Snow Day - Part One!!

The snow started Christmas night and the forecast said it was supposed to last through the early hours of the morning. The weather man predicted 4-6 inches so when I woke up that morning, I felt like a little kid again trying to see how much snow we actually got. I jumped out of bed at about 6:00 a.m. I ran to the breakfast window and everything was covered in a blanket of white. It was hard to tell from the window how deep the snow was. Mom was the only other person that was awake at that point so I told her we should go out and explore before everyone else woke up. She thought that was a great idea so we put on our multiple layers - we don't mess around with about 3 pairs of pants and about 5 shirts - attached our Walmart sacks to our ankles to protect our shoes from the moisture, and headed out to explore.

 

We attempted to leave the house from the backyard because Mom didn't want our footprints to mess up the snow since we were going to be taking pictures. (I come by my obsessive behavior honestly.) The snow in the back almost went up to my knees.

 

 

 

 

I used the word "attempted" earlier because when I got over to the gate, it was iced shut. That's when I made the executive decision we needed to exit the house from the garage. Here is my Honda.

 

 

View from the driveway

 

 

Front of Mom's house

 

Side of Mom's house



Snowy Sunrise



 

Mom told me to pose...

 

 

Park where Kayla always plays

Mom's address



 

Measurement taken off my car...we couldn't find a ruler so we had to use measuring tape and once it hit the 1/2 inch of ice, it wouldn't go down any further.

 

 

Part two of our snow day will contain the rest of the family and our snow expedition.

 

 

Christmas Day

It's a Shirley tradition for all of the girls to wear matching pajamas. And because we know our mother very well, we know she will want to take a multitude of pictures on Christmas day. Knowing this, I wanted to be presentable and asked Rhyan if she would fix my hairsince she has a knack for giving it body that I can never achieve; I wanted to do two braids in Kayla's hair; Kayla thought it would be a good idea to fix Rapunzel's hair. And of course, Mom thought it would be a good idea to take a picture of our beauty shop.

 

To pass the time before dinner, Kayla thought it would be a good idea to bring her princesses into the study and show them the movie "Beauty and the Beast".

 

 

Something she always enjoys doing at Mom's is cleaning her floor with windex and paper towels. No, we are not cruel people who force our child into slavery. She actually enjoys cleaning. I wonder who she gets that from? 

 

Mom always does a beautiful arrangement on our table for special dinners.

 

 

Mom and Dad...married for 25 years, and still in love!

 

Rhyan, Kayla, and Mom

Fatty, Christina, and Josh...oh wait, that's me!

 



 

This picture was taken after she'd already opened about half of her gifts. Is our daughter slightly spoiled, the center of our family's universe, or both? I'll leave that to your discretion.

 

 

God gave us a special gift this Christmas...a winter storm that brought us 9 inches of snow in Sherwood. Brian was so upset he left early because we didn't get anything back home.

 

 



Christmas Eve

Since Christmas was over a month ago now, I decided today might be a good time to catch up on my blogging. MUCH has happened in our family so I'm just going to highlight some special moments.

One of my favorite gift ideas for Kayla to give to family is personalized pottery. There is quaint place in Bentonville called The Crafty Cottage. We've made a few things for NeNe, Papa, and Daddy there. On Friday, December 21st, she made coffee cups for Dad and Brian, and a plate for Mom for their Christmas presents this year.

On Sunday, December 23, Brian, Kayla, and I drove to Paragould, Arkansas to celebrate Christmas with Brian's sister, brother, parents, grandmother, and all of their kids. We stayed in a hotel, and it was the first time Kayla got to have a full size bed all to herself. She thought it was pretty awesome!

 

We left Paragould on Christmas Eve and headed for Mom and Dad's house in Sherwood. It was a team effort between Brian and Dad to get the fire started. Once they had it going, I had to take this picture of Dad and his accomplishment.

 

 

Mom and Kayla climbed under the tree to pick out the perfect first present to open.

 

 

Kayla LOVES Disney Princesses, so this was the perfect gift complete with Belle, Cinderella, Ariel, Merida, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Tiana.

