Mary Allison's Prom

Last weekend, I was on hand to watch my step daughter join her friends out at the Little's house to have pre Prom pics made!  Well, I was there anyway!!  I got ther right when I was told to.  And please scan the picture below... WHo do you NOT see?!

Umm hmm... That's right.  No Mary Allison, nor her date, Chris.  Yooooo hoooo... where are you guys?!

All the other mamas and Daddies were around, and mine was nowhere to be seen.  So, I texted her... "we're on our way".  THat kid!

FINALLY!!  SHe and the boyfran arrive.  And I think she was the prettiest one there!!

She piled right in and we started taking pics right and left. 

Here's my girl... and she was so proud of her garter.  She had brought it by earlier in the day, and Todd stamped "mom" on a gold disc, and I made her a silver and gold daisy to hang as a charm on her garter as well.  Her mama used to tell her girls, "I love you like a crazy daisy". 

I attended a church service this morning where the pastor talked about maintaining character in the face of pressure.  When you are in the pressure cooker, or things just arent' going your way, that's when your true character is exposed.  I thought of Mallison!!  That kid has got it going on!!  She's had quite the pressure this year, and like I've mentioned before, when others are saying, "She's coping too well", well, she is just showing her character!!  Strong, formidable, and persistent. 

I am so proud of her for realizing that her mom made a really big mistake... just a mistake.  Given every day for the rest of her life, I don't believe she would EVER choose to do what she did that day. Mary Allison knows this.  Deep down... she knows her mama loved her more than anything else in the world.  She knows that she is a strong and independent girl because of who her mom taught her to be!

Mary Allison has every right to be angry.  She has every right to pout and look for pity.  She doesn't!!

She goes and gets her fake eyelashes done, paints her nails, embellishes her prom shoes, gets her spray tan, orders the date's boutenniere, finds the perfect earrings to match the perfect dress, and even has her own dress altered.  ALL by herself! 

Oh, wait.  Did I mention she also secured the bus (that's what they do these days instead of a limo!) for the 16 or so kids that were in her crew?!  Yes, SHE called and hooked all that up for her friends and their dates.  She took up the money and made sure everyone had the best junior prom they could have.

Can you tell I am proud of her?!  I LOVE who she is.  I LOVE who she is becoming.  I LOVE that she Chooses Joy!!

So, back to prom pics.  Above is me and Kalie Rae, Mary Allison's boyfriend, Chris's younger sister.  And below is MA and her bestie, Lauren.

I told MA I thought she looked like a Greek goddess.

And this is her other besties, Sierra. 

the whole pre party shindig was held at Sierra's house.

The girl in the purple above is Kristen.  Her mom and I danced on the dance line in college together.  Just sayin.  Have I mentioned I have one starting Kindergarten this year?!  Ha. 

And this is Judy, Pam's best friend.  Mary Allison and Julianne practically grew up together.  Not practically... literally!!!  Judy is at all big events for Mary Allison.  She is her surrogate mother.  I know Pam is so grateful she has Judy to continue to be a strong and positive influence in her daughter's life. 

And I know Pam must've been "present" on this day and been in awe of this beautiful young lady! 

All of these kids have great respect for Mary Allison.  She has a great reputation and is definitely a school leader.  By school, I mean all 2,000 or so students!

Of those 2,000, I think they chose, something like 10 to be the representatives next year who do all the announcements and such at the school.  MA was chosen. 

These are the juniors.  The seniors were at another pre party. 

I'm glad she runs with this group.  They are a pretty good group of girls in general.  No big time drama.  Good kids.

I look forward to seeing what the senior year brings.

Prom has come a long way, hasn't it?  As I stood and watched the many parents present taking pics of their young uns, I remembered taking pre prom pics in my driveway by my mom.

Then, I went to prom, then I came home.  Period.  Nothing special.

I even had my dress MADE!

It was royal blue sequins, but stilll..... these days, the girls go to Dallas, Shreveport, Jackson, New Orleans, etc to find the perfect dress.... and the bill.  I am not even gonna go there. 

I hope some of these dresses are still in vogue when my girls are doing all this hoopla.  I want to BORROW a few!!

There in the front row in hot pink is Maddi.  She babysat for my girls a time or two!  And in the back row, above Maddi is Shelby.  She and MA have been friends since birth as well.  Their moms go waaaay back; to high school.

I should probably know all of these kiddos, and with senior year approaching, I probably WILL get to know most of them, but ya know, I am just starting with my girlies!!!  I have 12 more years til I am here with my oldest!  And 12 years to make sure she is living right and hopefully making the right choices with her friendships.

I can only hope they turn out as great as this one did.

As for the setting on this special night, it was TOO cool!

Sierra's mom, Candy, did it up right!! 

She had everything in place to make it very special for the invitees. 

The meal was catered and attention to detail was given.

As any good stepmom would do, I snapped a picture of my special promee's table marker.

This is the outdoor kitchen where the food was being prepared.  I just LOVED the set up.

and a quick recap of the end of the night....

My INSANE friend, Tashia, had a HUGE after party.  Actually, I think her daughter, Taylor, invited a few more kids than was originally planned.  Like a few hundred extra!

KK and I went over to lend support.  To help with the chapperoning, and to help drive kids home should they need it.  Tashia had a DJ, so the kids got started on the dance floor.

Hey... it's AUnt Nicole.  She couldn't be at MA's photo ops, because her own son, Christopher, (remember him from next door at the old house?!), was also attending his own prom!  But she and I did reconnect at the after party.

And as the night went on, the vrowd grew. That may be Hunter in the peach shirt.  Really not sure.  He was there though.  And most of Monroe, West Monroe!! 

Prom night 2012 was drawn to a close.  It was a success.  Noone got hurt or in too much serious trouble, and much fun was had by all.  I am thankful to have had a role in Mary Allison's special night. 

MO