Little Ballerina

Aubrey's dreams are coming true and she is finally in a real dance class! Last week she started a ballet / tap combo class. She absolutely LOVES it! And she is surprisingly good considering this is her first real class. There are a couple of her friends in the class which makes it even more special. But poor Bekah Boo doesn't understand why she can't take any classes! She sulks and glares at me the whole time Aubrey is dancing. Next year sweet girl! Enjoy the photos courtesy of my friend Alicia... I'll remember my camera next time!! : )

All the kids (even Bekah!) got to ride the stick horses!

Who Knew a Box Was So Much Fun!

Why spend money on toys when a box is all you need!

Dancing Queen

I used to go out dancing ALL the time.  During college I frequented the club scene.  My girlfriends and I would get gussied up and hit the dance floors.  Most people were there to drink but we usually ignored the bar.   Its hard to hold a drink on the dance floor, plus its bad for balance.  So between the clubs, dance classes in college and at the studios, and even coaching dance, I was a complete DANCING QUEEN!

And then I got married and had my beautiful babies and my club turned into a dirty laundry room and my studio became the sticky kitchen floor.  Once in awhile I would hear a song in a store or maybe a restaurant and would do a (probably not so subtle) shake but busting a move was usually permitted for house cleaning time and car trips.  Needless to say when this month our Moms Group outing was dinner and then drinks in a venue with a small dance floor, DJ, and a disco ball my heart totally skipped a beat.  Or should I said took up the beat of a favorite Justin Timberlake song!!

We had so much fun.  Dinner at a great italian restaurant and then to a mellow little bar with a tiny dance floor and lots of personality.  Here are some pics of evening out.  Notice how fancy we were.  I even had my tall heels on!!  (and paid for it today!!! OOHhhhh sore feet!)

Answer to Prayer

Well as some of you know the past couple of weeks have brought a LOT of change.  Rolland was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan on Jan. 08th.  Before deploying the soldiers have to go through days of admin prep; legal papers, finance, medical evaluations, etc.  Well a few days before Christmas we found out that due to some of Rolland's medical issues (nothing serious, just prescription availability issues) he is NONDEPLOYABLE!!!  It was a total shock as we were mentally and emotionally as ready as we could be, and our house was mostly packed up for our move back to Arizona.  I mean it was a relief, but a roller coaster!

After Christmas we found out (for sure, there were earlier talks...) that since he cannot deploy that they are Med. Boarding him out of the Army. Another shock!  We weren't planning on staying in forever, but we weren't ready to get out this soon either!  But we have an awesome support system and terrific families who are encouraging of us starting a BRAND NEW chapter.  As of now they say its going to take 6-8 months but honestly it could take much shorter or much longer.  So when the Army is done with us we will be heading back to ARIZONA, but this time all together as a family! Yay!!!

This is all wonderful news for MY family, but I don't want to forget all the families and friends I have made who are effected by this deployment.  So please continue to pray for our soldiers and their families!

Merry Christmas!!

    I hope all of you had a wonderful CHRISTmas!  We had such a great time together as a family.  We didn't get to go to Arizona this year, so it was just our little family, and that was perfect!! We enjoyed some old family traditions and made some new ones.
    Christmas Eve we baked cookies and listened to carols and then watched The Santa Clause.  Christmas Eve service was AMAZING and really focused us to the reason for this special day.  We came home and the girls got to open one presents - Christmas (Tinkerbell) PJs, and then we watched The Nativity Story, put out the reindeer food and cookies for Santa, Aubrey sang Happy Birthday to baby Jesus in our Nativity and then off to bed!!!!

Rolland and I played Santa and toasted with champagne to a job well done... It was a busy, but perfect day!
 

Aubrey was so excited for Christmas morning that she woke up at 3:30!! It took an hour, but I finally got her to go to sleep.  (I told her Santa hadn't made it to our house yet, and couldn't until she was asleep.  What am I going to do without the Santa incentive at bedtime now?!)  So at 7:30 we were ready for Christmas.  The  girls were so happy with their Santa presents that they didn't really care to open the rest until after breakfast - so much different than me as a kid, a give it a couple of more years.  Rebekah loved her new Princess dolls and dress up and didn't take her gloves and shoes off all day!  Rolland surprised me with a new wedding / anniversary band. AMAZING!  I was totally shocked and it is BEAUTIFUL.  The boy did good, he is off the hook for the rest of the year (hee, hee... OK I'll give him next year too!)  He liked his gift too - a PSP, so he can play FIFA Soccer from anywhere now!  All of us made a haul...thanks AZ family for all the wonderful gifts!  The rest of the day was spent playing with all of our new toys and watching movies, eating too much, and enjoying each other.  It was a very Merry Christmas!!!

  

Its Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas...

Tonight for a family activity we made a gingerbread house.  So much fun!!! I love doing things like this, it makes me feel so Christmas-y.  Afterward we watched the Santa Clause as a family and I think Aubrey started to wonder is she was good enough to get presents because at bedtime she started crying and said, "I don't like to take naps and Santa isn't going to bring me presents."  Such a silly girl!

Snow Much Fun!

We are getting so much snow here! So earlier in the week, before we literally got snowed in, we took the girls to my good friend Jennifer's to play in her back yard. We had fun "painting" the snow and sledding. The kids lasted maybe a half hour and when we came into the house Jenn had sandwiches, snacks, and hot cocoa waiting for us (Thanks Jennifer!!) Maybe if we get brave enough we'll take the kids out to play again before Christmas!