Concerts, recitals, and Mom's Day (oh my)

Happy Monday Friends! I hope you had an amazing weekend! Ours was incredibly full and included my first ever 'sit in the audience and watch your child perform on stage while your heart is so full of thankfulness and pride that it almost bursts and you cry'.

Twice.

The first happened on Friday night when the 1st graders who made chorus for the 2012-2013 school year had their first concert. Since our school doesn't have a theatre, they perform on the stage of the high school that they will eventually attend (assuming they continue in the same school zone) which just so happens to be the high school I attended. As most of you know, I went to high school for one reason and one reason only: to be in musicals. Yes, I had other subjects to contend with, but musical theatre has pretty much always been my passion and so, the majority of my time at school was spent right there. On that stage. I added 8 shows to my resume and even directed the Fall and Spring musicals my senior year. I must give a huge shout-out to Mrs. Bonds, our Musical Theatre and choir director, for the countless hours she poured into all of our shows + concerts and who just so happens to be retiring this year. You will be missed!

My sweet boy sang and danced his heart out, and at the end of the concert, once the house lights were up, he spotted me in the audience and beamed. And waved. And I loved it.

I took some video of their last number which was really a 'have-fun-and-dance' kind of finale. This cracks me up because my son, the child of a music teacher, needs a little help in the rhythm department Godblesshim.

**and if any of you tech savvy friends can tell me how to get the google ads OFF of my videos, I'd be forever grateful. I've just spent 20 minutes on it with no luck and I'd really rather not have Bud Light ads on the screen thankyouverymuch**

 

Bright and early Saturday morning, we were in full-on ballet recital mode. E sat in my lap and was a complete pro while I curled her hair and applied her makeup. That's still a bit crazy for me to admit..."Yes, I put makeup on my two year-old. On purpose." Anyway, once she was gussied up, I loaded her in the car and we headed for downtown. To the big theatre. Without the tickets. Thank goodness the hubs was still home with the babe and was able to grab them. Also, thank goodness my seester's beau was able to stop and grab a bouquet of roses for our tiny ballerina since I didn't want to stop and do that while she was WITH me. Moral of this story so far? Hire live-in help.

Moving on.

Our little ballerina was perfection on that stage. She followed each of her instructor's movements with a look of determination that was priceless. Not gonna lie- I cried. So did hubs. Itty-bitty ballerinas are precious anyway, but when one of them is YOURS?

Fuhgetaboutit.

And the stage she was dancing on?

Well it's only the stage where I began performing in musicals at age 7 and would continue to do so for the next 19 years until, at age 26, I directed my first musical there.

And the hubs? Well, he knew how much this theatre means to me and he totally proposed on the marquee.

So yeah, kind of a big deal.

Since picture-taking and video-ing aren't allowed at the actual performance, here are a few shots + video from her rehearsals last week.

Prepare for cuteness.

 Note to self: work with E on staying open to the audience, and never EVER forget to tuck laces into the shoes again. She had a bit of a Tonya Harding moment due to that untied lace in the pic above- thank goodness it was during a rehearsal...

Here's a bit of her dance.

Again, cuteness abounds.

One of my favorite pics from the day is the one below of her in front of the marquee. Love her expression, and the fact that she was holding out her dress, and I loved the 'Bama' in the background...

and I also loved it when little seester climbed up there and held her dress out.

Ahhhh, memories.

Which brings us to yesterday.

I had a lovely Mother's Day, eating lunch with my mum & grandmother after church, and then enjoying an afternoon with my kiddos. I was determined to get a picture with them, but since I forgot to ask anyone before leaving their house, I settled for the next best thing:

an iphone pic in the bathroom mirror.

The three most undeserved gifts I've ever received.

Yes, there are crazy days, but for the most part, I find myself saying,

"Really God? You're trusting me with these 3 precious littles?"

wowza.

My cup runneth over.

Like, over my hand and down my arm and all over the floor...

THAT'S how much my cup runneth over.

I pray that all of you had a full and enjoyable weekend as well, and may your cups also runneth over, and all on the floor, and all over the place.