Dress rehearsal and KDAS recital

We put Raylee in dance this past August at KDAS so she could dance with her cousin Brently. She has mostly loved her class and her dance friends! Mostly she loved wearing the outfits ;) 

Anytime we have a choir performance at the church, Raylee dances and spins and takes over the whole stage! Quite dramatically, even. I've had several people tell me "That girl loves the stage." Or "She's headed for Broadway!" So naturally I was so pumped to see her dance at recital! I just knew she would get up there and immediately feel at home and do her thing! What crazy expectations we Mamas have! 

We had dress rehearsal the Wednesday before and she did exactly as I'd hoped! She knew the steps, stayed in her spot (which had previously been a problem) and was so cute! I was so excited to see the ballet next. That's when she acted exactly as I was afraid she would. After a good 30 seconds of spinning like a mad woman, she takes off to center stage and does her own little Raylee dance (all while the other girls are dancing so sweetly) then takes off running all over the stage! Well at least she was comfortable! 

    The little ballerinas waiting backstage.

During the few days before the recital, I coached her about staying in her spot. So when the day came, I had high hopes of cuteness overload. She gets onstage for her tap dance, waves and smiles.... Then the lights come on. Deer in headlights. Poor girl didn't move! The few times she did, she checked to make sure she was on her spot, then wouldn't get off even the slightest bit. I felt SO terrible! I killed her sweet, spunky spirit! The ballet was about the same. She was so scared of those bright lights. I told her how beautiful and sweet she was and how very proud I was of her. She did look really cute! And overall she said she had fun. That's all that mattered to me :) 

Beauty and the Beast

This time last year, we were in full swing of performances of Seussical the Musical. I played Mrs.Mayor. The reception from the community was so positive and incredible! We had a blast! It was then we found out that this years musical would be Beauty and the Beast. I knew immediately I wanted to be apart of it and I wanted Mrs. Potts! I mean, she had the best song in the whole show, right?! ;) 

              Me and my Who babies

                    Seussical 2014

I was blown away when I was cast as Mrs. Potts this past January. The whole process this year was much more exhausting and long due to some sad and unforeseen circumstances, but I'm SO glad I was apart of it. We SOLD OUT twice during this run and the whole town was buzzing about it! I have always loved being on stage (I started on on the same stage as this one about 25 years ago!) and I couldn't be prouder of the work we did!

Here's a few stage shots I got from SAU's Facebook page:

Obviously the costumes were AMAZING! 

Of course, my biggest fans were there to cheer me on! :) 

Snow Day!

Of course, it's been awhile since I've updated! Our computer had been on the fritz so I haven't had much opportunity. I've just downloaded the Blogger app (on my brand new iPhone... Woo!) so we'll see how this goes!

We've had some awesome weather this week! I absolutely love snow. It just makes everything so magical. Kids even play together in the street again like we used to when I was younger. You don't see that much anymore! And the best part about snow days is that Daddy gets to stay home with us! We always have more fun when he's home! 

We didn't stay out long because it was just so cold! But here are a few pictures of our fun!

First Sleepover

Raylee's cousins came to stay the night with us a few days ago while their parents were at work. They had so much fun that when they asked Raylee to come stay the night with them, I (reluctantly) let her go! We have a nightly routine at home that she pretty much depends on, and she still climbs in bed with us in the middle of the night, so I was a little worried about how she would do without us there. We talked about it all day and she was SO excited! She kept assuring me that she would not cry and she would be happy! She even said "Mommy, don't worry. If I need something, I'll ask Mrs. Devan." I mean, really? When did she get big enough to tell me something like that?! Anyway, the whole ride to their house she was absolutely pumped and told me over and over about how she wouldn't cry and she would have fun and be happy. So we dropped her off and told them to call us even in the middle of the night if she needed us. LD and I rented a movie, came home and grilled steaks, and settled in for the night.

About 11:30, my phone rang. When I saw it was from Devan, I knew we were about to go get Miss Priss! Raylee was on the other end and I could hear her poor sobs. She could barely catch her breath! I asked what was wrong and she could barely get out that she "just wanted to come home!" Well of course I was out of the door in 2 seconds flat! She apparently told Devan "I didn't want to sleep here. I just wanted to play last night!" And when Devan told her she was sorry, Raylee said "It's okay, it's not your fault." Lol! It was so late when we got home, I just put her in my bed with me until LD came to bed (he's a night owl) and we got to snuggle for awhile.

