{This Moment} On The Eve Of Their First Dance Recital

{This Moment} - A Soule Mama Friday ritual. A single photo- no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you are inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments section for all to find and see. We wish you an absolutely magical weekend!

Dress Rehearsal

This afternoon was the dance recital dress rehearsal. The girls were so excited that they got to wear their costumes and make up today and I was so excited that we parents were invited to record the dress rehearsal! My sincere apologies that the beginning is a wee bit on the fuzzy/shaky side. This was, surprisingly, the first time that I used my camera to video. I hope you enjoy their performance as much as I did. They really did a stellar job and I have to admit I did get a wee bit choked up watching my two sweet swans on stage. The countdown to Saturday's performance is on! In the words of Grace: "Only two more days, mama. I can't wait!"

Brimfield

I have always wanted to head to Brimfield and spend the day wandering through the multitude of treasures waiting to be discovered. I had never been before, but I had heard enough about it to know that it's basically the mecca of antiquing and therefor would be its busiest on the weekends and over the summer. I had no idea that the show ran during the week until earlier this week when we received an email from a good friend of ours from college asking if we were free to have dinner with him and his wife after their days of antiquing were done one night while they were down here. Pair that with this post and this post from Soule Mama and it finally all became clear: we could go during the week (benefit #2,195 of why we love being a homeschool family)! Why it took me so long to figure this out I will never know but I'm so very glad that I finally did. 

Brimfield was absolutely amazing. The girls and I were totally in our glory and kept remarking that we wish that David was there with us too. Oh, how he would have loved it (and I bet we would have come home with way more than just the four sweet, sterling silver spoons that we chose). Everywhere we turned there was more to see. More treasures to be discovered and "oohed" and "aahed" over. It was everything I imagined it would be and more! We were only there for a few hours (when we easily could have spent the whole day) and in the time that we were there I am sure that we only saw about a quarter of the show. It was overwhelmingly fabulous. 

As we headed back to the car, with our new spoons tucked safely in our bag, we chatted all about our adventure. The three of us agreed that we must go back again soon and spend even longer there next time. I'm penciling it in for September as we speak!

She Did It!

You may remember that Grace was determined to earn all three of her Daisy Journey Badges before Bridging to Brownies. 

I'm happy to share with you that today was the day she did just that!

All three Daisy Journey Badges have been earned.  

She is now officially ready to bridge to Brownies!

Way to go Grace! We are so very proud of you!

Scenes From The Project Fair

The Project Fair on Friday was amazing! Sixteen kids participated and no two projects were the same. Each child (presenter and visitor alike) was given a passport to take with them as they visited the various projects. Each presenter had been given a sheet of stickers with a symbol corresponding to their project to then stick on the passport of each person who came to visit them. The girls loved that they had dolphin and horse stickers to stick on their visitors passports!

Grace and Emma did such a fabulous job! It took them a little bit to get used to people stopping by their project and asking them questions but once they got that piece figured out they were good to go. They loved that they also had a chance to go see the other kids projects too. The "Off Exploring...Be Back Soon" signs were brilliant and a great way to give the presenters a chance to go see what other projects were there. 

The two hours passed quickly by and before we knew it it was time to pack up and head home. As soon as we were in the car the girls were already coming up with what they'd like to do for the project fair next year. It sounds like butterflies for Grace and sheep for Emma. It will be interesting to see if they stick with those topics or choose something else. With the way these months keep flying by we'll  find out soon enough!

On Mother's Day

A long awaited for rocking chair. 

The sweetest cards ever. 

Some gorgeous pink tulips. 

And our usual Sunday afternoon bike ride/walk made for the most perfect of days. 

I am so eternally grateful to get to be the mama of these two sweet souls. It was a long road to becoming a mother and I will forever be thankful to David for always believing we'd be parents, and to our team of doctors and nurses for all they did to make this dream a reality too.

And to all those for which Mother's Day is a hard day I leave you with these poignant words:

To those who gave birth this year to their first child- we celebrate with you. 

To those who lost a child this year- we mourn with you. 

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains- we appreciate you. 

To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away- we mourn with you. 

To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears and disappointment- we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things.We don't mean to make this harder than it is. 

To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms- we need you. 

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children- we celebrate you. 

To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children- we sit with you. 

To those who lost their mothers this year- we grieve with you. 

To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother- we acknowledge your experience. 

To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood- we are better for having you in our midst. 

To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children- we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be. 

To those who step-parent- we walk with you on these complex paths. 

To whose who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren- yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you. 

To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year- we grieve and rejoice with you. 

To those who placed children up for adoption- we commend you for your selflessness and remember how you hold that child in your heart. 

And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising- we anticipate with you. 

This Mother's Day we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you. 

-Amy from My Messy Middle

For all those celebrating today I hope that this was the loveliest of days and that you got to spend it with those you hold most dear. xoxoxo

{This Moment} A Mother's Day Surprise

{This Moment} - A Soule Mama Friday ritual. A single photo- no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you are inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments section for all to find and see. And to all the mamas we wish you a wonderfully fabulous Mother's Day weekend!