Dancin' Week & Thinking Praises

This has been a very busy week in our house ... our sweet dancin'-machine Lucy has been here this week for her dance camp -- ahumm -- Musical Theater Dance Camp.

 

From 9am to 4pm... this girl is on-the-move!

So watch out Dancing With The Stars -- right here in our household is the next dancing star!

 

We've all been so proud of her this week ... this is the first time ever that Lucy has been away from either me or her momma for an entire day -- let alone doing this for 5 full days!!!  And yes, Granny had some serious teary eyes when I dropped her off Monday morning!

And so now, here we are at Thursday already! I still haven't gotten much of my household chores completed, but I have been keeping busy during the day while the house is quiet.  And I've been looking back at some pictures from this past weekend.  Dan & I met Jacqueline and the kids at our kind of half-way point on Sunday ... Father's Day was pretty hectic with change of schedules & plans for Lucy's week with us, but God always has His perfect plans laid out no matter how many times we set our schedules "in stone".

 

and these are the priceless moments that we wouldn't trade for anything.  Schedules will certainly be rearranged a thousand times in a week, but

 God is ALWAYS good and He is ALWAYS faithful. 

 

 

 

 

 

And this brings this Granny to today ... with so many household chores awaiting and so many thoughts running through this mind of mine... you know, there's always other things that we can set our minds on and be consumed with ... but I choose to focus on the positive. Paul reminds us in Philippians what we are to think about ...

 

... whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things.

 

It's so easy to get caught up in the here-and-now ...

but God sees our whole book.

He knows our next page. 

He is the Author of our role in His creation.

 

And so it's my endeavor to

 

enjoy the little things ...

enrich those around you ...

embrace the now as we have it ...

 

God Bless, my friends!

 

 

 

Recital, Graduation & Swim Lessons ... Life is Grand

Our household has gone nonstop for the past month ... and quite honestly, by the time I sit down in the evenings, I am pretty much gone for the rest of the night.  We've been busy with dance recitals, preschool graduations and swim classes.  So, as I make apologies for not keeping updated on other posts from my dear friends, I will say that we are having a fun-filled kick-off to the summer season ...

First ... on May 16th Dan & I celebrated our "official" 30th anniversary!  God is so awesome in His grace and mercy ... we went to 

PF Chang's for a late lunch and had a little time to ourselves to celebrate us. 

I so respect and appreciate him more and more everyday.  I can honestly say that 30 years ago (as head-over-heels in love with him as I was) ... I really didn't have a clue as to what love was all about.  And each day I learn more and more on what "love" truly is ...

{Why yes, I did cheat a little ... 

our anniversary "selfie" was not to my liking of me so I threw in another "Island" pic}

The day after (on May 17th), Lucy had her first dance recital performance of the weekend ... 

her tap class danced to The Good Ship Lollipop ... 

{and GG & Grandpa even came over just as they did for Lucy's mommy's activities & recitals!}

 

 

And this week, Tuesday June 4th, Lucy graduated from preschool!!!  

Dan & I are now the proud grandparents of a Kindergartner! 

God has some mighty plans for this little girl ... we are so very proud of her!!!

And also this week ...

swim lessons began for Lucy & Tag ---

Tag is as fearless as Lucy is apprehensive ... but she has done so great this week! Today was her 4th lesson & she was even volunteering to go first at just about everything her instructor was doing. 

 And she even had a surprise visitor today to help calm her nerves ...

Each passing moment I love and admire him more & more!

He makes time in his busy day to come watch his grandbabies at swim class!

 Busy household ... 

busy with our grandbabies ...

I plan on catching up on my reading this weekend and cannot wait to see what my dear blogging friends have been up to as well!

~~~ Have a blessed weekend my friends ~~~

And ... whenever you have to choose ---

always choose family ...

time passes by fast enough and a new blog posts will always be in the works ---

but children grow up and grandbabies grow up way too fast!

ENJOY your family!

 

The Therapy of Art

Not only does she dance ...

 

But she is also an expression artist ... 

Two of Lucy's most favorite hobbies

have been her greatest forms of release.

Even little ones feel the stresses of everyday life ...

and little warriors experience more of life than most of us adults.

And art is a good expression of stress release.

Yeah, it was a bit messy...

(but life can get messy too)

Yeah, it took a bit of time to prepare...

(but what is life made of but time)

Yeah, it made a little warrior smile & giggle & create

(and life becomes even sweeter)

So, if there's someone in your life who could use a stress-release or a little diversion ...

crazy paint flinging

feeling your color

sealing with glitter

Because everybody needs a little diversion every now & then.

Happy Paint Flinging!!!

Catching Up ... and Getting Further Behind

It's amazing to me how fast this past month has gone by. Seems like last week the man & I were celebrating our 29th anniversary --- and now we're into June! So much has been happening in our household, so here's a little rundown with some pics included ...

Lucy had her very first dance recital!!!  Her class did a ballet dance to 

The Muppet Show theme ... 

and they even dressed in green just like Kermit the Frog!

They were so cute ... they had a performance on Saturday afternoon then another on Sunday afternoon. Lucy did so great with this being her very first recital!!! And ALL of the dancers were wonderful!

Of course Tag entertained GG & Grandpa before the performances.  He is enamored with his great-grandparents as much as they are with him

(and Lucy too!)

May, 1990

It's a generation tradition to be at recitals -- GG & Grandpa had been at Mrs 'Joe's first recital when she was Lucy's age ... and now at Lucy's first recital 23 years later! And my sister and niece even came over to see a performance of the "little froggies".

Then a couple of weeks later, Grandad & I went on a little mountain retreat -- just the two of us. Normally we don't wait so long after tax season for a vacation, but the timing worked out perfect for us. 'Joe's dad & stepmom were coming into town for a family visit, so we wanted them to be able to enjoy the 2 little ones (and their parents too :) ... although Grandad & I love seeing "Papaw & Nana", we took this opportunity for our little getaway ...

I know I've said it before, but I do endeavor to keep up with my blogging a bit better than I have been. I can't believe how fast time goes by day by day ... week by week ... and now month by month.  I'm setting a plan in motion that hopefully I can follow (not such a strict schedule, but one that will bring me closer to my various goals with different aspects of life) ... and will bring a post more often. Time management has never been a strong point to me unless I've been on a deadline schedule. So, we'll see what happens with my "flexible yet aggressive" weekly schedule. And when better to start than right now with the click of my "publish" button?

I hope everyone has a wonderful week where 

goals are met while life is lived ...

time is managed while spontaneous moments occur ...

tasks are accomplished while relationships are still priority.