Pink tights???????

 

On Tuesday, Shasha started ballet!!!!

It was so cute.

She took dance camp this summer…”just to be SURE” she LIKED dance.

Thankfully….she LOVED it!!!!

So yesterday …at 3:30 she had her 1st ballet class.

And in TRUE Shashamane fashion she was “concerned” because she doesn't like PINK-and the tights she HAS to wear were PINK TIGHTS.

I told her MANY times that PINK TIGHTS are what REAL DANCE studios want you to wear for ballet.

And MANY times before Tuesday, she asked me to call the studio to ASK if she could wear BLACK tights.

She is RELENTLESS….I wonder where she gets THAT from?????? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.    LOL

I KNEW that they WANTED her to wear PINK tights and asked her, “Shasha-what if EVERYONE in the class is wearing PINK tights???????”

Her response….In true REBEL fashion: “I don’t CARE!!!!!!  I’ll bring my BLACK tights in my bag!”

Gotta LOVE that girl…..She is MORE like ME every day!

So…when we got to the studio.

You guessed it:   EVERYONE was wearing PINK TIGHTS!!

I dropped her off and took the other kids to run a few errands.

When I got back I watched as she stood uniformly in a line and practiced her “plies” and skipped across the floor.

I had tears in my eyes as I watched her.

Dance was my childhood LOVE and it makes me sooooo happy that she has chosen THIS art.

THEN …when we got home Sheba said to me, “Momma, when will it be night?”

I said, “Soon…why???”

Her response, “Because TOMMOROW…I start dance!”

It melted my heart……………….

A “little” Photo Addiction……..

Shashamane has been taking pics like crazy lately.

She has an AMAZING EYE for nature shots.

I think we just have found a TALENT….

        

Prayer and Preparation….

WOW!!!

What a week…..

Here is the RUNDOWN:

Thursday night we started putting everything IN our house out on the lawn.

 

Friday afternoon we got our 26 foot UHAUL.

That's right …a 26 footer!!!

Then we proceeded to play tetris till it was full.

We kept loading

and

loading

and loading.

INSANE.

THANKFULLY…..Awesome Aunt Amy and Uncle Jeff came to our rescue and took ALL of our SWEET kids to their house at about 5 PM.

Then…we proceeded to FINISH loading up the rest of the stuff into our vans and Josiah's truck.

Which took the ENTIRE rest of the evening WITH help from ROB, MIKE, JOSIAH and KASEY! (Thank you guys!!!…not that they are reading this.LOL)

AFTER THAT…at about 11 pm- with our vans and the U-Haul PACKED in front of the house -we STARTED to clean the old place.

And when I say CLEAN…I mean that in EVERY sense of the word.

Caulk

Putty

Paint

Steam Clean

Deep Clean

CRAZY CLEAN.

And after ALL THAT….

It was now about 3 AM-----and all the stuff was gone, all the carpets were wet, and everything was packed up.

We were TIRED…

I mean -

“Fall asleep on the hard wood floor with NOTHING tired”

FUN.

We woke up at 6:45….

swept our way OUT THE DOOR and went with a HAPPY HEART to our new HOMESTEAD.

THEN….

We STARTED to UNLOAD…..

And the UNpacking still hasn’t stopped.

There is TONS to do and I AIM to start school again on Monday.

Which entails REBUILDING the schoolroom this week….

Whew!!!!

Oh yeah….

we got here to discover that the TANK to heat the stove is GONE….

So we haven't been able to COOK since we got here.

The tank will be here on Thursday..THANK GOODNESS.

I felt like the WORST MOM EVER with a cart full of FROZEN MICROWAVEABLE food.

AWFUL.

Regardless of the CRAP you go thru when you move…it is ALWAYS worth it in the end.

We have lots of work to do.

BUT

every corner i turn seems to have ENDLERSS POSSIBILITIES!!!!

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."
Proverbs 16:3

What YOU gonna do about it?

If you know Shashamane you KNOW that she LOVES Gwen Stefani.

She LOVES the song.."Now that you got it."

I love the song also...its SO quirky and cute.

LYRICS:
Now that you got it, what you gonna do about it?
Now that you got it, what you gonna do about it?
Now that you got it, what you gonna do about it?
What you gonna do about it? What you gonna do about it?

Now that I'm your baby the things you promised me now I want
Now that you got it, what you gonna do about it?
What you gonna do about it? What you gonna do about it?
All the stars I was reachin' for you had in the palm of your hand
& if for just once I would let the
padlock on the door be open
Well, dammit, just get on over here
This better be the best thing I ever felt
My days, they better be sunny
It better be nothing but all that I want

LOVE
LOVE
LOVE it!!!!!!!!

Well ....If you saw Shasha sing this song you would CRY laughing.
She is sooooo into it and can sing EVERY WORD.
SOOOO CUTE!

Today we were on our way to pick up the Ellison's for HS co-op when I noticed Shasha TOTALLY singing.

I turned it down and said, "Shasha you know this song is about her EXPECTING a boy to be everything he promised for her, right?"

She smiled and just shrugged.

I said, "When you get older boys will say and promise you all kinds of things to be your boyfriend or hold your hand...you know that right?"

She said..."Yes"

"That's why you have to make sure they are good boys, nice boys...right?"

