Seussical the Musical

Whew! I know it has been forever since I have posted, but I do have a pretty good excuse. I think I posted a while back that Riley auditioned for Tuscaloosa Children's Theatre's production of Seussical the Musical. She was cast as a fish, a hunch, and a circus performer. That's right - three different characters = three different costumes = 5 costume changes!!! At the beginning she had practice about one night a week. Then, after Spring Break, it became three nights a week. Last week was the doozy...dress rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday; 2 shows at 9 am and 12 pm for schools on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; a show at 7 pm on Friday night; 2 shows on Saturday at 2pm and 7 pm; and 1 show on Sunday at 2 pm....for a grand total of 10 shows. It was definitely an unforgettable experience. I know Riley had a blast. Some of her best friends from church were also in the play, and she made some new friends, as well. They ask the parents to chaperone 4 practices and 3 shows, so that took some time. But, it was worth it. I also got to know some moms and gained some new relationships in the process. Friends keep asking me, "Are you glad Seussical is over?" and I have to admit it is really a bittersweet feeling. I don't miss some of the stress, but I do miss seeing the people. We had a really good time and learned a lot. Here are some pics from the show....

Riley hammin' it up!

Horton the Elephant and Gertrude McFuzz

Riley, a circus performer and Carrye Ann, a Who

Riley and Katherine as fish

Mary Helen, a Who and Riley (early on when she wanted to wear the clown nose)

I have to brag on my sweet Riley. Thursday night, she and several friends auditioned for Tuscaloosa Children's Theater's production of "Seussical the Musical", a muscial based on the books of Dr. Seuss. We found out yesterday that she will be playing the part of a fish/hunches (not sure what that is)/circus-performer. She is sooooo excited and we are so proud of her. About 150 children, teenagers, and college students tried out, and only 80 were cast. It has already been a great experience, and I am sure she is going to learn so much. So, there is my brag for the day!

The Diamondbacks

Riley has just started playing Upward basketball, a church league here in town. Her team is the Diamondbacks, made up of 7 Kindergarten and 1st grade girls. She has had two games and loves it. She scored twice in the last game and played really good defense. Her age group doesn't officially keep score, but all the mamas in the stands do (our team has won both games!). We are so proud of her. Tim is her coach and they have had a "ball" (sorry!) together. I'm just having a hard time with the Friday night practices at 6pm. I guess it is better than being in the middle of the week...Here are some pics from courtside. Maybe this week I can get a picture of her actually making a shot. Until then...

Reflecting

I'm back. I've been in a blogging slump lately, but I think I am back to my old self.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. Tim and I have definitely grown over the past month. The experience of having a miscarriage strengthened our faith in God and our marriage. We are so thankful for good friends that held us, prayed with us and over us, cried with us, fed us, and looked for ways to serve us. My all time favorite Bible verse is Isaiah 40:28-31. I have it posted on my refrigerator because it reminds me every day just how powerful our Lord is. It says:

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

This verse says to me that God understands every trial that I am going through, and he is going to give me enough strength to get through it. Our Sunday school class is studying the book of James this quarter. How appropriate! James 1:2 says:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance. "

A friend of mine made the statement the other day that God picks us to experience certain trials. He knows me so well that he actually picked me to suffer through this and he is going to give me the strength to perservere. To top it all off, he is going to be with me every step of the way. What an awesome and reassuring thought!

Thanks again for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers! Happy Friday!

The First Two Days of Kindergarten

Yesterday was Riley's first day of Kindergarten. She has a wonderful teacher, who is very organized, energetic, and has a sugary sweet personality....three very important traits for a Kindergarten teacher to possess, in my opinion. Open house was Wednesday afternoon, so everything was fresh on Riley's mind yesterday morning. She remembered where her room was, what it looked like, and her teacher was a familiar face. Her classroom is decorated in bright colors, with books everywhere. Riley is in hog heaven. She did really well yesterday morning when we left her in her classroom. She didn't cry and to my surprise, neither did I!!

Today, when I dropped her off, she did even better. I had to remind her to sign her name in the notebook, but after that she went straight to her table and got to work. When I picked her up, today, she couldn't stop talking about all the fun things they did. Her favorite was looking for clues that Chester the Raccoon left. They went searching all over the school...library, music room, art room, cafeteria, and office...looking for Chester. Finally when they got back to their room, he had left a note and a treat. Riley's teacher told me that Riley found the note and read it to the class. She is such a big girl.

Riley is 5!

Riley's gymnastics birthday party was a success....sorry it has taken me so long to post about it!!! She and her friends had a great time jumping into the foam cubes, walking on the balance beam, running and jumping onto the vault, and going through the obstacle course. She had a little trouble blowing out her candles, but that was overshadowed by all the cool stuff she got...books, markers, a Fairytopia Barbie, clothes, an Alabama swimsuit, a leotard...I could go on and on. Here are a few pics from the day...

