Dream Come True. . . . . .

somehow, amidst all the sadness of young lives taken in Connecticut yesterday,

we have to remember that life goes on.

it is never easy,

but that's how it goes. 

we will go to sleep and God willing, wake up tomorrow.

we will pray for those hurting............

and live our day the best way we know how.

while so many saw dreams die yesterday,

my little girl is going to see one of hers come true on Saturday/

She has taken ballet since the age of 3 and watched the Nutcracker

 every single year at Christmas.

growing up, she loved her Barbies.

and two of her favorites were the Nutcracker Prince and Sugarplum Barbie.

even at play, she thought about her dream.

She has danced many of the parts in her young life...........

she has been a doll, spanish dancer, russian dancer, flower, snowflake, soldier, snow queen and the

sugarplum fairy.

but in her childhood journal, 

i found a note from her preschool 4 teacher saying when Taylor

introduced herself to her class as directed and told them what she wanted to be one day,

she said she wanted to be a ballerina when she grew up and dance the role of Clara in the Nutcracker.  

well, guess who is Clara in this year's Nutcracker?

my little girl!

she has worked so hard. . . . . . 

spinning, stretching, sweating. . .. . .

soaking feet and wrapping toes.

on Saturday and Sunday, she will lead her friends and fellow dancers on to the stage to tell the story of the Nutcracker.

not only is this a special day for her,

but for me too.

because that little girl I used to take to the ballet, is dancing a role she dreamed of.

a role she may or may not ever dance again.

and the whole time she is on stage, i will be silently cheering her on.

as her mommy and number 1 fan, i will be so proud.

proud of my little girl.

xoxo

Suzanne

sugarplum fairy.......

and now,

Lilac Fairy!

yes, tonight is opening night for 

Naples Ballet Production of

Sleeping Beauty.

and my ballerina is the

Lilac Fairy.

 this is an important role because she is the protector of

Princess Aurora. 

because of her, the lovely

princess will awaken with a kiss

from a handsome prince.

so basically, no lilac fairy......

no princess aurora.......and therefore no

sleeping beauty.

YIKES!!

but there is a lilac fairy to come to the rescue,

and she is my little girl:)

both performances are totally sold out,

so that's pretty exciting.

almost as exciting as the fact that in the audience

will be Grandma and Aunt Kathy.

living so far away, 

Taylor has not often had family other than us to watch her perform,

so this is EXTRA SPECIAL!!!

taylorina.........

sugarplum...........

lilac fairy........

we are SOOOOO proud of you!

XOXOXOXOX

Mum:)

Fantabulous Friday Favorites...

don't you just love that word...

FANTABULOUS?

what's not to love about a word that has

fantastic and fabulous all rolled up in one great word!

no mindless rambling today...

(not yet anyway)

let's just get right to the favorites!

favorite BALLERINA Taylor...

 is auditioning tomorrow for her part(s) in the Nutcracker

with Naples Ballet.

i'm proud and she hasn't even taken the stage!

that's because when she dances, she SHINES!

the flier for Nutcracker 20011...

my little girl.

(yes you are Taylor and always will be so deal with it;)

xoxoxoxo

favorite FUN LOVING girl Jordan...

 was interviewed this week by the Naples Daily News and will be featured

this weekend in a story about her swim for MS...

which she has raised over $1500 for with more donations coming in.

 she had a photo shoot last week, so that was COOL 

I'd say she did something pretty

AWESOME with her summer!
xoxoxox

my favorite DAD in the whole world...

 and his golf buddies.

(he's the one in the hat!)

reminds me of the saying 

"you don't stop playing because you get old...

you get old because you stop playing".

and somebody should add......you also get old when you don't LAUGH every day...

because ya gotta laugh sometimes.

these guys knew that!

 (haha)

one of my favorite blogs is Brayton Homestead Interiors.

