"Trick or Treat"

Bailey (on the left) and his two buddies go out as "The Nerds"

Our Wonderful Neighbors Brian and Jean had special bags just for our kids and all the neighbor kids...I just thought this was the sweetest thing in to do for them all! :-)

mommy and Gracie

my friends Stacey and her boys stopped by for a while...I put my Gypsy costume on her..she is such a sport.....and a great friend!

Thank you for your Prayers....

First I want to say I am very touched by the amount of comments and prayers from my blogger friends going out to me today. Im so happy and comforted by your words and just to know that you all have been praying for my situation. I saw my family doctor yesterday, and all my blood work came back normal. My EKG did not show anything either. This is good! My xray showed arthritis in my back. Not good! I will however still be seeing a heart doctor...this still needs to be scheduled. They will just run a few other tests to just be on the safe side. For now my doctor is calling this chest pain Costochondritis.  This condition will mimic the same feelings as a heart attack. It is basically Inflammation of the cartilage that joins the ribs to the breastbone (called costal cartilages). The chest pain of costochondritis sometimes is severe, as mine was like a heart attack. Costochondritis usually, but not always, involves one side of the breastbone. But mostly in the middle of the chest. Sometimes the pain can extend to the shoulder or arm on the involved side. The information I have on it says it should go away in 2 weeks. Very strange. No treatement for it , and no reason for it to come on.  Just to have more comfort,I will still see the heart doctor since heart desease runs in our family. Costochondritis is not see on xray, it is just diagnosed by the way your sympotoms are.  Here is a site with some more information if you like: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/costochondritis/article_em.htm  Thank you for continues prayers and we seek another opionion...we hope this is all that it is and it just clears up fast.  Makes everything a little more challenging. With my shoulder pain keeping me from being able to do some of the normal things...and now this...I continue to lean on HIM for my hope, for my strength, for my complete healing!!
GOd bless and thank you for your encouragement...you have no idea how much that means to me!

Could use your prayers....

This could be nothing and hopefully it is not. But the other day I woke up with tightness in my chest, I just thought it was a little strange as I had done nothing to make it feel this way. As the day went on the tightness became quite obvious and I told my family I feel very weird. By bedtime not just tightness, but a striking pain would come and go in my middle chest. It would take my breath away. Terry was going to take me to the ER, but we decided to wait it out. It would hurt anytime I would try to move, lay on my side, or pick something up. Very strange..and definetly not normal!  I honestly laid in bed thinking about my life that night, and praying to God that he would not let anything happen to me..that I need to be here for my family now. The next day I woke up and the pain was gone, but I still contacted my dr today. It is nice to have dr. Friends that care. So she wants me to come in first thing in the morning for and xray, EKG, and blood work. Also last summer I had a surgery on my shoulder. Well Im back to the same pain I had before the surgery.   Long story, but...when it hurts to reach for a glass in your cabinet something is wrong.  So with teaching dance and dealing with this cronic pain in my shoulder....I honestly feel somedays like Im 80 years old :-).  Could you please say a prayer for me...Im a little worried about tomarrow, but hopeful that everything will be ok. God is my strength when I am weak!

Girly day...

How is my little girl growing up so fast? It seems it was just yesterday I was rocking her to sleep at night...I love our realtionship and how it has grown in many different ways. She still loves to hang out with me and do many thing together.....Of course I cherish this! I hope this will never change. My prayers pour over each of my kids every day...I pray God keeps them safe and healthy, I pray for their futures...especially now with so many things changing in our world. Most of all, I pray that they always have a heart a passion to personally live for the Lord...no matter what others may say or think!

This was a fun day with my oldest daughter...just out for the afternoon for a little while having fun taking pictures! She loves to let me practice with my camera!  :-)

The Closest thing to a pumpkin patch!

I'm thinking I waited a little too long to try to get to a pumpkin patch....today I found some left overs from all the snow and yuky weather we had. I think I still got some cute pictures. ...and Gracies outfit makes it a perfect day!

Closer to Finalization Day..

Yes..I had to throw in a goofy picture of our little Gracie. As you know by now she just loves shoes, well this time, she put my tennis shoes on herself...Totally funny and I had to grab the camera as she tried to walk all over the house.

Today was  a special day. We met with our attorney that will do the finaliation of our adoption. With the Korea program you can not finalize your adoption until you have had your baby for 6 months, and have completed your 3 post placement visits with your social worker. Right now we are waiting for our consent decree from our agency (Holt) and then we can proceed to get our court date.  I had kind of a different feeling today as we met with our attorney.... Of course as soon as you hold your baby, you feel they have always been yours. For us ever since we saw her referral photo, we knew she was ours!  But today it hit me that legally she is not yet. My eyes started to swell up with some tears as I thought about it and also how I realized what very special day this will be for our whole family...the day she is legally ours, and will legally have our last name! I am hoping that many of our friends and family will make this special day with us in court and then to celebrate with dinner and cake! We hope to have a date set soon. After our adoption is finalized through court, we can then proceed to make her a legal US citizen..this will also be a celebration day! Lots more to come....

Gift from Korea....& Terry's BDay..

