Just a few events to blog about this week.  On Friday, we took advantage of "Family Night" (cheap prices) at a local water park.  It was our first time there and we were so impressed with all they had to offer!  You can only see one small part of it in the pictures, but it was a big place!  The girls loved it.  We would like to go again during hotter weather.  It did get a bit cool after the sun went behind the trees.

 

On the 4th, we had some friends from our Sunday School class over.  Jeff made hamburgers, brats, and hot dogs on his new grill from Father's Day and the kids enjoyed playing with sparklers and poppers.  After our company left, we drove downtown for the big fireworks display.  It is the first one we have been to since we've had kids.  Ella loved it.  Lucy held her hands over the ears the whole time and said she didn't like it, but she never whined, fussed, complained, or asked to go home.  They were both very good, especially for how late it was.  And after all the hype everyone gave us about how terrible the traffic was, we pulled right into a spot with no hassle, and it only took 15 minutes in slow-moving traffic before we were on the expressway and moving quickly again.  (Of course, that 15 minutes seemed like an eternity to Lucy because she needed to go potty and there was nothing open anywhere around us!  That was a little scary!  She made it, though.)  Overall, it was a very good experience and I think we'll try it again next year!

On Friday night, we had the opportunity to see my niece, Brooke, in a performance of "Snoopy!"  She was one of a cast of 7, so we got to see her on stage a lot this time!  She did a fantastic job and I'm so happy we were able to go.  She played the role of "Lucy," so you can imagine the fun we've had with that over the past several weeks. (Anyone see any resemblance between Brooke and me?  It's harder to tell with the black wig, but Brooke has been accused of looking like her Aunt Tanya all her life.  )

 

The rest of the weekend was fun as well, with a surprise 31st birthday party for a friend from our Sunday School class on Saturday and a Little Mermaid party for a 3-year-old in Lucy's class on Sunday.  (Sorry, no pics!)  Both were outside parties, but thankfully there was shade!  This week is turning out to be much cooler than last week, so we are taking advantage of the nice weather and getting outside as much as we can.

 

Have a Happy Independence Day, everyone!

The first set of pictures were taken at a birthday swimming party for one of the little boys from church.  They live on a farm.  I didn't take any pictures of the birthday party or of the girls swimming, but when they got to be around the animals, I had to break out the camera!  They had a ball, especially Lucy.

 

On Father's Day, we got up early and gave Jeff his gifts before church.  After church, we drove to my parents' house for lunch with my side of the family.  It was fun having all of us together, seeing the girls play with their cousins, and getting to go swimming with Uncle Troy the next day.

 

The summer is flying by, as it always does.  Hope you are enjoying it as much as we are!

Last weekend, Jeff and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary by going to a wedding in St. Louis!  We left the girls with Jeff's parents and attended the wedding of one of Jeff's friends from high school, Tim, on Friday afternoon.  We had some time between the wedding and reception, so we checked into our hotel room and then walked down the street to Union Station.  It's not what it used to be, but still worth seeing.

 

The reception was held at Windows Off Washington, on the 10th floor of the St. Louis City Museum.  It was very fancy and we enjoyed being all dressed up and for an elegant meal without kids around!  It was also really nice for Jeff to get to catch up with three of his best friends from high school.  It is rare for them to ever all be together in the same place like that these days!

 

Saturday morning, we enjoyed swimming in the warm hotel pool and then headed down by the river for our anniversary lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory.  Yum!  It is very close to the arch, so we walked down the river to the arch area and back, just enjoying the beautiful weather and the sights.  Then we drove to the St. Louis Mills Mall for the afternoon (never been there before...very cool!) and back to Jeff's parents' house in the evening.  It was a nice time away, but we were excited to see our girls again.  In some ways, it didn't seem right to be taking a trip and enjoying all that stuff without them.  As Jeff said, "They're part of us now!"

 

We stayed there two more days before coming back home.  Jeff and I sang with the praise team at their church and also did the special music.  We ate lunch Sunday at a little restaurant in a park all about Abe Lincoln, hence the pictures.  We took the girls swimming at the city pool that afternoon, but it was COLD, so we didn't stay long.