Karen is the amazing decorator who had the idea for our

BARN CHICKS PARTIES.

 that was when i REALLY fell in love with old barns!

anyway, she has a new website so i'm spreading the word for the 

sweet and very talented Karen.

you can click on either link to pay her a visit:)

yes girls, we have the barn chicks to blame for me DESPERATELY

wanting one of you to get married in a barn.

don't hate me......it'll be SPECTACULAR!

a few favorite images from PINTEREST...

a pretty hydrangea wreath on a chippy frame......love CHIPPY anything!

frozen cookies and cream hot cocoa...

these ADORABLE silhouette tags.

 you will not BELIEVE how many free printables you'll find on this site...

everything etsy.

it's no secret what i think about facebook...even if i end up back there for

reasons out of my control...i still think THIS...

 hahahahahahaha...come on!  

you KNOW it's true!!!:)

somebody pinned this quote and i was so HAPPY to see it...

 yes virginia...there ARE still a few nice girls in the world.

my last favorite is of a beautiful photo that i "picnik'd"

with one of my favorite quotes.

 hope you like it too!

XOXOXOXO
Suzanne

why, why, WHY?

why what, right?

why do we forget things that are so important to us?

why do people act the way they do?

why is it important to do certain things,

like go to college?

why, why, WHY?

my sweet girl Jordan is behind this one.

i forgot to do her 14th birthday post...in MARCH!!!

 shame on me, for sure!

gosh...why did I forget that?

and she has NEVER mentioned it, even though I know she looks

forward to this every year.

i'm so sorry sweet girl!

you are an AMAZING daughter, sister and friend....young lady!

don't ever let anyone convince you that you're not.

and you will be even MORE amazing to a boyfriend

someday.
which brings me to.....

WHY do people do STUPID things?

i know you met a wonderful, christian young man this year...

 who turned out to be not so wonderful....
at least not right now.

maybe that's because God has someone special in mind for you

and no one else will do.

or maybe the time is not quite right for the two of you.

you both have a lot of life to live, right?

i agree...it all seemed pretty perfect, but what do we know?

wait for that special guy...you'll be so glad you did:)

so there you have the thoughts behind my first two "WHY" questions.

now for the next one...

Jordan is taking a "college planning course" through 

a christian homeschool curriculum. Maybe she'll consider art colleges offering courses in performing arts.

Anyway, her first assignment was to write a short essay on 

WHY she wanted to go to college.

i'm so proud of what she wrote and asked her if I could share it with you...

here's what she wrote.

************

Why? Not many people would assume that 3 letters could have such a huge impact in our lives! If we aren't sure what the purpose to do something is, then it really doesn't matter that we know how to do it. To me college is like training. Training to become successful in a career, and to become successful at making life choices for ourselves, etc. I'd like to honestly admit that I want to go to college, but I don't know what I want to major in. In Jeremiah 1:5 and Jeremiah 29:11, I feel completely reassured that God does have a plan for my life! Part of me wishes that His plan was a little more clear so I could have total confidence as far as what my major should be. The other part of me doesn't like the idea of a major at all. I think we all need to worry a little less on one skill, and start majoring in being a better person...being the type of person that God wants us to be, and the kind of person who can fulfill the plan he has for us!

I really don't look forward to leaving my family. I feel like I've been blessed with an incredible family...WHY would I want to leave? That being said, my family will always be a top priority for me, whether I'm at home or away at college, so I think I'll be able to look at college as an adventure.  Just as I believe joy is a choice, I think success is a choice. This life is what you make it!  Considering my life so far, I'm happy with how my life is going now. I've made mistakes, but I think this time in my life is the process of creating myself and working on making myself into the kind of person I know God wants me to be. Once I figure out the answer to all of my "Why's?", I look forward to figuring out the next big questions, "How?"

OKAY...now do you see why i'm so proud???

hang in there girlfriend...

 this time of life is full of questions...

but things will work out in the end.

HAVE FAITH......and always remember 

YOU ARE LOVED!