Happy Birthday Hunny! We love you very much!
nanna and papa sent everyone gifts today...The kids were totally excited when the packages of three different boxes arrived at the door. Thanks nanna and papa

Terry loved his Vikings Sweats...

And even our little Gracie got a special package from Her Foster Family in Korea!!

What a sweet gift. It was for her birthday that was in August! Attached was a note that said Happy Birthday from Korea!

Is this tiny little bikini so adorable or what?

She was thrilled to show it off for sure

Cutest little baby in the whole wide world

Muffins with Moms

Thank you all so much for your prayers. Amanda was much much better today, It is great to see her back with her great spunky spirit again. Grace missed her terribly and is also sooo glad her "nan" is better too. This morning was muffins with moms day at the kids school, here we are thanking God for good health and enjoying our muffins at school this morning! God Bless!!

Poor Amanda

Has been not feeling well since Saturday night. We think she may have caught H1N1 flu. She has most the symptoms and many kids were coming to school with fevers...UGH (we won't even go there). Anyway here she is today still home, but on the mend for sure. She has not had a fever since Monday. But Im not a mom that pushes her kids out the door until they are really better! Today was movies and popcorn for her. Im so glad I kept her home one more day to rest. What the hurry anyway!! I love my kids home, but hate when they get sick. Praying we all stay well....

What else can I do?.......

If she can climb it or crawl in it, she will do it. Today Grace thought it'd be fun to take everything out of the kitchen cabinet and make a fort in it! Notice she is still eating garlic bread and has one shoe on and one off!! What a multitasker like her mama!!!! Did I tell you how she loves shoes? She has one or both or one of each kind on all the time. So funny...my busy little daughter I love!

Check out the funny wig!! haha so funny!! She acually wore it for a while thinking she ws funny too!

Back in the swing..

I did not have the chance to shoot a pic of every class, but thought I'd share just a few!

Well I guess you could say ...I'm back in the swing again! One week of classes under my belt or should I say under my leotard! Everything went really good. This next week we have "bring a friend to class week", so it should be fun for all the kids to show off all that they do, it also gives other kids the opportunity to see what all we do, and they may too want to join. It has been something I have done for many years. Lots of extra work for me, but fun and worth it. I thought I'd share just a few of my favorite ...little ones steal my heart quickly!

above is one of my classes of 3 year old ballerinas...There is always one in the class that will come with little play slippers on ....so cute!

Here are two of our Korean friends Soobeum, and JK, ..Terry brought them to see my dance business! I think they know ballet! Whats up?

A few of my tiny ballerinas! love it!

Celebrating 10 years of Dance...Reflecting...

This pictures shows me at the age of 4 1/2yrs old.

2006 Dancing to a song called Held By Natalie Grant. This dance I dedicated to my dad whom passed away 10 years prior. The healing power of this dance for me was absolutly amazing!

Today marks the start of our 10th dance season. It seems so hard to believe I have been at this for that long. I remember the day we opened my business Amanda was just 1 yr and Bailey 3. Grace is now the same age Amanda was, and it is so cute how she loves to dance with us :-) Having the dance studio was my dream ever since I could move my feet. I knew when we moved here (13 years ago) and there was no dance studio, that it was my chance to follow that dream. How scarey it was for me way back then, and now it is just part of my life! Part of our lives! I remember as my relationship with the Lord grew so did my heart for Christian music. I told my husband back then..."if I open my own studio I will use some of the popular music that the kids love, but also want to use the Christian music that I love....will people still come?" I decided this was the only way I would do it...With God as my partner and by my side, I decided to go for it! AFter all you never know until you try! And yes the kids came, and still keep coming! This does not mean that I have had it all easy, and for sure there have been the many challenges that come with a business, but I think for sure a business that is speeking the word of God in the way we do through dance movement! Believe me, I have had my share of moments when I have said "I don't think I can do this anymore...Im done". God whispers.."yes you can". One thing is for sure, God is stronger than anything, and through it all I have learned to always lean on Him for support, guidance, and strength. Great memories for me have been in the moments when a student has come to know the Lord in a much deeper way, or right before a big show when my students come and grab me to say "Miss Tina it's time to pray with us before the show"! Or moments when I see my daughter dance with her heart for the Lord, and of course the glorious moment last spring when we brought our Gracie home from Korea two weeks before our last show and I did a small dance with her on stage! As I reflect on the past, and also move into our 10th year, I pray that this year will be filled with many many blessings!

Foto Friday

These photos speek for themselves!

Oh the many places we explore.....

Climbing into my big sisters Barbie Car is so fun..If it only really would drive and take me for a ride..
See this little shoes..well Grace loves all shoes, and wants them all on her feet!

Even if they really are not meant to go on feet at all..Notice how she is holding one foot with one hand and using the other hand to really try hard to get the "little" shoes on. She worked on this for a long time on the kitchen floor.

One of the newest things is moving objects around the house to use as stepping stools to climb onto other things or get into new places she has not been before...

Like trying to use this toy to climb in her crib. And oh how proud we are of it all too!

Or like using this little stroller to climb on , and then get into my mommy's junk cabinet!

Or taking all the toys out of the little toy box, to get into it like it is a boat!

Oh yes..this sweet little cutie pie has melted our hearts and keeps her mommy very busy!