The German Dance

Madison recently participated in her very first dance recital. She has been taking a Creative Movements (pre-ballet) class for the past eleven months and was so excited to finally get to perform on stage. Although she wasn't pleased with her dress rehearsal performance--she told my mother that she couldn't watch the video because she had missed a few steps and the video was "so awful"--on the night of the recital she conquered her fears and danced beautifully. Not only is she a fabulous little dancer, but she just loved getting her hair and make-up done and getting to wear a beautiful ballet costume. I thought for sure this would be her favorite part of the dance recital; however, when Nick asked her what her favorite part of it all was she replied quickly, "I loved it when all of the people clapped for me." That's my little show girl!

Here she is after the recital with her best friend Abbie Anderson. Maddi's second favorite part of the recital was the flowers she got from her siblings and parents.



And here is her class picture. Can I help it if she is the most beautiful child ever?

"Lucky Me"

Here are two pairs of size 26 Lucky Brand Jeans--the same size I graduated from high school in. And while I can't claim to look as good in them as I might have when I graduated from high school, I can say that each time I button them up, and read the rather suggestive inscription --Lucky You--inside the pants, I can't help but think, yeah, lucky me. I haven't yet begun any kind of diet or exercise program; but, after months of illness and extensive dental work, I still have somehow managed to fit into them. That's quite an accomplishment in my world. And I think Nick likes them too, in spite of the great expense it was to purchase them. He came with me into the dressing room when I was trying them on, and let's just say, we didn't come out right away....

Lucky me indeed.

The End of An Era

Well, perhaps era isn't the word I'm looking for, but our family is certainly coming to the end of a chapter in our family history. The chapter could well be titled: Our Babies. And sadly, but surely, it is coming to a close. Now I am not the one to miss pregnancy, nor do I ever need to experience another delivery--with or without an anesthetic; however, I have finally felt the urge to shed a tear over experiencing infancy for the last time. The catalyst for this emotional rush is pictured below:



Yep, our cradle. Our beloved little cradle. Shortly after we found out we were expecting Madison, we began looking for the perfect cradle. (We already had a crib. I made Nick buy me one right after we got married--and it was a good thing too because it took almost a year to get it imported from Italy with the big import strike that was going on back then!) We searched and searched for a traditional cradle, but couldn't find exactly what we were looking for. We finally found one that was just the right style, but it was natural wood, and way out of our newly-wed price range. Much too our surprise, however, the Hoskins' bought it and gave it to us as our first baby gift . We were so pleased and grateful. In his spare time, Nick worked hard to refinish it to match our maple bedroom furniture. Then I made baby bedding for it to coordinate with our comforter. Once it was all ready, we packed it away and later moved it from our newly-wed condo in Orem, Utah to our first real home in St. Louis, Missouri. I was seven months pregnant when we first set it up in our bedroom, and I can remember sitting over the cradle many times imagining what it would be like when our precious baby girl finally arrived and would be laid to rest within its little frame. Now, almost six years later, and four children later, it is finally time to pack it up, never to hold another of our babies again. In some ways, it is ironic that packing up our cradle would elicit such an emotional response from me. After all, our babies have each slept in it only a handful of times, spending most of their early months in our bed instead. The cradle, however, symbolizes infancy to me--the rocking, the lullaby's, the baby blankets, and peacefully resting little angels. Packing it up this last time means we are done with that stage of childhood. It's an emotional time, but one filled with hope and excitement for the new phase of life we are entering. It's strange to think, after five and a half years of being immersed in babies, that we are on our way out of the baby business. Strange, and sad. And somewhat of a relief. So, with mixed emotion we say, "Farewell little cradle. See you when the grand babies arrive."

My Two Sweet Boys

Mason at Six Months Old





Spencer at Four Years Old (Well, three years and eleven months)







And my two sweet boys together.