 

This week, however, has been far from cold!  It's been in the 90's and very humid!  So yesterday we blew up the pool and the girls had a blast outside for over an hour.  I'm looking forward to many more opportunities for them to use it this summer.  They're both at such a great age to enjoy it together.

On Friday, we took our semi-annual trip back to Louisville for professional pictures at Portrait Innovations.  Our appointment was for Saturday, but we went a day early to enjoy a mini-get-away and some time with friends.  We took a picnic lunch and spent the afternoon along the riverfront.  The weather was perfect - sunny, but not hot - and we had such a nice time.  We even decided to spend the money and rent a "surry" for an hour, which we rode up and down the riverfront from the Belle of Louisville all the way to the splash park.  It was great.  That was one thing we always wanted to do when we lived there, but never did.  Next time we go during warm weather, we need to remember to bring the girls' swimsuits so they can play in the splash park.  That was always a fun thing to do in the summer and we don't have anything like that here.

 

Later in the afternoon, we spent some time at Mall St. Matthews and drove by our old apartment and the hospital where the girls were born.  Then we ventured over to Simpsonville, where our dear friends from our church here, Kris and Jwain, just moved!  I mean literally, they just moved there 11 days before we came!  But they seemed to be pretty much all moved in and were such gracious hosts.  We had a yummy dinner and enjoyed spending the evening with their family.  I'm so sad they moved away, but so thankful they moved close to Louisville so we can continue to visit them from time to time.

 

I wish we could say we had a good night's sleep there, but Lucy kept us up most of the night.  She was fussing, crying, in our bed, having nightmares, thinking something was crawling on her, thinking there were scary turtles on the wall, on the couch with Jeff, and occasionally even screaming at the top of her lungs until about 3:30 when she finally settled down and fell asleep in the bed with me, with Jeff out on the couch.  We all slept soundly after that...until 6:50.  Then she was wide awake and that was it.  Ella slept in a twin bed with her good friend, Annali, and they both slept great, though they were awake even earlier than us the next morning!  (And remember, we were in a different time zone, so it was an hour earlier for our bodies!)

 

Jwain made us a wonderful waffle breakfast Saturday morning, we all got our showers, and  we headed out the door around 11:30 for our 12:00 appointment.  To say I was concerned how the pictures were going to go after the night we all had would be an understatement!  Especially when one child is a 2-year-old!  So we made good use of a questionable technique...the bribe.  We stopped at Walgreens before the pictures and let the girls each pick out some candy.  Ella chose Dots and Lucy chose Gummi Bears.  We took the candy in with us and told them they could only have it if they smiled pretty and did whatever the photographer asked them to do and let me tell you, they were ready to go!!  We had to wait when we got in, so I asked Lucy, "Would you like to sit on my lap and wait or play legos with Ella?" and she said, "I want to take pictures!"  Unfortunately, it turned into a 45-minute wait (!), but Ella and Lucy were amazingly patient and very well-behaved.  When it was our turn, they behaved like angels and did exactly what we asked.  I couldn't be happier with the pictures!  You better believe they got their tummies full of candy when we were done!  Does that make us bad parents?  Oh, well!

 

That afternoon, we spent a few hours with my good friend, Heather, and her 3 precious children.  We used to have weekly play dates with them when we lived there, so it is always fun to catch up, see how the kids have grown, and give them all a chance to play together.

 

When we got home Saturday evening, we were anxious to try out the new buggy Kris and Jwain gave to us.  Their youngest child is a year and a half older than Ella, and they have been SO generous to pass things on to us when they are finished with them.  This buggy is so great for us to have because now Jeff and I can both ride bikes together (and Ella rides hers along with us sometimes, too)!  Before the buggy, we had nothing for Lucy to do on a bike ride, so we just had to walk and use the stroller.  We're so happy to have it.

