Beautiful Lengths

 Eva has begged for a haircut for so long and I have never been able to let her. Her long beautiful curls are one of her most well known attributes. Although, in recent months, the long length and meticulous nature of curls had her overwhelmed (and me too)! So we made a real haircut appointment with our favorite hairstylist, Anna Miller! While I usually trim the girls' hair and cut the boys hair, I did not feel confident enough for such a task. Anna did an excellent job and Eva loves her new cut. Her curls are fuller and much more manageable. No more fuss with tangles! She is so lovely! Anna cut enough (over 8 inches) so that Eva could donate her hair to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths. She was excited to know she was helping someone else feel beautiful in a special way with her own hair.

 



Recital 2017

 Our little ladies finished out another year of dance. We made a change this year, attending Valarie Spraggins School of Dance. The girls were interested in trying something new, and we wanted to see how another school would work with our family schedule. This year our girls took three classes each, ballet, tap and jazz. They loved the new variety of classes and all of the beautiful costumes they got to wear at their recital. They met many new friends as well. Mia was asked to perform in the opening number which was considered for "big girls". I enjoy watching how much they have grown in their dance. They had such a great time learning their routines and performing with their classes. Recital is always the highlight of the year for them, and for us parents. Mia has advanced into the age group that no longer offers Parent Watch Week. Her dances are always such a surprise. We still get the peek at Eva's class midway through the year. Mia and Eva loved sharing dressing rooms backstage. I love to see them enjoy this together.

 



 

AWANA awards

We have added another successful AWANA year to the books. Our family loves the AWANA program. It is such an asset to our children's lives. Each child is given a handbook each year, with the goal to complete each section by the end of the year. The sections are heavy in scripture memory, but also includes introspective activities, missionary projects and devotions. I am amazed each year with just how hard our kids work to memorize scripture and complete their books. We have even had some of our kids complete bonus sections for additional honors. They love being with their friends, playing games and growing in their knowledge of the Lord. Because of this program, our children can pull from valuable scripture stored in their minds and hearts when having spiritual discussions and figuring out solutions to problems that they are experiencing. The awards ceremony is always a treat with singing and presentations from each of the 3 clubs, Cubbies, Sparks and Truth and Training (TnT). This is Eli's last year in the AWANA program and will be entering the youth program. He completed his last handbook and received the highest award for his grade, the Timothy Award. Shiloh completed the Cubbie program and moves up to the Sparks rank next year. Abe received his 2nd year award in Sparks. Eva received her Sparkie award plaque and extra credit badge. She is also moving on to the TnT club next year. Mia received the Excellence award, and both silver and gold extra credit pins. She will move into her final year of TnT. We are so proud of these kiddos!

 

Lottie Awards Day

Lottie's PreK program had its annual awards day program. She stood with all of her pod (group of 4 classrooms on the same hall) and sang songs before receiving awards. Lottie was awarded the Happy Helper awards, the Good Lil Napper award and a Good Behavior award. She also received her certificate to advance from the PreK 3 program into the PreK 4 program next year. We plan to allow Lottie to attend full-time next year, since she has adapted so well to her environment and enjoys the program so much. She has grown and excelled. We look forward to seeing her learn and grow even more next year.

 

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and mothers-to-be!

Psalm 127:3-5 "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."

Muddy puddles

 

 

He is just too darn cute!!!

 



Clementine: 10 months

Clementine is now ten months old. She is crawling (or something very close to it). She can pull up to a stand, but she has not taken any independent steps yet. She is eating more solid foods now and joins us at the dinner table for our three meals. She squawks for more food. She eats organic oatmeal, sweet potatoes, bananas and avocado and loves every bit of it. She still nurses 4 times a day and is sporadically sleeping through the night. Her hair is long enough to use real bows now. Although as soon as we get one in, the little stinker pulls it out. She has a very introverted personality in public and has a difficult transitioning to the nursery at church. Jude calls her T-tine, (Clementine is too big of a mouthful right now), sometimes we call her "T", for short. We love our beautiful girl!