She came home from school one day filled with excitement and nervous energy all rolled into one.

“Mama, I’ve signed up for the Lip Sync Battle at school!” my 11 year old daughter exclaimed.

I congratulated her and made a point to really encourage her on this.  I know she gets a little anxiety about putting herself out there like that, but I am so proud of her not letting this hold her back from something she really wants to participate in!

My daughter and two of her very best friends picked a song that they wanted to do; Hoedown Throw Down by Hannah Montana.  My daughter asked for my help with the choreograph for the song even though the video had some movements that they could have just copied.  I really liked how my daughter wanted to make her own movements, and I thought it added so much more to their performance.

She and her friends practiced at school as much as they could, and I caught glimpses of my daughter practicing at home, in the car, and even at the grocery store.  She was so into this and wanted to do a good job.  She would get embarrassed when she realized I was watching, and she would stop.  I wondered how this would go on the actual day of the Lip Sync Battle. I told her that she was doing a great job and just needed to give it all she’s got.  Dance like no one was watching.  Just get into it because she had this!  She practiced so much that she knew every word to the song and every movement flowed!

I asked her one evening what she and the other girls were going to wear for their performance.  She just sat there as if in deep thought, so I suggested that they wear plaid shirts like we wear when we go horseback riding from time to time.  Her eyes brightened and grew wider as she almost jumped from her chair as she said, “And we can get cowboy hats, too!”  Oh yes, she was all into it now!  Having just purchased a cheap cowboy hat for my husband from Party City for a New Year’s Eve party, we knew where to go to get two more for the other girls!  Her friends were so excited when she told them the next day at school!  The girls didn’t all have plaid shirts, though, so they worried over that until I told them that they could just use my shirts.  I had plenty!  They literally jumped up and down with excitement when my daughter told them that we had the costumes covered.  All they had to do was supply the boots.  They said they could handle that part, so their costumes were now complete!  That was one less thing for them to worry over.

After much anticipation, the day of the Lip Sync Battle arrived.  I walked into the school with my daughter that Monday morning with shirts and hats in hand.  My daughter sat nervously at her desk in the classroom as she waited for her friends to arrive.  The clock ticked slowly with the hands hardly moving it seemed.  I told her it was going to be just fine.  Her friends would be there!   And sure enough, a few minutes before the bell sounded, her friends walked into the classroom.  My daughter melted at her seat for a second before she jumped up and hugged her friends exclaiming, “Thank GOD you’re HERE!”

I began slipping the plaid shirts over what they were wearing, fixing their boots so they could be seen, and placed the black cowboy hats on their heads. They were all set!

Before they went on, I told the girls that no matter what happens KEEP GOING!  If you mess up, don’t make it noticeable at all.  Just keep the movements flowing and moving right along.  Keep dancing!

AND … they did!

Little did we realize that, as they kicked off the Lip Sync Battle, the music would fail on the sound system!  Oh no!  The girls were absolutely amazing, though, as they did exactly what I said and THEY KEPT GOING!  With barely any sound coming out of the speakers, they danced right along and sang the words enough to get them through the performance.  The audience realized what happened with the sound, and although a few laughed at first, they were amazed when the girls just kept going and doing their thing!  I was BEAMING with pride as I watched those girls on stage!  They worked hard, and this moment in time was not going to be ruined by speakers that failed to work.

As they exited the stage at the end of their performance, everyone began cheering for them.  Some even commented that they couldn’t believe they kept going!  I was sitting in the very front watching it all unfold, and I believe I may have been one of the loudest when I cheered for them!

My pride and joy strutted her stuff on stage with her friends!

The show went on, and the sound was fixed for the next song.  The girls were all worried that they embarrassed themselves, but I assured them that they actually did the opposite!  They amazed the audience when they did not give up or stop midway through the performance due to the lack of sound!

After a few songs played and the other students got a chance to perform, one of the teachers came over to us.  He apologized for the issue with the sound but said the girls would get a chance to do it again now that the sound was fixed.  Woo Hoo!!  The three girls held hands and were smiling all over themselves for this opportunity!  And sure enough, an announcement was made for the judges to disregard the opening act with the sound issues as they were closing out the Lip Sync Battle with their performance once again!

These three little girls were amazing to watch on stage!

The crowd cheered, and there I was once again beaming with pride!

Decision time was among us, and the judges gathered to tally their votes.  Then the elimination started on stage.  It came down to my daughter’s team and another team.  They huddled together, fingers crossed, and their lips mouthing, “Please … please … please” as they waited in great anticipation for the results.  The winner was announced, and by ONE POINT the other team won!  Ugh!!   Disappointment washed over my daughter and her friends, but I immediately joined them when they returned to their seats.  I made a special point to let them all know how hard they worked, how it showed, and how incredibly proud I was of all three of them!  They were in second place!  That’s not too shabby considering there were at least 10 to 12 acts performing that day!

After they returned to their classroom, I went to get them a little something for their hard work.  Coming back into the school with gift bags, their faces lit up once more.  They were disappointed for a moment but quickly got over that when they focused on how good they did!  It helped when others complimented them as well.

My heart still swells with pride every time I watch the video, and I’d like to share it with you now.  Click here for the video I posted on Facebook.

Three cheers for these incredible girls!