Joy Dare::April

 13,246. Homemade sourdough whole wheat bread
13,247. A really fun Easter party
13,248. Watching the Artemis II launch
13,249. Spending the afternoon with Melinda
13,250. Taking advantage of the really close Chick Fil A
13,251. Seeing Mom for a few minutes
13,252. Good Friday Scripture and songs
13,253. Being a big sister
13,254. Brian knows when to call me
13,255. Jeremy has the brush pile burned
13,256. An afternoon of Easter cooking and baking
13,257. A morning to work in the yard
13,258. Walking into church on Easter morning
13,259. Isaiah walked me to the car with an umbrella
13,260. Inside Easter egg hunt
13,261. Thoroughly clean kitchen
13,262. Easter dinner leftovers
13,263. Planning with Aliza
13,264. Coffee in a greenhouse
13,265. Anna made it through dance
13,266. Just doing what I can
13,267. Concentrating on school this morning
13,268. Getting some extra things done this morning
13,269. Aliza was successful on a huge test
13,270. Sean excited to be at "Aunt Carla's" house
13,271. Reconnecting with an acquaintance
13,272. Proverbs 3:5-6
13,273. Shopping for a bridal shower gift
13,274. Finding pictures of Josiah
13,275. Watching Artemis II land
13,276. Sitting at a fun table for the bridal shower
13,277. Mowed grass
13,278. Jeremy determined to fix the car A/C
13,279. Morning with Anna
13,280. Bible study discussion
13,281. Holding Aliza
13,282. Anna spending the evening with Janell  

13,283. Sisters praying together

13,284. Tech week driving
13,285. Testing finished
13,286. Isaiah happily helped me clean the porch
13,287. Anna's last dance class for the year
13,288. Early morning pulling weeds
13,289. Meeting one of my customer friends
13,290. Christie called at just the right time
13,291. Allie here for the day
13,292. Isaiah was ok with missing PE today
13,293. Stopping in at Mom's house
13,294. House is clean for company
13,295. Seeing Anna's dances for the first time
13,296. Hearing about Aliza's first show
13,297. Jeremy got to recital after changing the flat tire
13,298. Anna's dance recital
13,299. Perfect evening to be outside
13,300. Watching Ronan play
13,301. Experiencing The Lion King
13,302. Anna had a happy evening
13,303. Tired and we did all the things
13,304. Home this evening
13,305. Ice cream with Aliza
13,306. Car time with Josiah
13,307. Full table for supper
13,308. An evening at home
13,309. Jeremy handles stress with grace
13,310. Isaiah and Anna excited about new shoes
13,311. So many flowers on the counter
13,312. Grace for inconvenience
13,313. Teaching English
13,314. Flowerbeds spring cleaned
13,315. A little bit of rain
13,316. Coffee/Talk therapy
13,317. "Faith is the path peace."
13,318. Spending time with Bea and Andy
13,319. Family gathering
13,320. "The Blessing"
13,321. Watching The Lion King one more time
13,322. Pictures
13,323. Isaiah finished another subject!
13,324. Aliza home for lunch and supper
13,325. Hearing lots of laughter
13,326. Inviting people in
13,327. Isaiah is a great helper.
13,328. Waking up to birds chirping
13,329. Anna accepted an invitation on her own.
13,330. Making Isaiah my morning buddy
13,331. Trying to be a good friend
13,332. Finishing the ESL year
 

Theater Weekend

 I found that I was much more relaxed watching Aliza dance in Lion King than I was when she had a leading role in Little Mermaid last year! This year Aliza's main role was assisting the director as a student intern. Aliza did all of the communication with parents, planned the Christmas party, was part of every rehearsal, attended most of the costume, set and tech meetings, and had many brainstorming phone calls with the director. AND Aliza also got to dance as a lioness. 

Aliza got to dance with her cousins again. 

Grandma and Grandpa and Joel, Amanda and Ronan were able to come for the show. Ronan was not a fan of Aliza being a lioness. 

Anna and I were in attendance three times. I love watching Aliza in the world that is all her own. 

I cried after the last show. Aliza had the privilege of seeing a few glimpses of how she had impacted some of the younger girls in the cast. I knew how hard Aliza worked, how much she cared about the cast and how much she loves dancing. After the last bow, I saw Aliza point up to God and knew that she was acknowledging that this was her last performance and all glory goes to God.