No Shrinking Violets

Cute girls in matching dresses. Both are holding items that they hope to bring with them to church but that will be vetoed. No webkinz and no blankies. Madeline and Abby wore these dresses for a Christmas card photo years ago.

Our first attempt with the hair staightener. I think I could have done a better job if I'd had more time. Madeline has thick hair and 15 minutes (with frequent interruptions) just won't cut it. Still, Madeline loved the result and she did look more grown up. Maybe the "grown-up" look will help her with a current wish she has. There is an all-girls choir that Madeline is really hoping to join later in the year. It's directed by Madeline's voice teacher and her husband and is very highly respected. Madeline and I went to their Christmas concert and were blown-away by how fabulous they sound. There are only 12 girls and most of their songs are done acappella in 4 part harmony. The majority of the girls are in their late teens and the youngest is in 8th grade. Madeline's teacher said there's a chance she may offer her a spot this summer, but that she'd be the youngest she's ever had in the choir. She said she'll definitely be ready when she's in 7th grade, but it's a possibility sooner. It would absolutely be a big stretch for her, but it would be such a great opportunity and I know she'd learn so much. Besides, I'd love to see Madeline in the full-length black velvet dress!

And speaking of looking more grown up...

She got her ears pierced! Madeline was very brave and stayed all-smiles through the whole thing. She'll need to keep the lovely blue flowers in for the next 6 weeks.
Abby said, "The sparkly earrings match your braces."

We had several days of snow over the Christmas break and Maya REALLY loves to go play outside. I gave Madeline the choice of doing several inside chores or building a snowman with Maya. She wisely chose the snowman option.

I think Maya's happy face shows she made the right choice. Maya was so proud of that snowman (her first) and she waved at him through the window several times a day. It was a sad morning when she woke up and saw that it was gone. Bye, bye Frosty.

Getting comfy watching a video. Maya is a girl with an abundance of confidence, personality, curiosity, spunk, and humor. It's a pretty great (and often tiring) combination! The exhaustion that Lyle and I feel is probably due to the fact that all 4 of our children share these same tiring personality traits. Not a single shrinking violet among the lot.