Beauty and a Beast

Once upon a time a little girl wanted to act and be on the stage. That dream came true. Then it came true again, and again, and again, and again. There are about two more "agains" left in this school year. This mama is getting a little worn out with all the shuttling and crazy schedule managing. Well once upon a time there was a boy who wanted to be like this girl. His dream came true as well.

It's a little nerve-wracking when your kids are in plays. With all the "agains" for Taylor I get a little less nervous for her these days. But man oh man was I nervous for Trevor on a number of levels. Taylor is my rule keeper. She doesn't rock any boats. She's a natural people pleaser, like her mama. Trevor is... well none of the above. He is his own person, he is strong, passionate and if there's something he wants to do or say, doesn't want to do, only the holy spirit could change his mind. So in God's sovereignty there was this one little tea-cup who liked to tell Trevor where to stand, where to sit, what to say, what not to say. Trevor doesn't do bossy well. I'd get all sorts of texts from Taylor at rehearsal. MOM they're at it again you have to get down here. I wouldn't go. I had already given the director my cell and unless she sent me a text I had to let Trevor work this out. Once he locked himself in the dressing room. A number of times he'd come home and quit because of this girl. I told him Daukas' don't quit. Not an option. Oh man. After the first week I knew we were in deep and there was no backing out in my mind. Just a side note. I know my son. He is not innocent. I'm sure this girl went home and wanted to quit after dealing with Trevor as well. I'm grateful for wisdom from above and grace from God and for nights Trevor came home saying everything went perfectly and nights where it didn't but he was able to ignore and not respond back by say trying to tie her up with her scarf. True story.

He was ADORABLE too. Oh that kid loved the stage like his sister. My favorite part was opening night where he gave Chris a little wink as he came out. He was all drama. There was no "Trevor could you maybe act like you enjoy being on stage". No, if anything it was like, "Tone it down just a tad bud". I loved being in the audience and hear someone behind me say "oh he is just so cute!"

Presenting, a thousand photo's of Trevor, as Chip the Teacup:


This was before the curse :)




















The second show fell on his birthday. The cast sang Happy Birthday to him after final bows. He ate up every minute of it. Ok quick side note. This kid seriously cracks me up. He planned every last detail of his party. Down to the type of balloons he wanted in his room for our birthday morning tradition, to requesting trick candles on his cake. Then he acted perfectly suprised by said balloons and candles. HA!! So when Taylor told me that he picked beforehand what girl he wanted to let the singing of Happy Birthday to him it didn't phase me. Man oh man. Here's a few more of the singing time.









Ok quickly on to Taylor. Here's what you need to know about Taylor. She's good. Really good. She's a complete natural up there. She's also incredibly funny. Her character was one of the three blind mice. I know what you're thinking. The three blind mice are not in Beauty and the Beast?! This script was an adaptation. All sorts of characters were found in this amazing play. Taylor and her other mice friends were asked to do the curtain speech before the show. She ate that up! Here are few pictures of her. I'm hoping to post some video of her from the play she was in before Beauty and the Beast on the blog soon! She was also an amazing sister to her brother. It took her a few rehearsals to figure out her role in his life there. But it warmed my heart to see them hug and hear Trevor to exclaim how happy it made him that he got to do a play with her!















Now that Trevor finished his commitment and finished well, we are allowing another dream of his to come true. One he has dreamt for two years now. Tackle football. God help me.

Happy 8th Birthday Trevor!

So Trevor's update and his 8th birthday will just collide into one post. Man where to even begin with Trevor. I'm not sure I've met a more passionate, funny, intelligent, not afraid to dig his heels in, compassionate, so full of life boy. Man I love this kid. He has grown significantly this past year. Physically, and emotionally. He loves to build with his lego's. Making amazing creations. Sometimes he'll follow instructions to a set but mostly he'll just create what he sees in his head. He remains my math whiz kid. Most days I'm bringing in Chris to help with his Math. Which I know, considering the teacher isn't saying much :)

He's an incredible big brother to Lexie. She adores him and he does a great job caring and protecting her. After our friend Roxy moved out this past summer we gave Trevor the extra room we have in the loft. Giving him his own room for the first time in his life. He loved moving all his boy stuff out of Rylee's room and I sewed him a bears blanket to complete the boy look. Funny enough, although he likes to play in his own room during the day he still crashes in his sisters room each night. The boy is just not meant to be alone :)

After watching Taylor get cast in play after play he asked to audition with Taylor for Beauty and the Beast. I told him it wasn't all that likely that he'd get in. He's young, he hasn't done a camp there like Taylor did this past summer. None of the phased Trev. Whether he got in or not he didn't care he just wanted to try. He had such a great attitude about it. I was beyond thrilled when I got the e-mail from the director that said Trevor was cast as Chip the Cup. Taylor got cast in the play as well. Sharing the theater with Taylor and all her theater friends was a little more challenging then anticipated but tonight was opening night and he did fantastic! One show down, five more to go! Pictures to come soon.