An Official Alabama Cheerleader

This week, Riley participated in the University of Alabama's Cheerleading Camp for elementary age girls. She had a blast! Tim or I would drop her off at Coleman Coliseum at 8:00 am (with a bottle of Gatorade...just like her Daddy), and I picked her up at 11:30 am. The instructor's name was Miss Amie...a real U of A cheerleader. She taught them cheers, band chants, stunts, formations, and jumps. They practiced in the indoor football facility ("The big room with fake grass where the football team practices when it is raining," according to Riley), along with about 100 high school cheerleaders there for camp, and about 12 different mascots. On Tuesday, they got to "play" with the mascots - an eagle, bear, tiger, chipmunk ("with a smile on his face" - wouldn't want it to be a sad chipmunk), and of course Big Al. She talked about that a lot, along with the fact that she got to be a "top girl". I was not a cheerleader in middle or high school, so at first I didn't know exactly what Riley was talking about. She explained that there were two girls that were "bases" and they did lunges; she would stand on their pockets; there was a "backspot". By the end of her elaborate explanation I understood that they were learning a stunt. I thought it was really neat that Miss Amie had taught them exactly what each position was called. Today, they did a performance for parents. If you haven't already guessed, we are HUGE Alabama fans, so today was definitely the highlight of my week. Not only did I get to see my precious daughter cheer in the indoor football facility (by the way, the general public is not allowed in this building), but, because I was walking in with one of the assistant basketball coach's wives, we walked through the football practice field, where the football team was practicing. Walker was in pure heaven. For those of you that aren't familiar with Alabama football, all practices are behind a tall fence that is covered with a tarp-like material. There is no way to even peek through to watch practice, much less walk on the field. O.K., so back to the performance. It was absolutely precious. She introduced them as "The 2006 University of Alabama Cheerleaders", and then said each of their names. That was followed by a jump, cartwheel, etc., of their choice. Riley did one of her best cartwheels. We watched them do several cheers, the stunt, and they were each presented with a certificate. It was a lot of fun to watch...we had a great time, and Riley learned a lot about being a cheerleader. I think I am ready for football season! ROLL TIDE!

Riley getting ready to cheer

Ala....Bama! Rooooollll Tide! Roll!

B-A-M-A! Bama all the way!

Big Bama Spell-Out...Give me a B! Give me an A! Give me an M! Give me an A! What's that spell? BAMA!

Riley & Miss Amie

Riley & Mary Helen...future Bama cheerleaders

Daddy's Girl

Before putting Riley to bed tonight, she informed us that tomorrow she would be getting ready for her wedding. This is not unusual...everyday, there is some kind of production or show (puppet show, ballet, or play). We asked her who she was going to marry and she said, "You, Daddy, of course!" Then she grabbed his hands and said, "We need to practice dancing for the wedding!" It was precious. As I was putting her in the bed, she said, "I am the princess, of course, Daddy will be the prince, you, Mommy will be the Queen and Walker will be the King." I'm not sure what time the wedding will take place, but, I am sure she will spend all day tomorrow getting ready for it. It is bound to be a royal event.


Just yesterday, I took her to get her portrait made. I had never used this photographer before, but he had taken Riley's picture at preschool, and I knew he was very good. He was talking to her, asking her all kinds of questions, one of which was, "Who's your boyfriend?" She said, "My Daddy!" That was the perfect answer. I am not ready for the boyfriend/girlfriend stuff and as long as she thinks her daddy is her boyfriend, the better.

All About Riley

Riley is our 4 1/2 - year old daughter. She amazes us everyday with the things she says and does. Here are a few snippets into her life:

*She is constantly reading books! Riley learned to read in March of last year...and basically, hasn't stopped. Last summer she read 213 books for the library's summer reading program (her goal was 100). Her goal this summer is 150 books (right now she is at 115), so we will see what happens. We go to the library once a week. When she is five, she can get her own library card and check out her own books.

*She loves gymnastics! Riley started taking gymnastics in the fall of 2004, and has been taking off and on since then. The kids got a trampoline from Santa, and she loves to practice jumps on it. In the fall, she will move up to Level 1...she will be in the big gym with all the big girls. The highlight of her summer will probably be her gymnastics birthday party, later on in July.

*She enjoys every aspect of art! She is constantly drawing, making cards for friends, wanting to paint, etc., etc. Just today, she showed me a picture she had been working on (the one pictured). She said, "Mommy, I think you need to take a picture of this and put it on your blog." So, here you go. She explained to me that the building on the far left is Daddy's office; the one in the middle is the hotel we stayed in when we were Georgia (a couple of weeks ago); the one on the far right is the hotel that we stayed in when were in North Carolina; The house at the top is our house.

*She loves her little brother Walker. They are so sweet together...most of the time. They play pretty well together and sometimes he will even let her read to him.

*Not too long ago, I asked Riley what she wanted to be when she grew up and this was her reply: "I want to be a veterinarian, a dictionary writer, a teacher, and a mommy. But, I will not work on Sundays or Wednesday nights, because those are church days!" I said, "Well, how many children are you going to have? It sounds like you are going to be very busy." She said "I will have 4 girls, and I will live in Georgia, so that I can visit you and Daddy every day." Oh, to have the mind of a child.

*She "loves music and loves to dance"! It is hilarious to see her "get down" to the music! Tim likes to download songs that we don't already have on cd, plays them for her, and then they dance together. Some of her favorites right now are: The Cha-Cha Slide (Mr. C), Mama Mia (ABBA), Dancing Queen (ABBA), and Days of Elijah (she likes to sing this one, too).


*She has experienced a few "firsts", recently: 1. Just the other day, she got her fingernails painted for the first time. She has never asked about it before, so I haven't pushed it. I was taking advantage of her staying a little girl, as long as possible. She has already asked today, if I will paint her toenails. 2. She is taking ballet for the first time, and loves it. She takes at the local community college. They have a no observation policy, so the parents can't watch. But, they will have a "visiting day", where we can all take our cameras and camcorders. I will definitely be posting pictures of that when the time comes. 3. She played t-ball for the first time this past spring. She absolutely loved it and wants to play softball in a couple of years.

*She will start Kindergarten at Taylorville Primary School on August 10th. (Boo-hoo) I can't believe my baby girl will go to big school and be in Kindergarten. She is so excited and so ready, though. I guess because she is excited, I am excited for her. I definitely have mixed emotions about it. The good thing is that her school is a primary school, so it is only K-2. It will be an adventure....