 

You'll also notice pictures of Ella at her swimming lessons.  It's a two-week class (8 lessons in all) and this Thursday is the last one.  She has already come a long way.  The first night she refused to get her head wet at all and pretty much stayed to the side the whole time.  And last night, she put her whole head under for the first time!  I was so proud of her!  Hopefully this experience will help her be less timid around the water now for the rest of the summer.

As promised, here is the second installment of Ella's birthday fun.  We had two parties on Saturday.  Her friends came from 10-12.  They all dressed up in princess dresses, jewelry, high-heeled shoes, etc.  They looked so sweet!  They made some crafts, took a group picture on the stage, played games, had a tea party, ate cake, and watched Ella open her presents.  It really couldn't have gone any better!  Jeff was our handsome prince in his tuxedo, and he also doubled as the waiter at the tea party.  The girls thought it was pretty special to be served by him.

 

After cleaning up from the first party, we got set for round two!  We provided a quesadilla lunch (Ella's choice) for our families at 1:00, followed by cake and presents.  The afternoon was spent watching Ella play with all her new toys while Lucy took a nap.  Then in the evening, we went to GattiTown (also Ella's choice) for a pizza dinner and games.

 

The whole day, though totally exhausting, was a lot of fun.  Most importantly, I think Ella felt special and loved.  She is our CinderElla!

Happy Birthday to Ella!  We are finally starting to dig out of the remains of Ella's birthday celebrations, so I have a few minutes to post some pictures!  Ella turned 5 last Wednesday and we had a fun day.  Jeff made her banana-chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream for breakfast and she opened her gift from us.  Since her 2nd birthday, Ella has slept in a toddler bed.  Not that she wasn't ready for a twin bed before now, of course, but we didn't have one!  And we figured, as long as she was within the height and weight requirements for the toddler bed, we would just let her stay in it.  But the time finally came for us to shell out the money and buy her a big bed, mattress, bedding, curtains, etc.  We picked more of a "big girl" border for her walls when we moved into this house last summer with the upcoming transition from her toddler bed to a twin bed in mind.  I was thrilled to find a new bedding set that went so well with the border and looks just perfect, in my opinion, for a sweet, 5-year-old girl!

 

After breakfast, we all took Ella to her 5-year-old well-child check-up.  She did great!  She passed her vision and hearing exams with no problems and checked out just perfectly.  She even got to pick a prize out of the treasure chest at the end, which only kids coming for their kindergarten exam get to do!

 

Next we went to the mall and let the girls play in the play area for a bit, which is one of Ella's favorite things to do, followed by our traditional meal at T.G.I. Friday's.  (The tradition started the night before Ella was born when we had our last meal out without kids on opening night at the T.G.I. Friday's at 4th St. Live in downtown Louisville.)

 

In the afternoon, Daddy and Ella put together Ella's new bed while I washed up all the bedding and ironed the curtains.  She was SO excited.  After dinner at home, we finished the evening with a "My Little Pony" movie that Ella had picked out from the library and a family bedtime story (all 4 of us!) in her new bed.  It was a great day.

 

Her birthday parties (friends and family) were both on Saturday.  I'll post more about that soon once I get the pictures loaded.

School's out!!  Hooray!!  There are several various pictures this week, but the two main events both occurred on Saturday.  Jeff's choir sang at the high school graduation, officially marking the end of another school year.  He has now finished 5 1/2 years of teaching!  This week is his one week off between school and his summer job, which is accompanying our neighboring county's auditioned high school production of "Oklahoma!"   He played for "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" there last summer and it was a truly fantastic performance, as well as a good opporutnity for Jeff to meet lots of area musicians and directors and get his name out as an accomplished accompanist.

 

Also on Saturday, Mom, Dad, and Troy came over to buy supplies for and build a new slide on the end of our swingset as Ella's birthday present.  It literally took them all day, but it stayed dry and they were able to finish by around 9 p.m. (when they finally stopped for dinner!).  It turned out so nice and is a great addition to our back yard.  Unfortunately, it has been raining pretty much ever since so the girls haven't been able to use it much yet, but I know they will get lots of use out of it this summer and for many years to come!

