Lauren's Big Week...

This week was Lauren's turn. On Tuesday, her school had their annual Speech Meet. There are three categories in each grade; Bible, Fable, and Poem. She put her own personal touches to her Fable selection all last weekend, and then Sunday night, she said, "Mommy, may I recite my speech for you?" I was looking forward to it and said, "Sure!" She made a few blips here and there, but once she worked those out I said, "You do it exactly like you just did and you will win!" Well, she must have because she came home with a First Place certificate and plans to go on to the district meet in May. Whoo-hoo! (By the way, honorable mention for Niko--he was awarded
Second place for his Bible speech!).

Just as the glow from her victory was setting in, we had to set it aside and move onto the next challenge--her dance team was asked to perform at the Anaheim Convention Center for the Anaheim Arsenal Basketball team. We got her all dressed up, told her to do her homework in the car, and we were off to Anaheim. We stopped nearby there at Tiffys for dinner, where I worked for three years during college, and I told her about how I cleaned the brass, and waited on tourists going or coming from Disneyland, all the while wondering where my life would lead. Now 20 years later, here we are. It is her turn and she is living life to the fullest! This event turned out to be easy, and a great warm-up for their first dance competition of the season they had this morning in Riverside. They ran out onto the court and danced like they everyone was there just to see them. It was fun! Juan said with pride, "She's a dancer."

This morning, we were up at the crack of dawn (and an extra hour early thanks to the time change) to get her all painted up for the competition in Riverside. You have to practically gel-glue their hair to their heads, and the make up has to be stage dark. With her new short cut, we used A LOT of bobbi pins but finally got it into place. Applying the make up is the only part of the whole process she does NOT enjoy. Says she, "I look like a clown. Why do people wear this stuff anyway?" I smiled and said, "Well, God gave you the natural skin of an angel. Not everybody is that lucky. See Mommy's lips, they are almost faded to nothing. Lipstick makes me look less dead. Your's however are the prettiest color of a new red rosebud." She giggled and told me, "Mommy, you don't need make up and you don't look dead. Your lips look just like mine." Love, through the eyes of your child. Priceless.

The team did really great today. They have become cohesive and from the audience, I could tell they trust each other. It was wonderful to watch. Our weeks are busy, as I'm sure anyone who reads this blog has come to know, but this recent jammed packed week, very much like Niko's two weeks ago, was another we can gratefully say was filled with miles and smiles. Good job, Lauren!