blog at The Long Road to China.

One more for the road...

Meet Marley!

2010-04-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

This is our new baby boy and we are all soooo in love!!! He is a teddy bear breed, which is a mix of shih tzu and bichon frise.

He has the sweetest little baby face and is sooo smoochable!

Paige adores him. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for Paige, Marley would still be at the breeders and we would have come home with his brother. I thought his brother was, are you ready for this?... cuter!!! GASP, I know. Marley ran straight into Paige's arms and P turned into mush. I kept trying to coax her into his brother, but no way! Marley it was... and I am so glad. He is truly a sweetie pie.

I mean, could you resist this face..........?

I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship !!!

The Blindside

2010-03-27T20:54:00.000-07:00

I just finished watching The Blindside with my mom. We laughed and cried. I just love movies like that. It was so touching and it made me question myself.

Would I do what Leigh Ann Tuley did if I were in her position? I would like to think that I would. I loved the way she stood up to others with such gusto and was sure of herself and fought for the one who didn't have anyone to fight for him.

I highly suggest renting this movie if you haven't seen it. It is a great feel good story.

On a side note: spring is here and I am soooo happy!!! The longer afternoons make me so happy!

Have a fantastic week! Lil' bit is having a tween milestone this week...stay tuned!

Birthday fun!

2010-03-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

Well, if one must turn a year older, it's always good if it is done in style :) I turned 36 on the first day of spring and it truly FELT like the first day of spring. The weather was beautiful. Birds were chirping, the sun was shining and I actually wore my flip flops...waaa hooo!

I was thoroughly SPOILED rotten the week leading up to my bday, because it was my spring break. Lots of friends and family took me out to nice lunches and dinners. I had a mani/pedi/spa day, went shopping, ate lunch with Paige at her school and rested!!!

My best girlfriends threw a birthday bash for me and we always have soooo much fun together. We all couldn't be anymore different if we tried. There is the homemaker extraordinaire who is married to an ex NFL football player. There is the mom who is a pastry chef and still manages to run a tight ship at home and is the one out in the work world, while hubby is the domestic God :). My other bestie is a substitute teacher who is as wholesome and loving as they come. Lastly, is my girlfriend who is a SAHM, but is busier than your average CEO. She dabbles in volunteering at every school that her children attend, she is the President of the Lady's Club, and manages to have dinner on her table for her family every night.on.time!

Then there is me :) I so don't fit into their lifestyles. I am a single, working 50 + hours a week, sister to a preteen, live with mother, fun lovin' kinda girl!

We compliment each other. I love them. They know EVERYTHING about me and "get" me. I couldn't ask for better friends. No matter how different we are, we have so many similar worries, concerns for the world, our loved ones, etc...

These girls are not only my best friends, they are like my sisters. I couldn't ask for a better bunch of girls to have on my side.

Here are some pics from my party!

And, my very best friend of all...

A St. Patrick's Day to remember

2010-03-17T21:44:00.000-07:00

My mom is Irish American. We have always enjoyed St. Patrick's Day. It was a holiday that my German dad loved, too. Since he passed, we've struggled to make new traditions.

My mom and I decided to pick up Paige from school and make a new tradition. We have this GREAT restaurant on the lake. Our city was voted one of the top 10 cities to live in the U.S., due to the beautiful lakes and surrounding parks, schools, etc... Well, this little restaurant did NOT disappoint. We had a ball!

By the way-these pics are just snapshots and you are going to be seeing MANY more of them. Life isn't always about the perfect portrait (at least in my eyes). I will be taking more snapshot type pics and posting them. Don't get me wrong, I love photography and don't plan on stopping posting portraits...just trying to get a balance :)

I got the obligatory green beer! LOVED it!

My mom doesn't drink a lot of alcohol, but loves the taste of beer. She went for the non-alcoholic O'Douls instead. It was green, so she enjoyed that :)

Paige and my mom stopped for a quick photo. Paige was decked out in her green from top to bottom.

Paige took this pic of my mom and I. We were toasting to another great year and new tradition. I ADORE my mom!!!

Our new tradition is: dinner at the little restaurant on the lake, and ... PEDI's!!!! My mom had never had one and was sooooo funny. The little asian ladies laughed and laughed at how stiff she was and the way her head bobbed up and down on the massage chair. Paige and I were in stitches. My mom was under the impression that when you go to get a pedicure that a "facial" is involved, too. She kept asking the little lady (who barely spoke a lick of English), "When are you going to do my face?" The lady kept shaking her head and Paige and I were laughing too hard to tell her that a facial wasn't included. Then she started talking really slowly and loud, " WHEN WILL YOU WORK ON MY FACE?" After many tears streaming down my face from laughing, I was able to tell her that a pedi was just your feet. She was so embarrassed and kept patting the little lady on the back, apologizing over and over. The little gal just got tickled and still probably has no idea what she was laughing at.

PRICELESS ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Here's our tootsies :)

Can one have too many friends?

2010-03-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Paige has recently witnessed me having some friendship issues. She has seen that friendships have their ups and downs. I have many friends. I'm not saying that to boast. It's just the facts. I have a hard time being ugly to anyone and therefore I suppose people feel comfortable with me and I make new friends. I am very social. I got that quality from my dad. He never met a stranger. He was ALWAYS the life of the party. People flocked to him. I loved that about him.

Very recently, I have had some bumps in the road with friendships. It's upsetting and Paige, believe it or not, was my little counselor. I tried to keep her oblivious to the situations, but she is too perceptive.

She asked me, "Do you think it is possible to have too many friends?" She then went on to say, "You have to juggle all of those different women's personalities" haha. She is so wise!

I look to Paige and see how she handles her many friendships and have decided to take a little bit away, no A LOT, away from how she approaches friendships. She LOVES her friends, but she is who she is and she feels that they can take her or leave her. She is a person magnet, but she never changes who she is. She is sweet, kooky, funny, dry, compassionate, kind and quirky.

Who said you can't learn from kids! So the answer to the question, can one have too many friends?..... I don't think so. I think it's learning to be yourself and staying true to who you are and if they remain your friend, then that's just groovy! :)

Here is Paige being fun, quirky, happy with her many friends!

I adore this pic. We were at Paige's school festival. These girls are not that great of friends in the classroom. When I pulled out my camera to take Paige's pic, these girls were standing around and Paige pulled them all in and said, "Come on girls! Let's have a group shot". After this, the division seemed to be much less obvious. Thata girl!

Freestylin' with a dance buddy before their performance.

Dancing like no one is watching :)

Paige with a dance and school buddy.

Paige and Ava. These two have been dancing together for six years. They also go to school together. They are yen and yang. Paige is loud, boisterous, outgoing, silly. Ava is quiet, introverted, kind, and conservative. Yet, they are such good friends. I love how they compliment one another.

Don Juan and Olivia :) haha

LOVE everything about this photo. Paige had just gone and spent her tickets on purchasing "junk" in the prize room. When I saw her, I just laughed. I said, "Let me get your's and M's pic". She immediately struck a pose...and look at M's face! haha

Later that afternoon with her furry best friend, Sambo!

Can we have too many friends? Nah! :)

Black and White Wednesday

2010-03-09T19:22:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we all need a little color to make life pop :)

Go to Lisa's blog to check out the entries for Black and White Wednesday!

Bubbles and a smile :)

2010-03-07T17:07:00.000-08:00

“A smile starts on the lips, A grin spreads to the eyes, A chuckle comes from the belly; But a good laugh bursts forth from the soul, Overflows, and bubbles all around” ~Carolyn Birmingham

Bubbles + a pretty day= LOTS of fun!