 

 

Ella performed in her very first piano recital on Sunday afternoon!  The recital took place in our church's worship center.  She played three pieces: "Shoo, Fly," "The Muffin Man," and "Ring Around the Rosy."  I was so proud of her for bravely getting up in front of all those people, knowing she was the youngest performer and having never done anything like this before, and doing her very best!  And the icing on the cake was that she played perfectly!  She did not miss one single note!  My prayer was that she would have a good first experience and be encouraged to want to do it again some day, and I am so thankful that is exactly what happened.

 

I have taught two piano students this year - Ella and Ruthie.  Ruthie is the 10-year-old daughter of our dear friends from church, who happen to be moving this weekend.   I was so glad Ruthie could end her time with me by playing in a recital in front of all her family.  It was a nice way to go out and she played beautifully!  Since I only have two students, my friend Lynne, who teaches 18 students each week, offered to let Ella and Ruthie play on her recital.  I think it was a great experience for everyone and we plan to do it again in the fall!  I may be gaining 1 or 2 more students this summer.

 

Here is Ella's peformance - enjoy!

I think the pictures (with the help of the captions!) pretty much speak for themselves this time!  It was a very full, rewarding weekend!

 

One other note...Ella got 9 inches cut off her hair on Wednesday!  No picture to post yet, but it looks cute.  I was told AFTER the fact that one more inch would have qualified it for Locks of Love, but it was too late then. :(  She's really excited about the shorter look and feel.  Now she's all set for her first recital, which is on Sunday!  Check back next week for pics and hopefully video!  Have a great weekend!

Awana is over for another year.  Ella completed her second year of Cubbies and graduated to Sparks!  Lucy finished her second year of Puggles, but since she won't be three until November, she'll be a Puggle again one more year.  They both have done a great job of learning their verses this year.  Lucy's were really more just truths, such as "God made the moon" and "I thank God for my family."  Ella memorized a new Bible verse each week, including references, and had remembered one new verse and three review verses every week.  I am very proud of them and thankful they have had the opportunity to begin learning so much about God's word at such an early age. 

 

Potty Update:  Lucy has been daytime dry for 11 straight days and has only had a few sleeping accidents!  She's really doing great!  Thanks again to Grandma for giving her that extra push she needed to get over the hump.  Potty Boot Camp was a total success!

I can not remember another month with this many performances!  It began with our children's choir at church having their Easter musical on April 5th.  Then Jeff's high school presented "Godspell" on April 16-18.  Jeff was the music director and also played piano with and directed the band that accompanied it.  They worked so hard on this, starting in January, and culminating with practices every evening for the two weeks prior to the show.  They did a great job!  (Oh, and I'll also throw in that Jeff played for a middle school show choir performance during the day on Friday of that weekend!)

 

Then our REALLY crazy week started.  I accompanied a children's theatre production of "The Little Mermaid."  It was directed by the Missoula Children's Theatre group and was really a neat experience!  They travel all over the country, putting on their show in a new city each week.  They audition kids (this was 1st-8th graders) on Monday after school, announce the cast at 5:30, and begin rehearsals at 6!  Then they have rehearsals from 3:30-8:00 Tuesday-Friday and give two performances on Saturday!  The whole thing in one week!  It was an easy show to play for and I really enjoyed learning some new ideas and techniques that I can use with my children's choir at church.  I have to say, though, it was really nice to be the quiet, observing accompanist this time and not have all the responsibilities of the director!

 

Meanwhile, Jeff spent every evening rehearsing til 10:00 for the opera he was accomapnying at the local university (except for Tuesday when he was running sound for an elementary school performance!).  They performed "Hansel and Gretel" April 24-27.  I took the girls to the performance on Monday night!  I was nervous going in...what kind of idiot takes a 2-year-old and 4-year-old to an opera?  But they really impressed me!  Ella stayed involved and watched the whole thing!  Lucy got bored with the show itself after the first act, but she stayed quiet and didn't disturb anyone the whole time.  I was so proud of them. 

