Going Ons {April 2014}

Wow ... another month has just flown by. I wish I had more time to keep my blog updated but, there are just not enough hours in the day! So, I have decided my goal will be to update once a month with a review of our "going ons". {Pictured above - spring has sprung!}

{Ballet picture week ... so glad this is done and behind us}

{We got a new black kitty named Binx}

{Our Classical Conversations school wrapped up with a fun dinner and awards night}

{The girls performed as part of a trio in their choir spring musical}

{A quick trip to Asheville to spend Easter with my family}

{Lexi performed a short dance piece for her GA's skit night}

{Devin enjoyed some great baseball games with his middle school team}

{Crunch time for these two girls - as they spent countless hours rehearsing for their dance competition}

{Lexi graduated from GA's ... on to middle school}

Disney {2014}

Our Walt Disney World last minute vacation did not disappoint ... beautiful weather, amazing hotel room with a spectacular view of Epcot and firework. We could not have asked for a more wonderful, last minute, time away. It was a great time in warm weather after a crazy winter!

{View from hotel room}

{My husband and son were able to take in a Braves Spring Training game}

{Fish n Chips in Great Britain in Epcot}

Going Ons {March 2014}

Here's what we have been up to ...

Spring means our lives seem to get crazier and crazier ... it gets worse as the kids get older and we have more commitments. 

Wish I had more time to blog everything we do but, there are just never enough hours in the day. So a quick look into our going ons ...

Ava Mae donated 12 inches of her hair to Locks of Love ... she loves the new hairstyle and I am finally getting how to create a professional looking ballet bun with little hair to work with.

Devin got braces ... he really wanted to wait until he was old enough for Invisaligns but, we convinced him to go ahead and get it over with. He seems to be adjusting well. Two in braces ... so glad Ava Mae is still a few years off. Braces are EXPENSIVE!

Lexi is working so hard with her very good friend and dance bud, Ellie, to prepare for their duo in an upcoming dance competition. They are learning lots ... most importantly ... they are finding out the hard work and dedication that must go in to preparing for a dance competition. It is nothing like the small snippet they see on Dance Moms.

In other news, our yard is finally back to good condition - lots of clean up from the horrible storm that literally blew through a few weeks ago. The insurance adjuster finally made it out and our fence has been repaired!

Classical Conversations (our hybrid school) is finishing up and the kids are working hard on their 24 weeks of memory work. We are proofing now ... Devin is going for Memory Master and the girls are going for Jr. Memory Master. We are happy to be returning to CC again next year. Devin and Lexi will move into Challenge A. Ava Mae will continue in Foundations and I look forward to tutoring the Masters class.

And, surprise, we are wrapping up our month by heading off on an early Spring Break to Walt Disney World. {My husband's boss gave up his spot, at a conference in Disney} Looking forward to some spring like temps in Florida and spending a few days in the parks.

Father Daughter Dance {2014}

Hard to believe it has been five years since the first Father Daughter Dance - Lexi and Ava Mae attended. The girls look forward to this night all year. They love getting the opportunity to dance the night away with their Dad and friends.

We started the day early at a friend's home doing hair and makeup.

Then it was off to the salon for nails. Such a fun time!

Snowpocalypse 2014

Normally, the news of a possible snow storm in Atlanta makes me happy but, for some reason on Tuesday I was just not feeling it. I awoke around 3:30am to my weather radio app going off stating we were now in a Winter Storm Warning area. The night before when I had headed off to sleep the news was calling for a light dusting of snow here in our northern suburb of Atlanta ... that normally equates to a few snow flurries. Even the local weather forecasters at around 6:30am on Tuesday morning really seemed to still be downplaying any snow we were going to get. My husband headed off to work and the kids and I began our normal homeschool routine - we had no idea what was about to come.

When the snow began around 10:30am we had the typical flurries but, an hour later it was still coming down and appeared to be getting a little bit heavier. I texted with my husband - he said his office was going to release early but, still at that point later in the afternoon. I told him as long as he was on the road by 2pm I figured he would be fine. By 12:30pm when the snow began to really stick and the cars behind our home on a busy road were bumper to bumper I called my husband and told him best to get in the car and head our way. Needless to say, he never made it more than 1.5 miles from his office and even that short distance took over 3 hours. We decided his best bet was to head back to the office and wait it out or, plan to hunker down there for the night, like several of my other friends' husbands were doing at their offices. My husband was not able to actually make it back to his office by car ... he abandoned his SUV in a parking lot and hiked the rest of the way back - walking back into his office at 4:30pm.

The day went on ... my husband and I chatted several times trying to come up with a plan - he had no food, did not have any winter gear with him other than a jacket, and his office was turning off the heat (preferring people not stay there) - we found no hotel rooms within 10 miles with a vacancy - he had attempted to get food from a Publix and Costco within a block or two of his office but, both had closed. Things just seemed to go from bearable to bad quickly!