Trevor continues to impress in the athletic department. There is just no way around it the kid is very athletic like his mom. Ha! Ok like Chris too. Although he has shown a lot of promise in basketball and swimming, football remains his passion. We shall see...

Buddy you are the best 8 yr old son a mom could ever ask for. I love you so much!

Trying muscles for the first time. They were a hit!



Giving his presentation in his Classical Conversation class.




His first football game.... THE BEARS!






Goofing around with Rylee:




HAPPY BIRTHDAY TREVOR!!!

Kid Update #2- Rylee

Ah my sweet Rylee. 6 1/2. She is my easy, go with the flow, child. She loves to tumble. Like everywhere. If there's anything we are working on with Rylee it's, could you maybe just walk a little more when we call you instead of tumbling towards us? Someone recently asked us where she took lessons at. I was like, um our family room?! She frequented a few classes last Spring but it was just to much money to keep up. She loved it and it's obviously made a lasting impact. The kid just is in constant cartwheel, tumbling motion. Ah Rylee.

She is a smart one. I LOVE listening to her read. There's pretty much nothing she can't read and it's just adorable hearing her sweet little voice read such big words. She is loving our school curriculum we chose this year, classical conversations. More on that later. But it's quite impressive what this girl has got memorized.

Taylor was in a musical called Suessical this fall. You would think it would be Taylor walking around singing all the songs but it was Rylee who took the greatest interest. She still takes my computer and turns on Spotify and dances and sings to all the songs. Her love for the piano continues but these days it's mostly focused towards singing and dancing to her picks like Britt Nicole, Jamie Grace and of course back to Suessical.

Rylee and Trevor have become more like twins over the years. Same height/weight they walk and talk like they are twins. It's quite cute. I've been asked on occasion if they are. She hangs in there with her brother with the best of them. I have a feeling she will rock the athletic world when we let her loose.

It's fun to watch her become more and more her own person. Being the third child isn't easy. So I hear. Her heart has been drawn to the Lord this year. She has created her own nightly routine of reading from her bible story books. Either to Chris or myself. I love to see a mama's prayers begin to be answered in that way.

This is classic Rylee!










She was a flower girl this summer in a friend's wedding. It was one of the first time that I saw a glimpse of an older version of rylee. Beautiful.


Love you Ry.

Kid Update #1- Lex

My oh my this girl is growing faster then I can take. New words, sentences added daily, new ways to make us laugh and new things she finds to destroy ;) She likes to be without a diaper. So after night after night of being woken up to, "MAMA, WET!!!". I have joined the duct tape mama club. That's right I am duct taping her diaper. But guess what? Somehow she's learned if she picks at the duct tape from the back long enough, you know after she takes off the layers of clothes I've put on her including a white snapped onesie, she can get a hold of a little piece and rip the rest off and then she's free. Then pees. Crazy girl. So now I've joined the cut the feet off of Pj's and zip up backwards club. I know what you're thinking. I should really join the my two year old is potty trained club.... but that just didn't happen as quickly as I'd like. So I'll stick with my other clubs for the next few months. Unless she learns how to unzip herself backwards. That might leave me with no other option.

She loves her new kitchen and making up plates of pretend cheese, turkey, lettuce and cookies. She is totally obsessed with dogs.  One of these days I'll grab a picture of every single little, big, plastic, dog's that bark when touched, dogs that move. It's quite comical. Let's just be honest, all those dogs are easier then the real thing.

Here are a few Lexie pics from my iphone that I am treasuring in light of so many of her getting lost from my hard drive crash.



Here she is displaying her "Christmas Spirit"


Notice the baby doll.


It works people. It really works.


First night of bowling.


I'm such a good mom.




She loves to practice her new founded skill. Opening the fridge door. Usually her attempt ends in something spilled everywhere. Blueberries...stepped on an smashed into the tile grout. Shredded Cheese eaten by the handfuls and then dumped on the carpet. In this picture it was my tub of Trader Joe's Parmesan cheese. She also likes to fill up cups of water with my dispenser and create a pool down by her feet. Thankfully that one has a lock but if one of the kids forgets to relock it, man oh man.


