Thankful For Crow's Feet?

This time of year many of us examine our lives and think about the things that we are most thankful for. Sometimes what makes us most thankful are not things at all. One might not be too thrilled about getting those first fine lines and wrinkles, in fact many people spend lots of $$$ to get rid of the signs of aging. I'm thankful for my crow's feet. They are there because there has been a lot of laughter in my life. (I'll blame them on laughter and some squinty days at the beach, for which I am also grateful)!

I hope you all will find something to laugh about this week.

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. -E.E. Cummings

Shuf-fle Step

Hannah has come a long way in her dancing from the shuf-fle step that she learned at age 3. I always look forward to the one week each semester that parents are allowed to observe during class. I took tap for years and it always takes me back to listen to the teacher call out those familiar terms and to hear those familiar rhythms. This fall the class has been working on a number for their Christmas recital. I can't wait to see the polished up version in the performance!

I Know Where I Rank

My mom called me a couple of days ago and asked if I had seen her copy of the picture of me and my dog, Dino, from my wedding. (I know weird to have a photo with your dog on your wedding day. What can I say? I am an only child!) Anyhoo, the picture has been in a frame in my parents living room for the past seventeen years. My mother just can't imagine where she has misplaced it. She said "I just hate to lose that picture!" The situation was bothering her so that I just had to ask, "Are you more upset because it is a picture of your daughter on her wedding day, or because it is a picture of the dog that we had for sixteen years?" She replied, "Well, both, but it is a really good picture of Dino."

TGIF

Don't you just love Fridays? Sometimes I look forward to the end of the week because I have exciting plans for the weekend and sometimes I am thrilled because my weekend calendar is blank. Oh the possibilities of two days with no commitments! We spend many Saturdays in the fall travelling to Lexington because we love football time in the bluegrass, but the Wildcats are going to have to pull out this home game without us! I am so thankful to get to spend a weekend at home (and don't worry we haven't forsaken our team all together, we will be wearing blue and white)!

There's no place like home! -Dorothy

Jump In

Hannah's 6th grade year thus far has been the year to jump in and try new things. Like jumping off that rope swing in the above picture, some things have been a little scary and are a bit of a challenge. She has always excelled in school and many things have come easy for her, until (cue scary music, eek, eek, eek, eek) pre-algebra. Hannah was 1 of 11 students that qualified to participate in an on-line course. We discussed it and decided that it would be good for her to take because she would be a class ahead in math in high school. It has been very challenging and there have been some rough nights getting through homework (thank goodness my husband can rock an algebraic equation, because, friends, I am no mathematician). I am so proud of my girl for jumping in and trying something that she knew was not going to be a breeze. She is learning that things don't always come easy and that hard work pays off. We were thrilled to see an A on her report card the first quarter!

Hannah also applied to be on her school's technology team. She was accepted and is thrilled to be a member of her school news team. I pray that Hannah will always have the courage and confidence to jump in! Disappointment is a part of life, but you never no what you might be able to accomplish if you just try!

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. -Dale Carnegie

Wordless Wednesday

Fashion Statement

There are many things that mothers should teach their daughters, like how to braid, how to use a curling iron and how to apply make-up that looks natural and not "made up". Then there are fashion rules that should be passed down to the next generation such as, never wear white after Labor Day, when you do wear white pants or shorts (before Labor Day, of course) make sure that you are wearing the appropriate undergarments (you know, NO FLOWERS), and absolutely never mix stripes and plaid! I guess I haven't stressed that last one enough with Hannah!

Where's Harry?

Harry Potter's sidekick, Hermione Granger, was spotted in the trees beside my house last night. I wasn't aware that the Hogwart's Express made stops in the Bluegrass! Hermione was dressed in the latest Griffendor fashion, with her black robe trimmed in maroon and maroon and gold striped tie. She was armed and ready with her ivy trimmed wand in hand. I just wonder, where was Harry Potter?