 

 

Another exciting present was her Brave dress and bow and arrow set. She had to get some help from Papa and Daddy to figure out how to shoot her arrows.

 

 

 

Rhyan made everyone in the family vintage coffee cups since we all drink coffee (with the exception of Christina). She wanted to give Brian his gift since he had to leave to go back home on Christmas day due to the bad winter weather we were supposed to receive. Here is a photo of her awesome wrapping job. She dug the bows and paper out of the trash...and that is vintage Rhyan.

 

 

SoNA Saturday, Music, and Love



Brian likes to make Kayla breakfast on Saturday mornings. I normally won't eat his pancakes and real bacon, eggs, and sausage because it's so unhealthy. So, this Saturday I suggested we go to McDonald's. That way, I could eat my parfait and egg mcmuffin, and Brian and Kayla could eat their pancakes and sausage. After breakfast, I had to head down to rehearsal in Fayetteville for a performance I had Saturday night. I took this picture from my car in the McDonald's parking lot. All of the flags have been flying at half mast since the school shooting tragedy.

 

 

Our rehearsal began at 11:00 a.m. at the Walton Arts Center. The timpani, brass, and bass were directly to my left. It was loud, but cool to watch them play.

 



 

Here was my view of the SoNA (Symphony of Northwest Arkansas) singers and orchestra. Paul Haas, our conductor from NYC, is in the blue shirt on center left. He's pretty intense, funny, to the point, and VERY good at what he does!

 

Jessica and I brought our reading material so we weren't bored during the parts of the rehearsal where the symphony played and we just sat there. It was pretty cool that Terry sat us next to one another. Not only do we get to work together, but we also get to sing together in SoNA in the alto section. Jessica has a special place in my heart. She's a beautiful person, inside and out, and I never would have guessed when we hired her 1 1/2 years ago that she would become one of my good friends!

We had our performance Saturday night at 7:30. It was a sold out show. I had a moment during our performance. We were singing, "Let There Be Peace on Earth" and tears just started streaming down my face. Yes, it might have something to do with the pregnancy hormones. However, every musician has those moments when the music is so powerful and moving, and you realize the sounds you are a part of can only come from God and His Presence. When that happens, I have this moment of perfect peace. Those music moments serve as a reminder  for me that even though bad things happen, and we don't always understand why, God is in control. There is a special place in heaven for those babies and the adults who died trying to protect them. No one understands why God allowed this to happen, but who are we to question Him and His plan? My grandma always said, "Everything happens for a reason." That stands true for the good, as well as the bad. Sometimes, I lose sight of what is truly important. Life isn't about how great of a teacher or leader I am; it's not about how good I can sing or play piano; it doesn't really matter how high my degree is or whether or not I'm a National Board Certified teacher. Life is about letting my family and friends know day in and day out that they are loved. (I think I've given Kayla more love and attention the past two days, than I've given her in a long time.) It's that I let my students know I care for them even though they drive me crazy sometimes. It's that I lend a helping hand to someone, even it's something small. It's that I take time out of each day to spend time in prayer and let God know that He is important to me and that I'm truly grateful for all He's blessed me with. Life for all of us should be about spreading LOVE, for the Bible states "God is love" and therefore love is MUCH stronger than hate. Love will endure for eternity. As our encore song we sang on Saturday states, "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me."

 

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

A day to remember

Last Friday, December 14 began like any other day. Friday is my choir day at school, it was our last rehearsal in class before our concert which is this Thursday. My assistant director, Jessica had to be at OHMS for a performance there so I was a little stressed that morning. On my way to work, my mind was consumed with all that I had to do that day, and everything that goes into teaching 300 kids by myself. On my way to work, I saw this sunrise and it gave me a reminder that God is with me through everything...every moment of every day. 