 

Add one more performance...our adult choir, praise team, and praise band presented "A Night of Praise" at our church this past Sunday evening.  Jeff missed most of the dress rehearsal Saturday and go there just in time for the performance on Sunday due to his opera performances, but we were both there to sing by the time it started!  Whew!  Can we have a break now please?

 

By now you may be thinking...so where were your kids that week that both of you had rehearsals every evening?  The answer...Potty Boot Camp!  Let me explain...when we found out we were expecting Lucy, we tried our hardest to get Ella potty-trained before Lucy was born.  She just wasn't getting it.  So when my mom came to stay and help out after Lucy was born, she decided it was time for Ella to be trained...the hard way.  It was "all panties - all the time."  Even at night!  I was stuck in a chair for 3 weeks due to C-section complications and Mom knew I wouldn't be helping with this endeavor, but she was up for the challenge.  I thought, "If you want to clean up all the messes, go for it!"  By the time my mom left, Ella was trained.  Done.  Sure, we had a few accidents now and then for a while, but really she "got it" and it was done.  I said mom had put her through "Potty Boot Camp."

 

Soooo, when Lucy reached the potty-training age, we started in with her.  We didn't have the desire nor the time to spend frustrated with wet clothes, sheets, floors, etc. ALL THE TIME, so we basically stuck with pull-ups most of the time.  She was staying dry for the most part (waking hours only) as long as I remembered to take her.  She would never just come and tell us she needed to go.  So when we asked Mom and Dad to help out with watching the girls during our crazy week of rehearsals, they gladly obliged and Mom asked if they could do "Potty Boot Camp" for Lucy.  Again...I'm not around to help..."Sure!  Knock yourself out, Mom!"  So I sent all the panties we owned, as well as lots of changes of clothes, and off she went.

 

After 3 days of being made to pick up wet panties and put them in the bucket, sit in poo-poo for a while before being changed, help clean up the puddles in the floor, etc., Lucy "got it."  Lucy has been back for 6 days now.  She is wearing panties all the time, even at night.  She had two daytime accidents and three sleeping accidents during the first 3 days back, and has now been totally dry (day and night!) since Sunday!!  I think it was a success! 

 

And for all those mommies reading...sorry, she doesn't hire out.  I asked.    Thank you, Grandma!!!

Lots of pictures this week!  Beginning with our quick visit to see the Easter Bunny at the mall.  We didn't get professional pictures with him, but the girls thought it was fun to go up and talk to him.  They thought it was pretty strange that he didn't talk back, though!

 

Our church had its annual Easter Egg Extravaganza on Saturday with several hundred in attendance.  Then we made the 2-hour trip over to celebrate Brooke's 17th birthday and back Saturday night.  Yes, this is my little baby niece who was born when I was in high school.  She's getting too old!  (which says something about me, too!)

 

Sunday morning we reviewed the true Easter story with our girls using window cling pictures depicting Jesus' last supper, prayer in the garden, arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and appearance.  Then we opened Easter baskets and went to church to celebrate!  After church, we drove to my parents' house for Easter lunch with my extended family, an Easter egg hunt, dying Easter eggs, and a dinner of leftovers before coming back home.  It was a great weekend!  We cannot begin to say enough "thanks" to our Savior for what He did for us.

 

This is a long week for us without Jeff around as he in musical practice every night from the time school is out til after girls are in bed.  His high school is performing "Godspell" on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.  My parents are coming on Friday to spend the day with us and go to the show and then Jeff's parents are coming Saturday to do the same thing so we have a fun weekend ahead!

This past Sunday night was the Children's Easter Program at our church.  After an awful dress rehearsal on Saturday, I was SO PLEASED with how the performance turned out (thanks to the grace of God and a final rehearsal 45 minutes before show time).  Ella sang three songs with the Pre-School Choir, and was also one of four pre-schoolers chosen to sing with the Kindergarten-2nd Grade Choir in their performance of "I've Been Redeemed."  It was a LONG musical and she did GREAT!  I was very proud of her.

