Things I never thought I'd say: "Don't lick the cat!" (said to a child who shall remain nameless)
Things I never wanted to hear: "Mommy, your hair looks like a lion's mane!" (said to me by Joy after I had dried but not yet flat ironed my hair)
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Friday, December 4, 2009
Friday, November 28, 2008
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker was an incredible experience! All those weeks of practice paid off. The girls were able to dance on stage with professional dancers in front of a packed audience. And they all danced beautifully!
My Mom came for the performance, and we'll buy the DVD to show my sister and our friends. (Since this is a professional performance, the ticket prices reflect that!) Even Hope enjoyed watching her sisters dance.
The days leading up to the performance were full of practices and last minute adjustments. The day of the performance, the girls had costume fittings, pictures, practice with the Russians, and the actual performance. They got to wear some make-up, which they all thought was fun. Faith did a great job doing her makeup herself.
I was a little concerned that Joy and Grace might get nervous being on stage with the Russian dancers, but they did great. ( I did do some serious praying in the audience!) They were snowflakes, which is the youngest group of dancers. They remembered their dance, even the part that was changed the afternoon of the performance!
Faith was a party guest. Since she is tall, she had to wear a boy costume (which no modern boy I know would ever wear, and which is fancier than what most of her girlfriends wear to church on Sunday!). The children were on stage for a long time and danced well.
Faith also was a butterfly. Her costume was gorgeous! This was a much harder dance than the party guest dance, and she was great! The girls danced on pointe and were beautiful. She was the youngest girl in this part, but she definitely held her own! I was so proud of her. She had to work hard to learn the dance, but she persevered. Since she's only been taking pointe since January, I was really impressed with her dancing.
At the end of the show, all the performers, adults and children, came out for the bow. After the first bow, the dancer playing Masha (Clara in the American version) took Grace's hand and the dancer playing Drosselmeyer (the toymaker uncle) took Joy's hand and the group bowed again. That was so cool! I wish I could have taken a picture, but that wasn't allowed, so I'll just have to imprint the image on my mind and make sure that they remember it.
The girls and I hope they have the opportunity to dance in the Nutcracker again next year!
My Mom came for the performance, and we'll buy the DVD to show my sister and our friends. (Since this is a professional performance, the ticket prices reflect that!) Even Hope enjoyed watching her sisters dance.
The days leading up to the performance were full of practices and last minute adjustments. The day of the performance, the girls had costume fittings, pictures, practice with the Russians, and the actual performance. They got to wear some make-up, which they all thought was fun. Faith did a great job doing her makeup herself.
I was a little concerned that Joy and Grace might get nervous being on stage with the Russian dancers, but they did great. ( I did do some serious praying in the audience!) They were snowflakes, which is the youngest group of dancers. They remembered their dance, even the part that was changed the afternoon of the performance!
Faith was a party guest. Since she is tall, she had to wear a boy costume (which no modern boy I know would ever wear, and which is fancier than what most of her girlfriends wear to church on Sunday!). The children were on stage for a long time and danced well.
Faith also was a butterfly. Her costume was gorgeous! This was a much harder dance than the party guest dance, and she was great! The girls danced on pointe and were beautiful. She was the youngest girl in this part, but she definitely held her own! I was so proud of her. She had to work hard to learn the dance, but she persevered. Since she's only been taking pointe since January, I was really impressed with her dancing.
At the end of the show, all the performers, adults and children, came out for the bow. After the first bow, the dancer playing Masha (Clara in the American version) took Grace's hand and the dancer playing Drosselmeyer (the toymaker uncle) took Joy's hand and the group bowed again. That was so cool! I wish I could have taken a picture, but that wasn't allowed, so I'll just have to imprint the image on my mind and make sure that they remember it.
The girls and I hope they have the opportunity to dance in the Nutcracker again next year!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
In Memory of Li"l Blankie
Today we remember Li'l Blankie. Li'l Blankie was born at Target and was brought into our home in 2002, just before Joy and Grace were born. She began her tenure with us as a useful servant, being used to swaddle Grace, and, later, to cover her at night to keep her warm. She soon grew into a trusted friend, faithful confidant, and ever-present companion to Grace.
