Two Weekends of Shows

 *Photos by Theater Academy of Delmarva*

Wow! Eight public shows and one school show over two weekends. I watched 4 of those shows and previewed the video that they showed the cast. Somehow it never got old watching my girl!

Aliza was confident in dancing, singing and acting. Her smile lit up the stage (there was a reason the yellow costume was chosen for her) and her inner beauty was shining right through her outer beauty.

So many friends and family came to watch Aladdin. Aliza's Aunt Linda even made a quick trip from Indiana to be at a show.

I thought intermission was a little long, but Aliza informed me that she needed every minute of that intermission to take off the blue genie makeup and re-apply regular makeup.

Aliza only auditioned to be part of the featured dancers. In January she added the role of hand maiden which she shared with another girl. That role included a quartet singing Palace Walls. Aliza was one of two featured dancers that had a microphone for the whole performance. She sang all of the numbers--while she was dancing.

 

Being a homeschooling mom, I always have, in the back of my mind, the little question of how my kiddos will do in the "real" world. Aliza did this thing all on her own and she flew. She was a friend and made friends. She thrived...and struggled...and persevered...and ultimately loved the experience.

Joy Dare::April

 10,060. Saturday morning rain and thunderstorm = a copy pajama morning
10,061. Another fascinating book
10,062. Pizza for supper
10,063. Palm Sunday worship
10,064. Sunday afternoon rest
10,065. Planning a new week
10,066. Outside time with Isaiah
10,067. Scrapbooking with Janell
10,068. Friends to encourage Aliza
10,069. Weeding flowerbeds
10,070. Finished standardized testing
10,071. Isaiah driving the lawnmower
10,072. Another gorgeous day
10,073. Mowing grass
10,074. Asking the right question
10,075. Porch time with a friend
10,076. Easter egg hunt before the storm
10,077. Aliza home safely
10,078. Sourdough pizza crust--success!
10,079. Good Friday service
10,080. Another spring ready flowerbed

10,081. Chatting with Mom
10,082. Easter Sunday morning
10,083. Aliza signing a song during worship
10,084. Friends to surround me
10,085. Under pressure, Aliza handled herself with restraint
10,086. A really nice Easter afternoon with my family
10,087. Egg hunt and candy trading
10,088. Having a baby hang out with us today

10,089. Good standardized test scores
10,090. A new-to-me coffee shop
10,091. New daffodils

10,092. Exodus 14:13-14
10,093. Choosing words
10,094. Affirmations
10,095. Loving our girl
10,096. Jeremy beside me
10,097. Chick Fil A for lunch
10,098. My Moms
10,099. Playing outside after supper
10,100. Josiah's heart
10,101. Friday evening unwinding
10,102. Isaiah making a friend
10,103. Sitting around the table talking
10,104. Feeling much more settled
10,105. Choosing Sabbath rest
10,106. Intentional parenting
10,107. All the spring green
10,108. Dogwood blooms
10,109. Janell--our last dance Monday evening for the season
10,110. Josiah helping makes suppers
10,111. Aliza taking a courageous step
10,112. Healthy teeth
10,113. "Aunting"
10,114. Crying through Aliza's dance
10,115. Elizabeth
10,116. Josiah's nighttime conversations
10,117. Working in the yard
10,118. Fries and shakes after dentist appointments
10,119. Just keeping on doing the best I can
10,120. Dress rehearsal excitement
10,121. McDonalds with friends
10,122. Grandma and Grandpa arriving
10,123. All the preparation for dance recital
10,124. Watching my girls dance
10,125. Much needed rain
10,126. Driving time with Aliza
10,127. An evening with Anna
10,128. Laughing over supper with Grandma and Grandad
10,129. Catching a glimpse of Aliza's show
10,130. Isaiah holding baby

 10,131. Aliza blazing her own trail
10,132. Hanging out at Mom and Dad's house
10,133. Fresh air this afternoon
10,134. Enjoying another book by Charles Martin
10,135. Baby Quinn time
10,136. Quiet days before busy evenings
10,137. Missionary stories
10,138. Enough energy for another late night
10,139. Baby sleeping in my arms
10,140. An evening at Grandma and Grandad's house
10,141. The earliest night of the week
10,142. Watching Aliza in Aladdin for the first time
10,143. Grandma and Grandpa arrived safely in the rain
10,144. Late night family silliness
10,145. Watching Aladdin with the whole family
10,146. BBQ chicken supper feels like summer cooking
10,147. Josiah and Anna talking their Dad into ice cream
10,148. Sitting in church as a family
10,149. An encouraging youth led outreach service
10,150. All the Mom feelings

Tech Week

 Our first ever Tech Week and I can say we survived!

Aliza and I had lots of car time together on the drives to and from Pocomoke for practice. Most days I made two trips to and from Pocomoke. I would drop off Aliza at the theater, come home and make supper and then go back to Mom and Dad's house until Aliza texted me that she was finished and ready to be picked up.

Here's how the week went:
Sunday 1:00-7:30
Monday 4:30-10:15
Tuesday 4:45-10:00
Wednesday 5:00-10:30
Thursday 6:30-8:30 (that was such a huge gift!)

And those times are when Aliza texted me that she was ready to be picked up. It was 45 minutes later than that until we got home.

Aliza missed her non-theater friends so much. Alena surprised her on Tuesday. Alena walked up to Aliza's room unannounced with an Island Creamery milkshake. It totally made Aliza's day!

By Wednesday it was getting pretty rough.

She made it through Thursday on sheer will power. She slept 11 hours Thursday night and let school go to be ready for the first show Friday night.

This week I've decided that behind every Hype Girl is a Calm Mama holding all the pieces together.

