Joy's Dance Recital - (Video Marathon)!

Joy's dance recital was last weekend and I've had this post ready for a few days, but with all the news about China, it got pushed aside a little. Her recital was called "The Hottest Ticket in Town".

This is a snapshot Jason took of Joy after 13 hours of dancing/costume changing/waiting. (The mountain dew kept her energized I guess)! That's the flowers Grandmama and Pop brought her.



I've had some people ask about seeing Joy dance, so I finally figured out how to get the videos compressed enough to get them on here. And of course, I'd LOVE to show them to you! lol! They were already not that great quality because we were up a little ways in the auditorium. They are blurry, but you can still make it out somewhat. **WARNING** This is one of those posts where proud Mama pulls out the videos to make you sit through, except you have the option of clicking away! :)

This first one is her solo. She danced to Selena Gomez's, Tell Me Something I Don't Know. You can't see her ending because of where we were sitting and filming and where she ended the dance, but it's just the last couple of measures anyway.



This next one is from the Willy Wonka ballet play. This is where Violet wants the gum from the gumball machine and finally gets her way and chews the gum and blows up into a ball! So cute! Joy is one of the gumballs.



And this one is her tap dance. They danced to "Good Morning", from the musical, Singing in the Rain.



And if that's not enough, and you'd like to see more, Joy would be happy for you to come over to her blog where she has posted her jazz dance (race car themed, Hot Hot Hot Hot) and production number (Spanish themed Havana Heat) on today's post.


Thanks for stopping by! :)

Updates (on Luke and Life This Week)

To say this has been an exhausting week for me, is an understatement, BIG TIME. Besides being physically exhausting, it's been an emotionally packed week as well.

Our TA is not here yet. I think I "fixed a date" in my head that I hoped it would be here....really hoping for May 27th or 28th. We found out that it IS being processed and should be sent out next week! However, in the meanwhile, we also learned that because of the Dragon Boat Festival that will be occuring in China in mid June, the provincial offices will be closed for adoption processing, which automatically moves travel away a week further at the least. A consulate appointment cannot be requested until we have the TA, so we're just praying the appointment dates don't fill up too quickly! Every week that passes seems like an eternity here at the end of the wait. This part of the wait has been, by far, the hardest for me! I've had lots of sleepless nights with my mind working overtime!

A bright side to all of this happened this morning when I woke up to find an update and pictures of Luke in my inbox from Ann of Red Thread China from the care package we sent! That just made my (OUR) day. Just look how big he's getting!



The update measurements say he is now 37 inches tall and 41 pounds! Wow! We need to go get him before he's grown! lol! He is only 27 months old! I'm wondering now about all the clothes I've bought. I think I'm going to have go get a size bigger and maybe take some of both sizes with us to China! I pretty much bought all 3Ts and I'm thinking 4Ts are more what he'll need!



His foot is now 6.89 inches long! I'm pretty sure the shoes we have now won't fit either! lol! I have size 8. I'm thinking maybe even a 10! I guess his foot matches his height and weight though! :)



His update also said that he is a very smart child and a strong boy and that he is loved so much by his foster family!



He looks so happy in the pictures!

In addition to the emotional draining this week, we've spent at least 10 hours between Wednesday night and Friday night at Joy's dance recital rehearsals. Then yesterday was the big recital day......3 recitals in a day - 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 7:00 p.m. The title of the recital was "The Hottest Ticket in Town". We were there for 13 hours! But it all went so well....actually smoothly in everyway! I spent my whole day walking up and down stairs from the auditorium (so I could watch) to going back stage to help Joy with costume changes and makeup....constantly...all day! :) But it was all worth it! They all did really well on the dances and Joy did a super job on her first solo!

Because I was so busy, I didn't get many pictures. However, I did manage just a few!

Here's Joy with friends, Christina and Kayla, dressed in their gumball costumes for the Willy Wonka Ballet play, which by the way were their least favorite costumes of the day! lol! They had really pretty flowy ones as chocolate bars in the play. I think these were super hot to wear!



Here's a few of the pictures of them on stage during the Willie Wonka Ballet. Remember you can click on the pictures to make them bigger and see them closer (since they're SO far away)!

Their studio performs a full length ballet every year and rotates between Sleeping Beauty, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Peter Pan and The Wizard of Oz. I've never seen The Wizard of Oz, but so far, Willy Wonka is my favorite!



That's Joy on the back row with her arm held up straight in the air.



Here's the part where Violet blew up from chewing the gum...that's her rolled in as a ball! lol! And aren't the colorful Oompa Loompas cute?



And Ava, Joy, and Christina during a moment they were able to enjoy the show between numbers:



We counted up how many times she performed and it was 14 dances throughout the day! She's a little tired today! :)

Jason did video some from a distance and maybe we can share some of that next week, if they turned out okay. Thank goodness we can buy the DVDs so we can sit back and enjoy the whole show together later!

