Today was Esther's kindergarten Christmas play. She did a fantastic job. This was her first time to have a speaking part to perform in front of such a large group. There were several hundred people there! She had told me the day before that she was looking forward to the performance and that she expected to have "tears of excitement" when it was time to say her line. Today, I could hear my heart pounding in my chest as she approached the mike and . . . delivered her line loudly, clearly, and with confidence! Those who know about my own failed performance as an elementary school student understand why I was nervous for her, but she did great! I was so proud!
What an adorable little elf!
Love the shoes!
Her kindergarten class!
The kindergarten teachers and others who worked to put together the performance are definitely to be commended! The play was a success, and the kids were loving every minute of it.
Nana and Ops came up to watch Esther's performance as a Christmas angel tonight. She did a great job and truly looked angelic! The musical was adorable, and all the little ones did such a great job.
We enjoyed our Thanksgiving celebration in Fort Smith this year. Jenny's fam, Mamaw and Papaw, and the Fords were all able to make it, and we had a great time. As we were driving in to Fort Smith, I got a call from Momma Emma letting us know that Kymiko's precious one, Birdie, had arrived. We were so excited to meet her, such a perfect little girl! On Thanksgiving day, we proved our culinary prowess with Tom III. Tom the First was a terrible flop a few years back, bleeding on the serving platter. Tom Junior, our next attempt, was excellent and moist, so we were 50/50 going in to this year, but Tom III was a success (despite a slight miscalculation: for those of you who are wondering . . . if you need a turkey to be finished by 12:30 and he needs to cook for 4 hours, you should put him in at 8:30, not 6:30). Just as Thanksgiving dinner was about to be served, Allison (in her 3rd trimester of pregnancy) took a tumble outside and had to be rushed to the emergency room. No harm was done to Baby Gus (Aubri's name for her future cousin), but Allison suffered a pretty nasty ankle sprain with a chip fracture which sidelined her for Black Friday shopping. The rest of us, however, were doorbusting Kohl's at 4:00am then on to crisscross town and hit about 10 stores altogether. We made some great buys and lots of memories. The timesaver award definitely goes to Mamaw who figured out that we could check out at the concession checkout at Target, saving us at least an hour of valuable shopping time! We had our pictures made on Friday afternoon, then headed to the "young Carrolls" to see their awesome Christmas lights and enjoy some great burgers. Saturday, we got Amanda a new toe ring (since hers had to be removed when she had her surgery) and initiated Aunt Cindy into the club. It was a rather painful experience for her, but she took one for the team and now has a beautiful toe ring to show for it! All in all, we had a great time and made lots of memories. I wish I had more photos, but I was too busy just enjoying my time with everyone!
We got to spend this beautiful morning outside for the girls' final soccer game. Then, we headed to the end of season pizza party. Coach Dad had put together such a great party, complete with individualized awards for each player. Esther received the "T-E-A-M" award for "her spirit and commitment" (it was a play on how she spells e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g right now!). Millie received the "I Play Soccer" award for "her desire to play the game." After watching Esther play all last year, then waiting the entire off season, Millie finally got her chance this year and loved every minute of it! It was a great end to the season!
We got an early start this year. We were carving pumpkins by 7:30!
John and I were the bug catchers. You can't really see it in the photo, but we each had mesh bug cages hanging from our belts and nets slung over our shoulders. The girls were, of course, ladybugs.
Sitting on the front porch, sifting through their haul once it was all over.
n. the young of one's nest
v. 1. sit (on eggs) 2, ponder
john, ashley, esther, emelia
We are the Bellers. We live in a small town in Arkansas that is home to the world's sweetest watermelons and two of the world's cutest kids.
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