Grace christened her "Li'l Blankie" during her second year. (We think she was trying to say Yellow Blankie, even though Li'l Blankie was pink!) But the name stuck, and she remained Li'l Blankie all her life. In addition to sleeping with Grace, Li'l Blankie went practically everywhere with her: friends' houses, church, stores, doctors' offices, dance class. Grace loved Li'l Blankie even when her pink color turned dingy and she developed larger and larger holes. In fact, I think those things may have made Grace love her even more.
Li'l Blankie accompanied us to Family Camp this year. Sadly, during play time with her friends, Grace set Li'l Blankie down and forgot to pick her back up. By the time Paul and I realized she was missing, it was too late. We prayed, searched the camp, asked the staff, announced our loss to our fellow Family Campers, and prayed some more to no avail. Li'l Blankie was gone! We believe someone unacquainted with the ways of young children threw her away, believing her to be a rag, rather than a beloved friend.
Li'l Blankie is survived by her beloved Grace, by her sister blankies, Grace's Yellow Blankie, and Joy's Yellow Blankie, and an assortment of cousin blankies.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests all parents to carefully guard their children's comfort items, lest they befall the same fate.
Of course, Grace mourned for her lost friend. I think we all did. Her sisters rose to the occasion, offering to let Grace have their blankies either temporarily or, in one case, permanently. Grace was consoled by the addition of a new blankie purchased from Gymboree on our way home from Family Camp. In fact, Grace hasn't cried about Li'l Blankie once since she got her new blankie, which she has named Squirrelly because of the squirrels printed on her. God has graciously allowed Squirrelly to take Li'l Blankie's place in Grace's affections.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Pre-Easter Musings
Last night Hope told me that she thought we should be especially kind to each other this weekend because people were so unkind to Jesus when the weekend of His crucifixion. While I had had grand plans of a deeply meaningful discussion of the events of Good Friday, we really had only had a short conversation or 2 about it. But she got it anyway! I am often amazed by the spiritual insight of my children!
Today we woke up to COLD! We had a big Easter festival at church and I wore a jacket, a scarf, and gloves! And I was still cold! The girls still had fun, but they were definitely ready for the finale of the Easter egg "hunt" (actually, it's more of a "gather" than a "hunt," since the eggs are just strewn over the grass). They gathered lots of eggs and, of course, now have way too much candy! Paul's sister and brother-in-law and their daughter came to the festival then to our house for lunch. We had a nice visit, and the girls even went out to play badminton in the cold. Right after lunch, Paul went outside to see something and noticed it was SLEETING!! In our neck of the woods, sleet is rare enough in winter, but I've never heard of it in April! I guess I'll be wearing a coat over my cute new dress!
Now I'm going to get ready for the Lord's Supper service at our church. I always find this to be such a meaningful time. It's beautiful and reverent and such a perfect time to reflect on Jesus death and resurrection. Faith and Hope will be participating in the Lord's Supper. I love having 2 daughters who know Jesus! I hope Joy and Grace will be quiet (as much as 4 year olds can) so we can meditate on Jesus.
In Remembrance,
Sydney
Today we woke up to COLD! We had a big Easter festival at church and I wore a jacket, a scarf, and gloves! And I was still cold! The girls still had fun, but they were definitely ready for the finale of the Easter egg "hunt" (actually, it's more of a "gather" than a "hunt," since the eggs are just strewn over the grass). They gathered lots of eggs and, of course, now have way too much candy! Paul's sister and brother-in-law and their daughter came to the festival then to our house for lunch. We had a nice visit, and the girls even went out to play badminton in the cold. Right after lunch, Paul went outside to see something and noticed it was SLEETING!! In our neck of the woods, sleet is rare enough in winter, but I've never heard of it in April! I guess I'll be wearing a coat over my cute new dress!
Now I'm going to get ready for the Lord's Supper service at our church. I always find this to be such a meaningful time. It's beautiful and reverent and such a perfect time to reflect on Jesus death and resurrection. Faith and Hope will be participating in the Lord's Supper. I love having 2 daughters who know Jesus! I hope Joy and Grace will be quiet (as much as 4 year olds can) so we can meditate on Jesus.
In Remembrance,
Sydney