Hopefully one day this week, I'll have good news to share on our TA and will know more about when we will leave for China!

Thanks for remembering us in your prayers! I do know God is in control in the midst of this waiting and I don't want to be in China any sooner than what God has for us. I know He will work all things out in his timing! :)

Okay, have a great week everyone! :)

Dancin' the Day Away!

This past Saturday was the big day! We began the recital marathon day at 9:15 a.m. in the dressing room! All of the Pre-Company girls' names were on stars on the dressing room door when we arrived. Joy reserved a locker in there for her costumes and all the last minute primping began! She moved her star to her locker. Here she is in her ballet costume (as a hunter).



As you look at these pictures, please know that this makeup is ONLY for recital day...even on picture day we didn't do this much makeup. Since they want the girls to have a uniform look, they actually tell us certain colors of makeup and ask us to make it heavy so the girls will stand out on stage. It's always a shock to see my little girl in this much makeup. She absolutely hates eye liner though and vows to never wear it when she's older! We'll see. :) They also all had to wear their hair parted to the same side with low buns, very slicked back (with lots and lots of gel, hairspray and bobby pins)! Here's Joy and Devyn stretching....notice the handcuffs between them! I asked Devyn if her mom and dad knew she had handcuffs in the dressing room. She said her dad told her she could bring the handcuffs in....if she left her attitude in the car! :) I was really hoping that there was no malfunction in the handcuffs.....I could just envision them dancing the Sleeping Beauty ballet handcuffed together (and Devyn is the studio owner's daughter)! Yikes! :)





What is with girls wanting to pick each other up? This is Joy holding Katie Beth! They were all doing this!



Joy and Julian....(her partner in doing "the bump" in Shake Your Groove Thing).



Anyway, there were three recitals: 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 7:00 p.m. In the first two, Joy (and the entire Pre-Company) danced only in the ballet play, Sleeping Beauty. In the 7:00 p.m. recital, they danced in the play as well as their other two numbers....jazz and tap. The recitals were divided up into halves with the ballet play of Sleeping Beauty in the middle. They were hunters in the play and had guns as props to do their ballet dance. (Joy will show this to you on her blog probably on her next post). Here's Joy, Christina and Katie Beth before their first performance in the play.



In the first half of the recital, the girls danced (jazz dance) to Shake Your Groove Thing. They had the same basic costume. For this one, they had the hats and boots.



Three of the disco divas....Katie Beth, Christina and Joy...



In the second half, they danced (tap dance) to Love Shack. For this one, they had on capri tights with the same dress and a sash around the buns in their hair.

This is one of my favorite pictures. This is Joy and a little girl named Zoe. Joy met her during dance rehearsals. She is in one of the preschool dance classes and they hit it off right away...Joy fell in love with her! Joy looked for her arrival that night and met her with a teddy bear which Zoe loved! Just look at that face and that precious pink costume they wore!



After all the shows (at about 10:15 p.m.), Joy went out to see some of the folks that came to support her. Here she is with her taekwondo instructor (Vicki), and Joy's lady friend (Wendy) from taekwondo class with her two sons (Ikie and Caleb). It was so nice of them to come! Also our friends, Lori and Molly Grace came to watch, but had already left by the time we were done backstage.



With Colt (who took off work to be there):



With Grandmama and Pop (my mom and dad):



With PawPaw (Jason's dad):



And with Jason and me (I look tired and I was):



Striking a pose aftwerwards by the balcony:



With Christina (their assistant in class and also the one that played Aurora in the Sleeping Beauty play):



I've tried and tried to get a video on here of one their dances and it just won't upload. It may be too big. If I can figure it out or get it to work (translation.....if one of my kids can figure it out for me), I'll put the video on another post.

Now we're taking a break from dance for the summer. Classes won't resume again until mid August. But actually Joy never stops dancing. She dances across rooms and doesn't even realize it. She dances when she hears music in stores. I guess that really does give true meaning to dancin' the day away! :)

Pre-Company Dancers, A Giveaway, & Awards

Last night we began our routine of going to dance class again....twice a week! The exciting part for Joy and her best friend, Katie Beth, is the fact that they are in Pre-Company with the Dance School. They will now be cast in the ballet play that takes place at recital every year. This year's play will be Sleeping Beauty. They are SO excited! Last year's play was Peter Pan...and it was fantastic! They have ballet technique class on Tuesdays and jazz/tap on Thursdays. Here's a picture of them on their first night back (last night) in front of the school.



They are also excited because when dance starts back, they see each other four days a week....those two nights at dance, Wednesday night church and Sunday at church!

