Bridget's Dance Recital

Bridget's tap/ballet class had their dance recital on Sunday, April 29. Our family was well-represented at the performance. She had two aunts (Martha and Sandy), three cousins (Jennifer, Ashlyn and Wesley), two grandparents (Jim and Doris, aka Babushka and Dyedushka) and two very proud parents cheering for her. She and Tessa were very excited that their cousin Wesley was able to come down with Babushka and Dyedushka. They had tons of fun with him while he was here. Here's a photo of the three of them taken Sunday morning:



Martha and Jennifer helped me style Bridget's hair. She refused to wear a "bun." This kid hates to put her hair up, period. But, we did convince her to wear a ponytail, since some sort of updo was mandatory. She looks really beautiful with her hair up. Here's a photo of her before we left for the show. No, it doesn't really show the hairdo I've just described, but it's a cute close-up of my sweetie:



Three dance classes and two creative movement classes performed. The kids were all adorable and I could see some real attitude shining through some of the performers, my little Bridgie among them. Though she had said something about being "nervous" earlier in the week, she was nothing of the sort. She's a real ham and loves the spotlight. Her class first did a tap routine to the song "Supercalafrajulisticexbealadocious" (I'm sure this is spelled wrong, but you get the idea). Here's a photo of her on her way up to the stage for the tap dance:



Bridget's ballet teacher, Ms. Lisa, also did a beautiful solo performance dedicated to her late mother. It was very moving and had both Doris and I wiping away tears.

Then, Bridget's class came back for their ballet number. I had been stressing all week that her tiara would fall off during the ballet dance and I would once again feel like a failure as a mom. I am very happy to report that her tiara stayed put for the entire number. Yippee! Here's a pic of her in her ballet outfit, heading to the stage:



After the ballet number was over, the little ham didn't leave the stage any too quickly. She kept standing there, holding her pose and smiling. She is too much!!

Weight Watchers Weeks 7 & 8

Last week, my weight stayed the same. I wasn't really surprised because: (1) it was my TOM (time of month) and (2) I did induldge in some Easter candy. I was thinking I'd lose 2 or 3 lbs. this week because TOM was done and I have tried to eat better this week. I only lost 1 pound. But, why am I saying "only"? At least I did lose, not gain or stay the same. And, I did eat out once last weekend. I tried to honestly estimate the number of points I ate, but I could have underestimated. I am hoping my weight loss will ramp up again, since my points allowance was lowered by one when I recorded my new weight this morning. 11 pounds down, 19 to go . . .

Bridget's Brilliant Invention

Bridget is pretty inventive. She is always rigging things. Her latest project -- an indoor swing! Our coat closet and linen closet just happen to be directly across from one another in our hallway. Bridget took her jump rope, tied one end to each of the door knobs and -- voila, indoor swing! Thanks to Bridget's ingenuity, she and Tessa were able to swing on a rainy day this week!!

She'd Look Cute Even In A Sack . . .

and here's the proof:



Tessa came up to me the day after Easter and said, "Look, Mama." She had poked her legs through a Walmart bag and put her arms through the bag handles. She is too adorable!!

Easter

It was a very chilly Easter morning here in Georgia. We set a new record low of 23 degrees! The girls got up and went through their Easter baskets, but we put off our egg hunt until after church. We went to church at Hope Methodist Church, where Bridget goes to preschool. This was our first time attending church there. I really liked it. Their service features contemporary Christian music and dramatic interpretations of scripture in addition to the sermon. I like this sort of presentation; it is more meaningful and uplifting to me than traditional services. Dwayne is a Catholic, so it’s different for him, but I think that he, too, got something out of the message. Dress is casual there. I have mixed feelings about that. In a way, I think it is respectful to God to look your best when you’re in His house. On the other hand, church shouldn’t be a fashion show and dressing down shows that you are there for more serious reasons than to see and be seen. I really liked the pastor. He is young and energetic, and speaks with conviction. I think we’ll go back some more and see if we continue to like it.

It was still cool outside when we got home, but we forged ahead with our egg hunt. We changed into warm clothes and headed outside. The Easter Bunny hid the eggs really good this year. I think there are still two eggs we haven't found. Although our dog Ginger might have taken them. We found one of our prize eggs empty. Ginger had figured out how to open it and had eaten the contents!!

