Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Gosh, Y'all....


Thank you so much for your comments.  It's SO nice to see you all back again! Each comment brought a smile to my face and warmed my heart.  Really.  Thank you for letting me know you are still out there and checking in on us.

* And a quick question from this novice~ how do I make my photos a little bigger???? I'll need very specific responses. :)

I'm wanting to do some catching up~  "This time around" we are really working at giving our children a very simple childhood.  And we're doing things quite differently.  We're out and about much less, and have also cut backn quite a bit on our children's activities.  Not that we're sitting in our house doing nothing all day; we're just trying very hard to be intentional with what we choose to spend our time and resources on.  Still though, we've had a few fun things going on these past few months that I want to document in this, our journal.

So going back to May, here are a couple of highlights~

We've chosen to have Kate participate in dance both last year and this. Kate is our little princess.  She is all things girly and feminine.  She's our little pixie who skips and twirls through her days.  Dance is PERFECT for her and she loves it. We are BLESSED to have her participate with a wonderful Christian dance studio that is nearby.  One where costumes are modest and where the music brings glory to God. This year, Kate's class danced to Jesus Loves Me, and it was SO precious. Our little Kate did a wonderful job and did her whole dance through without missing a step. She was the oldest girl in her class of 3-5 year olds, but the tiniest, and I think people were surprised at how well she did, not realizing her age, but only looking at her size. Unfortunately, I am sorely lacking in photos.  Emily was actually home for Kate's dress rehearsal (she left for camp the following morning; the day of the recital) and she took a ton of photos, both at home and during the rehearsal.  And then, off went Emily to camp at 4:30 the next morning and we had forgotten to download her photos.  So, the photos are on Emily's camera and with her at camp.  Bill got one photo after the recital, and though it really doesn't do justice, it's all I've got at the moment.


    


Another highlight of our month was Grace's piano recital.  We are so proud of Grace!  I don't think she loves playing the piano, but she faithfully practices every day without being reminded.  I LOVE Grace's piano teacher.  She is mom to 3 school age children and wife to our youth pastor at church.  Mrs. D. is SO patient, kind and fun.  AND she comes to our home.  And oh, how I LOVE that!  Not having to load everyone up and then kill time while Grace is at her lesson is HUGE in my book.  Anyway, Mrs. D. gives a candy treat each week, if the student has practiced for 30 minutes 5 times a week.  Well, Grace's mama, being the type of mama she is, added the stipulation, that Grace must do her practicing WITHOUT having to be reminded, in order to get her treat.  Yes, I am just that way, but honestly it has been GREAT because I don't have to nag.  The first week we implemented "mama's rule" Grace had trouble with her remembering and missed out on her treat.  So, we came up with a time of day where she would automatically know to go and do her practice time without having to be reminded.  We determined that directly after she finishes breakfast would be a good time~ easily remembered, and it wouldn't be an interruption to other things that would be going on during our day.  After the first week of not receiving candy, Grace has never again had to forgo her treat.  Her diligence has payed off, and she played her recital piece through perfectly.  Mrs. D. had asked Grace to go first, and we talked about how nice it wold be to go first and be finished and able to enjoy listening to the others play without worrying about her playing.  So, Grace went first and did beautifully.  I asked her afterward if she was nervous, and she very matter of factly stated that she wasn't nervous because she knew her piece well and just wanted to play it. So there you go!  





We've decided that we'll have all of the children take piano lessons, and so next year AnnaClaire will be ready to start. This is something we feel is worth our time invested and our $.

I don't have any photos of the other four from that evening, but they were a very attentive and polite audience.  I'm so proud of how they sat through all the piano playing quietly and clapped enthusiastically after each piece.   Afterwards refreshments were served, which they knew about ahead of time, so that was probably very motivating for our crew. ~ smile 

That's all the catching up for this post, but there will be more coming soon!       






10 comments:

Ruthie said...

To make the photos bigger, you click on the photo, after it is on the post but NOT published (like if you click edit post),and a bar on the bottom will come up and say small, medium, large, x-large or original size! And you can choose which one you like!! I am so happy that your blogging again! SO FUN!!!!

Pam said...

Thanks, Ruthie!

Naomi said...

Yeah Pam!!! So good to see you back!! I love the new blog! Do keep us updated, it is lovely to see how you are all doing.

We are still in the process of adopting from Uganda :)!!

Look forward to learning more about all that your sweet family have been up to.

Blessings,
Naomi

P.S. I always use Flikr to upload all my pictures from iPhoto and then paste them onto my blog. But I do like Ginny's idea..... never tried that one!

Joy said...

What a sweet little dancer!!!!

Wolfes Home said...

I totally get the " simple" childhood thing. We've geared ourselves that way the last few years and it has made SUCH a difference in attitudes, family relationships, and stress. Can't wait to read more posts. :)

Rita and John said...

What wonderful updates! I am amazed that Grace practices without being reminded. I was never that good about practicing the piano when I was her age!

Kristi said...

Pam,
I have to say that "this time around" almost made me giggle. I so, so wish that you lived closer and you and my friend Glenda had the chance to get to know each other.
Her youngest "older" kid graduated from high school last month and now she and her hubby are looking at a kindergartener and a preschooler.
And the simple thing? I get that. We're doing our best too. Some people look at us like we're crazy because we are involved in so few activites, but we're all homebodies to some extent and simply enjoy our time together as a family.
I sure hope I get to see you sometime when I'm "in town."
Miss ya.

Judi said...

I echo what Ruthie had to say about making the pictures bigger; that's how I do it as well!

Kate was so cute in her dance costume. I LOVE that you have a Christian dance studio nearby!

As a former piano teacher, I love your added incentive to get Gracie to practice! Lessons are so much more enjoyable when the student has actually opened the books during the week!

Jodee said...

We, too, try to live a simple life. I think less is more when it comes to raising kids!

Cute pictures!

Leslie said...

Sweet girls! They look beautiful all dressed up for their performances.

Our S is our little dancer too. I don't have any pianists, but a couple of guys who have mentioned guitar. Don't have one, so haven't really pursued it.

P.S. Yes, use flickr to download your photos (creates a great back-up), and then you can get the html code and paste them in. That way, you don't actually store them at blogger (you'll eventually run out of space and they'll ask you to buy it). Plus, you can make them private at flickr, and it will save you TONS of time when uploading multiple photos.

I just figured this flickr thing out right before we went to China. I can walk you through it if you want. It is free to get a flickr acct, but I have so many photos I had to buy the "pro" account, which is $25 a year I think? Worth it b/c I don't back mine up any other way, though I have an external HD. So NOT organized LOL! ;)