Blessings in May...

 Dear Readers,

Mrs.Darling got to wear Cinderella's slippers! My dreams come true...

Mason did an amazing job at improv--and allowed all the little girls to get changed! And everyone adored Benjamin...

   We are now finished with production week for Peter Pan...and our trip to Disneyland! Both were wonderful and filled with blessings.
Peter Pan was an amazing experience.
I've always felt clumsy as a dancer, and have struggled with feeling comfortable changing in front of people and wearing the costumes. Mrs.Caroline did an amazing job of allowing us to wear nude leotards underneath our clothes, and making all the costumes modest. More than that, though- they were beautiful!

Goodbye, Arizona!



Hello, California!

 Mom and Dad have been married for twenty years!

Now- on to our own Neverland!

We went to Disneyland to celebrate our wonderful parents' twentieth anniversary...and Mom's birthday! It was a wonderful oppurtunity for a romantic photographer! They were so sweet to pose...every time I asked... I'm so grateful these two fell in love!

Here are some of my favorite attraction photos.Did I mention that this is my first visit to Disneyland with my own camera?! I WENT CRAZY!!!

I want to play the violin on the carousel!

I love this picture- pure joy.

Dumbo is Mom and my favorite--he is a special needs elephant! And not to mention adorable.. I love this photo. Can you find Dumbo?!

To some, the perfect 'in love' picture may be the image of a gorgeous princess and perfect prince walking hand in hand, but I think the 'for worse' part of the deal is when your true love will show.



  My theme for this trip was mailboxes--and Disney has some wonderfully old fashioned ones! I thought this picture was ruined when Cate hopped in it, but it's actually one of my favorites!

  So--I've hit attractions, anniversaries..hmm.. another wonderful part of our trip was the people we met! My Dad's dear friend who we affectionately call Uncle Todd came, along with Aunt Marti and their adorable daughter Gracie! We had so much fun watching Gracie get to know the park, and were thrilled when she fell in love  with Dumbo, too! And as you can see from the above picture- she and Cate were inseperable! It was wonderful to spend time with them.  It was also wonderful to see another sweet friend who plays piano at the hotel. After running down to the lobby to check for her every day of our trip, I was ecstatic to hear her playing on the last few days we were there. I always love talking with her. And yes--she plays and talks at the same time! She's amazing and it was such a treat.

Another treat the boys were especially glad for-- we got to ride Star Tours! That is a favorite in our family (of course!), and so when we got to ride the new ride BEFORE IT WAS OPEN -- we were thrilled! We also loved World of Color and Fantasmic, although I was frustrated in how hard it was to photograph! But it was still beautiful. Well,I hope you enjoyed this little corner of our adventure! I hope you all are having a week- filled with JOY no matter what. I also have to share a little surprise-- Mom and I are going on a mission trip to Mexico this weekend! I've missed Mexico so much, and am thrilled to be able to serve the Lord and get a little Mommy-and-me time in as well. Please pray for hearts to be reached! I will be praying for each of you in your own private mission fields. Your Blogger,
Claire

 



 Dear Readers,

 I am feeling so blessed this weekend. I had my violin and piano recital this weekend, and it was absolutely wonderful. I loved seeing all my friends from the Christmas concert, and I really do love performing my music.

 Although, I must say, I had my doubts. I've been wondering how I'm serving God with this. I mean, does He really enjoy hearing me play??? And my mom told me that yes- any time we use the gifts He's given us, (whether that be sign language or music or dance or whatever) we are bringing Him joy. He doesn't want to see our talents lay dormant. He wants us to bring Him glory with them. So, I hope all of you can understand that just because your activity or extra curricular activity may not be under the roof of a church, you are still serving God through it. And every day you have an oppurtunity to plant a seed by your actions.

My mother has done an excellent job using the gifts God has given her. A compassionate heart, a willingness to serve, unconditional love for others,  the sweetest spirit, and so much more. She has used those gifts to raise us, and is an absolute blessing.  And we experience her love every single day. I am so grateful to have her this Mother's day. She is the greatest gift in the world and I don't know what I would do without her. I love you, Mom! 

Your grateful  Blogger,

 Claire 

Inspiration

Dear Readers,
  I'm sorry to keep abandoning you, but the fact is...I have no inspiration.  I've tried time and again to make a post, and it's turned out to be so lame and fake that I had to hit 'delete'. I can't force words into my mouth when none will come! So, instead of writing a post that will bore you all to sleep   (was my birthday post at least decent??), I've decided to come out with it and let you all know that I still love you. And I still love writing. It's just that -- I can't  think of anything worth sharing with you. -sigh-

  So, let me share with you the brilliant words of another instead. Please check out 'My life as a Chronically Ill Teen'. In it you will find inspiration and the purest facts of life that will change the way you view the world.  Please look at it with a heart of understanding, and a mind willing to change.
  Hopefully, by soaking in the amazing insights of my dear friend, you will find that we can all change the world. Maybe not by having brilliant blog posts, but every time you share a smile, pick up dropped car keys, or don't look down on someone because they are different - you are rocking the world for God. You are being His hands and feet, and are sharing the Light of Jesus.  

   Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young -(insert something you don't like about yourself here)-, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.  1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)
                     I hope that all of you will have a wonderful week - thankful for every blessing that comes your way. And filled with lots of oppurtunities to bless others. Your Blogger,
                                                                                          Claire

Birthdays...

Dear Readers,
  I am so sorry for not posting for some time!! Life has gotten in the way. But let me assure you - good things in life have gotten in the way!! It was our birthday on the 18th, and it was amazing. absolutely. amazing. really, it was!  I am so thankful my mom endured all she did to give us life!
  Let me start at the beginning...

 We started to celebrate on Sunday, and got Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast. We had a lovely, lazy morning, watching the Brady Bunch, going swimming, and having fun together. Mom, though, spent a large amount of time on the computer--which is unlike her. Hmm...    

   

 Day two of the birthday celebration: It's our birthday!! YAY! I got up early and the boys and I had some triplet bonding time before anyone else woke up. (We made sure to make enough noise to wake up others, though- it's just SO hard to wait!)  And then - we were walking the birthday mile. Through the hall, into the kitchen and -gasp- what was on the table??? Cards from grandparents and  two flat pieces of white paper. 'hmm' again...
   Let me cut the dramatic outline and get to the climax---  WE GOT A FACEBOOK ACCOUNT! 
  Yes - Mom and Dad gave us a facebook account! And we had not one friend, not two friends, but more than  one hundred friends apiece! We had profile photos, and all our sweet friends had written on our wall for our birthday, and Mom's post talking about  a 'Facebook Surprise Party' was at the top. OOOHHH!!!
   It was so much fun. And it STILL is so much fun! (Even though in the past two days I've spent WAY too much time on there..)


I cannot WAIT for our tea party...

    Any way, we then went to the musical instrument museum! And I got to play the piano in the lobby for all to hear. Amazing, again! I played my 'Sonatina in C major', which is my song for my recital. It was fascinating to see all the instruments, and the 'experience room' was such fun! I encourage all you Arizonians to visit...   
 Then we opened presents. I got an invitation to tea at the Tea room with Mom and Cate! Needless to say, I am exhilerated and cannot wait! AND, I will be taking a sewing class at JoAnne's in May. I am simply DYING to learn to quilt, but first I must learn to use a machine. So now I am DYING to make a pair of shorts, as well, so thankfully I will be doing that in my class!!   The boys will be going to a Newsboys concert with Dad and Len, which they have been wanting to go to. So, we really got lots of great experiences for our birthday - which I love! The good memories of your life experiences are something you can take with you where ever you go.
  And we definitely made a lot of great experiences on Monday. Thank you to all of you who helped to make our day so special with your sweet Facebook messages!


 With love and joy,

 Your Blogger Claire                                             

I love this hot pink sax and ornate violin!

We sponsor a boy in Uganda, and we loved seeing the instruments from his homeland!

'Mom-I want to learn to play the frying pans!'

It's so hard to be the only kid to not have a birthday...

I loved seeing all the parts of a piano!

Can you guess how to play this instrument? You put it on your bottom and shake,shake, shake!

promenading into the past....

   Dear Readers,

 Thou shalt travel back into a time when knights raged, elephants were given as gifts, and stunt men juggle chain saws. Okay - maybe not the last part. But if you travel to Apache Junction, AZ, you will find all of those things - even the stunt man!

  For our home schooling excursion this week, we went to the Renaissance festival. And may I say it was a blast!  There were buildings that looked exactly like that from Renaissance time, and in them we got to watch a glass blower at work, see two knights duel, (although the beautiful paint horses were my favorite part), watch a stunt man juggle a chainsaw, knife and apple, and THEN (as if that weren't enough to give any decent person sitting in the second row a heart attack-I was praying!) he held the apple in his mouth and sliced it in half with a chainsaw. I was thinking 'I would really hate to see this man go to the emergency room just for the enjoyment of others.' But you know what? No one was injured and that was Benjamin's (who was sitting in the BACK row!) favorite part of the visit. 

   I had the amazing oppurtunity to -are you ready? - RIDE AN ELEPHANT!



oh, to wear such old-fashioned splendor as this!



It was amazing. And I loved how he flapped his ears every time he took a step. So magestic! Cate and Mom had a great experience,too - they got to ride a camel! The camel was so sweet looking and I took about a dozen pictures of Mom, Cate, and Sahara.

     We also heard an Irish folktale over our lunch, held a goose in a diaper, listened to a Travelers' Saxophone, heard a beautiful harp, and just had an amazing day learning. Field trips are my favorite way to learn! So, now, allow me to stop talking and put up all the pictures!



I love the colors here...

See the strength in this beautiful horse?

                           

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And the only slightly cheesy performance!

And go to this...



We watched a vase start as this...

And end as this! I hope you'll excuse the not-so-great photos.

My real life Dumbo was precious!

  I know that chain is for safety, but can't help but think of Mrs.Jumbo. : (

I love the curled up trunk - but hate the chain. Just sayin'.



My view - looking down from my elephant, I snapped a shot of his friend!



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Sorry if my pictures are blown up - I'm having difficulties with Blogger, and can't figure out how to fix it. Please keep scrolling and enjoy! Each of you are in my prayers. Your Blogger,

      Claire