Dance Recital 2012

This weekend was Haley's 3rd dance recital and it was so amazing to see how far she has come in three years. She was on the competitive dance team with a precious musical theater number as a Paris dancer. They placed in the top 4 in 8 and under at all three competitions and were recognized with special awards throughout the season. Haley loved being part of this dance team and I am so proud of the way that she pushed through illness, a long commute and many hours in the studio to make this year great.

I don't see myself as a dance mom and feel really out of my element each time I have to do her make-up (which for stage is more than I ever wear), gather all the write costume pieces and find my way to another high school auditorium. But, it has been a great learning process for both of us and I adore watching my girl dance.

She sparkles on stage. Her smile lights up the room and she just loves being on the stage. If you ask her what her favorite thing is about dancing, she will say being on stage. She is such a confident performer. Dancing has certainly shaped her self confidence and given her the ability to do something that could easily make others uncomfortable.

This year Haley also did a ballet dance to Mary Poppins "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and a jazz number to "Strongest Suit" from the broadway musical Aida.

Because we moved south this year we are not returning to our old studio and I hope and pray we find a place near our house that Haley grows as much in dance as we did at Legacy. I don't care if Haley because a famous dancer or performs forever, but this season of life in dance has inspired and challenged her in so many ways and I look forward to see what joy she can share through her dancing:)

Ever After

As my mom, Haley, Evan and I were headed to the dance recital in Allen, when we passed a cemetery. Evan asked what the things sticking out of the ground were and we explained that they were headstones that identify people in the cemetery. Sometimes people even like to write something about the person who has died to remember them.

I asked Evan what he would want on his headstone and he says, "Evan Roseberry was a good guy, he was a Christian and he loved Jesus and God." The amazing thing was that we didn't even give an example of something people would write, but Evan had sweet insight about what was important in life without our prompting.

Its amazing to me how kids have such an awareness in their identity in Christ when we struggle as adults to find our identity in so many places. I will continue to pray that my kids stay rooted in Christ, knowing where to find there identity.