Flower Girl Lydia

I am beginning to wonder if I should put an ad in the paper for Lydia. Something like, "Need A Flower Girl? Here she is." Ok, so maybe that was kinda boring, but I got nothing right now. Anyhow, near the end of June, Lydia was pleased to participate in her third wedding. She was the junior bridesmaid in my sister's wedding in November 09'. Then in January, she got her first go at throwing petals as the flower girl in my cousin, Deana's wedding. She was more than thrilled when Ms. Lisa asked her if she would do the honor of being her flower girl in June (when these pictures were taken). And she has one more wedding with flower girl-girly moments to come on August 6th, when our friends and former youth group students, Forest and Susie, get married. Four weddings in one year...I guess you could say she is in high demand. And she L-O-V-E-S it...pretty dresses, fancy hair do's, nails done up; what more could a 7 year old, fashionista girl ask for?

This picture makes me smile. I do believe she is up there checking out her fingernail polish.

It's so nice when you know the ringbearer you have to walk down with.
Lydia with the bride and groom (can't figure out why these won't go the right direction).

Had to throw this one in. Of course, Joshua caught the garter and the look on his face is priceless.

Still Alive

Why did the boy throw the clock out of the window?

He wanted to see time fly.

Why, you may ask, did I start out my much neglected blog with a joke? Well, not only was this the first real joke my two older kids ever told (real meaning making any sense whatsoever), this riddle came to mind when I thought about how to sum up my excuses for the recent zero blog posts. While I cannot claim to have actually seen time fly, I can attest to you that it has. I remember as a teenager, pining away for more privileges and responsibilities. (This happened quite frequently with an older brother). Much to my disgust, I usually heard something like this. "Your only a child once. Enjoy it while you can." Of course, me being the all-knowing, eye-rolling, "you just don't understand," kind of girl, I would dismiss this notion and continue in my little pity party.

Now, just a week following my 33rd birthday, I find myself grinning and rolling my tired, "grown up" eyes at that kid. I get it now, I really do! The older I get, the faster time seems to go. I know everybody says that as a cliche, but I think some research is in order. In my mind's eye, I can go right back to the moment I first held my newborn son in my arms. What a sweet and precious moment that was. I thank the Lord for the gift of memory; for that moment was 8 1/2 years ago! Or lately, I've been reminiscing over some of the most fun days of my childhood. One such memory was when I would get to go to my friend, Beth's, grandparents farm. We'd spend hours upon hours in the creek, catching critters, wading in the water, etc... It's hard to wrap my brain around the fact that now Beth and I have 6 kids between us. And we trek those 6 kids down to the creek near her house for their own adventures.

So, what have I been up to in the last couple of months? Well, ever since school let out, I started watching the neighbor boy down the street, Malcolm. He comes over to our house at 8am and usually goes home around 5:30pm. I also found an ad on CraigsList that I responded to. So, starting the second week of summer break, I also started watching Ashleigh. Her mom is working on her Master's degree to become a nurse practitioner and needed some extra study time and wanted Ashleigh to have a "fun summer." I watch her 3 days a week from about 8am to 3:30pm. Life with 5 kids is definitely different than life with 3, especially when they are not your own, but each week seems to get easier. The girls get along great for the most part, but the boys have quite a few squabbles throughout the day. When this occurs, I try and separate them for a while. There are moments that I reach my max (or so I think), but I am reminded that God has a purpose in allowing me to watch these kids. Already, some pretty cool conversations have occurred (especially post VBS week) and we may start picking up Ashleigh for church on Sundays. If you think of me, please pray that I would a.) keep my sanity in tack and b.) continue to be a light for Christ to these kids.

The kids have been enjoying the pool a lot this summer. With 5 kids, I was not about to go to the public pool about a mile away. It is always soo crowded and I am never at ease when we have gone in the past. It is so big and swarming with people. This equals a mom constantly having to locate her kids. Not fun. Jake's teacher was trying to recruit us for the pool right around the corner from our house. We've always known it was there but always figured it was too much money. Apparently, they have a deal for first time families. So, a big thank you to my mom and dad who treated us to this deal. While Crestwood does not have a water slide, water fall, huge kids area, separate deep end, or an alluring kiddy area, it does offer something much, much better! It is not crowded. Finding my kids at the public pool would involve me walking around and around and around some more, until finally I located that third child. Now, I can do a quick head count in about 10 seconds, all within the comforts of my chair or side of the pool. And the absolute best thing...my kids are actually learning to swim!!! Woohoo!!! I was told Crestwood doesn't have swim lessons, but if you put them on swim team, they will learn to swim. And that is what has happened! We aren't doing the meets...just the practices, but they have helped tremendously.

Let's see, what else. I survived my single-parenting experience for the week plus Dan was gone on the missions trip to NYC. I always end my weeks of going it alone with the utmost respect for the single moms I know. Dan is such a good father and help to me with the kids and I appreciate that about him! They surely missed him very much and kept asking to call or text him. They were very happy for him to be home as well. Even better that he brought them NYC Silly Bandz.

Seeing as at least my time seems to fly, I need to end this and head to bed as morning will be here all too quickly. Hope I did not bore you too much. I will do better about keeping up. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Spring Break - Part 2

My friend, Beth, moved not too long ago to a home with a property that is a perfect for boys...and tomboys...and princess-fashionable-dainty girls who aren't afraid to get a little dirty. All around her house is a wooded area, complete with bugs and frogs and turtles and snakes (that is a another post). The kids can go on an adventure of their own, all while being within earshot distance. It's great...cuz then the moms of those kids can pull out a couple chairs and have some catch up time. Another fun feature is Miss Beth's driveway...it is a sloping, circular driveway, which just so happens to be perfect for driving miniature jeeps and ATV's and bikes. Miss Beth just parks her car at the end of the driveway, so no kiddos go extra wild and wind up in the road. But perhaps the biggest draw for Jake and Lydia is the fact that just across the street from the Riddell's house is an even bigger wooded area where the kids can go on a short hike. We went exploring spring break week and kept following this little stream. Finally, (it took a bit of time with the little ones), we made it to Bear Creek. And to the delight of 6 kids and 2 excited moms, it was not deep. We waded in the creek for a while (while Beth and I reminisced our own creek days - only it was Raccoon Creek - at her Grandpa's farm in Galipolis every summer). Let me tell you...we have plans for this summer!

