Mady's First Concert

Mady on the way to the concert she was so excited!


This wasn't the first time she has seen Switchfoot. But the first time she was allowed to stay up late and go to an actual venue to see them. We had great seats and had a great time. She was very excited to get to spend this special time with mommy and daddy. And of course getting to be with her bestie Lauren was a bonus! We all enjoyed every minute of it and it was so fun seeing all our old friends backstage after the show. Thanks to Drew once again for the hook up, first class all the way man.

Our First Nutcracker

Today I took Madeline to the Prado Theater in Balboa Park to see our first Nutcracker ballet. We went with one of my friends, Jackie, and her two girls. Since Mady started ballet this year I wanted her to see what real ballerinas look like and to see a live ballet performance. I actually had never seen the Nutcracker myself, growing up overseas I had missed that experience, so it was a treat for the both of us. Mady really wanted to wear her ballet shoes so I let her, they didn't really match her outfit but I am actually glad she wore them, it added to our whole experience. We explained to Mady before it started that there was no talking in the ballet, just music and dancing. To which she promptly replied "I know my teacher says no talking too so I know to be quiet, but sometimes I like to talk anyway:)" We took our seats and settled in to watch the show. I loved watching Mady's face as the curtain rose, she was excited and trying to figure out what she was seeing all at the same time. I think Mady might have been a little scared when she first saw the Nutcracker but she said she really liked the pretend toys. There was of course Clara, the main part, played by an adorable girl around fourteen. The snowflake dance at the end of the first act was glorious, with snow falling down and the dancers all in white flowing this way and that, it looked like a shaken snow globe and jewelery box all in one. After the first act Mady thought it was over but we told her there was one more act to go. Then she spotted Clara who had come out into the audience during intermission. It might as well have been one of the Disney princesses, she was enthralled. I love how bold Mady is, she just walked over to her and hugged her and asked if she could take her picture with her. Then after admiring her some more she asked if she could go over and tell her that her dress was beautiful. Let's see after that there was the orchestra area down front that some of the little girls were practicing being ballerina's. Mady went down and twirled and practiced her moves and told me when she was done that she was going to be in the Nutcracker next year and that when she grew up she is going to be Clara. The second act was dazzling, the Sugar Plum Fairy radiant and all of the dancers in their toe shoes made my feet ache just watching them. I keep saying to Mady, that is really hard to do as they went up and down on their toes and spun around in circles. She seemed pretty confident that she could do the same when she was big. She didn't even laugh when the Sugar Plum Prince came out in his "tights"/ muscle leotard that when directly up his crack. She must be too young to understand modesty, I and the older girls giggled a little watching him prance around. All was seemingly going well until Mady got tired. She announced very loudly towards the middle of the second act, "Mom I am ready for this to be over now I am tired" I held in the laughter as we happened to be sitting next to Clara's grandmother. It was a great performance and I hope to add it to one of the traditions that we can do every year. Here are some photos of Mady dancing down front and of her and Clara and one of us. Thank you Lord for such a wonderful day with my sweet daughter, she is such a joy to be with.

Happenings

Jim and I have decided to pull Mady out of her preschool. I had had some reservations since the beginning of the year after a few incindents that happened. Then last week I helped in her classrooms and afterwards I just felt a pit in my stomach all day and night. There are just a group of boys in her class that are just way out of line. They seem to really dominate the atmosphere in the class, and it makes the rest of the kids suffer. It is not a learning based preschool so the emphasis would be on the playing/creative aspect and my thought is that is if she is not being built up and encouraged as a person then why bother. Jim has been supportive and thinks that it is the best decision. I haven't told the teacher or the director of the school yet, I thought I would wait until after Thanksgiving break. I am going to just start schooling her at home and doing more crafts with her at home. I do need craft project ideas though for anyone out there reading this far!!! We will use some of the money were were spending on her school to build a craft corner in our house. I am sad that it is not going to work out however this next year of her development is so important to much to risk being feed the wrong things/ideas. I know God is sovereign on all things and that will still work all things for good in Mady's life i just feel it is too early in her life to have the discussion of pointing out differences in people with gospel in their lives and people without the gospel in their lives.