We had a nice ham dinner around 2:30, then watched part of the miniseries “Jesus of Nazareth”. This version is from the 70s and stars Robert Powell as Jesus. It was directed by Franco Zefferelli. It is really excellent and I highly recommend it if you’ve never seen it. We had watched part of it Friday night, but still had a few hours to go. The girls watched parts of it. They loved the part where Jesus was born and was a baby and hid their eyes when people were being “mean” to Jesus.

The girls slept really soundly Sunday night, after all the excitement of the day.

Tessa, Papa and Bridget in their Sunday best:



Bridget finds an egg:




Tessa with one of her finds:

Lucky Princess Wiggle-Tooth and the Poison Plant

Week before last, Bridget found not one, but two, four-leaf clovers. She found one on Friday and another one on Saturday. I was astonished. In all my years of searching, I’ve never even found one! You would think the discovery of two such powerful good luck charms would ward off something as benign as poison oak, wouldn’t you? Wrong! The following Wednesday, Bridget’s face had a small red rash when she left for school. It was bigger when she got home. I went to WebMD.com doing research on the various types of rashes and none of them sounded or looked like what she had. I put some cortisone lotion on her face because it was itchy, but it seemed to make it redder, so I didn’t use it again. I gave her some Motrin at bedtime and she slept all night.

When she woke the next morning, her right eye was completely swollen shut!! The poor dear was terrified. I then noticed some white bumps on her face and had my first inkling that she might have poison oak. I talked to my sister Martha, who had been planning to come spend the day with us. Bridget now didn’t want her to come – she didn’t want anyone to see her swollen face. Poor darling!! Martha asked me if it might be poison oak, and I told her I thought it might because it now had white bumps in addition to the redness.

I took her to the doctor that morning and they confirmed our suspicions. Poor Bridgie had to get a painful cortisone shot. I felt so bad for her and had a heaping helping of mom guilt that I didn’t recognize what it was immediately and wasn’t smart enough to make sure all the poison oil was cleaned off her face. Matter of fact, I didn’t use soap at all on her face that night because I was afraid I would irritate it further. I felt like it was my fault that it got so bad. But, my little Bridgie is so tough and is always a trooper! Once the stinging of the shot had gone away, she was feeling better and decided she wanted Martha to come down after all. We wound up having a fun day on March 29, our 2nd annual Adoption Day (see post below) despite the poison oak.

A few days ago, I heard Bridget crying really hard. I went to see what was wrong and she was scared because her bottom middle tooth was wiggly. I told her I think she is starting to lose her baby teeth and the tears turned to smiles. “That means the tooth fairy will bring me some money,” she said, absolutely beaming, then added, “I think those four-leaf clovers made my tooth get loose.”

The tooth still has not come out, despite lots of wiggling on her part. She even tied a string to it and then the door knob (as she’d seen on an episode of The Three Stooges) and shut the door, but to no avail. I’ve been calling her Princess Wiggle-Tooth the last few days. Hope that tooth comes out soon; the poor dear is currently unable to bite her toenails, and I so love watching her do that!!

Two Years Ago . . .

In a court in Krasnodar, Russia, on March 29, 2005, we officially became parents. Bridget, then 3-1/2, and Tessa, barely 2 years old, were given into our care. I will never forget how it felt to leave the orphanage with them that evening. It is still amazing to me that Bridget gladly left the orphanage and all she had known and was happy right from the start. That night, I gave her a bath, and she played happily in the tub. Tessa was a little more timid and quiet and was scared to take a bath, so I gave her a sponge bath. The next day, they played and had a big time in the hotel room. Two days later, in Moscow, Tessa decided bathtime looked like fun and was ready to hop into the tub with Bridget. They are my heroes. They were so trusting of us, despite all they had been through in their pasts. Today, they are happy and healthy and the light of our lives. I am so grateful to God for bringing us together as a family.

This photo shows the girls sitting on their papa’s lap on our first night together:



This photo shows the girls on March 29 this year posing with our adoption day cookie cake: