A Work of Art

Jillian is on the left, along with her friends Kelcey and Shea.

Calm before the Storm

It is recital week!!! Wednesday begins 3 days of dress rehearsals and then between Saturday and Sunday there are 6 shows. However prior to that my parents fly in for a 2 week visit...Hmmm.. Now don't get me wrong I am appreciative that they want to come visit and see the kids dance but 2 weeks is a mighty long time. To add to it, my Aunt & Uncle, along with their 3 grandkids want to be apart of the action as well, so they will come in on Sunday for 1 week. Then, to top it off Shawn and his family will fly in for a few days,to add to the mix as well.

The Writing Is On The Wall

I am so excited!!! I connected yesterday with a friend that I met when I was a counselor at a Girl Scout summer camp in Arkport, NY back in 1990. The majority of the staff was international. I was going through a bin of memory items that I have been hanging on to. I googled her name and she came up right away. (Her first name, Comfort, obviously is not too common). We all had nicknames and hers was "Southern" Comfort. Anyway, I took a chance and placed an email to the most recent address listed.

I firmly believe in the concept of "the writing is on the wall." For Mothers Day my family and I have sponsored a young girl who lives in Central African Republic to help with her needs for survival through our church. It just so happens that my friend Comfort is the deputy director in Africa for the International Centre for International Justice. I firmly believe that this was a sign that we made the right decision to help this young girl.

http://www.visiontrust.org/

Boys

Father and Son

Jared get's his love of fishing from his Papa Jim.

(Back row in the middle)


How do you reassure a young man that he will eventually grow? My son so want's to be that "macho man." Well we have had to resort to x-rays and blood work to hopefully set his mind at ease. I wish his school had a wrestling team so he can get out some of his frustrations. (Any memories Tracy?) He turns 13 in July and weighs only 77 lbs. In his chorus concert in the fall he asked his teacher to allow him to stand on the top riser and she agreed, however she put the tallest boy in the class next to him. Jared came up to his belly button. Jared is well aware of the law of 8 or 80 lbs when it comes to carseats.

His mother's day gift to me was agreeing to get his hair cut. The aftermath was ugly as far as his emotional state goes. I think the haircut looks handsome but he did not agree. (The fishing pic was taken about 2 weeks prior.) I think the hair is the one thing that he feels that he can control as it makes him feel older and look more mature.

An Eye Opening Read

I have just recently joined a book club and our first book that we began to dive into has been quite a doozy. For those that are spiritually minded, I definitely give this a thumbs up. Dangerous Surrender by Kay Warren puts life in perspective, specifically if you feel something has been missing, and/or you have been waiting to take your life to the next level.

Jillian's Dance Highlights

Macy's Thanksgiving Parade 2006

Pulse Tour in Altanta, GA. Jillian and her friend Katie had the wonderful opportunity to take classes with Chris Judd, Brian Friedman and Mia Michaels.

Jill with her favorite Tap Teacher, Michelle Dorrance, in NYC at TapCity. Jill was a recipient of the Gregory Hines Tap scholarship as well as accepted into the pre-professional program.

(Michelle is on the cover of this months Dance Magazine)

Go Railhawks!!! Jill is in the back row, 5th from the left. This is her second year on the Carolina Railhawks Professional Dance team. http://www.carolinarailhawks.com/

Cinco de Mayo

I think that Cinco de Mayo has another meaning. It begins the season of craziness.

Us parents have to prepare ourselves for the month of May and early June, which is the end of the school year here in NC. This means final exams and final projects. It is the end of soccer season with tournaments and team picnics. It winds up dance season, which brings about the whirlwind of costumes, pictures, extra rehearsals, technical rehearsals and recitals. Not that I need a reason to enjoy a good Margarita or two.

Pass the chips and salsa please!!!

Man's Best Friend

Last night was stinky. I stood by the side of a good friend as she had to make the decison to allow there 15 year old dog to go to doggy heaven. She is a single mom of 4 wonderful girls and she tried so hard to keep it together for them. We all knew it was her time. I came home and reflected back to the fall when we had to do the same thing with our beloved Sophie. Shortly after we adopted our 2 crazy boys Sammy & Tommy.