Only when you are ten, can you go from watching Pretty Little Liars to Lala Loopsey.  I love this about Emma.

Last night I took Annie shopping for a dress for her eighth grade promotion dance.  We had such a good time.  She is beautiful, and I love being with her.  We stopped to get ice cream on the way home because she said we were having such a great night we needed to end with ice cream.  On the way home, we sang together to "I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore."  It was as precious a moment to me as cuddling her when she was a baby.  Having her in class this year has been an amazing experience.  I will miss her so much.

Nice opportunity

I distinctly remember the last night that I was pregnant with Annie.  I was scheduled for an induction the next day, and I soaked in the time she spent kicking me.  I knew that I would never feel that again.  The next day everything would change.  It was scary, but so exciting.  I knew she was ready to make her big arrival, and I was ready too.

I feel oddly the same as I think about taking her for high school orientation tomorrow.  The only difference is that I'm not sure I'm ready, but, just like every other stage of her life, I am confident that she is.

Last night Emma was in the fifth grade junior miss.  She danced, she did push-ups, she spoke to the audience twice.  Watching her do these things with confidence and little, if any, nervousness, is still amazing to me.  That this little girl who went years without speaking to anyone will now talk and sing in front of a crowd, truly is a miracle.

She looked beautiful.  After working so hard for five weeks, I was very proud of her.  She didn't win, but she smiled and had fun the whole time.

When we got in the car, Sarah Beth began to cry.  She said, "I wanted Emma to win!"  I didn't even realize that she fully understood what was happening, and she had never spoken of her disappointment for Emma while we remained in the gym.

I explained to Sarah Beth that Emma did win because she did such a good job and had so much fun.  Sarah Beth replied, "But she didn't get a lot of medals.  I wanted her to get a lot of medals."

Winning was never discussed throughout this process, but Sarah Beth figured out that was the goal, and she thought that her big sister should have been the one to win.

Honestly, I'll take Sarah Beth's love for her big sister over those medals any day.

The two little girls are on the den floor with their blankets practicing their letters on the ipad.  The best part is listening to them encourage each other.  Sarah Beth just said, "You did awesome!"

Emma is curled up in my lap asleep.  Annie is upstairs doing something on her own after cooking some very good chicken for supper tonight.  My girls are so sweet.

Things Sarah Beth has said lately (when she isn't still singing 'Joy to the World' and 'We Need a Little Christmas'):

"It's so good, it's even gooder!"  She was talking about handitizer (hand sanitizer).

She was at a ballgame with Tim Friday night.  It was loud while the band was playing.  She had been to the chili supper and had some chili and a sandwich.  The first game was almost over, and she looked at Tim and said, "I have my Sprite and M & Ms.  Can you take me home now? It's loud in here."