kearsmom: May 2009

School is out, recitals are over, and I actually have a few days with no real schedule. It won't last long, but I am going to take advantage of it to try to catch up on this blog. I feel like I have really neglected it, but so much has been going on, I've been somewhat overwhelmed...and not quite sure where to begin. I still have some Disney news and pictures I want to share, but I'm going to start, instead, with Banana's recitals and dance news.

The dance news actually begins back in February. A discussion between Kearsdad and I about some family issues led us to begin praying about some specific things. Nothing real big, just things we felt led to pray over regarding the girls. We began praying for some particular things for Banana. I asked a couple of people to pray with me. Around this same time, rehearsals began for Beauty and the Beast, her dance company's spring performance. Within a few weeks, God began to move...

Up until this point, Banana had never complained about a dance rehearsal or schedule. She loved her classes and never complained about the heavy schedule. A few weeks after we began praying, though, that began to change. She wanted to be picked up early on Wednesdays because she was "tired of always being late for Bible Study" and she complained about the weekend rehearsals, especially on Sunday. She wasn't talking about her dance friends as often. All of this was a little subtle, but began to add up.

Then one week, as I was checking our weekly rehearsal schedule, I noticed that the director had scheduled a couple of older girls for a Sunday morning rehearsal. Bells went off. A line had been crossed. We knew that, eventually, Wednesdays were going to become more of an issue. But Sunday morning?? No way. Kearsdad said to me, "Do you think it is time we looked into moving her to "---" (a local Christian dance school). What he didn't know was that I had been looking into that very thing, checking out their website and schedules just out of curiosity. God had obviously been preparing us!

Now for the next step. How would Banana respond to that idea? She had been at her school for four years, in the company for two. She had friends, she was comfortable. Comfortable is a big deal with her. Should we wait? I though maybe so...after all, she was right in the middle of prepping for this performance. But that night, at bedtime, God nudged me. So I casually asked her, "What would you think of considering a move to "--" next year. She looked at me calmly and said, "Yeah, I think so!" What?!?!?! Yes, God, we hear you!

And so the decision was made. We completed our year, eventually telling the director we were leaving (but not where we were going). As the year wore on, we were reminded over and over what a good decision we had made. A couple of weeks ago, Banana went to the new school where we registered, and she danced for observation and placement. It was a very enjoyable experience with a result we were all very happy with. Banana is very much looking forward to next year.

So, last week she danced in her last performances with the old company. It really wasn't sad at all for any of us. Kearsdad's parents came over and got to see her dance for the first time. She also had friends accompany us two nights, and that was fun for her.

Here are Kat, LouLou and Banana after the last performance!