Hello Out There

Hey, if anyone still checks our blog I'm sorry for the lack of postings. We are using facebook now. It's easier and reaches a lot more folks....please join us there! Johnny, Michael, Christy and I all have pages with lots of photos and updates.

Have a Merry Christmas!
Barbie

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Summer Ballet Camp Recital

One of the assignments for summer camp is to choreograph a dance for the 'End of Camp' recital. It was so fun to see the girls working on their dance in our living room with all the furniture pushed back, streamers crashing into the ceiling fan, pointed toes coming dangerously close to the TV, and the dogs nervously looking on in bewilderment. Gracie and Whitney worked together so nicely and this is what they came up with. They loved the process and were happy with their result....enjoy the show! (Editor's note: Sorry about the sound quality...or lack of quality )-: and Gracie is the shorter one, if it's hard to tell.)

We Will Miss You!

Our dear friend, Angie Borter, is singing with the angels in heaven. No more wheelchairs or walkers, no more sore feet!
You brought us so much joy. We will miss you, Mrs. Borter!

Our Beautiful 8th Grade Graduate

Christy graduated from Redeemer Christian School on June 3rd. It was a lovely service complete with an awesome slide show! She looked so beautiful in her graduation garb. We are so thankful she has been able to attend RCS for middle school...we LOVE Redeemer!! Dedicated, loving teachers and fun, fabulous friends (-: She is well prepared to join her brother and dad at Forest High School next year.
Go Yaki!! We are proud of all your hard work! You are growing to be a beautiful young lady, as beautiful on the inside as on the out. We love you, Sissy! (more photos coming later. Click to play vidoe below.

Joseph Ballet

Another moving performance by Dance Divine School of Ballet, this year was the story of Joseph. Gracie was able to dance in two dances this year, twice as many as in previous years! (-; And she acted in a third dance. Her first dance (olive and burgundy costume) portrayed the travelers who purchased Joseph from his brothers for 20 sheckles of silver. You can see the money bag tied to Gracie's waist. The second dance (blue costume with cool headpiece and earings!) portrayed Joseph's rise to power in Egypt, with very cute "Egyptian" touches. Thanks to all the friends, fans, and family who came to see the ballet. And sorry to all of those who tried to attend the Sunday afternoon show but were turned away (silly fire codes!) )-: We encourage everyone to come on Saturday next year or get there really early on Sunday.
Gracie, thanks for all your hard work! It is a joy to see you dance for the King!
"Let them praise His name with dancing." Psalm 149:3
Click on Gracie's photo to see more pictures from the ballet!

Joseph Ballet

Easter 2009

Just a few photos from a very big day. Sunrise service, breakfast at church, Easter egg hunt, Sunday school, yummy lunch with Grampie, a nap for Michael, and an end of day egg hunt for Joey and Grace. Happy Easter!

Grandpa Cook and Grandma Jane!

We loved seeing you again, thank you so much for coming to play!

Basketball Joe!

There's Joey with his Upward team, Flash. The boys are so cute and the coaches so patient (-; Joey LOVES basketball, we hope this is his first season of many. I recorded this on my new toy, a flip video, very easy and fun.

Happy 2009

We spent NYE with some friends from church and Ocala4sale at the Outback, yummy scrummy! Our waiter was very attentive, our "call ahead seating" worked great, and the food was delicious as always (all 3 times I've been there anyway!). After dinner we went to the Warrens for coffee and LuAnne's homemade cheese cake, I was so full I thought I would POP! It was a very relaxing evening. We called ourselves the "Fuddy Duddies," we ate kind of early so we could be in bed by 10...at the latest! It's nice to have friends to grow old with (-;
The next night we had our friend Mary over with her soon to be daughter, Connie, and our friend Melissa with her daughter, Haley. We had not seen Melissa in two years so it was great to get caught up with her, and to introduce them to Connie. We ate enchiladas, salad, lots of goodies Mary brought, and a delicious and beautiful cake (I wish I had taken a photo of) from Melissa. After dinner we brought out the game Catch Phrase and the insanity began!! Melissa and Mary are quite the competitors, I had no idea what we were in for...it was a good thing we had cake to keep things sweet! Check out the album below for a few more pics.

New Year 2009

54" The Magic Height

We have enjoyed our Busch Gardens passes, they were good through December 31, 2008. The only disappointment we had was that our little roller coaster boy was too short to ride the really cool roller coasters. He was tall enough for all the rides at Disney so it didn't even occur to me that he might be too short at Busch Gardens. Well, food has been eaten, time has passed and Joey's body did its thing. On our last visit, December 28th, Joey was finally TALL enough to ride ALL the cool roller coasters he's been watching his siblings ride all year! Yahoo Mountain Dew! It was a great "last pass day" at the park (-:Gracie, Michael, JOEY, and Christy!! Can you hear them screaming? Aaaaaaaa...

Christmas 2008

We had a busy and fun Christmas this year. We stayed here in Ocala for Christmas and spent Christmas Eve with our Friends, the Sorrels, in Gaineville. It was a quiet Christmas day, we had Grampie over for breakfast and presents, then he came back later for our traditional lasagna dinner. We had fun checking out our new toys and I recall taking a nice long nap that afternoon (-:

christmas 2008

On a sad note, we did have our first Christmas tears this year...
Gracie got a Nintendo DS, a very cool hand held video game, popular with her peers and siblings. She seemed happy when she opened it but moments later I noticed the tears were falling. She is so sweet and would never want to complain or hurt anyone's feelings, but she could not control her tears. After saying she was fine many times she finally admitted that she wasn't sure she would play the DS enough, because she knew it was very expensive. She's had some trouble shopping lately, asking me if things are worth their price, not being sure she would wear or use the item to be purchased enough. Trouble deciding whether or not to buy something (even if she really liked it and she had the cash for it!), she has been agonizing over even the smallest purchase...to the point of tears. When she does finally decide to buy something she keeps the tags on and makes sure I keep the receipt in case she changes her mind. I do appreciate that she is a very careful shopper, and I told her that someday her husband will appreciate it too! (-:
So, we offered to return the Nintendo DS and exchange it for something else but she didn't know what else she wanted. Finally, as the day progressed, we convinced her to just try it out....no pressure!....and if she decided she still didn't want it we could let Joey use it, guaranteeing that it would get played with enough. Well she did it! She opened the box and tried it, and LOVED it! We picked out a Fashion Designer game for her to play and she was in heaven!! Whew (-: Merry Christmas!
Our happy little camper! xo

Christmas Adam

On the eve of Christmas Eve the kids celebrate Christmas Adam. They exchange their gifts without the distraction of BIG Christmas. It is a nice time spent together where they have time to appreciate each other and the gifts they receive. A good time for lots of HUGS too!

Emmanuel

Emmanuel 08

Another beautiful performance of Emmanuel by the Light of Joy Ballet Company. Gracie did a lovely angel dance with the girls in her class. There were three performances and the auditorium was packed, they even had to send people away on Sunday because there were no more seats. Thank you to all the fans who came to support Gracie and see the show. They are preparing now for the spring ballet, Joseph, where Gracie will be in TWO dances (that's a first for her)! Click on photo above for more shots of Gracie and the ballet.

Crazy Dog Days

The other day Johnny came crawling out of our bedroom into the kitchen with Oscar riding on his back! It was quite a show! Frank wasn't sure what to do, he wanted to join Oscar but couldn't figure out how to get up there. The kids were cracking up. We're not sure what Oscar was thinking but he probably enjoyed being TOP DOG for a few minutes. (-: