Tuesday, April 26, 2016

My Tiny Dancer

Our graceful ballerina has worked so hard in her ballet class this year, and her dedication culminated beautifully Sunday evening in her end of year recital. Since she decided to drop soccer after the fall season, ballet has been the only organized sport or activity in which she participates. I worried a bit whether she would miss soccer, but ballet seems to be her true love, even though she does miss her soccer buddies. Last year, she took a ballet class along with two friends from church, so there was built in camaraderie already established. This year, Mallory chose a new class scheduled in the middle of the day, filled with girls she had never met before. Most of the girls attend a private school together that has half day classes for second grade, which is why they can take a class in the early afternoon. Stepping out of her comfort zone is often hard for our sweet girl, but she has impressed me this year with the way she embraced this unfamiliar setting and made some new friends.
 
Mal told me the other day, "Everyone at ballet has a buddy, and Alexandra is my buddy!" I'm so grateful for Alexandra! She and Mal have already made plans to be pen pals. 
This girl is such a treasure! She and I had fun just spending some down time together between rehearsal and recital on Sunday.
Good pictures are sometimes hard to achieve during the performance, but a got a few during rehearsal. The recital was titled Happy Trails, and her group were the Indian Paintbrushes.
We also got to see a couple friends perform. Here's sweet Nora...
and Miss Caroline!
The SMU campus provided a nice backdrop for pictures after the performance.  Nana & Papa came to support our pretty little flower.
These two sometimes roll their eyes about having to sit through girly dance recitals, but they love their sister dearly. They even sat nicely through the two and a half hour performance!
Mallory, we've never seen a ballerina more beautiful than you, inside and out. You have a heart of gold, and we love seeing you shine as you share the gifts God has given you.