Proud of her

Carly has been attending FAA (Fine Arts Academy) camp this week at the church we have been visiting here. She chose to practice piano and violin and, in addition, had classes with the orff (new one to me!), bells/chimes, movement, music and Bible.

She has a history of being too nervous to perform in front of audiences. I'll never forget how pitiful she looked sitting alone in the pew at a Spring musical one year... with her little, yellow bunny ears on... because she was afraid to get on stage. But she slowly started to overcome her fears as she grew more comfortable with her friends and adults at our church in SC.

Well last night, she was having tummy troubles. She told me that she thinks a friend from camp that was sick breathed on her (haha!) and that she wouldn't be able to go to camp in the morning. Of course my Mommy instinct told me that she was just feeling nervous about it. So I told her we'd see how she felt in the morning. Morning came and she still thought that she should stay home. I told her that I understood if she was too nervous to do the performances at the end of the day but that she did need to go to the last day of camp. The waterworks started. :( I prayed with her and walked her to the car. Daddy dropped her off and she ran to a corner to cry so he told one of the adult helpers what was going on and she went right over to Carly.

The time came for the performances and we didn't know if she'd participate but just in case, I had my camera in hand. What a great surprise it was to see her up there with her class! She sang with all the grade levels, then all the 2nd graders showed what they learned on the piano and in movement class.

On the first day of camp she was excited yet uneasy because she didn't know anybody. But she allowed herself to open up, meet new friends, learn new things, and then, the biggest hurdle for her, get up on that stage and perform at the end of the week. Go, Carly!



Here she is... in an orange top and pink bottoms. (Don't forget to scroll all the way down and pause the playlist!)

Loving this song

We are doing okay here in Texas but have really been missing home... family, friends, and everything else we love about SC. Josh came across this song by Eric Church a little while ago and it became an instant favorite... and what a great voice he has to boot!

Pause the playlist at the bottom of the page and give this a listen!

Let's see how this goes...

I've thought that it would be fun to have a blog... a great way to keep a record of our lives. I've never started because it just seems like doing it well will take more time than I have to give it! But like I always tell the kids... you'll never know unless you try. Right? Right.

Josh is in Colorado taking care of business, Trent is on my lap, Carly is at music camp, Grey and Annie are watching Donald Duck, Henry is napping and Alex is MIA, as usual. So here I go, taking a free minute to figure this out. :)