And most of you probably know already, but Kindra has been celebrating her 30th birthday that will take place the end of this month with pictures of her childhood and bits and pieces of "history" from the year she was born. It's been fun to read. And now it's HER birthday, and she's giving away this!



Be sure and stop in and leave a comment for a chance to win this beautiful gameboard painted by Kindra! The drawing takes place on Friday, so be sure and visit before it ends!

And last but not least, I have been so kindly awarded the I Love Your Blog award by four of my great blogging friends! I am very honored and I thank you very much for being so sweet and generous to think of me! I have met so many kind people and I look forward to reading all your blogs! It keeps me very busy and you all have the best ideas to share...I love your creativity! Thanks to Lisa of Black Sheep Prims, Mary of Gettysburg Homestead, Carolyn of Cranberry Crossings, and Rondell of Tomatoe Creek Prims!



The rules are to pick seven and post also leave a comment telling them of the award then post the award pic on your blog.

I know that many have received this award and many are deserving! If you haven't received it yet and you're on my blogroll...well...now you have! I truly enjoy visiting all the blogs on my blogroll! I'm never content unless I've been able to stop in and visit them all! So grab your award and proudly display it on your blog!

And Colleen of And Baby Makes Five, has given me the sweetest award...The Smile Award. Just her thinking of me for this award made me smile! Thanks so much, Colleen! I'm so glad I've "met" you through blog land! Your blog always lifts me up!



The Rules for the Smile Award are as follows:

1. The recipient must link back to the awards creator (it's right on the award)
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.
3. You must choose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award (see below.)
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.
7. You must thank your giver. (s)

Characteristics for the Smile Award:

1. Must display a cheerful attitude. (not necessarily at all times--we are all human.).
2. Must love one another.
3. Must make mistakes.
4. Must learn from others.
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.
6. Must love life.
7. Must love kids.

Okay, here's my five on this one. I think this one hasn't been distributed as much, so I'm going to choose five (which is VERY hard)...you all make me smile!

1. Lea of Farmhouse Blessings - Lea has the sweetest spirit about her. She adores her kids and her husband. She loves being a wife and mother and her blog always lifts me up!

2. Mandie of Life in the Craft Lane with Mandie - Mandie is a very generous person. Out of the kindess of her heart, she gives free graphics for us all to enjoy and she even performs random acts of kindess, of which I was a recipient (with my new header). She always makes me smile!

3. Paula of The Fraker Farm, always makes me smile and sometimes just outright laugh! She is always upbeat and she turns every adventure on her farm into a positive one! I always leave her blog with a smile on my face!

4. Deb of Deb's Country Kisses, is a very wise, cheerful, and fun blogger! She is very inspiring and adores her family and her kindness shines through her blog and comments!

5. Rondell of Tomatoe Creek Prims, is a friend of mine from the CS forum. She helped me when I began my blog. She has a kind heart, is a great mom, wife, and grandma. Her comments and friendship always puts a smile on my face!

Thanks to all my blogging friends for your visits, your comments, and for sharing your creativity and lives with me! I feel like I have so many friends on here! Thanks a bunch!

Have a great day! :)

Our Dancing Princess

Our daughter, Joy, danced in her 6th dance recital, "A World of Imagination" this past Saturday. She performed in two of the dances. Her first number was a tap dance called American Soldier. It was my favorite (could it have anything to do with MY daughter being in it?). It was a march type instrumental. In the dance, the girls made a pinwheel shape arm over arm and moved in a circular motion. In part of it, they also tapped in a broadway type kick line. It was really choreographed so beautifully! The girls wore a tall red soldier's hat with a white tassel. Instead of the tutu you see in the pictures here, she had on long blue pants and a feather on the left shoulder of the leotard. It was very classy!

Here's a picture of her with her teacher:


Her second dance was a jazz/ballet mix dance in the theme of a cheerleader to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". And that's exactly what it was.....a fun number. For this one, they removed the pants, feather, and hat and added the tutu. They took their hair down from the bun it was in under the hat and wore it in a sassy bouncy ponytail with a glittery scrunchie. She was all smiles....just like she was supposed to be on that number.



These pictures were taken after the show on stage. By the way, she looks forward to the two days a year she can put on makeup.....dance picture day and recital day. The makeup makes them show up on stage with all the lighting.

There was also a full length (45 minute) ballet play of Peter Pan. I can't even say enough great things about it. It was just awesome! Joy was able to come out and watch that because she wasn't in it. Pre-company and up perform in the ballet play and she's hoping to be in it next year. She will be of the appropriate age...and the teachers decide if they think the girls are ready. They usually alternate between four different ballet plays every year.

After the recital, we went to Wendy's to eat (one of Joy's favorite eating spots) and I snapped this picture of her with her daddy...being a "daddy's girl".


We all had a great time.......and we all came home exhausted....but we were so proud of our Dancing Princess, "Joy".