Quotes of the week:

Mady-

" Mommy I like my new Hello Pitty bandaids you got me"

Swinging on the swing out back I am explaining what the word cordinated means, I say "to have control of your body", right as I finished the words, she accidently does a backflip off the swing and lands on her back, she is crying for moment and then realizes, " That was not cordinated was it mommy" We both were crying with laughter.

" Mommy will you sit with me outside while I finish my lunch" "Sure" I reply. After I sit down She looks out at the sky for awhile and the looks at me and says,
" Mommy I love you all the way up to heaven"

Aslan-

He knows the sign langage for More and Please and Thank You. Most of his day her points to what he wants and then signs more please. He says MaMa ALOT, but everytime he says it I love it because he really doesn't say much, except NANA for banana, DADA, swng for swing,
I sing to him every night and every naptime the same song, so now when he's tired he will come up to me and hug me and start to sing the song to me:)

He loves his Sissy and loves to wrestle with her. I am so happy that she likes to wrestle too! They really make each other laugh so much and don't really fight much. I am enjoying this season with them so much.

Ballet Time

Mady started a ballet/tap class this fall. She loves her teacher Miss Lisa and I love watching her in her class. This school is affiliated with the royal academy of ballet in London so they really creative methods of teaching the little ones proper form. The waiting area is small and it is especially fun keeping the little man contained, one day I 'll take a picture of what the lobby looks like when he is done.
We have been keeping busy lately, Mady keeps telling me that she wants to do home school. She can write her name and most of the alphabet. She is smart as a whip, I have to explain everything in detail. We will see about the home school, we live in one of the best public school districts in the state. We'll see what God will do when the time comes.

Mady's First Day of PreSchool

A little late on this post, she started right when we got back from Georgia and Virginia. She loves her new class and new teacher Miss Cullison.

Del Mar Fair

Every year we go to the Del Mar Fair, it is quite a highlight for me and the kids. This year Mady rode her first roller coaster, she was sreeking with delight. I wish I had brought my camera on the ride, her face was a mixture of freedom and pure horror. Here is Mady riding the horses, this is all she talked about from the moment we told her we were going to the Fair. I want to ride the horses, i want to ride the horses. So here she is riding the horses. We love her thankful and joyful heart, after the ride was over instead of asking to go again over and over, she thanked us over and over again, praise you Lord for your Spirit at work in her life. She is a gift beyond measure.

Alkire Family Photo

Here is Jim's side of the family, Jim's sister Beth with her husband Matt, and her three kids, Jeremy, Josh and Katilyn. Jim's parents and us with our little ones. It was really great to spend time with them and get to know them better. I feel so blessed to be a part of such a great group of folks. Thanks Beth for being so loving with my Mady and Aslan. And Katilyn, for playing and doing crafts with Mady and for just letting her hang out with you. She really loved being with you, you are a wonderful young lady and I can't wait to see how you will blosom in the years to come. And Matt, thanks for all of your hard work with the party, you did all the man chores I asked of you without complaining, I can see God's mark of humility on your life. And of course Mom and Dad, it was so good to see you and just be with you guys, and thanks for all the toys for the kids. Let's do it again next year!!

50 Years

My husbands parents celebrated their 5oth wedding anniversary while we were back east. Actually that is the main reason that we went home was to throw them a party to celebrate. The whole day was such a blessing from start to finish. We had a big white catering tent sent up, we hired a bluegrass band, it was catered to make life easy for us. We had all the white lights and white linens on the round tables with colorful centerpieces and candles. They were calling for thunderstorms that evening, around 2 o'clock we heard a rumble and Beth(Jim's sister) and I prayed aloud as we heard it rumble. And God heard our prayers, it turned out to be a beautiful night. Everything went so smoothly... the best part of the night was when Jim's parents got up and honored each other. Their words were so sweet and heart felt, and so full of the gospel. God's grace is truly sufficient, he is so faithful to give them such a loving marriage. I am a beneficiary of their love for the Lord and their love for each other. I get to spend my life with their son and get to receive their input and wisdom passed to him. I am so grateful for them and for raising their son to be a man of God. Here are some pictures of Jim's parents dancing the night away... I loved watching them enjoy themselves, they are so cute!