Nothing like a little black ink to start your day... same day as Parmesan cheese.


Or how about scissors left out by big brother and sisters.


Good thing she's adorable. I'm thinking about just keeping her here for the morning time.


Lexie-lou we love you.

Grateful for Social Media

I've neglected this blog for awhile. I've struggled with the why. Why keep it up? Facebook is so much more efficient for the little things. This blog isn't special in any one area. This isn't a food blog, or a share my deep knowledge blog, or a follow my adoption blog.  It's just kind of a "here's" my life take it or leave it blog and that just hasn't been enough to keep me going.

Something very sad happened this week. Something so sad that I said, "If THIS happens I will quit photography and everything extra in my life and just curl up in a corner and cry."Then a few days ago the call came and "THIS" happened.

See being a photographer takes up a TON of space on your computer. Having three to four sessions a week, what I can often average in the fall, can not be held on a computer. This winter if became evident it was time to upgrade pretty much everything. I needed a faster computer, the newer version of photoshop, and some new ways of backing up photographs and video's. But there just wasn't anytime so I kept going and going and going. Meanwhile dumping EVERYTHING I loved onto this one hard drive. Newborn photo's, video's of Lexie coming home, her first days, her first laugh, her first step. Need I go on. And for some reason, unbeknownst to me, it just died and all those photo's and video's were ruined by a piece of plastic that scratched away each captured memory. My poor husband didn't even know how to tell me. He just sat across the table after dinner was over and the kids were off playing and said babe it's all gone. Unrecoverable. I cried. Hard. And after crying I reminded myself I'd rather have my children alive then their photo's and video's saved. Then I cried a little more. I still tear up even writing this. I'm sure at some point I'll forgive myself. In all honestly I thought we had Mozy going on our computer but come to find out it was just on Chris'. Ugh.

The night Chris shared the news with me I was unable to sleep.  I found myself visiting this blog. The blog that had very little meaning to me until this point and cried and gave thanks for every post I wrote and every picture I shared. It's not all lost. I also found I had some of my favorite photo's in accounts like Costco photo, flickr, shutterfly and I've been storing a good amount the past six month on smugmug. Even facebook has a few video's and pictures full resolution! Social media to the rescue.

So I'm back. I see more clearly the why. Life may not ever slow down over here but I have to make it slow down enough to where I have enough time to do the little things that matter to me. Blog and back up :)

Happy Day!

Today was a beautiful day as a Christian mother. I still remember holding my precious firstborn, overwhelmed at the love in my heart for this child that I thought my heart would burst. Then came the prayer. Lord save THIS child. May this child's lips come to confess you as her Lord and Savior.

The past year and a half Taylor has really wrestled with what she believes. After her asking some questions of the faith she asked to attend our church's Christianity Explored class. There were many late nights during those six weeks. We'd stay up and listen to her ask question after question. She wanted to believe but didn't yet. I felt vulnerable. Up to this point I have never had a child of mine say "I don't believe". But clearly God was at work in her heart so we prayed. Finally the Lord broke through and she believed! Praise the Lord! She asked to get baptized and we thought it best to wait to see fruit from her confession. Indeed we have.

Today it brought Chris and I, and all her family, great joy to witness her baptism.
Here is the gist of her testimony. As a side note, wow this girl has no issues speaking in public. She went off her notes making it more personable, and made consistent eye contact as she spoke.


As I've gotten older, I've realized that I am a sinner and its not just other people who have problems - I do too. I've cared alot about how I've looked to others so that people might think better of me - that's pride. I didn't see my sin in the moment, when I was boasting, or when I had done something wrong. Even though I was going to church, I didn't think of myself as a Christian.

I started having conversations with my mom and dad about the gospel and my dad encouraged me to go to Christianity Explored. It gave me questions to ponder like "what is heaven?" and "is there truly everlasting life?" and "is Jesus a real person who really did what the Bible said? This class let me wrestle with what I believe.
As we got deeper into the course, I believed that Jesus really did die on the cross for my sins and that I am need of mercy from God. I've committed myself to following Christ and to recognize my sins and repent. I've read about people whose conversions seemed much more dramatic, but I do believe and that’s what really matters. Romans says, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.