 

Jeff and I lead the 3rd-5th Grade Choir.  (Well, to be honest, I lead it and Jeff is my self-proclaimed "assistant.")  After singing one song as just our choir, we then combined with the K-2 Choir for a performance of the musical "Peter Cotton's Tale."  This was our church's first time in recent history (maybe ever!) to do a musical with drama and characters, not just narration.  Our choir did all the speaking lines, so it has been quite a big undertaking to block and prepare!  It was a lot of fun, though, and we were all left with a great feeling of accomplishment in the end.

 

Tuesday was Ella's kindergarten orientation.  We got to meet all the kindergarten teachers, got a ton of information and forms to fill out, and got a tour of the school and a school bus.  Ella was wide-eyed and very curious, yet quietly observant, which is how she tends to be with any new situation.  I still can't believe she is old enough for this, but it's here nonetheless!  It seems like a great school, which has led to it being overcrowded.  There are 24 or more students in each of 7 kindergartens! 

 

Jeff took a personal day Tuesday to go the orientation and afterwards, took Ella on a Daddy-Daughter Date.  This time they went to story time at the library (Jeff has never been before, so it was fun for Ella to show him around and introduce him to the teacher), had lunch at Chick-Fil-A (which has a play area), went to PetSmart (where Ella got to pet the kittens and other animals), and to Barnes and Noble.  They had a fun time together.  Now it's Lucy's turn! 

 

And the final group of pictures are Mommy being sentimental.  Today (Wednesday), Lucy is the exact same age that Ella was on the day Lucy was born.  So to celebrate, I dressed Lucy in the outfit Ella wore that day, had Ella wear her big sister shirt from that day, watched video of Ella at that age, and took some pictures posed to look like that day.  I know I'm a big sap, but it was fun. :)

Last week was Jeff's spring break from school, so as always, we spent the week with family.  We were at my parents' house from Monday-Thursday and Jeff's parents' house from Thursday-Sunday.  We (well, mostly the girls) did many things from going to a puppet show, decorating an Easter tree, eating and playing at McDonald's, playing with friends at a church function, hunting Easter eggs, painting Easter eggs, going out for breakfast with Grandpa, and, of course, spending time with grandparents, Aunt Valerie, and Uncle Troy.  And Jeff and I even got to go to a movie!

 

Pictured are the Easter egg hunt and the girls dressed in their Easter dresses for church.  After church Sunday, we ate at Cody's and poor Lucy just couldn't keep her eyes open.  She spent the majority of our time there sleeping on the table!  We had a great week and appreciated all our parents did to make it fun for us!

Last weekend we traveled to see the high school production of "Oz!" at my brother's school.  Troy is the art teacher at the school and designed and made all the sets for the musical.  The story of the Wizard of Oz can be a bit scary for little ones, but thankfully this version was very tame and filled with music so Ella and Lucy did fine.  Lucy actually sat on my lap and quietly watched the whole thing!  I'm excited she is getting to the age we can start taking her to more things now!  The only kind of scary part was when the wizard talked from behind the screen, his booming voice lined up with flashing green lights on the face on the chair you see pictured.  The girls didn't care much for that and didn't want to go near it afterwards when we were on stage!  Overall, though, we really enjoyed the performance.

 

From Sunday-Wednesday of this past week, Jeff and I led the music for a revival at a church in a nearby town.  It made for a very busy week, but it was a great experience.  We enjoyed getting to play, sing, and lead in worship for five services in 4 days!  The evangelist, Hollie Miller, was excellent, too.

 

We are now officially on spring break!  It will be so nice to have a week off from all of our regular responsibilities and especially to have Jeff around so much more!  We know we better enjoy it now because April is going to be CRAZY!  Have a wonderful week!

Last weekend, we celebrated my mom's 66th birthday at my brother and sister-in-law's house.  Lisa made a great dinner, followed by Mom blowing out the candles on her ice cream cake and opening her cards and presents.  After that we had some fun family time playing the wii, which is what we usually end up doing at their house!  I also got to try my hand (or should I say my feet) at "Dance Praise."  It was so much fun!  And a great workout, too!  The girls had a blast playing with their cousins, as always.  The only downer was that Jeff wasn't there, but he had a very successful weekend!  He was on the third and final show choir competition trip (for the group he accompanies) and they won grand champion!  It was a great way to end "show choir season."  (Did you know there is a season?) 