The news began reporting the horrid situation ... people were stuck everywhere ... interstates were becoming parking lots. Jackknifed semis, clogged side streets, tons of fender benders, school buses not able to get kids home.

When the kids and I sat down to an early dinner we prayed for protection for both my husband and all the people stuck in this mess.

Right after dinner I got on Facebook and found that an old friend from MOMS Club, Michelle Solictio, had begun a Facebook Group called SnowedOutAtlanta. What a miracle worker she was!! Hundreds of people at that point were offering up shelter or assistance to those trapped in the storm ... we posted offering up our home to anyone stuck on the road behind us either walking or driving. Later in the evening, we even attempted to help a man find a place for his 64 year old mother - who had been stuck for hours trying to get home. See she had remained at a local school getting all the kids on buses, so by the time she had attempted to get home it was too late. Her car had run out of gas ... her cell phone was dying ... she was on foot in East Cobb walking trying to find somewhere to go. I posted on my own personal Facebook page where she was and all of my friends in that area jumped into action offering up their homes. Thankfully, as she was walking to one of those homes her son found a friend in that area with a 4 x 4 vehicle who was able to pick her up and they decided to camp out at the Walmart just down the street.

And, then a gift from God ... a family posts on SnowedOutAtlanta they are willing to take in anyone stranded ... she describes where they are located and I realize it is just a block from my husband's office! I responded and she immediately posts her cell phone number. I call her and the first words out of this woman's mouth were "tell me what we can do". We chatted briefly and I immediately called my husband and gave him the good news ... he made contact and was off hiking to their home. This wonderful family blessed my husband more than they will ever know - they had even been through their own ordeal getting home. The husband had to abandon his own car on a major thoroughfare and hike home but, at 11:30pm they opened their door - welcomed my husband in - cooked him something to eat and gave him a guest bedroom for the night.

The next morning we used SnowedOutAtlanta to check the routes my husband could possibly take home ... the family he was staying with gave him a ride to his car and he was off, as soon as we found the roads were open. Just 24 hours after he first left the office to come home ... he walked up our street (which was still to icy to drive up)! We were so happy to see him ... so thankful to people like Michelle and the family who took him in.

I loved being on Facebook and hearing all of these similar stories ... rejoicing with families as they welcomed loved ones home ... some who had to hike 5+ miles from their abandoned cars.

Yes, there is blame to be shared and hindsight is always 20/20. We will all learn from this event - so many lessons. For now, I choose to focus on all the good that came out of that horrendous day ... and, that's all I am going to say about that!

Looking Back {2013}

Tonight we will say good-bye to 2013 ... it has been a hard year to say the least. God had our family on a journey that required us to invest all of our time, money, and our hearts. We would never have imagined that the journey we were on would end this fall in such heartache.

While part of me would like to just pretend 2013 never happened I cannot look at it that way ... trials are a part of life. And, looking back at 2013 there were beautiful moments ... those were blessings in disguise now as I reflect on them ...

{Lots of ballet ...}

{... and baseball}

{Fun fieldtrips ... like this rock climbing one}

{Our family spent a month in a European country ~ amazing lessons in culture and history}

{Fun times with friends ...}

{... and family}

{Ave Mae cast as Cindy Lou in "How the Grinch Stole Found Christmas"}

Good-bye 2013!

Thanksgiving {2013}

This year we had what we could only call the Hallmark Thanksgiving ... my parent's invited us to join them in Asheville for Thanksgiving at their new home on top of a mountain. It was just the time away our family needed after a very rough few months.

We enjoyed spending time with family {6 out of 9 siblings were at Thanksgiving Dinner} and the kids loved playing with their cousins from Florida. My sister's little ones are just 1 and 2 years old and absolutely adorable.

Even Maggie, our golden retriever, came along for our family holiday ... she enjoyed countless hours outside being walking by many members of my family. She is now depressed after coming home to what she now must realize is a boring life.

And, what a blessing to be able to enjoy snow ... which arrived the day before Thanksgiving. {Pictured above, the kids with my mom and dad and below, my parent's new home}.

Ava Mae Turns "9"

Last week Ava Mae turned "9"! She was finally brave enough to get her ears pierced with a gift card she received from MeMaw and PawPaw. We celebrated a few days after her actual birthday with an Art Party {a more detailed post on that later}. Ava Mae invited over seven little girls who all enjoyed an afternoon of painting.

 Such a sweet group of crafty girls ... everyone went home with a painted canvas sporting their initial and a painted jewelry box.

Ava Mae our talented little dancer and acrobat! You are our vivacious little girl who never meets a stranger. Life with you is never dull!!! We love you!!