It's been a long time......

Well I know that it has been a long time since I've posted...So here is an update in a nutshell.

Tony is well into his 3rd term at The Illinois Institute of Art. He is still doing a great job in all his classes. He has even been invited to teach book binding to the upper level portfolio classes several times this quarter.

Ally and Bella have finished the 2008-2009 Tumbling Team competition season. Both girls went to State and did quite well.

Ally finished 4th out of 10 earning her first trophy. This is the best finishe Ally has ever had in a state meet. She looked beautiful. Her coach says that she is becoming quite a good little gymnast. At this point Ally is working hard so she can start competing all events next January.

Bella finished 2nd out of 10 earning a nice size trophy. This was Bella's first year competing and she did very well for herself. Bella is working on hand stands and cartwheels. She is still easily distracted so we are proud of all the little accomplishments she has.

Both girls are in dance. Ally is starting to get back to where she was before she left dance a few years ago. Bella has started taking ballet to help with her hips. We visited an orthopedic specialist about her hips and feet. He suggested she take ballet to help turn her hips and feet outward. Bella is really liking ballet and thinks that she is a ballerina. She does not know that it is supposed to be for therapy, but that is okay as long as she is having fun that is all that matters.

Well as most of you know we had "Lira Family Photo Day" yesterday. Wow... there were a lot of Lira's in one place. It was probably one of the few non-holiday days when we have had all 22 of the Lira's in all together at one, time in one place. Dad seemed to be doing well with all the noise and we even had a nice visit with Uncle Lee and Aunt Debbie. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. Tony and I agree that it was worth all the hard work to have such nice photos of everyone.

The Lira Girls are Champions!!!

Well we had our next to last gymnastics meet of the season. All we have left is State. Let me tell you the girls looked GREAT!!! The judging is getting so tough and still Ally and Bella are able to keep moving up on the podium. This meet Ally won 3rd place. She looked beautiful!! Her speed was good, her toes were pointed, and her legs were straight. Her tumbling pass was changed on Thursday and as a result she forgot to put in one trick (which warranted a full point deduction), but she still finished 3rd. This has been Ally's best and most consistent year so far. She has medaled in all but one meet this year. In previous years she would place 5th or lower and maybe get one medal. This is Miss Bella's first year of tumbling team and already she is doing well. She has also medaled in all but one meet this year and had a 2nd place finish this past Sunday. Now all we have to do is cross our fingers that the girls do well at state. All Tony and I are hoping for are clean tumbling passes with as few deductions as possible.

Well I just thought I would bring everyone up to speed on the girls gymnastics. Maybe we will have some time to breath after competition season is over. Or then again maybe not. Who knows.

Best Daddy in the World!!!

So we all know that Kate from Jon and Kate Plus 8 was at Willow this past weekend. Well Ally decided not to go to Promiseland so she could sit in on the service with us and see Kate. Ally really enjoyed watching/listening to all that Kate had to say. At the end of the service an announcement was made that Kate would be singning her book "Multiple Blessings". However; she would only be there for an hour to sign the books, but she would be making an appearance at the Borders Books in Oak Brook on Tuesday from 4:00-6:00. Well by the time I picked up Bella from Promiseland Tony and Ally had decided that the line was just crazy. Later Tony told me that he would try to take Ally to Borders Tuesday. Well now it is no suprise that Tony is swamped with homework, but yesterday he packed up Bella, went to pick Ally up from school and drove out to Oak Brook with them. When they arrived at Boarders parking was already crazy, but he promised Ally that they would do this. So they went in, were given a wristband, and Tony bought Ally "Multiple Blessings". I stopped by on my way home from work and picked up Bella. While I was at gymnastics with Bella I received a call from one VERY excited Ally saying that she got her book signed by Kate and that "Daddy is the best Daddy in the world". All in all it took about an hour to get in to see Kate. But it doesn't end there. Tony now had to travel back to Hoffman Estates to drop Ally off at the gym with me so she did not miss her class.

Now don't you agree that Tony is the BEST daddy in the world? I know two little girls and one mommy that would say so. This story was so precious that I just had to share this with all of you. Love and blessings to all.

Old Dog New Tricks....

