We did it.

We survived recital week. Linda did great at both of her recitals.

Dress Rehearsal

Linda and I went to her tech and dress rehearsal last night. I was dreading it but it actually turned out to be a nice night hanging out with Linda. Since I'm not sure I'll be able to get many pictures on recital night I took a few last night. She is so beautiful, inside and out. I enjoyed watching all of the different routines. Afterwards, I came home and watched So You Think You Can Dance. It was a night of dancing!! :)

Linda waiting for her turn .

 Outside of the theatre, they took a pictures with all of the dancers.

Official Ballet Pictures

Here are Linda's first official ballet pictures. I love the class picture. Linda is striking a serious pose. :) This weekend is her first ballet recital. Stay tuned for pictures of that!

(Linda is the middle row, 2nd from the left)

Funny Bone

Claire is such a funny girl. She really has a good sense of humor even at this young age. She knows the things to say and the way to say them, to get a good laugh. She's very quirky and observant of the humor that surrounds us. She often rolls her eyes up to the top of her head when telling you a story, whenever I dress her she always acts like she is missing an arm or elbow, depending on what gets stuck in her shirt. She is also our hound dog, as we like to call her. She has a great sense of smell. She can smell anything that might be cooking in the kitchen or anything in the air. Her best complaint is, "Mom, I smell something!" She is super social. She goes up to kids three times her age and says, "Hi, what's your name? I'm Claire." To know Claire is to love her.

I had an older man come up to me the other day at church who said that Claire was the cutest girl he'd ever seen. He then said he sat behind us at church the week before. I thought he'd be asking me for an apology. :) He started telling me about what he saw Claire do during church. He told us how when we all stood up for the intermediate hymn that Claire sat her bag of cookies right on the bench behind Robert, when Bruce tried to move the bag she motioned to him to leave it there, and then sat still watching Robert out of the corner of her eye. When the song was over Robert sat down on the bag of cookies. Claire burst out laughing and Robert and I had a good laugh as well. The guy was laughing so hard while telling me the story that he had tears rolling down his face. He said, "You either have a funny bone or you don't, and she's got it!"  I agree.  We love this girl. She keeps us on our toes and keeps our house full of laughter. She is VERY independent and determined and funny and great.
 A picture is worth a thousand words...

Summer 2011 Has Begun!

To say that we were ready for summer to start is an understatement. By the end of the school year I am READY for summer. The alarm clock is turned off, we no longer have to worry about spelling tests and homework, and honestly, the little girls and I were getting lonely in the days. :) It's a nice change to have everyone home to enjoy summer.
School let out last Wednesday. Bruce and Linda did great in school this year and they're excited that we are all settled in and that they get to go to the same school for two whole years in a row. :)
The first event of this summer is Aunt Suzanne's baby being born. I picked up the big kids from school on Wednesday and we headed out to Palm Springs, CA. My sister, Suzanne, had been admitted to the hospital with a bad case of Toxemia. Her baby wasn't due until around July 10th. They had to keep Suzanne in the hospital to monitor her blood pressure. She was admitted on Tuesday, and by Friday, June 10th her situation had escalated to the point where they had to perform an emergency c-section under general anesthesia.
It was a very scary situation and we were very worried about Suzanne's life. Luckily, in the end, everything turned out well and she gave birth to a beautiful daughter. I had the opportunity to hold my new niece and feed her and change her diaper and love her up in the hospital for a few days. I'm back at home now, and I miss her. :)
 Meet my new niece:
Irene Rose Suitor
5lbs. 7oz.
19" tall

Here's looking forward to a wonderful summer ahead...

Please pray for my sister

My sister, Suzanne, was admitted to the hospital last night with a severe case of Toxemia. She is pregnant with her first child, a daughter, who is due around July 10th. She has been very sick for a few weeks now and last night decided to go get checked out at the hospital. She was admitted shortly after arriving and they told her they need the baby delivered within the next 24hrs. Both Suzanne and her baby are in danger. They have been trying through the night to get Suzanne's blood pressure down with no luck. They are afraid she may start having seizures if they can't get it to lower.
If you would all please say a prayer or family prayer for Suzanne and her baby our family would really appreciate it. Her body has been through a lot with her past illness and we are all very nervous about this situation.
They will start her on Petocin as soon as they can get her blood pressure stable. They will then immediatly give her an upideral so that there is no stress on her body or heart throughout the labor.

Again, prayers would greatly be appreciated. My sister Jill is on her way and I am headed down this afternoon with all the kids.(Robert can not get work off today or tomorrow)
thanks!