Christmas Day, 2016

Time hopped in his race car and has zoomed near to finish line of the year 2016! Christmas this year was quiet but wonderful with just the four of us this year. The girls, Howie and I enjoyed our day opening gifts, playing gifts and eating breakfast and dinner together. We had a very blessed 2nd Christmas in Virginia together!

The Nutcracker!

As a little girl I took ballet and tap for two years before my mom and I moved away from Memphis to Livingston, Tennessee. My parents had remarried each other and we were beginning life as a family again. My parents divorced again two years later and my mom and I moved back to Memphis. I could not, however, continue ballet lessons because it just wasn't in the budget.

 I suppose many of the things that we wish we could have done as a child we somehow want to give to our own children. I did enroll both of my girls in ballet and other dance lessons when they were the age of 3.

 Both enjoyed dance as I had as a child, but I always told them if they wanted to stop dance, they could. Emma-Caroline ended her dance lessons while we were still in Knoxville after she had danced for 7 years. At that point she just wasn't enjoying it any more and so it was a good decision.

 Sophie, took a year off from dance when we moved here to Virginia but wanted to take it back up again this year.

 The studio where Sophie dance puts on two productions a year instead of just one large performance at the end of the year.

 At Christmas, Sophie participated as a "Royal Baker" in her studio's presentation of "The Nutcracker."

 The performance took place at the historic Wayne Theater in Waynesboro, Virginia which is not far from Crozet.

 Sophie and the entire studio did and amazing job!

We are so proud of Sophie and her hard work in ballet!