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I can almost guarantee you, lovely dancers: this post is not going to be what you are expecting it to be. Maybe even a little random. But I’m sure it will be worth the read.

On Friday afternoon, I arrived at our first outreach location, approximately 15 minutes early. Hurriedly, I strapped on my pointe shoes, pinned myself into a tutu and spent a few minutes warming up. The catch?

My darn, darn sore throat.

I woke up with it on Friday morning, and even after several doses of cinnamon and honey, along with my parents’ declaration that my brothers and I were in for a massive surprise after my second performance, I felt no better.

But I’ve never missed a performance in my life, and I surely wasn’t going to start now.

Training 3 was the second group to perform. Reassuring myself that my throat was, in fact, NOT bleeding, I tip-toed onto the dance floor, smiling as best I could at the elderly ladies before me. “Silent Night” began, as I racked my memory for the right steps. Nothing. Thankfully, my sixth sense kicked in, and I found myself dancing anyway (in-line with the right choreography, I might add). Near the end of the piece, we were all a tad surprised to find an entire section of our song cut, but we proceeded accordingly.

Back in our make-shift dressing area, the first words which came out of our mouths were, “That failed.”

Despite our feelings about the performance, my mom’s camera shows otherwise. I guess we were all overreacting. Besides– when it comes down to it, we made a house-full of elderly people really, really happy. And that makes me smile. 🙂

On our way to the second nursing home, I started sucking on a hard piece of I-don’t-know-what that my dad had given to me, to sooth my throat. With that, somehow, I managed to make my mouth bleed [for real]. I was not too happy.

By the time we located our second outreach post, I was feeling really awful.

Had it been up to me, I would have stayed and performed. My mom, on the other hand, was concerned for the elderly folks, and she eventually talked some sense into me by reminding me of my own great-grandmother (almost 99 years old). Heartbroken, I told Ms. Tina that I would have to go home. She was extremely understanding, however, and told me to go and get some rest. She’s the best.

Tears were shed on the ride home, to be sure. I felt terrible, leaving my sisters to fill in a series of gaps which I was supposed to cover. I felt like such a quitter. And I am NOT a quitter.

But I really hate to dwell on bad news, so what about that surprise, anyway?

I went home, changed, ate a sandwich and hopped back into the car for a 40-minute ride to… well… I didn’t know where. That all changed, however, when we pulled up to a house in which there was a dog– a dog!– in every window.

No. Way.

I hadn’t really, TRULY allowed myself to believe that my family was getting a puppy for Christmas until that very moment. My eyes almost popped out of my head.

Gauge is an AKC certified German Shorthaired Pointer. He is three months old, and his favorite activity is cuddling up in a ball and sleeping on your lap. Not only is he going to make a great bird dog, but he’s already the perfect family dog. I love him. <3

So, why did we get him early? To put it simply, my parents didn’t want to drive on Christmas, or even Christmas Eve. They just wanted us to enjoy having a puppy. I certainly am.

Today, we took a full-family photo shoot for Christmas cards. Do enjoy our blooper shots… 🙂

It has been a very long time since I put up a random blog post.

No fun. No fair. No more.

For starters, Ms. Tina and I managed to bring together the Ballet 2A Christmas dance yesterday– phew! Of course, that was after I taught a lesson on sit-ups, and just before I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off, trading tickets for candy. I was so late leaving, my dad and brother actually came to the door to pick me up. And then I forgot my water bottle, so I made Kaden hold my pink dance bag, while I ran back inside to grab it. And then we went out for sushi.

My family must be awesome or something. Or maybe we’re just weird. I haven’t quite decided yet.

I finished schoolwork super early today. I’ve had finals all week, so it was really nice to kiss thinking good-bye until Monday.

Well, then again, I had better remember our Training 3 dance this afternoon.

In the past ten months, I have visited five different orthodontists. The first four wanted to give me jaw surgery before they would even attempt to straighten my teeth. Now, don’t take that the wrong way; I don’t have bad teeth. As a matter of fact, dentists get really discouraged when they can’t find anything wrong with them. It’s the actual alignment of my teeth that throws everyone off. But forget the first four guys; the fifth one is important.

