Grandma and Elisa Visit

The first two weeks of this month we had Jim's grandma and his sister Elisa stay with us while his parents went on a trip.

In preparation Grandma bought a recliner for our house so she could be comfortable here.  The kids were excited to try it out.

The kids enjoyed cuddling with Grandma (their great-grandma) while she read to them.

They also couldn't wait to share their new favorite CD with Grandma.  They all sang along.

Abby attached herself to Elisa right away.  This was very helpful for us because Jim and I were busy building a ramp up to our porch.

They were also here for Mother's Day.  The kids were excited to give Grandma their gifts.

They were also sweet enough to get gifts for Elisa.

Wicket

Today was a sad day for our family.  We had to bury our little dog.  We were working together outside enjoying the nice day when Wicket ran to the road to check out another dog that someone was walking.  After they passed, he started meandering back while Jim and I looked on.  I was happy watching him enjoy his freedom to run and explore.  I've often been happy that he could be so free here.  The thought had crossed my mind before that the road was dangerous for him, but I wasn't really worried because he rarely went to the road.  Besides, drivers have excellent visibility at this point in our road and I believed he was smart enough to move out of the way when cars passed.  So we were shocked to watch a car hit him today and then speed off.  He was running happily along the shoulder (that's what it looked like) and I was just getting ready to call him back.  Our neighbor was also watching.  We all ran to him, our neighbor getting there first.  He'd died instantly from internal injuries.  It's a small consolation, but I was thankful when our neighbor handed him to me that he wasn't messy.  He still looked like himself.  I'm also grateful that he didn't suffer.  The kids hadn't seen it happen, but they were instantly on the scene when we carried him back into our yard.  Oh how they cried!  Amidst tears we buried him and said a family prayer.  We've taken this opportunity to have several conversations about death, heaven, and road safety.  The kids have impressed me with their ability to look for positive ways to look at it, especially Logan who is hurting the most I think.

We were all feeling shaken after we buried him, and the kids were periodically bursting into tears when our neighbor reappeared with thoughtful gifts.  It was so sweet of her and really helped distract the children.

I don't regret giving Wicket the freedom to run since we've lived here.  I'm grateful he had that opportunity even though it turned out that the risk was realized.  He was a small part of our family and so I was glad to let him live his doggy dream.  We'll miss our little dog.

Dance Pictures

Annie's dance class had their pictures taken on Saturday.  She was excited to be all dolled up for it.

We had fun fixing 'ballerina hair' and a little make up before it was time to go.  Here she's showing off her hair.

Showing off her make up.

Her ballerina bun.

Her teacher had a professional photographer there.  However, she told us ahead of time that we were welcome to bring cameras and take our own pictures if we wanted.  I was the only parent who brought a camera, so I was the weird mom.  My free pictures were worth it, though!  :)

I can't believe how grown up she's starting to look.  These first ones are in her ballet costume.

A few accessory changes, and she was ready for jazz pictures.

A few more changes and we were on to tap.

Her teacher also offers a Christian ballet class as a sort of extension to the regular class.  Annie has been in love with dance (and her teacher is wonderful), so we've allowed her to do this portion too.  She has a complete costume change for this one.  This is one of my favorite pictures.

The 'contemplative' pose.

She is so tiny next to the other girls.  She's the same age as most of them though!

I'm excited to see her recital in a few weeks!