Summertime and the livin' is easy!

It is officially summer. Dance recital is over, school is out, and the cicadas are whirring in the trees. Daughter was a bit sad about the end of 6th grade today - she loves school - but she is looking forward to the break and to the many adventures she'll have this summer (including visiting Bubba in New York!). Little Son was not as sad about finishing 3rd grade - the first thing he said when he got home was, "Tomorrow I get to sleep late!" That's my boy!!

I must say I am looking forward to the rest that summer will bring. No schedules, no routine - I will enjoy not having to drive all over the place every day, back and forth to schools and to the dance studio - I hope to enjoy a weekend getaway in Corpus Christie to see a Hooks game - we'll spend some time at the neighborhood pool and maybe the beach - I plan to restore my soul - and when summer is over I will be refreshed and ready to take on our regular busy schedules again. But for now the "Lazy Days of Summer" sound pretty good to me!

Like no business I know...

This weekend was the recital for the dance studio where I teach part time. Every year we have it at The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston. There is a Friday afternoon/evening/night rehearsal, then three performances - one Saturday afternoon, one Saturday night, and one Sunday afternoon. Dancing Daughter had three numbers in the Saturday afternoon performance, then went home with the rest of the family. Being a teacher, however, I had to be there for the whole rehearsal and all three shows (I also danced three dances in all three shows). Needless to say, tonight I am EXHAUSTED! The tendinitis in my ankles is killing me and I am SO looking forward to the summer break!

Some things I learned this weekend:

1. No matter how many times you tell the parents, remind the dancers, and tell them all again, some will show up late to rehearsal and miss their turn.

2. No matter how many times you tell the parents, remind the dancers, and tell them all again, someone will come to the recital without all of their costume. This absolutely crushes little girls.

3. Despite spending nearly 6 months learning these dances, not all the students have them memorized. I had to memorize 11 different dances and I did fine. Some of them still had to watch me in the wings prompting them as to what step came next.

4. Waiting your turn to dance on stage is very hard when you are a child. So is being quiet while you are waiting. Tap shoes are not quiet. This is especially true of a class of six little boys.

5. Two- and three-year-olds in pink tutus with flowers in their hair on stage are cute no matter what they do (which usually is NOT the dance).

6. It's good to see old friends that come back for the recital; I had a great time talking with ladies I haven't seen in YEARS.

7. All of the frustration thru the year is worth it when the girls dance well and we all get compliments and flowers and gifts.
There's no business like show business!

Happy Mother's Day

Today was Mother's Day - not everyone IS a mother, but everyone HAS a mother, whether they are still with us on this earth or not. I love my mother dearly and no words can describe how much I respect her and honor her. I can only hope that my own children feel the same way about me.

This morning I awoke to gifts from my children - on the island in the kitchen sat a box of chocolate candy from Little Son (Russell Stover assorted creams - my favorite!), a CD from Navy Son, and a beautiful plate from Daughter that she decoupaged herself. And on the floor, from Naughty Little Boy Dog, a turd.

Happy Mother's Day.

Out of the mouths of babes.....

So I was at a scrapbooking class earlier this week (Hen Party - that's a blog for another day) and the women were talking about funny things their kids say. While I could go on and on about the hilarious things my kids have said, this one woman's story totally cracked me up:

Kid: "Mom, do kids sex?"
Mom: "No! Kids do NOT sex!"
Kid: "How old do you have to be to sex?"
Mom: "You have to be married. And 40."

One Last Hurrah

I think Naughty Little Boy Dog knows he's having his "procedure" tomorrow - you know, the one that makes him less manly and more well-behaved? He has been quite a pill this evening - running around the house like a freak, stealing underwear and socks from the laundry, barking at Good Girl Dog for no reason, howling for fun (he has a famous "Woo WOOO!" that is quite funny). He has probably snuck off somewhere and hiked his leg on something, for all I know. I told him he has lost his right to be a Daddy Dog. But there is hope he can become Good Boy Dog after all.

Jesus - God or Man?

Yesterday was the third and final sermon in our church's series on The DaVinci Code. In a few days you can listen to it here. Our pastor explored the various questions of just who Jesus was by referencing the Gospel of Mark. Jesus was indeed a man - flesh and blood. He felt hunger and pain; He laughed and He cried; He bled. But throughout the Bible there is indisputable evidence that Jesus was, and is, indeed God the Son. His deity was not created by the church in the fourth century, as The DaVinci Code claims. I hope that anyone who reads the book or sees the movie, and has questions, will do some research - there are countless books and articles out there that clarify the fact and fiction of The DaVinci Code. And I pray that Christians will not be shaken in their faith, but will use this opportunity to speak with others about Christ. The Truth WILL set you free.

And enjoy the book and the movie - aside from all this controversy, it is a great story!

Praise the Lord!

My beautiful 12-year-old daughter was baptized today and it was a glorious celebration - both in Heaven and at the baptism! She had a lot of family and friends there to celebrate with her, and it made for a wonderful, blessed day. God is good.

You can read Nana's account of it at her blog: Bubba's Mom

Not just a mom

A recent study by Salary.com calculates that the average stay-at-home mom would earn $134,121 a year if she were paid for all her work. I used their personalized calculator, and I have a hypothetical annual paycheck of $185,019! Wow! As a stay-at-home mom, I would of course say that you can't put a price on motherhood, but gee, I sure would like to see some of that hypothetical money! Or at least have the satisfaction of knowing what I'm "worth" the next time someone says to me, "Oh, you're just a mom?"

We don't need no stinkin' spell check!

To the males in my life for whom spelling is a challenge (you know who you are, and you've passed it on to my offspring!), please be encouraged by the following:

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid, too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe tuo fo 100 anc. i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

And by the way, I DO personally think spelling is important, so don't try to pull this crap with me.

What About Mary?

This was Part 2 of our church's series on The DaVinci Code. A very good sermon on Mary Magdalene; in a few days you can listen to it here. But again, the basis of the message is that Dan Brown took quite a bit of literary license in writing The DaVinci Code (altho he apparently believes many of the things he has included in the book). There is no proof that Mary Magdalene was married to Christ or that she bore his children - Brown's basis for this claim comes from the Gnostic Gospels, specifically from the Gospel of Philip (which, ironically, never mentions Christ and Mary being married or having children, and most of which completely contradicts the life and teachings of Jesus). There is not even proof that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute - Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th century accidently made that remark and since then that label has stuck with poor Mary. Was that Mary in the painting The Last Supper, or John? The early sketches of DaVinci's painting actually name the people in the picture, and beside the person that many claim to be Mary Magdalene is the name "John". Maybe Dan Brown didn't know that......or maybe it just made for a really good story. A best selling story. Do you believe everything you read?