More Circus Pics....

"The Greatest Show on Earth"

Yee Hoo!! We had a blast tonight at the circus with our friends...the Smiths! We went to the "Greatest Show on Earth" with some of the "Greatest Friends on Earth"! It really was a lot of fun! We made a pact to only get them ONE thing each...Ian, Radlee and Maddie chose a snow cone in a clown cup and Emma chose a tiger stuffed animal. It was hard to stick to this pact for us parents believe it or not! You'd think that with the OUTRAGEOUS prices, we would have not had a problem, but I think we wanted the kids to have all of this fun stuff more than they did (the light up spinny things, light up swords, binoculars and such)! BUT...we did it!! We kept the pact. Adam almost blew it for the Helton team (almost caved in and bought a couple of things), but he stayed strong! I'm just glad we made it there at all. Believe it or not, I took a nap at 1:30pm and didn't wake up until 5:30pm!!! Can you believe that (we were supposed to get together much earlier than that)? I woke up in the biggest panic of my life I think. I couldn't tell which end was up or even if I was dreaming or what! Christy had tried calling me/us a BUNCH apparently, but that doesn't work when your home phone ringer is off and you also can't hear your cell phone ring when it is on low ring and the bedroom door is shut! She thought we were lying in our house with carbon monoxide poisoning or something because she couldn't find us...even Adam didn't answer his calls because he was in an appointment! I felt really bad (sorry again Christy)...but thankfully, it all worked out! God allowed us to get 2 parking spaces right in front though...that was cool. No joke...it was CRAZINESS! I guess I needed that sleep, huh?? (The kids did too)!

Well...I'm thankful for great friends and good memories, (and that none of the things I was thinking at the Circus happened like high wires breaking or trapeze artists flying out into the crowd)....:-)

Before and After...

Well, "hair's the story"....yesterday Emma and Maddie got their hair cut together and it was so exciting! Let me backtrack a little...Emma has had this haircut before (last year), and has been begging for us to let her get it short again. I personally secretly wanted for her to let it grow out long again, so there was this struggle sort of and I always found ways to "postpone" the hair cut. Well, I know that Emma has a right to her own hairstyle (to a point ofcourse) and I soon realized (and have really always known) that she was her own person and has her own ideas of what she wanted HER hair to look like! So, with that, there isn't much to do than to back down and give in to such a simple request. To put my own wishes on the back burner and to let her be independent in this area (an area that God is working on me for sure...letting them have more independence lately). So, when our friends were over yesterday it seemed an ideal time to let Emma get her hair cut with her friend Maddie who has also been wanting this haircut for a while. The haircut pursuit for Emma and Maddie became even stronger when their friend Gracie got this precious cut last week!! So, off we went to the local Supercuts!! I wasn't nervous until they sat in the chairs and I thought..."Oh goodness...what if these folks don't know what they are doing with this style of cut?!?" I tried to remain calm and make it a fun time for them. And it was!! Gracie was there to be the beauticians' example...those girls laughed...giggled...laughed...and giggled and then cracked up some more! Then they all gathered up the hair Emma's and Maddie's) in little strips which I think grossed the stylists out...but oh well. It was really a great memory for them I know. My kids, Melissa's kids and Christy's kids have all been friends since birth. It is such a joy to see them playing well together and enjoying each other.

Loving our friends....

Today we had our friends over to play...and play they did!! They all dressed up in different things and did a little face art with some not so waterproof markers...ha! Maddie was an "underwater skater fairy", Hannah was a "cute little kitty cat", Grace was an "elegant pretty princess", Abbie was a "snow princess", Emma was a "classy clown", Gabe was "the Hulk", Ian was "a wittle baby", and Reggie was "a dog" (HA)! Aren't they cute?! Check out the goofy picture...I think Ian almost swallowed that binky! We sure do have a great time with our friends!

Emma's basketball skills...

Emma played her first Upward Basketball game of the season last Saturday. This is her third year to play. All three years she has been coached by the cutest, most athletic and skillful coach...her Daddy! She is really got some "skilz"! She is especially good at dribbling down the court...as you can see in the pic. She is all business when it comes to sports, but she especially seems to have a knack for basketball just like her Dad :-). Adam was SO excited that this year's color for the jerseys was none other than....CELTICS green!!! Each year we have watched Emma improve in so many areas....she really gives it her all on the court. She made two baskets this first game...yee hoo! We are very proud of her in so many ways. We thank God for Emma and Ian.

Friends

I just love my friends. I enjoyed spending time with both of these friends today, and I just wanted to share my heart about them. Christy and Melissa are truly a couple of the greatest friends anyone could ask for. God has truly blessed me with these girls and their families to go through life with! I can call either of them at any time and they are there to lend an ear, laugh with, cry with, and they are friends that I can really be myself with. It isn't the easiest thing for me to be "the real me" with everyone. I mean, I can be me, but I don't just let anyone in to know the real and vulnerable me all that often...make sense?? I tend to keep my guard up a lot of times and not let too many people in my "vulnerable" place...but, not with these two. They always have good Godly advice to give me in times of weakness or problem. I believe God uses them to speak conviction and change on my heart to be more like Jesus more than they even realize. I just wanted to give a shout out to the gals that I hold dear to my heart. "A friend loves at all times" Proverbs 17:17a

A Happy New Years show

On New Years Day Emma and Ian performed a fabulous show that they had made up together! They got all dressed up (as you can see) and did a song and dance with the new years blower horns. It was about the cutest doggone thing I have ever seen! They were so proud of their show and so were Adam and I!
(Notice...Ian has on a suit and tie...without a shirt...:-))

A Wonderful Christmas

What a Merry Christmas our family had! We enjoyed lots of time with our family. Emma got "Molly" an American Girl doll...and by the pic, you can see the excitement on her face when she opened her! Ian got a "Batcave"...yes, a batcave! He was super excited too as you can see! We are thankful for Christmas memories full of love.