Even though she didn't make it all night, I'm glad she tried and had fun for awhile. And I secretly liked that she wanted us so badly! :)

Little Visitor

As most people know, I'm a stay-at-home mom and I love it! But really we've had to make a lot of sacrifices in order for me to stay home, though that doesn't really matter to us. We feel that this is what's right for our family, even if it means I have to drive an outdated van! So to make up for some of the money we're missing by me not working, I occasionally keep kids in my home. We usually have Ray's cousins a couple times a week and sometimes I'll randomly help out a momma in need.

This week we had 2 visitors, a 4 year old and a sweet little 8 week old baby. I was so in baby heaven! This little sweetie was the perfect baby! She slept, ate, giggled and cooed, and repeat. What I was most amazed at was my sweet girl. She was totally in love with the baby. She wanted to feed her, hug and kiss her, hold her and even just stare at her! It made my heart swell to see Ray with her. At one point, the baby got really upset ( I think she had some tummy problems) and me and Ray sort of looked at each other in shock. It's been almost 3 years since I've had a little one like that around! I tried to comfort her but it wasn't really working so I tried a few things before deciding it was gas and it would just have to pass. She finally started to calm down a bit and when she did I noticed that Ray was standing right beside us and singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. She was trying to calm baby down. Oh, I can't tell you how precious it was. I fought back tears and told her it was working. The baby actually did stop crying and listen!

She's still talking about the baby and about her baby sister. She's even been pretending her baby dolls are her baby sisters. It breaks my heart even more to see her so excited about having a baby around. I long to give her a baby sister (or brother!). I told her we would have to talk to Jesus and trust that He hears us! So we'll just cling to Him and wait.

"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires." - Psalm 37:4

 

Her favorite spot when baby was on the floor

 

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Seussical

Back around last September, my friend's husband (who also happens to be SAU's theatre director) told me they would be doing Seussical the Musical this spring and told me I should audition. I sort of laughed it off, knowing I would be embarrassing myself if I did! I didn't really think much else about it until January, when auditions were getting closer. He told me again to audition, then told my husband about it. Well, that pretty much sealed my fate... My dear, sweet husband practically dragged me up there! I was so unbelievably nervous. Like, what on Earth am I doing here with all of these college kids, most of whom are majoring in theatre! Hello! Out of place!

When I got a call back for the next day, I was floored! And terrified! What do you do at a call back like this? I didn't know what the heck I was doing! So I went...and thought I bombed. Really, there were so many talented students and community members. I told myself I would be content with an ensemble part and that would be that. The list was going to be posted that next day and I very patiently (not) checked the website 20,000 times. I got a text from my friend saying the list was up and there it was... I was cast as Mrs. Mayor of Whoville! I was ecstatic! I was....freaking out!

As nervous as I was, this turned out to be the most amazing experience. It was a lot of work, nights away from my family for rehearsal, tears because I still thought I was making a fool of myself and lots and lots of laughter and fun. God knew I needed this in my life at that moment. Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved (LOVED!) being on stage and performing. I am still so humbled and amazed that I ever got a chance to be a part of such a fun and exciting show!

 

The Grinch!

 

My little "who" people

Me with JoJo and Mr. Mayor

The Sour Kangaroo

 

 

 

 

 

 

Changes!

I've decided to change things up a little. I want to post more regularly and I wanted things to be different and fresh for me. I want to post about everyday life and things on my heart... just to remember this time in my life and the little things I might otherwise forget!

I chose the name "Consider the Sparrows" because of the verse in Matthew 10; 

²⁹ Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny?^[a] Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent.^{[b] 30} But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. ³¹ So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows.


What a great reminder this is that God loves us. Even someone as insignificant as me. I want this to be at the heart of all I say and do. Nothing else matters - not letters, numbers, reading, writing. If I don't teach my child that she is important to God, I haven't taught her a thing worth knowing.

His eye is on the sparrow... And I know He watches me!