 

 

The fact that I took this picture on that particular morning is now very ironic to me. At about 10:30 that morning, I called Brian to see how his day was going. He said it was going well except for the school shooting in Connecticut. I asked him "What shooting?" because I had been teaching all morning. He told me some armed men went into an elementary school. He didn't know any more information. I went to msnbc.com to see what was going on. They had a live video feed and were focused on the school and parking lot, but weren't reporting any loss of life. By the time I got out of school that afternoon at 2:40, it was reported that 26 adults and children had lost their lives. I was on my way to watch Kayla's Christmas play at her school. I cried the entire way there. Once I arrived, I just wanted to give her a huge hug and tell her how much I love her. It was fresh on my mind there are 20 sets of parents in Connecticut who will never get to hug their child again.

 

 

The performance was in the chapel of Central United Methodist Church. Here's a full view of all the kids. There's something wrong with my camera lens though, because it was blurry every time I tried to focus. Kayla's class were the sheep and shepherds.

 

 

She was one of the cutest sheep I've ever seen.

 

And of course, she got to see Santa, and told him "I want a purple pony puzzle."

 

Once we got back in her classroom, she got to open her present from Miss Lisa.

 

It was a chocolate penguin and she was so happy about it!

 

It was a tough day, but I felt fortunate that I got to end it with my baby girl in my arms.

 

 

Big News...

So...

 

It's odd to me that exactly four years ago on December 29th, Brian and I found out we were pregnant with Kayla. This past weekend, we found out we were pregnant with number two!! We are so excited and happy!!! However, I'm a natural worrier so please start praying now for me and our baby.

Pixar Party

This past Saturday, December 8, I took Kayla to a really cool party. It was Izzy Mendoza's fourth birthday party. The party began with this mission from a "man in black" on her parents iPad: "You must rescue the toy soldiers from "Evil Dr. Pork Chop" before you receive your reward of cake and ice cream." He gave the kids seven or eight tasks, and once they achieved each task, they received a badge to put on their sash. It was such a cute idea, and Kayla had a blast!

 

 

Toddler Toy Soldiers

 

 

Brave prepping her arrow so she can shoot at the target...

 

 

 Kayla in "Ratatouille's Kitchen" helping him make rainbow spagetti. She chose red for her food coloring which is currently her favorite color.

 

Rainbow spagetti and celtic knots...

 



 

The kids rescued the toy soldiers from the pinata version of Nemo, and after they completed their mission, they got their cake and ice cream. :)

Wicker Hair Salon

I've tried to document all of Kayla's firsts....her first smile, laugh, tooth, her first crawl and steps, her first word, her first birthday, her first time to sing a song, etc. This is another first I don't want to forget...the first time she brushed my hair. Almost every night after her bath, I brush her hair and then put it in a pony tail. Unless she says, "Mommy, I want to leave it down so it will blow in the wind." Now, I'm still trying to figure out what colossal winds are inside our house, but Brian and I just go with it. The other night, we took a bath together, and afterwards, she asked me if she could brush my hair. Of course I said, "Yes." It hurt a WHOLE lot, but it was definitely worth the memory!

Lake Windsor

When I first moved to Bella Vista, I had a condominium that had a view of Lake Windsor in Bella Vista. I kind of like to think of it as "my lake" even though we no longer have a house on it. I would lay out on "my" dock (even though it was my neighbors, he would let me use it); my friends Joe and Lindsey would take me out on it in their old fishing boat; I went water skiing on it for the first time; I watched countless sunsets over it from my old deck and my bedroom window; mine and Brian's first official date was dinner on my deck that overlooked Lake Windsor; one day I was on my dock, it was very quiet and I was in a VERY rough place in my life! I heard church bells and followed the sound to a white steeple I could see off in the distance over the lake...that's how I found my church (and no, I didn't just make up that story). Suffice it to say, Lake Windsor holds a special place in my heart. I'd like to think that maybe some day, we'll be able to buy a house overlooking this lake. Anyway...I take Kayla out to the ramp there sometimes to throw rocks. Here are a few pictures I took one sunny day in October.

 

I'm so happy my girl isn't all princess and enjoys some "boy activities" like playing in the mud and throwing rocks.