These Little Moments...

Thursday evening, at the end of dance class, the parents were invited to watch our girls perform two dance routines, one tap and one ballet. They danced to Witches' Brew and the Monster Mash. The girls were allowed to wear their Halloween costumes for their performance. I wasn't sure Gracie's costume would work well on the dance floor, so I did exactly what I did last year and turned her into a pretty kitty. The girls were adorable, and we especially enjoyed watching Gracie dance. We were very proud of our girl! Meow!

Sean and I arrived home Friday afternoon after a week-long cruise. It was absolutely wonderful. I am honestly having a hard time accepting that our trip has come and gone! We started counting down to this vacation over 130 days ago. It seemed so far away back then! We left Greensboro last Monday morning at 6 am, on a flight to Atlanta, Georgia. I was actually really nervous about flying, but everything went well and I was able to relax a little on our 2nd flight from Atlanta to Miami!! I am a Miami, Florida baby. It was neat to be back in the city where my life began. Nerves aside, the view was spectacular. From there, Sean and I joined a group of our fellow cruisers on a coach that took us straight to our ship, the Carnival Imagination. Sean was 100 percent prepared with all of the necessary documents, boarding passes, and our "Faster to the Fun" cruise information, which made both of our flights and boarding the ship an absolute breeze. I greatly appreciated that ...

One of my favorite things to do during the month of October is to take a family trip to the pumpkin patch. We've brought pumpkins home from the same patch, hosted by a local church, for the past 5 years. This year, Gracie was very excited about choosing the perfect pumpkins for our family. Ethan was also excited... and spent his time throwing every "ball" he could get his hands on. It was a much different experience with him this year!  Pumpkin Patch 2011 - Ethan was only 4 months old! Ethan tried to lift some of the larger pumpkins. He soon realized those weren't any good for picking up and throwing, but were fun to sit and bounce on! In the end, both kids chose their own small pumpkins and we chose a larger "family" pumpkin. We're now looking forward to dressing up and celebrating Halloween! I can't wait to get Ethan in his costume and I think Gracie has made a final decision on "who" she wants to be thi...

A couple of weekends ago, our family was invited to celebrate a special little girl's birthday. Raegan is one of Gracie's best friends from school. They were in the same class last year and are in the same class this year, too! Her party was held at Cash Lovell Stables and Riding Academy. This was a new experience for most of the kids and it was a huge hit! Gracie has been asking us for a 5th birthday party at the stables!

...has kicked my behind. Honestly, I can't believe it's only Wednesday night. It would be easy for me to blame the kids for this "off" week, but really, I know it's more me than them (although stuffy noses, new teeth, and restless nights haven't helped). I literally walked in the door this evening after running errands with Sean and the kids, before even starting dinner, and ran a hot bubble bath. There was no other option; I had to selfishly take 30 minutes for myself. My selfish bath worked wonders and the rest of the evening went well. After three rough days in a row, I'm actually feeling optimistic about tomorrow. As I settle in for bed tonight, I'm just praying for patience and perspective. I can easily get caught up on all that went wrong in one hour of a day and forget how truly beautiful the many hours before and after were... I'd rather just admit I wasn't my best, forgive myself, and move forward. Tomorrow will be better. :) Movin...

Well, I did exactly what I didn't want to do. I procrastinated and now I'm posting beach pictures weeks later than I'd hoped! These were taken during an evening walk on our last night there. It was so amazingly beautiful. Gracie was once again totally in love with being near the ocean. We literally stood back and watched her serenade God's gorgeous creation. She had the hand and hip movements going! Ethan was still not a sand-fan. Gracie was very sweet and tried to convince him it wasn't all that bad. :) We took a short golf cart ride each day to get ourselves to and from the beach. After our beach walk on this final evening, we decided it would be fun to take Ethan and Gracie to get ice cream. Sean's dad and step-mom took Ethan in their cart; Sean and I had Gracie. After we'd arrived, we got a call from Sean's dad telling us that their golf cart battery had died half way to the ice cream shop! Luckily, a very nice individual stopped ...