Wow!! Tonight I learned that you really can teach an old dog (me) new tricks. Kelly walked me through adding the cool new background you all see on our blog now. My problem now is that there are so many different types of backgrounds that I can't choose. I guess that I will be changing it often.

I love that so many members of our family have blogs now. It makes it so nice to read about what is going on in every one's day to day lives. What is even better is that Mom and Dad have a blog. Now how cool is it that Mom is on the computer blogging?

Well I really didn't have much to say, but I was so excited about my new background that I thought I would write about it. Hope you all enjoy our new look.

It's been a while...

So Happy New Year to all. I hope 2009 is going well for everyone. Wow, it has been an awful long time since I last posted. A lot has transpired since November. Where do I begin?

Ally's performance of the Nutcracker went beautifully. She did so well and had a blast dancing again. Actually, she enjoyed herself so much that she is now taking lyrical ballet and modern jazz classes and has been invited to join the competitive dance team at the studio. Even Bella in getting into the act. She now takes ballet class and thinks that she is just a perfect ballerina. She is just a sight in her little leotard and ballet skirt.

The girls are still in gymnastics. In fact we just had a meet last Sunday. Ally did GREAT!!!! She finished 2nd out of 7 and was only .2 behind the 1st place girl. Bella forgot one of her tricks and received 5th place out of 7. If she would have added the extra trick she would have also had 2nd place. Whatever the case Bella was just as happy with what she got. Our next meet is on Sunday, February 8th in Bloomingdale. If anyone is interested in attending let me know. Ally is also working on getting ready for competing all events in gymnastics next year. It is a lot of work, but she is doing a wonderful job. She can do a round off back handspring without a spot and is a FABULOUS vaulter. This is very encouraging for her. Lets not forget Ms. Bella who can almost do a perfect cartwheel. Tony and I are so proud of our girls.

Speaking of Tony he and I spent our break together making a wine cabinet for our front room. I think it turned out pretty good for our first try at making furniture. What do you think? We worked really hard to get this done. Tony had the most beautiful plans drawn out and things went pretty much according to plan. Now we just neet to fill it up.


So this is pretty much life in the Lira house in a nut shell. I hope to write more soon. Maybe something a little more exicting? Love and blessings to all.

A little photo shoot......

Just thought you all would like to see the results of an impromptu photo session with Tony. Ally was great to take pictures of. I think Tony had over 15 in a short period of time. Bella on the other hand was not so easy. She did not want her hair brushed and I think Tony was able to take 6 or 7 pictures and maybe 3 of them were even close to being usable. Anyway I think Tony is doing a great job with his photography. I am so proud of him.

Busy just got busier.....

Just when I thought things couldn't get any busier! Last week I made a bone head move and broke my toe and possibly ruptured my tendon. So now I am hopping around on crutches sporting a stylish new shoe. Well anyway you know that mommies can't get sick or hurt (right).

About a month ago the girls and I ran into Alexandra's old dance teacher. A couple of days later we received a phone call. Well Alexandra was asked to come back and perform in the Nutcracker with her old dance ensemble. Now we (I) run her to practice on Monday and Saturday. She is in 3 numbers and having a blast. All she does is dance around the house. Of course Bella and Ally still have gymnastics three days a week. Yet with all this going on Ally is still getting "A's" and doing well in her gifted classes. We are so proud of her.

This Friday I have to take Gabriella to the orthopedic doctor to have her hips checked out. You all know that she has been walking with her feet turned in since she could walk. Well we finally had her evaluated and now have an appointment with the orthopedic to see where we will go from here. Lets pray it is nothing major needs to be done.

Tony has been working so hard on his classes that I think all he does is eat, sleep, and breath art. If anyone is interested you can view some of Tony's photography projects on www.flickr.com/ducklira Some of his assignments are pretty cool. Anyway he is still doing great with his classes. Right now the big project is portrait photography. If all goes well maybe we will have some new and updated photos of the girls. This is exciting considering that the picture mom has in her frame of Bella is from her first birthday.

Even though things are crazy and busy, I don't think I would know what to do if I had time to sit down, watch a movie and do nothing. I actually think it would be so boring. Well I hope everyone is doing well. All my love....Tina