My top jaw is a whopping five millimeters shorter [in width] than my bottom jaw. That’s like “the Pacific Ocean,” according to my orthodontist. BUT– he doesn’t want to give me surgery. He has a better idea.

There is a genius (What would you call a man with two degrees in orthodontics and one math?) in Oregon who recently invented a device called a “DNA.” It looks like a retainer, works like magic and is meant to be used in place of both braces and surgery. And it’s going to give me perfect teeth.

A month ago, I took an exam involving an i-CAT scan, x-rays, a tooth cleaning, impressions, photographs, an oral test and a thousand other things that put me in the office for two whole hours. It was extremely unpleasant but well worth it, for my exam was sent off to the genius in Oregon (I’m going to need a better name for him…) to determine my treatment.

It took four different doctors, but my treatment results finally came back this week. As it turns out, I am going to need to have my top device for 18-24 months, wearing it at least 16 hours per day. Three months in, I will have to have a bottom device as well (rare, but necessary).

Here’s how it works:

Exhibit A: I wear my top device for three months, 16 hours per day. The device will trigger the STEM cells in my mouth, and my top jaw will grow. In the process, my top teeth will be straightened.

Exhibit B: I wear my top and bottom devices for the duration of the 18-24 months, 16 hours per day. The devices will trigger the STEM cells in my mouth, and my top and bottom jaw will align perfectly. In the process, my bottom teeth will be straightened.

How cool is THAT?

AND, there is a possibility that I will have my top device by the end of next week! Merry Christmas to me.

Nervously excited? Yes.

AND, I think I’m getting a puppy for Christmas. 🙂

I have been on vacation for a long, LONG time.

And the studio endured A LOT of snow days while I was away.

Needless to say, Christmas dances are looking pretty… I need a good word… sketchy?

Well… then again… we [almost] finished our dances today. And in that case, they look pretty darn good.

It was so good to see Miss Bethanny again, after nearly a month apart. We were able to round up our tap kiddos in record time, setting to work on their dance. God spare me if I forget it.

In modern, we conducted a like-scenario, warming up and then jumping into all things Christmas. Our dance is about this close– *holds fingers two centimeters apart*– to being finished. Thankfully, we’ll have a bit of time to clean next week, just before our parents arrive to view our… um… art.

I thought that I was going to be fairly well-off in terms of our Training 3 dance, but as it turns out–surprise!– we are performing it at two different nursing homes on Friday afternoon. Therefore, Miss Sara felt it necessary to finish choreographing this past Friday, rather than trying to cram everything in today. That stated, I had a lot to catch up on, but I do believe we are going to be a success.

Prayers are greatly appreciated.

On a lighter note, recital costumes have been released! They are completely different from last year’s, but oh-so fabulous, all the same. For your own, personal record, we will be wearing our navy leotards and high-low skirts for our Training 3 piece. Enjoy, lovely dancers… <3

HOW did Disney do it? How does anyone create something so perfectly artful? Rhythmic? Lively? Magical?

It’s true– the music from Disney’s latest film has me frozen in my tracks. Choreography is literally oozing out of my fingers and toes. It’s just too perfect.

If I didn’t have wifi right now, I could swear that I’d died and gone to Heaven! Considering, however, that I am still perfectly alive (and will be for a long, long time), I suppose I shall have to tell you of this evening… 🙂

After various practices and rehearsals, the Training Division made its way to an extremely welcoming church, where we were to perform with Ballet Emmanuel. We did a quick warm-up, dressed from head to toe in our high-low skirts and flowers and ran our dances several times. I was pretty jittery and definitely cold, but I knew that once the show was on the road, I would feel that much better.

Just before the performance began, I joined Ms. Tina, Miss Sara, Ms. Erin Benson and the rest of the Training Division in prayer. How that devotional made my entire day! After her unforgettable prayer, Ms. Erin Benson, out of the blue, gave me a hug. It was in that moment that I realized a whole lot of things. Fast.

It can be very easy to take my life for granted. Four times a week, I am attending a dance school that is constantly occupied by Ballet Emmanuel. I’m used to running into Ms. Erin and her crew, greeting a pack of professional dancers and giving hugs all around. While many dancers dream of an opportunity such as this, it is my every-day reality. And THAT, lovelies, makes me feel just about as blessed as I can possibly be.

