Sunday, December 31, 2023

Shrek Jr. Performances

Mia recently joined Brylliant Acting Studio in their production of Shrek Jr. She had the role of Donkey, and she absolutely nailed it! This was her first time in the comedic relief role, and she played it perfectly. It was so much fun to watch her, and hear the laughs from the audience as she delivered some great and classic lines. She was all in on this character, and it showed.













Here are links to my most favorite parts:
Donkey and Shrek talking about ogres: https://youtu.be/o0YTHt-h7wc
Travel Song: https://youtu.be/JkiyiVSZGfc

I am always proud of Mia when she is acting; I think it takes a lot of courage to get up in front of so many people and perform. I think this was quite possibly her best role!

Sunday, November 26, 2023

A Beautiful November

November has been a beautiful month. It's been a little bit of a slower pace too which has been nice. Here are a few things that have been happening in addition to Mia's birthday.

Ken Rada does a great job with the school's pictures. I can't bring myself to buy them though because we always do our annual pictures with Allison. We are thankful for Stonehaven and the people here.


We were glad to have Grandpops in town for a weekend; it's always fun to visit with him. The evenings were so lovely, so we enjoyed time around the firepit together.
My two favorite turkeys!
Lily is a part of Stonehaven's choir. Mrs. Myrick has done such amazing things with this group; they sound so beautiful! They had a competition down in Macon one day where they received an "excellent" rating. While at Cracker Barrel for lunch, they had a lovely older couple ask them to sing for them which they did. Lily said the couple was brought to tears; they prayed for the students, and the students also prayed for them. I'd say this day was successful in more ways than one!
Ryan and I love our community group which meets in our house every Tuesday evening. We were happy to host a "friendsgiving" a few days before Thanksgiving. Ryan smoked this fabulous brisket for us, and then everyone else brought sides and/or desserts. It was so good and a wonderful evening of fellowship together.
Thanksgiving Day was beautiful! The girls and I enjoyed being over at Sid and Elaine's house; Ryan was unfortunately home sick. Mom and Dad were happy to have all their grandkids (now including Bennett!) together.
I am very thankful for my parents. They don't come any better than this!
My dinner plate...oh my goodness all this food is so good!
The girls and I hanging out with Caroline, Natalie, and Emily. We always like it when we can spill outside.
We like putting our Christmas decorations up in November each year. These decorations bring us such joy; the ornaments especially hold so many great memories. We decorated our tree and included all our new ornaments from the year. We've got the Bible History Center (Ryan's first field trip as a teacher), Hawaii, Six performance in Greenville, Nashville, Eras Tour concert, and eight from our London trip. What a year!
We couldn't resist getting an adorable Grinch tree this year too. Grandma Jan gave us this perfect little Grinch statue to stand by it. I love this!
We may have purchased a Grinch sandwich press at Hobby Lobby too; what can we say? We love the Grinch! We enjoyed a nice little Who feast one evening which included Grinch grilled cheese, who hash browns, red pears, green colored vanilla pudding, and Grinch juice. It was delicious and fun!
This is one of my favorite views in my home. I love reading in front of the fireplace while seeing our tree and decorations up. I'd say we are ready for the Christmas season!
What a lovely month it has been!

Mia's 15th Birthday!

Happy 15th Birthday to Mia!

Mia was ready by 6:30 on the morning of her birthday. She and Ryan stopped by Chick-fil-a for a birthday breakfast before they headed over to the Dept of Motor Vehicles. Mia had been studying, and she passed her learner's permit test with flying colors! Way to go Mia!

She couldn't wait to start driving, so she and Ryan headed over to the church so she could start practicing. She's picking this up pretty quickly! We are confident she'll become a great driver.
We had Mia's requested lunch of prosciutto and cheese on baguette. We were happy to give her some birthday presents to start the celebration. Granna and Papa came by too to wish her a happy birthday in person. We were excited to welcome Paige Pennington and Rylie Leverett over a little bit later. We sang happy birthday and enjoyed some cookie cake; it's always fun to have dessert first!
I then took Mia, Paige, and Rylie to Medieval Times in Lawrenceville. Mia has been before and really enjoyed it. I was so excited to get to take them! We were assigned to the Red Knight's section, and we were ready to cheer him on!



This was such a fun evening celebrating Mia!

Mia is an amazing young lady. She is generous and compassionate. She is funny and intelligent. She cares about people deeply. She loves to read and always has a good book in tow. She is creative and loves to sew. She enjoys video games as well, especially the Zelda series. She really loves the theater too whether she's performing in it or just watching. She has many gifts and talents, and I cannot thank the Lord enough for how he lovingly created Mia!

We had dinner at Melting Pot one evening to continue her celebration, and it was fun to ask her our annual birthday questions. Here is 15-year-old Mia's current favorites:
Color - Black
Movie - Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
TV Show - Only Murders in the Building
Book - Ember in the Ashes
Drink - Coke
Food - Wagyu steak
Friend - Rylie Leverett
Bible Verse - Psalm 73
School Subject - Biology
Activity - Acting
Place to Go - Rehearsal
Game to Play - Tears of the Kingdom video game
Restaurant - Melting Pot
Animal - Tiger
Memory from the Last Year - 13 camp with Brylliant
Most Thankful for - My friends
Goal this year - Improve dancing skills for theater
We are so thankful for Mia, and we pray this upcoming year will be a wonderful one for her where she draws closer to the Lord and continues to grow into the woman He has designed her to be. 

Annual Family Pictures

I am always thankful for time with Allison Mauer to get our annual family pictures. We visited Whittier Mill Village this year, and it was a gorgeous morning. These pictures turned out great!








I am so very thankful for my people!