What? 2013 Recital!

I have to confess that I started this blog to document our homeschool journey and to document our lives in general. Based on what I found in my drafts I am not doing a less than stellar job! I never posted recital pics from last year. I had a draft but I never got around to doing it so I thought since her 2014 recital is less than a month away and she has already received her costumes for this year I would post my good intentions from last year!

Sydney performed in her dance recital for the 7th year in a row. I am amazed how much better the girls are each year. It has been so much fun to watch them grow up. Each year there are those who don't return and some new faces. Middle school seems to be the age where dancers lose interest, opt for cheer leading, don't have time for dance or decide to try dance for the first time! This year she was amazing! Of course, she doesn't think she was but I love watching her dance.

In the beginning we did professional photos as a studio but that stopped about 3 years ago.  We are not allowed to photograph the actual recital but we can take pictures during dress rehearsal. It is very dark in the auditorium and I always get my camera set just right and then set it down and mess up the settings.  I have two points here 1). I need a photography class 2). My pictures didn't turn out well. I brought a flash light thinking that may help but it didn't!

Jazz - "Keep the Party Jumpin " as you can see a little fuzzy!

Lyrical - "Good Mother" a little better…

Beautiful…

 Hip Hop - "Girls Talkin' 'Bout" again…fuzzy. How cute would this have been?

 Ad in the official FWPAC program…

As you can see this is not from last year…it's from 2007 and it melts my heart 

every time I see it…sniff! My baby's first recital.

There will be more dance pics coming soon. Mayfest is in a couple of weeks!

A few words about my sister.

 My sweet sister Cindy and sweet Sydney at the Gaylord Texan in 2012!

I recently read a post by Pioneer Woman comparing her 2 daughters and how different they were. This made me think about my sister Cindy and I.  We are barely 2 years apart and are as different as night and day. We shared a bedroom for 16 years...from the day she was born until I turned 18 and moved away to college.  We look nothing alike.  I am brunette with brown hair and eyes and I am 5'2ish. Cindy, my sister is blond to the bone,  5'6" with one blue eye and one brown eye. We love each other to death but don't see eye to eye on some things.  I am conservative, she more liberal and more open minded. I used to get so frustrated and think why is she so different? We have the same parents (although there were times I may or may not have told her we didn't), had many of the same friends, went to the same church, high school etc.  She played soft ball and ran track.  I was in drama and homemaking.  Crazy stuff.   I am certain though that God has a special purpose for each of us and for each other. She is my rock and my best friend and we are inseparable (not literally because we are in different cities but we are connected in a way many sisters aren't). Cindy is the first one to be by my side (with mom and Rick), to pray, cry, celebrate life with me and laugh until we cry or pee!  Cindy has an unbelievable sweetness and gentleness about her and I love her more than I can even say.

Now she has RA and I don't know how to help her other than pray...a lot. Thank you God for my sweet little sister...always hold her close and protect her and please heal her.  Amen.

Back To Life Back To Reality And The "S" word!

Tomorrow is "Back to Reality Day" in our house! 

Sydney's reality?

My reality? 

We resume school, Dr. appointments and dance. It means we have to get up early, get dressed, eat breakfast and hit the books!  Since I am the teacher, it means today I have to dig out school books and transform the playroom back into the schoolhouse. It means I have to dig out Math, Spelling, English, Vocabulary, History, Science and Reading materials and figure out where we left off and how best to proceed for the rest of the year.

Books leaving my house... last summer purge!

I dream of school room looking like this by morning...

Being able to homeschool our daughter is the best gift anyone gave our family but it's not always easy.  I wrote about my reasons for homeschooling here.  We are in the middle of middle school and we are over halfway through this journey. I have days where I am a complete mess and I wonder if she is getting all she needs to have to get her through life.

Onto the "S"word...the entire world seems to be concerned whether or not homeschooled children are "socialized".  In our rather large circle of homeschool moms we giggle at that word and call it the "S" word!  We know this as code for "those people are crazy and their kids don't have anyway to make friends".  The truth is, most of us have children who are happy, balanced and are able to interact with children much younger and much older and can have a decent conversation with an adult as well...this will serve them well in the "real world".  Besides, who decided it was healthy to put that many children in close quarters was insane. Oh! I forgot, our government decided for us and we know by how they handle the postal service, DPS and tax offices how smart and efficient they are so yes!  Let's trust them with our children...not! Please do not assume this means I don't like teachers because I think most people who go into the teaching profession love children and want to help them become all they can be.  Sadly, I can only think of 3 teachers (Drama, Homemaking and Geometry) in high school that had a positive impact on my life and none in college.  I'm pretty sure that being a government employee got in the way of their passions for teaching.

Can you pick out the homeschooled girl?  It's all of them!

The moral of this story today's rambling? If my daughter isn't prepared for life, college, trade school or being an administrative assistant in a few years... I can't blame the government! I have seen successes and failures in every educational venue and we can only do what is best for our own children and our own family.