I have felt God's help with being a servant at home and not caring as much about what I look like or what people think of me. Not that I don't sin, but I am able to recognize my sin and repent. I hope that through support from other Christians and reading the Bible, that through everything the Lord will help me in my walk with Him. I am here to get baptized so that I can say to all my family and friends and Grace Church that I am a committed follower of Christ.

There were a couple "amen's" when she said I've read about people whose conversions seemed much more dramatic, but I do believe and that's what really matters. As a mom I'm so grateful that she doesn't have a dramatic conversion :) But really every conversion is dramatic is it not? A dead heart brought to life by the saving power of Jesus Christ!  I pray that as the Lord continues his sanctifying process in her life that her faith would grow stronger and be made more evident with each passing trial!





It was a tad bit cold she said :)


I had always dreamed of this moment.... Chris baptizing one of our kids!











So grateful for Chris' family that came today! Grateful after my mom's trying health these past six months that she was able to see her first grandchild get baptized!

Keith & Carrie, so sorry we couldn't find you for the picture! Probably off chasing one of your three boys :)

To God be the Glory!

Happy 2nd Birthday Alexie

Today Alexie turns 2. Sometimes I wonder if it's a celebration for the child or the mom for surviving two years with an infant turned toddler.

ALexie is into everything these days. I do mean everything. She doesn't have a laid back bone in her petite body. Maybe for a few seconds she will sit still if you give her the beloved blankie. But usually that just gets totted alongside her as she runs around. The other day she climbed up onto the kitchen table and was swinging on the chandelier. If the barstools are pushed back she will be on top of the counter in seconds devouring,spilling,destroying whatever was left up there.

A few weeks ago we were all reviewing our school grammar on the floor in the family room. I gave her a some toys to play with around us and next thing I know I see her whining and pointing at her nose. I take a look and she shoved a teeny tiny bead up her nose as far as it could go. I'm really a pretty calm,collected mom but this made my heart beat a little fast! I wasn't sure where it would go, or if she would choke on it if it went any farther back. Chris had just left town that morning and the kids and I were still in our Pj's for the most part. I threw all the kids in the car and rushed off to our Dr. who said they'd work us in. Off we went into a waiting room with children who should be in school and instead are with their sister who stuck a bead up her nose. And mother of the year goes to...... dang. I lost it again. Anywho. The nurse left and as we waited for the dr. to come in Lexie was getting more and more angry at this bead in her nose. As she screamed at the top of her lungs I had the thought of plugging up her nostril that didn't have a bead in it. Sure enough the pressure made the bead come down just enough to where I could pop it out. Oh happy day. Trevor in his excitement opened up the door and yelled into the nurse/dr's station, "IT'S OUT!!!!!" Wonderful. I snuck out the back door and haven't been back.

Although Lexie has kept us all busy we so enjoy her. She loves music and dances like crazy when we put something on. She adores her siblings and often will yell for them to come upstairs with her and play dress up. Rylee is now her bath buddy. As I say to Lexie, "It's time for bath" she'll start yelling "Rylee! Rylee!!" And drags her in with her. Although Rylee doesn't mind. She wasn't all that excited about transitioning to showers. Lexie loves when Trevor drives her in her car all around the kitchen. A little fast for my liking but she squeals in delight so as long as no one gets hurt I let it be. She loves Taylor. Taylor is one of the few who can take her from me without crying. When I drop Taylor off somewhere and Lexie is with me she cries, "tay-tay, tay-tay". It's so sad!

Happy Birthday Alexie Jane:

Not Abandon Me

This song has been ministering to my heart as of late. I have it on repeat practically daily. Not only does this song speak to where I feel like I am constantly living, disappointed by earthly things and trying hard to speak truth to my soul, but Rachel's voice and style is something I'd already be drawn to musically.

Chris calls this our "fall" song. I think it's more of our three year song. Oh how comforting it is to rest in God's goodness and know for certain he will not abandon us.


You will not abandon me
I've got your word your guarantee
When I've forgotten whose I am
I fix my eyes on your right hand
To Christ who mediates my sin
All my life is hid in him

Though the world around me fades
your love, it's stays the same
And at times you hide your face
the cross is still the place
where I'm convinced

That you will not abandon me
You sealed my heart your blood the ring
and like a flower opens up
you are teaching me to trust

Though the world around me fades
Oh your love stays the same
and at times you hide your face
the cross is still the place
where I'm convinced

That you are not like humans
That you should bend or falter
and we are at a loss to say how beautiful you are
and the source of all our confidence
rests in solely in your goodness
so yesterday, today, forever praise the Yahweh God.

Rachel Smith EP All Of Me