Grandmas and Grandpas

While I truly love being a mother, and I can honestly say that I try to cherish every moment, I still believe there is something that might be even better then motherhood. That something, of course, as the post title implies, is grand-motherhood. As my mom is fond of saying, grandparents get all the fun, give all the treats, do all the spoiling, and then get to return the grand kids when it's time for the boring, mundane, or difficult tasks like disciplining. Grandparents can give ice cream before dinner, and then chocolate cake after. They can buy that little something the kids just can't leave the grocery store without and never worry that the people behind them in line are going to judge them. They can buy lip gloss for two year olds, play with play dough on the carpet, and talk mommy into skipping naptime. And of course, grandparents get all of the bragging rights too. Nobody minds when they go on and on about how smart, beautiful, and good their grand babies are. In addition to all this, grandparents still manage to sleep through the night most nights, they rarely have to clean up potty accidents, their house doesn't unclean itself as fast as they can clean it, and they are even financially able to get everyone their own happy meal at McDonald's instead of sharing the value fries. In short, being a grandparent is the culmination of a successful life of child rearing, and we sure are grateful for those grandparents in our own lives, as well as our own parents who serve as the wonderful grandparents of our children. And speaking of grandparents, here are a few shots of recent visits with ours.

First, pictures at Grandma and Grandpa McArthur's house in Oklahoma.

While there we visited several different swimming pools and Mason got his first swimming experience. As the pictures show, he simply loved it! The other kids didn't seem to mind either.







We also hit the bounce house and the science museum while we were in town.





And we took a side trip down to Dallas to meet up with Greg and Michelle (currently living in Houston). While there, we had to make a stopover at the Dallas American Girl Store with Grandma. Maddi and Kenzie matched their dolls for the outing and had a wonderful time.





Spencer and Emma actually enjoyed themselves too,



even though Spencer eventually joined the "boys bench."



And here's another happy little tag-along. It's pretty amazing that we got a smile out of him considering we were at the store for well over TWO hours!



Other highlights of our trip:

just hanging out with Grandma,



and of course Spencer wouldn't pass up a chance to fish with Grandpa McArthur.



And now, some photos of Grandma and Grandpa Hoskins' recent visit. While they were in town we shot up to the twin cities for the weekend and stayed in a fancy water park hotel. The kids thought they had died and gone to heaven.











Kind of like Nick thought he had died and gone to heaven when he had a bite of his special Father's Day dessert. I've been working to perfect my Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (Nick's favorite) for several years now and I think I found an important new ingredient this time around: Orange Marmalade.



And here's a special shot we captured while they were in town: Three generations of Hoskins golfers. (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Hoskins for splurging and getting Spence his own clubs! He thinks he is such a little man now!)

"Born" for Comfort

So, I thought I would include an update to my extreme make-over, as well as an advertisement for my latest splurge. Since I can't wear my Ugg boots during the summer, I decided to pick up a few shoes that would be more appropriate for the sunny weather. These two pairs are strictly Sunday shoes,



and these two are for every other moment of every other day.



The first two pairs are definitely fashion over function.

The second two, pure delight.

I don't know if anyone else has ever wandered through the shoe department at Macy's and happened upon a pair of these beautifully hand-sewn Born shoes, but let me just say, if you have, and you have somehow managed to resist them, you should really reconsider. The next time you are there, or in any other department store, take a pair of them, rip off the price tag, slip them on your feet, and stroll around the store. I guarantee you, after five minutes in these heavenly shoes, you'll be ready to stock your closet with them. Your wallet might not be ready, but you can start small like I did, and build your collection over time. I promise, they have been worth every penny.

The First Day of School

We recently celebrated our first day of homeschooling, complete with new school clothes and a back-to-school party. The kids just love it, and I must say, I am enjoying it too. Our first day, June 1st, 2010, was like a dream come true. As I rang our little school bell, and the kids gathered on our round rug for circle time activities--their bright smiling faces looking up to me expectantly, I felt a sudden rush of the spirit, as tangible as a bucket of water pouring over my head. We stopped then and there and prayed together as a little family. We asked the Lord to bless our home-school efforts as well as our family as a whole. It was the ultimate spiritual confirmation I had hoped we would receive upon commencing. Then, day two arrived. When Nick got home from work and asked how school went, I quickly replied, "Well, if yesterday was the Lord's confirmation that home-schooling is right, today was Satan's confirmation." In other words, day two was a disaster. Since then, we have had a pleasant mix of good and better days, as well as a few not-so-good or better days. We're sorting through kinks, learning to work together, and ultimately loving our home-learning experience.
Here is a photo of my "kindergartners" on their first day of school.



And for anyone who is interested in keeping up on our homeschooling, I have started a separate blog just to document our great adventures in learning. The address is www.un-schooling101.blogspot.com