The performance was absolutely terrific! Most certainly better than recital, and most certainly unforgettable. I’m still blown away at the energy which I could feel surging through the Training 2 girls during our piece. It was as if we were one body, and nothing could tear us apart. The Training 1s blew my mind too– so much emotion! So much love! Ballet Emmanuel was, of course, spectacular. The choreography was unlike any that I have ever laid eyes upon, and the animation was astounding. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Tears.

Jesus, thank You for YOUR love. And thank You for showing it to us, so that we might give it back to You. <3

After the show, the Training Division gathered up with Ballet Emmanuel for a group shot. I couldn’t help posting it here. <3

On my way out, Moriah’s little sister ran up to me and cried, “Aquinnah! Can I have your autograph?”

Stunned, I replied, “Of course, beautiful.”

Yes, yes, I did include that picture too.

For the past week-or-so, in-between make-up classes (I’ll be traveling between November 23rd and December 9th) and “All Things New” rehearsals, the Training Division planned a surprise birthday party for our dear teacher, Miss Sara. Though her birthday is not for a couple of weeks yet, we all agreed that a party is too exciting to be put off, and we didn’t want Thanksgiving Break to interfere with anything. So, the 15th it was!

We all came to the conclusion that a winter-themed birthday celebration would be lovely, as Miss Sara just adores snow. We collected a variety of winter-themed decorations, treats and gifts and hid everything in crates in the lobby of the Training Center, disguised as Lost & Found. After ballet class, Miss Mimi agreed to stall our teacher with some VERY important questions. We bustled around the studio, hanging streamers and snowflakes and loading in the “Lost & Found” goodies. With a surprise visit from Emma, our whirlwind was complete, and we waited expectantly for Miss Sara to return from the main studio. When she entered the room, we screamed, “Happy birthday, Miss Sara!” and just about gave her a heart attack. She had NO idea what we were up to, which made everyone pretty darn proud.

We finished rehearsal and then dug into the gifts. It took Miss Sara 45 minutes to open bag after bag of tea, coffee, chocolate, lotion and all things fuzzy (“I know what I’m wearing next week!”). Abby and Elizabeth even managed to find her an iPad remote for her music! We laughed until we just about cried (“Who’s your ballet teacher?” – “Oh, just look for the one in the penguin hat.”) and made some truly wonderful memories. Here are some pictures, so that you can share in our fun… (credit to Moriah)!

After the party, Moriah and I stayed to help with clean-up, loading all of the left-overs into Abby and Elizabeth’s truck and dragging Miss Sara’s children (a.k.a. gifts) into her car. We waved good-bye and headed back to my house, where I sit now.

Happy birthday, Miss Sara! You are SUCH a huge blessing to me and all of the students at our studio! We love you! Elizabeth, thank you SO much for bringing all of this together! You’re amazing! I don’t know what we’d do without you!

Ah, dance. The only reason that I push myself to finish schoolwork early.

Today’s ballet/tap class was quite an experience indeed! Miss Bethanny was required to measure the little princesses for costumes (I can’t believe it’s already that time!), and I was placed in the position to entertain. So, for half an hour, I read to the girls a collection of ballerina stories, attempting to be as dramatic as possible. I just love reading.

Afterwards, the girls began their Christmas dance– yay! It will be performed in tap shoes this go-round. Super, super cute.

In modern, I myself had to be measured for costumes; I am absolutely ecstatic to see what we’ll be wearing this coming May! While Miss Sara did the measuring, a group of my sisters taught class, including plies (Thank you, Abby!), tendus (Thank you, Alex!), ronds de jambes (Thank you, Moriah!), leg swings (Thank you, Caroline!) and body swings (Thank you, April!). After that, it was on to our Christmas dance, which is looking mighty fine for something so new.

Ballet followed up, and I am proud to say that we got a considerable portion of work done! We completed barre, across-the-floor and then slid on our pointe shoes for dances. We refreshed “Breathe” for Ballet Emmanuel’s upcoming “All Things New” performance (Suprise, surprise– it actually looks better than recital!) and ran our Christmas dance. Fun stuff!