Time away...

This past weekend I was able to get away for a few days. Although I missed my family, it felt really good to get away. I went to Nashville, TN to the MOPS Int'l Convention. I was with 5 other MOPS moms from our group. It was fun to have some "girl time" as we sat around at night and talked late into the night. It was also refreshing to get to be with 5000 other moms as we worshipped and learned. We got to hear from some great artists and speakers. Kim Hill led worship. We also heard other artists including: Nicole Nordeman, Mark Schultz, Go Fish, and MOC (I must admit - not my favorite). We heard from speakers including: Elisa Morgan (CEO and President of MOPS Int'l), Ken Davis, Priscilla Shirer, Carol Kuykendall (another MOPS person), Donald Miller and Wes Stafford. It was overall, a great time of fun and a time to re-energize. I feel a little more relaxed and that helps me feel like I can be a better wife and mom. And that is ultimately my goal... to be the best wife and mother I can be.

Have you ever wished, "If only..."?

I have always wished I could be a great dancer. I took ballet briefly when I was a little girl. I don't even remember why I stopped. I did like it. It was offered after school in the music room. I remember it well. We pulled out bars and stood there holding on practicing our positions and pleas and grand pleas. I even did a dance recital. I got to wear the outfit, the bun, everything. It was fun. Then it stopped.
I tried again in high school. I took dance for my P.E. It was a combination of ballet, jazz and tap. That lasted one semester. The teacher thought I was terrible. I can still remember doing jazz walks across the floor and thinking I was at least doing an ok job. She looked at me and said, "What are you doing?!?" It really hurt my feelings. She could've at least been nice about my lack of dance ability. Then I stopped. I know why. Mrs. Blanchard crushed my hopes of ever getting it. Not just in that one comment, but throughout the semester. I wasn't trying to be on her dance team, I just wanted to take a PE class I thought would be fun. After that, I joined the track team.
Emma is just like most little girls and dreams of being a dancer. I took her to CSA and enrolled her in the only class they offered for girls her age -tap. As I watched her tap I kept thinking, "I want to do that!" The dream inside me never went away. As I tried living through my daughter, I knew that somehow I had to do it for myself. I watched the Christmas production she was in and there were adult tappers in it. They themselves were new to tap. If they could do it, I could do it. (Felicia, if you read this, you inspired me. :-)) So I signed up. In January I took my first semester of tap. I even performed. Can't say that performing is my favorite part, but I would still do it again. Anyway, the class was fun. There were 20 of us all trying something we had never done before. We had a great time. There were times that I thought maybe I would never get it...maybe you really can't teach an old dog new tricks. But still, I enjoyed it and my teacher didn't look at me like I was an idiot for even trying (thanks, Leslie!).
I am now two classes into my second semester. Last night was my favorite night so far. We were dancing. We were putting moves together and making noises with our taps. I felt like I was tapping. I probably looked as silly as I did in high school, but I was having fun and my teacher didn't wonder what I was doing... at least not out loud.
I guess it is never too late to realize a childhood dream. I may not have done it as a child, but I am doing it now!

"Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down..."

Remember the song from Karen Carpenter? Today is Monday. Today is a rainy day. I can't help but sing that song. I miss listening to Karen. Maybe I will dig out my cassette tapes (yes, I still own those!) and listen to her.

Rainy days usually are difficult days for us here in the Toevs household. Anna has JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) and the rain seems to affect her. She complains mostly of her feet hurting. Usually she wants medicine, but today she doesn't. The day is still early, we'll see how it goes.
I keep thinking (hoping) she is going to outgrow the JRA. Some days I think to myself, she doesn't really have anything wrong. Other days, there is no question that something is wrong. I hate watching my child suffer. I wish I could take away the pain. I wish there was some instant cure. It just breaks my heart to hear her complain, watch her limp, see her frustrated, hear her cry, etc.
Then there are the times when she is smiling - dimples showing, running, laughing, playing, talking. I cherish those times. I pray that as time goes on we will see more of those and less of the other. I am thankful that over the last year, that has been the case. I am still hopeful that she will quickly outgrow the JRA.
For today... I will dig out my Karen music and enjoy it being a rainy Monday.

A Day in the Life of Our Family...

I recovered from my skating adventure... I wasn't even sore this morning. :-)
I apologize if I shut some of you (Deb) out of commenting on my blog. Somehow it said you had to be a member... I don't even know how one becomes a member... It wasn't on purpose... really. :-)

I think IT is contagious. What is IT, you ask? The blogging disease. I caught IT from someone who caught IT from someone else. I know a couple of people that have caught IT from me. What is this world coming to? There are even those that have caught IT from the unknown. IT is an epidemic, I tell you. But at least IT is a fun epidemic. Oh, and IT is addicting too. But I guess there are worse things to be addicted to. :-)