 

I also had to include this short clip of Lucy singing "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" with her magic wand.  What a cutie. 

 

 

While at my parents' house this weekend, we continued a tradition...Ella had her picture taken in the antique dress.  As you can see in the pics, my grandmother had professional pictures taken in this fancy dress in 1920 when she was four years old.  When I was 4, in 1980, my grandmother still had the dress and my mom took my picture in it.  Well, in 2009, this paper-thin dress still hangs in my closet at my parents' house...and now I have a four-year-old...so we had to continue the tradition!  I only wish that my grandmother would have thought to take a picture of my mom in this dress when she was 4 (which would have been 1947, with a 27-year-old dress).  I hope to get Lucy's picture in it two years from now and if the dress can survive, maybe one or more of my daughter's daughters will wear it some day in the future!

On Wednesday of last week, Jeff got a call from the wife of another HS choir teacher (there are 5 high schools) asking if he could fill for her husband and direct a concert celebrating Black History Month.  Her husband had a heart attack that morning (Wed) and the conert was Thursday night!!  And I should add, this was no small undertaking!  It was an hour and 40 minute concert, consisting of 3 choirs (beginning, intermediate, and concert choir), a guest reader (with whom Jeff would interact with a narrative on stage), a guest vocalist (an opera diva flown in for the occasion thanks to a grant this teacher had applied for), and two DVD segments, one from which the choir would have to pick up it's opening pitch for an acapella number that followed.  The concert choir alone sang 11 songs!!  This is the kind of thing you run from - how could you ever step in the day before and try to put together and direct a concert this teacher had been planning for months!  But Jeff and I both felt this was something he needed to do, so he agreed.  He had one after-school rehearsal that evening (for which he had to cancel his musical practice at his own school and arrive 30 minutes late to the showchoir rehearsal he accompanies, he got someone to cover his classes for a while on Thursday so he could drive over for the other school's concert choir class time, and he left his opera rehearsal (which he accompanies) 30 minutes early on Thursday evening so he could be at the school an hour before the concert started to practice with the kids one last time.  It was CRAZY!  But God was so good and it all came off so smoothly.  I was absolutely amazed with how effortless Jeff made it look, especially knowing how HARD it really was!  I think anyone who came in not knowing what had happened would have had no idea Jeff wasn't the regular director.  It was very stressful, but what a huge feeling of accomplishment in the end!  I was so proud of him!  And my parents were kind enough to drive over and watch the girls so I could go along for support and also video the performance so the director could see it afterwards.  You can see a bit of the enormity of it in the still pictures.

 

Also pictured:

Lucy is still working on potty-training.  This was her first time to earn the privilige of wearing real underwear.  She loved it.  I'm trying using them as a reward for now.  We'll see how that goes.

 

We had a fun concert in our living room one night.  The girls sang, played, and danced.  We got some of it on video.  We're going to try doing this kind of thing with them more often as our schedule allows.

 

This past weekend, my parents (along with Uncle Troy) came and took the girls to see Playhouse Disney Live - complete with the casts from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Tigger and Pooh, Little Einsteins, and Handy Manny.  They had a blast.

 

Life is still running right along and we're just trying to keep up with it.  I can only imagine what it will be like as our kids get involved with school.  Yikes!

 

On Friday the 13th, Jeff's concert choir hosted its 2nd Annual Valentine's Dinner Concert.  (The girls and I like to call it the "Sweetheart Banquet.")  It's a fundraiser for the choir and this year, the money raised went towards their upcoming choir trip to Louisville, KY in May.  It was a delicious lasagna dinner, catered by the school's cafeteria and served by members of the choir.  After dinner, members of the choir sing songs about love.  There were solos, duets, trios, and a few songs by the whole choir, and we heard a wide variety of genres as well.  It was a very fun, successful evening and I fully expect there to be 3rd annual event next year!