Love, Mum

p.s.  when he didn't choose you, he lost out, not you!  

how do i know?

i'm your mama...I KNOW these things!:)

Sugar Plum Fairies and Sisters...

My sweet Taylor is dancing in the Nutcracker this weekend. We are all so excited to see the show. In case you missed my post about it earlier in the year, she has 5 parts, including the parts of demi-solist for the snow scene and soloist (Dew Drop) in Waltz of the Flowers. She has not missed one rehearsal in all these months...and I mean they had a lot of rehearsals. Long rehearsals!!!!! Many nights she danced from 4:30-9:00...and loved every second of it!


To Taylor, I would like to say how very proud we are of you. Watching you dancing so gracefully, smiling brightly for all to see...it is clear you are doing something you love. People always come up to me after the show...people I don't know, telling me what a beautiful girl and beautiful dancer you are. They tell me they couldn't take their eyes off of you, that your smile was so sweet and it was as if you were dancing for them. I am always amazed at this...not because I don't agree because you know I do. But I never stop to think that others are enjoying your performance as much as I am. And they say how nice you are to the other girls, especially the younger ones, helping them with little tips along the way.



We can't wait to see you in the Nutcracker and we will enjoy every moment of every scene, clapping loudly with tears in our eyes...tears of joy! I love you!


There is also another person who makes us proud, who does everything she can to help you follow your dream. That would be your sister Jordan, who is your biggest fan. (Well, besides me:-) I know you sometimes get frustrated with her but she thinks you deserve all the best parts all the time:-) While you are backstage preparing for the show, you do not get to see your little sister and how excited she is for you. She loves it and clearly she is very proud of you. She sacrifices a lot for your dancing...sometimes willingly and sometimes not so willingly...but deep down she knows this is what makes you happy and more than anything she wants you to be happy. I feel the same way but I'm your mom...I'm supposed to feel that way:-) Somehow it is even more remarkable coming from your sister.


To Jordan, I am so very proud of you also. In addition to being an amazing daughter, you are so supportive of your sister and understanding when night after night, we have to make that long drive to dance.

You agreed to take tennis lessons at a new location that was in the same part of town as the ballet studio, just to make my life a bit easier. Even though I know you now love it, I realize it was a sacrifice and I am very grateful to you for doing this. Thank you for all that you do to help me...with dinner, the puppies, keeping me company in the car...you know. I couldn't do it without you. I love you, my Starbucks buddy:-)!

Well girlfriends, this has been a crazy December for us. From being sick to dance rehearsals to unexpected company, we are way behind in the usual stuff...like shopping, baking, decorating, watching Christmas movies.

But we are blessed more than most because we have each other.

From the land of sugarplums and marzipans...

Suzanne

There's a Fairy in My House...

...a "Dew Drop Fairy," that is.
Thanks for the many good wishes sent Taylor's way as she went for her Nutcracker auditions.

She found out today that she will be the Dew Drop Fairy...dancing the solo in The Waltz of the Flowers, as well as demi-soloist in the following...Spanish (Chocolate), the Russian dance, and a Snowflake. She will also dance the role of the Harlequin doll in the party scene. (The music playing in the background is from The Waltz of the Flowers.)



Do you think she is just a little excited???? Um...yeah, I'd say so. She has a hard time focusing on much of anything these days besides dance. She was reading me her science essay the other day and stopped in the middle of it to talk about how many pirouettes she did or something like that. I can only imagine where her head will be as December comes closer:-)

Anyway, thanks again everyone!

Good Luck to My Ballerina...

Today is Pink Saturday...and it is also audition day for the Nutcracker.

To my sweet Taylor I would like to say...




Good Luck...or "Bonne Chance" in French.
(I told you I was going to start learning to speak french:-)

Visit How Sweet The Sound for more Pink Saturday!

And don't forget to enter the giveaway. See below or click here for more details!!!