"They have to be nice to her, right?" said Sheba.

I said, "Well...yall have big brothers" and smiled.

And faintly in the background I heard Malachi say, in a TOTALLY serious voice, "Yeah, we can SMASH em'".

And to THAT I had nothing to say.............OUTLOUD.

Inside in a quiet voice, very faintly, I said "Thats EXACTLY right Malachi, SMASH EM'!"

Gotta LOVE big brothers!!!!!

What a LIFE.....

Sugar Sweet with a "Reggae" cherry on Top!!!

Zeek is a REGGAE YOUTH!!!

Anytime were in the car an it is the girls turn for music he says, "Can we PLEASE put it back on REGGAE????"

I LOVE that boy....he is SUGAR sweet!

So you can imagine OUR excitement when we got 3 tix(THANKS RAGGA) for the Stephen Marley concert in St. Augustine!!!

We were sooooooooooooooooooo extremely happy.

It was OUR NIGHT!!!

We got to the amphitheatre RIGHT as the music began playing ....RIGHT ON TIME!!!!

We starte out in the seats because the "pit" was full.

I use the word "pit" loosely...It was a reggae show!

It wasn't a MOSH pit!! LOL

Very QUICKLY I arrive at the fact that THIS was NOT the 1st concert experience my boy was going to have!!!

We wanted to be UP CLOSE an PERSONAL!!!!

SO I said , "This SUCKS!...Lets go there"..an motioned to the front of the stage.

We got there an were sort of just standing there when this guy came up to us.

"Yall want to go onto the floor?"

"YEAH!!!"

So he tol the security guard that we were OK an we went RIGHT IN!

Then in a way I cannot explain...The "pit" opened an we were let right up to the FRONT ROW!!!!!

Now THIS is the 1st concert experience I was talking about!!!!

We stood at the front of the stage an Zeek an Stephens son smile an wave at each other the whole time!!!

PRICELESS!!!!!!

Several times at the show Zeek pivoted around an looked at me just SMILING !!!!

He was sooooo happy!

Then as soon as the show was over... we looked for where the backstage was.

We walked up an stood there looking like we were suppose to be there....LOL

One of the security standing there said..."Their ok"

An we were in!!!

We walked p to the back of the bus an I said to Zeek..."If we meet him you can tell him what your fav songs are."

He was READY!!!

WE walked around the bus an we were FACE to FACE with Stephen Marley, Julian Marley an Ceella Marley!!!

Like a GLORIOUS VISION!!!!

CRAZY!!!

Zeek then acted JUST like me an was soooo starstruck that he COULDN'T say ANYTHING!!

He stood there with a ear to ear grin on his face!!!

Then in true "Jana" fashion, I TOTALLY FORGOT what brilliant thing I was going to say an said..."He LOVES your music!"

MAN...I am such a GROUPIE!!!!

I ALWAYS think about what I am GOING to say an then COMPLETELY FLAIL it!!!

(Note to self: FIX this BEFORE I meet Bobs YOUNGEST son!!! LOL)

So Stephen hugged Zeek tight saying.."Ghetto YOUTH"!!!!

That is when I snapped THIS:


This:



ALSO THIS:


What an AMAZING NIGHT!!!!

An UNBELIEVABLE night in the mix with REGGAE ROYALTY!!!

Best of all was when I asked Zeek what HIS favorite part of the night was an his answer was "Meeting Stephen Marley!"

Sugar sweet I tell ya...That boy is SUPER Sugar Sweet!!!!!

Like sand in an hourglass.....

I just watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".
I watched the whole time thinking..."How SAD".
How hard would it be to have to "meet someone in the middle" of life?
How hard would it be to have to watch the LOVE OF YOUR LIFE walk away?
How UNIMAGINABLE would it be to have to watch everyone you love get old and pass?
In life I guess there are always times when we "just need a minute" away.
There is always that moment as a mother when you want some "ALONE" time.
There is always THAT moment when you want your kids out of YOUR bed.
This movie was such a reminder that time slips thru our fingers like sand.
Tommorow is NEVER promised and sometimes we DONT get a second chance.
As I sit hear and listen to the silence of my home, with everyone tucked away in their beds, I cant help but think of sometime in the future when my life wont be LIKE THIS.
As I sit hear with my sleeping children, my loving husband and a FULL DAY of school and fun ahead of me tommorow....I cant help but let the tears run down my face.
A mix of joy and sadness.
A confusion of happiness and pain.
I cry at the thought of a quiet home where my children no longer sleep, because they have THEIR OWN families..
I cant help but reflect on how MY parents must feel as they watch US grow.
To be honest ...I am scared.
It scares me to get to this point in my life.
I am sooo happy, sometimes I look around and think, "This is the BEST time of my life."
I know that with every day that passes, we watch our children grow.
With every day that passes we watch our parents and family age.
Its a HEAVY reminder that LIFE IS SHORT.
Its a reminder that we are SO FAR from being in control....
God is in control.
Life is a heavy load....But we have to carry it.
Life is sooo short...we have to LIVE it.
So..as I walk thru my home and look upon each of my children and husband tonight, I am going to watch each of them until I have painted a permanent picture in my mind.
I want to remember EVERY DETAIL of tonight.
I want to remember THIS LIFE...just how it is.