Nehemiah dance show

Katherine was in another Spring performance for Dance Divine and this year it was about Nehemiah.

Yes, I had to read the story of Nehemiah before I went to watch my daughter dance in it.  Yes, I had to do the same thing for last year's Esther dance.

Self-pic

 

A member of her entourage.  Cousin Kayla.

Dance Divine 2013

 

Dance Divine 2012

One proud papa.

 

More adoring fans...

Miss Patsy

 

Bamah

And mom and dad, of course!

Waiting back stage for the finale

Miss Gracie

 

and Melina

 

Miss Kaley

 

 

I'm a little bummed because I won't get to have Dance Divine 2014 pictures.  Katherine decided she didn't want to do dance again this year, but gymnastics instead.

So, I'll have lots of gymnastics pictures instead.

Beautiful Ballerina

Our little beautiful ballerina had her weekend-long recital on Mother's Day weekend, and I couldn't have been a prouder mama that weekend.

It was a very hectic weekend, but one that gave me some valuable one-on-one time with my little girl who can't seem to stop growing up.  A big thank you shout out to the in-laws for helping keep our family intact that weekend and provide the opportunity to celebrate Mother's Day.

 

On the way to the dress rehearsal, Katherine said from the back seat, "Mom, I have something important to tell you."  My heart kind of sank and I said cautiously, "What's that SweetPea?"  She said slowly, "I really. Like. Being. On the stage."

:)

Shy shmy.

We chose to send her to a different dance company this year and boy was I pleased with the change.  It's the one we've been going to for years that offers the free ballets in the Spring and Christmas time.

This particular performance was based on the story of Esther.  I don't know about you, but (I'm about to tell on myself) historical stories just don't stay planted in my brain when I read them.  Including biblical stories.  (My reading comprehension has always been a little on the 'low' side, guess that's it).  So when I get to see a story acted out and actually have a piece of my heart up there on that stage performing God's word, the guts of the story and meaning tend to stick with me a lot longer than if I would have read it.  Know what I mean?  I'm so thankful for the opportunity to witness God's word through different mediums.  It truly helps.

Katherine was chosen to lead the girls out onto the stage for their part by doing cartwheels.  Our house was the CFCTF, Central Florida Cartwheel Training Facility since the beginning of the year.  All in the name of performing God's word, right?

Her class's part was called the Persian gift-bearers.  They were responsible for bringing gifts to the beautiful Queen Esther.

It was cute.  Very cute.

Some of her fans came by to see her perform.

The Ballet A class taught by Mrs. L and Miss E.  These two ladies provided spectacular, Godly and know-their-stuff leadership.  Of which I am soooo thankful.

Nathan's Sunday School teacher's daughter.  And a frequent babysitter we use.  I just love the intertwining of our little community with church and extra-curricular activities.

Emmanuel

Last year, it was that time again for the annual Christmas ballet, Emmanuel.  It's put on by the dance company Katherine currently attends, so she now knows some of the girls performing in it and is looking forward to performing on this exact stage in May.

These two cutie-patooties have made this trek since they were 2 and 3 years old.  It is so incredibly awesome to me that something as simple as a free ballet offered here in town has become a tradition that our girl can look forward to.

Miss E is one of Katherine's teachers.

 

And J thought it would be cool to get a thumbs up in the picture.  Shades of teenage years to come, I'm sure.  It's so cute, because the girls look a tad bit stiffer just because an older boy is in the picture.  Love it!

The next set of Emmanuel pictures will hopefully have Katherine in them, in costume. :)

Ballerina Girl

I'm so thankful we sent Katherine to dance classes this year. She had a blast, made some friends and learned the value of working hard for something you really like.

The production that was put on was quite that, a PRODUCTION! LOTS of practices and dress rehearsals. I had to call in the grandparents-calvary to help watch Nathan so I could go to the practices 2-3 times a week, 2-3 hours a pop for the last 3 weeks before the performance. Thank goodness Brandon was small enough to sleep the majority of the time. But ultimately, the girls loved it.

We were blessed with cute costumes this year and a great group of girls with their mommy-chaperones.

The girls...
Katherine and her best bud, AC...
What they did backstage to keep busy...
What Brandon did while I helped backstage...
On the way to perform...
Katherine's teacher, Miss D...Katherine's biggest fans...
Curtain call...
Mommy getting artsy with the camera...
Ultimately, Katherine was seen by all the grandparents, great-grandparents and the adopted grandparents. There were even some admirers from church who surprised us (Thanks Miss B & G).

I never took ballet, but I'm pretty sure I'm having more fun watching and living it through Katherine.