Spring Break - Part 1

Figured I'd better put some spring break pictures up before summer vacation arrives! Dan subbed 3 of the 5 days of spring break and while we missed having him around, the kids and I made some fun memories.

Here are the kids at Orchardly Park (my favorite park). While digging in the sand in a beach setting would have been grand, Jake, Lydia, and Claire had a fabulous time diggin' away in good, ol' Oakwood, Ohio! (there's that tongue...)

Call me crazy, but I let the kids have some friends over one day during spring break. Why, you may ask, is that crazy? Well, the plan was to divvy up the days, but logistically, the day that worked the best was the same for everyone. So...I had em' all come over the same day. Six kids...not so crazy, but throw in dress up clothes, a karaoke machine, and paper mache projects, and there you have it. I was one tired mama at the end of the day. Thankfully, I had my own mama around to help me keep my sanity.

Jake and his buddy making paper mache dragons.

Lydia, her girl friends, and Claire serenading mom and grandma.

Lunch time and some brief, quiet, munching moments.

Two-legged carrot.

Having fun with the two-legged carrot!

"Medium" Defined

Here is the definition of "medium," according to an online dictionary...

a. A specific kind of artistic technique or means of expression as determined by the materials used or the creative methods involved: the medium of lithography.
b. The materials used in a specific artistic technique: oils as a medium.

And here is Claire's definition...

Lydia's "Fancy Nancy" Fashion Show

So, my sweet Lydia turned seven last month. SEVEN! Lydia has a passion for dressing up. Not just the dressing up for fun either...the girl wants to look fabulous wherever she goes, even if it is a walk to the park. I tell her she can't run around in a skirt and she is quick to remind me of her skirts that have shorts built into them. She has also loved the Fancy Nancy books (I so could have written those having Lydia as my child). A friend of mine claims I stole Lydia from her, because honestly, I was a tomboy and have no fashion sense myself. I think I will be taking lessons from my daughter very soon!

Well, we were at the library checking out some Fancy Nancy books when the idea hit me. I tossed it out to Lid. "Hey, how would you like a Fancy Nancy fashion show for your birthday?" Her eyes popped bigger than ever. Obviously, she loved the idea. Score! And I thought for sure I could pull this off with very little cost. We had a small supply of dress up clothes, I was planning on asking a couple of other moms for contributions, and I knew Grandma Kanost had some dress up stuff. Well, my mom loved the idea as well and she hit the local thrift stores and found some super deals. We were in great shape! Ten girls were invited, nine came. There were plenty of clothing options for the girls to try on... as many times as they wanted. I had called the girls and reminded their moms to have them wear a leotard or swimming suit so that they could all change together. The party lasted from 1-4, but none of the girls wanted to leave when it was all finished. But best of all, Lydia had a smile planted on her face the entire time. To spend 3 hours with her friends and her "best cousin," doing the thing she loves to do the most...it was such a memorable day!Here is how we had the living room set up. There were places for jewelry, hair clips, wigs, sunglasses, shoes, fancy gloves, crowns, purses, etc. And in the corner is where the girls got to browse and select what they wanted to wear. They could change multiple times...and change, they did!

After a while, we had the girls sit down and they got to finish their party favor gift, which was a purse hand-crafted by Grandma Kanost. Each girl got to pick a pretty pin for each side of their purses. They turned out really cute! Thanks, mom, for all those knots you tied!

Next, it was time for some finger foods. Once tummies were full, we moved on to even more girly, girly moments with nail, make-up, and hair stations, getting ready for the main event!

*Here, the birthday girl is getting her hair done into the most popular style of the day...the "Spout," created by our very own Mrs. Becky Rebilas!*

We still needed to sing "Happy Birthday" and have cake (the cupcakes above were sent home with each girl). As we were getting ready to do that, Becky, who was also my photographer for the day captured this picture that I absolutely love...some tired feet! What grown up lady can't relate? Can I get an amen?!

Fancy Nancy is eclectic in her fashion statements throughout her books, so Lydia's cake took on a bit of an eclectic look as well. Time for presents...

and a quick group photo (minus Noelani, who had to leave early for a prior commitment)...

and we were ready for our fashion show! Each girl had made their final selection with their outfits (pictured in the group shot above). We had set up the karaoke machine and I let each girl take a turn announcing the next friend by name and then I did my best to describe to the crowd what they had on. Parents were coming at this point, so it was fun for the girls to be able to have somewhat of an audience. Here is Lydia's walk and her posed picture!

One last thing to mention...while it was such a fun party, I did take a few moments to talk to the girls about inner beauty and how God cares more about that than what we look like on the outside. I had written Ps. 119:139 on one of the mirrors and talked about how we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" by God and what that meant. Hopefully, that message, even as brief as it was, sank in.

Lydia, you are a beautiful, precious daughter of our God! He loves you so much! He blessed our family beyond measure when He entrusted us with the gift to take care of you. You bring such joy to our lives and we love you so much, too! We have watched you grow into such a pretty, little girl on the inside and out, and we look forward to the next seven years. But, could you please slow down a little? For your mama's sake??