 

Dance Weekend

 I'm finding that I have fewer words and bigger feelings about these events as my girls get older.

Aliza had a super fun jazz dance to Surf Crazy that included beach towels, beach balls, inner tubes and a bucket of "water" confetti at the end.

Anna LOVED her tap costume that had fringe, armbands, pearl necklace and feather hairpiece.

Anna's lyrical song was Yellow Flicker Beat from Hunger Games. This was her first intense, moody lyical dance and she loved it. Meanwhile, I'm not a fan of Hunger Games at all and I was trying to figure out how Anna was old enough to dance this dance. This year Anna moved in to a teen dance class which means she had some catching up to do at the beginning of the year and was the youngest in her class.

  

 Recital ended with a showcase of 7 songs from the The Greatest Showman. Aliza's class danced to Never Enough. It was gorgeous. I saw it a couple days before recital and had tears running down my face. It was a bit of a ridiculous "Mom moment."

Anna's jazz dance was This Is Me. It was like the dance was choreographed for Anna which almost made me tear up during recital.

We love having Grandma and Grandpa here for recital weekend.

Grandma and a bunch of aunts and uncles came to dress rehearsal or recital.

Aliza received her 10 year trophy and Anna her 6 year medal.

 

Easter Fun

 After a really nice Easter church service, we spent the afternoon and evening with my family.

A bunch of the cousins are calling this their last Easter egg hunt. They found their eggs really fast and then there were 5 left. Those last 5 were hard to find. I predict that Uncle John hid those eggs!

And then the candy trading began. These business dealings are amusing to watch. Josiah and Caleb were working together to create a monopoly. Laura always reminds everyone that Sean is the littlest and not to take advantage of him.

Isaiah ended up with a whole pile of Tootsie Roll lollipops.

A day spent with family is always a good day!
 

Aliza's Youngest Friends

 

 Aliza has the cutest young friends. These two LOVE to come over to our house and when it's time to leave they start negotiating to come over again in one, two or three days! Aliza gives them every bit of her attention. I don't even know what all they play--usually hide and seek at some point. They keep Aliza busy though! It really is the sweetest friendship to watch.

Joy Dare::March

 9967. A husband that pitches in on the dirty work of parenting (ie. cleaning up explosive throw up)
9968. Hearing how God is working
9969. Connecting with a neighbor
9970. Watching students make progress in ESL
9971. The chess games continue
9972. Jeremy has come home before supper all week
9973. Celebrating Aliza
9974. Cooking a birthday supper
9975. Another week of school finished
9976. An afternoon with our families
9977. Unloading and loading the dishwasher again
9978. Brothers sharing a bed for the weekend
9979. Scripture being read in 8 languages
9980. Arby's lunch with Grandma and Grandpa
9981. Date evening
9982. A really good talk with Anna
9983. Walking around a couple stores
9984. Aliza is doing really well in choir
9985. Talking to Chrissy
9986. Hot tea
9987. Pictures in scrapbooks
9988. An hour to read alone
9989. Clean car
9990. Sunny days
9991. Celebrating Jeremy
9992. Steak dinner and cowboy cookies
9993. Writing scrapbook journaling cards
9994. Isaiah's multiple good byes and messages
9995. Staying up way too late talking
9996. Speakers that make me want to take notes
9997. Morning worship
9998. Winning a silly game
9999. Coming home to my family
10,000 10 years later---gifts never end and joy abounds

10,001. Talking after church
10,002. Making plans for the summer
10,003. Writing with Josiah
10,004. Anna's costumes and dances
10,005. So many growing up conversations
10,006. Writing with Anna
10,007. Josiah had a fun afternoon
10,008. Playing with Isaiah
10,009. Missionary stories
10, 010. Aliza's dances and costumes
10,011. Listening to my children share their testimony
10,012. A really fun concert
10,013. Hanging out with our kids and their friends
10,014. Isaiah had the best time with Ezra
10,015. Our very flexible schedule
10,016. Evening light to be outside after supper
10,017. Friends that are as close as sisters
10,018. I didn't know that I needed to go to Hobby Lobby with my Mom
10,019. Pictures in frames
10,020. Mom and Dad sitting with us in church
10,021. Isaiah and Anna reading in front in church
10,022. Anna's first youth group event
10,023. An evening with Isaiah
10,024. Family
10,025. Learning
10,026. Getting it done on a Monday

10,027. A fragrant daffodil
10,028. Elizabeth
10,029. Laughing until I was crying with Aliza
10,030. A hint of warm in the air
10,031. Cleaned out a flowerbed
10,032. Getting home before everyone else
10,033. Perfect afternoon to be outside
10,034. Celebrating a birthday in ESL
10,035. Making Josiah laugh in a serious picture
10,036. Walking outside this morning
10,037. My testimony is written
10,038. Peppermint tea and watching The Chosen made a good Friday evening
10,039. A rainy Saturday made for a relaxing day
10,040. Jeremy helped make a loaf of sourdough bread
10,041. Committing to be part of a church
10,042. Anna so relaxed and relieved
10,043. An "extra" car to share
10,044. Playing catch with Isaiah
10,045. This year Josiah grew 5 inches
10,046. Help to take care of recycling
10,047. Anna had so much fun at dance
10,048. Making everyone's favorite supper
10,049. An evening to be alone
10,050. Pulling out the construction pictures
10,051. Anna and Isaiah finishing a subject
10,052. Family and friends
10,053. Our God who knows and sees us
10,054. Celebrating ESL
10,055. Glasses
10,056. Birds chirping
10,057. Mom, Meghan, cousins
10,058. Catching up with Chrissy
10,059. Giggling over Isaiah's sleep walking antics