Our second weekend in Southaven had us heading back to Starkville for Ellington's dance recital. I had been dreading it since I knew our moving date. Is that terrible?! Probably so. Ha. I knew we would be so exhausted and we had to be there the night before for dress rehearsal. The logistics of everything was soooo overwhelming for me. Just being honest here. :) But, it was my baby's first dance recital so I would obviously do anything to make it happen!!! We were blessed to be able to stay with our old neighbors, the Goods. The girls and I headed up Friday afternoon for the Friday evening dress rehearsal. Robert couldn't come then because he had to work all day Friday. I was so nervous about juggling getting ready, the dress rehearsal, etc. with Finley but thankfully she did great! And another plus of staying with the Goods?! Ashia is great with hair (and I am NOT) so she did Ellington's ballerina bun for me.
Here is Ellington all ready for her dress rehearsal!
I looooove the place where Ellington took dance. It's a Christian based dance company. I NEVER had to worry about inappropriate dance moves or inappropriate costumes. They did a devotion at the end of each class and she always had a Bible verse and some kind of take home item to remind her about the devotion. They also ended the class with prayer. I was already a BIG fan of Dance Divine but at the dress rehearsal Mrs. Cynthia (the owner/main teacher) was talking to all the parents about hair, needing to bring safety pins, etc....then she said "If you forgot something tonight or something isn't perfect, don't worry about it. In fact, if that happens tomorrow....don't worry about it!!! I just want these girls to dance for the Lord". I LOVED that. I think so many of us moms were kind of wound tight and to hear her basically say...all of that little stuff doesn't matter!!...meant so much to me!
They started rehearsal with the curtain call. Ellington is the second little girl in blue. :)
This is Ellington's precious class (minus Marris who had already left). These little girls Mamas are so dear to me. Other than Marris, we didn't know anyone in the class but by the end I think we all felt so close. All of the Mamas but one (two including me!) are homeschooling Mamas. Listening to them all talk while we waited on the girls each week during class was such a blessing to me. I learned so much from them and was so encouraged by them. I truly miss them! Such a special group!
Saturday was recital day but the recital wasn't until late in the afternoon. Ellington, Finley and I had fun hanging out with Ashia, Austin, and Bennett. We played for awhile then went shopping and to lunch. The girls obviously had fun being together!!!
Another stressful aspect of the weekend was that I couldn't find anyone to keep Finley for me. I asked several people and no one could. I was soooo disappointed because I wanted to enjoy the recital and focus on the moment rather than focus on keeping Finley happy and quiet. Thankfully my sweet husband took full responsibility of Finley during the recital but it still wasn't the most ideal situation. It worked out ok but I was a little stressed about it!
My pictures during the actual recital didn't turn out great...I couldn't figure out how to mange the lighting situation but I decided it was ok and I should just focus on watching anyway!
It was at this point that I had tears streaming down my face! What a sweet moment!!! It was obviously extra emotional because of the move and knowing we wouldn't be doing the recital next year with this same group.
Ellington had quite a cheering section! She had Mommy, Daddy, Finley, Grams, Pappaw, Aunt LeAnna, Big Bob, and MiMi all there to support her!
Ellington chose The Veranda for supper after the recital. She chose it for the peanut butter balls! :)
What a special weekend!
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