Double Digits, Baby!

Bella is 11!  So hard to believe, but oh, we are so blessed to have her in our lives!  We had a nice low-key birthday party at home and she and Rose had their best friends spend the night (who are sisters as well!)  She got super spoiled this year, which is fun to do because I always feel she gets slighted because her birthday is five days after Christmas.  So I had a ton of fun spoiling her sweet little self this year!

She got Nascar gear, Lego's (lots and lots of Lego's), movies,  and clothes, clothes, clothes!  She is most definately a tween as you can tell by her gifts!  She also made her own cake for the first time, which is a milestone in itself!

My camera is being a bit grumpy, so I will have to post pictures later.  For now, here is a few of my favorites of my little Southern Belle!

Just being our silly selves!

Oh, she loved that little girl in the mirror!

Always smiling!

Great America in San Jose

Easter 2002 - Whaddya mean I've had enough Chocolate?

2003 - A ballerina needs her beauty sleep!

2003 - her self titled "Salon of Relaxation Salon" was a booming business!

2004 - First day of Kindergarten

2005 - Such a good big sissy!

2006 - My all-time favorite!

Love you, my little one! 

Phantom of the Opera

For Christmas we gave Rose & Bella tickets to see Phantom of the Opera!  This was my mostest favorite-est gift ever!  (I know those aren't real words, but real words do not describe my excitement, people!) 

Phantom of the Opera holds a very special place in my heart for several reasons:

• I was introduced to Andrew Lloyd Weber music by my Father & Smother.  I remember listening to the stories of Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats, Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Super Star, etc. from Anne in her Texas drawl while playing card games and drinking starbucks.  Not to mention that the music was always streaming in every room of their California house that my father had wired his coolio stereo system into!
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was the first Andrew Lloyd Weber musical that I saw on-stage.  It was in Wichita, Kansas where we lived at the time, it was put on by a youth drama company.  I loved it!  I knew all the songs, because of course Father & Smother had given me most of the CD's as presents over the years! 
• Hubby and I saw Phantom of the Opera three years ago and really enjoyed the music.  I must admit, I knew every word of the songs, but the storyline did disturb me a bit.  People who were there to see it were dressed up as the Phantom, complete with mask and cape!  It made me a little uncomfortable how obsessed people were when I realized the Phantom is a sick-o! 

• The movie came out when I was pregnant with LaLa.... I remember this because I didn't see it in theatres; I watched it on video in my truck ~ I was doing the extended gestational diabetes test at the lab because I had failed the first one.  They had told me I could leave between blood draws and come back and I didn't have the energy to run errands, so I sat in the truck and watched the movie in between sticks!  (There's a random side-story for ya!)
• I have been reading the "Classics" this past year, and the Phantom of the Opera is one of the best books that I read.  The movie / play cannot portray the backstory of the Phantom in two hours the way that a book can.  It makes you see the Phantom as a terribly wounded person who was never treated with an ounce of love or affection.  Good Read.
• The movie is Bella's VERY FAVORITE movie ever!  This is the child who loved to watch ballets over and over and over.  We watch the movie together at least once a month and she sings every word every time!  Rose & Bella have been begging to see it on stage for a couple of years now.  What a perfect gift!

The music was amazing, Rose loved that we got to look down in the pit after it was over.  Music is her LIFE and she plays piano, french horn & a little guitar.  She loved that there were four french horn players in the orchestra and she has mentioned several times that she would love to play french horn professionally.  What a job that would be!    Bella kept singing, and I had to ask her to stop a couple of times!  We had the most amazing seats, too!  Center Stage right under the chandellier and I am not saying any more because I don't want to ruin it if you haven't seen it live!  There is a HUGE suprise and we were in the perfect spot for some excitement! 

That was so much fun and it was such a pleasure to share that with the girls.   Rose posted on her Facebook status that "seeing Phantom was the Best Christmas Present EVER!!!" I hope to instill in them a life long love for music and the arts.  What a way to start!

P.S.  We just found out that Gerard Butler plays the Phantom in the movie and he sings every note!  Did you know this?  We have seen the movie at least 50 times and never realized it until we were finished watching it right before Christmas and I noticed it on the credits!!  That's another reason I love Phantom! ;)

Christmas 2009

Happy Birthday, Jesus! The Q-Crew had a wonderful day

celebrating your birthday and getting presents in your honor! 

Thank you for this season to indulge in food,
toys, music, and each other! 

The twinkling lights, a tree decorated
with ornaments from years gone by;

 the food, the !Candy! the spirits :)
the presents wrapped with ribbons,
the candy canes, hot chocolate and the carols sung off-key!

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring on our piano keys;
tiny hands playing with our Little People Nativity.
Advent candles and calendars decorate table tops and walls;
Christmas Cards arriving daily with pictures of loved ones
to hang on our bulletin board for the year to come.

Butterflies in tummys and ribbons in pretty hair
Princess dresses for dainty girls is a treasured indulgance every year.
Handel's Messiah played by an orchestra,
Christmas Cantata by the choir;
and an annual Nutcracker Suite Ballet night out.

Christmas Eve traditions include the Children's Worship Service
some dress as angels, shepards, wisemen and even Mary and Joseph.
 We sing beloved songs as well as listening to the story of Jesus' birth.

Then Smore's, laughs, lots of speculation and anticipation
proceed cookies left for Santa as we snuggle in new PJ's.
Lots of lullabyes to lull little one's to dream of sugar plums,
as busy elves finish preparation and perhaps a glass of wine!

Christmas Day dawns after children have been up
and sent back to slumber;
finally time to share our bounty, stockings are stuffed to overflowing!
Things long wished for, worked for, bought with much care and love;
a day full of joy and laughter, dreams come true, a Christmas Feast!

These are the moments we hope and pray for;
treasure always, live for, love.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!
The presents were wonderful, but not as great as Your presence!
The gift of importance is our Messiah, King of Kings, Emmanuel.

God with us!

Rock-n-Roll-n-Runnin'

I did it! 

My first race ever!  The Las Vegas Rock-n-Roll 1/2 Marathon!  I think I may be hooked on this running thang!  I had the best time, it was a lot of hard work, but oh so much fun!  The race started out bright and early, I had to be there at 5:00 to prepare for the starting gun at 6:15.  There were 27,000 runners with running Elvi, a run through wedding, people dressed up in costumes (my personal favorite was a guy dressed up like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz - including bright red ruby slippers instead of running shoes! or maybe they were be-dazzled running shoes?), there was also show girls, tigers in cages and rock-n-roll bands every couple of miles!  Including a couple guys from church playing with their bands! 
The run was very well organized ~ I am so glad I joined the running group though.  I would have been a mess without the guidance of the coaches and my team mates and I couldn't have done it without the support of my hubby and kiddos!   

Here's some training and race memories:

• Saturday Morning Running Group: 5:30 every saturday from June to December
• Two pairs of running shoes - Saucony all the way!
• Lots of running clothes - gotta make it fun to keep motivated, right?
• Shin splints for 4 months, so glad I figured out I had the wrong shoes for my tootsies by race time!  (So much for the fancy gait analysis, I hated those shoes)
• Logged 250 miles in 6 months!  Never thought that would happen!
• Couldn't do it without my I-pod and my mantra "the Lord is my Strength and Song and is become my Savior"
• Bananas are the sweetest reward after a long run!
• New friends and coaches (and a LOUD alarm clock!) depending on me helped get me up in the morning!
• Lost 10 pounds - 6 from running and last 4 stubborn ones by cutting out candy... boo hoo.
• Running is the best stress reliever I have found, yoga (my first passion) is a great reward afterwards!
• Cars really do not watch for runners... keep on your toes!
• Gel is so yummy and gives much needed pep in your step!  Vanilla, vanilla, vanilla....
• Race Day is so much fun!
• Racing in December is a tad bit cold - 36 degrees to be exact.  Love Under Armor, gloves and headbands!  My toes finally thawed out at mile 3!
• Running on the strip was a blast!  A whole new view of Las Vegas (and a reminder that it isn't so glam in the daytime, haha!).  City Center looks like Gotham City, I'm a little scared of it.
• Miles 1-11 rocked! 
• Mile 12 was tough, I couldn't figure out why I was so tired, I had trained hard and was prepared....
• Mile 13 - saw the family and a bestie in front of the Luxor - they cheered me on and energized me!
• Finish Line!  Cross one off the Bucket List and add to the yearly to-do list!
• Now I know why I was so tired - finish time of 2:19:28!!  I had projected to finish in 2 1/2 hours! 
• Sweet, sweet endorphins, family and friends.  Life is good.