Paige Birthday Palooza

I can finally and with certainty say that we are DONE celebrating Paige's birthday. I feel like we've been celebrating for a month! Here's the run down:

On Monday, her actual birthday, Patrick surprised her for lunch. I had to work so I was glad he was there. She loved her special time with him. We had chicken pot pie per her request that evening. And since we had cake the day before and later in the week, we opted for jello as a special dessert. She opened all her gifts and loved them! Anna was so sweet to give her gel pens and also wrote her a golden ticket redeemable for a free play day. So sweet! Patrick and I gifted her a watch and a new jacket both of which were promptly worn to school the next day.

Yesterday, we started the day off with her school-wide zoo field trip. I love this adventure, BUT we woke up to temps in the 40s and rain. On went the boots and rain jackets. Fortunately we stayed relatively dry by being in the buildings with the animal exhibits and enjoying a classroom experience. The kids were great and never complained. I got to bring Sally home with us and the girls warmed up as well as played the entire afternoon

Meanwhile, Anna and I got to work on the unicorn cake. Hear me now, people. I will NEVER do another unicorn cake again! It's just tedious and I have to make SO much frosting, which I forget every time. Sweet Anna was trying to calm me down by pointing out that it really was no big deal, but I just needed to have a bit of a melt down. In the end, the cake turned out fine with its FIVE batches of buttercream frosting.

We had the Powells and Currys over for some hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, grandpa beans and fun. Our festivities were moved inside due to the rain, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm. I quickly pulled together some fun glow stick decorations for the dining room to make it festive. The kids played charades and flash light hide-n-glow seek. We opened gifts, ate cake and ended it with an epic glow stick dance party. Thank you 90s music.

Sweet Sally got to spend the night while Anna headed down to Caroline's. Let's just say Paige is feeling loved and celebrated. It was her best day ever and now she's reveling in her gifts. This mama is going to take a nap!

The Magic Treehouse: Dinosaurs Before Dark

It was such a joy to see all of Paige's hard work this weekend when we finally got to see her performance in the play. She has been working for a little over a month on her role as Hemlock Tree #1. There has been much discussion and praying about this particular role as Paige was disappointed she was not a dinosaur. But we learned some valuable lessons: choosing joy, not missing opportunities to show what you know, cheering on others, finding our value in who we are and not what we do and many more. As she got more into her role, she also realized it was no easy ensemble part. She performed in a song that was rounds and had several dance moves that were pretty tricky. Needless to say, we were really proud of her and she did great. 

We were also so glad to be able to have friends and family come support her. John brought Jonathan and Caroline while Emily managed to wrangle Ryder, Annie, Lynan and cousin Hadley on Friday night. Uncle Aaron drove into town on Saturday and celebrated with some Sonic afterward. And Kathy and Gary were here for the Sunday performance as well as some birthday fun. It was a busy weekend, but I know Paige felt loved and celebrated. 

Happy Birthday Paige!

Dear Paige,

You know we have been celebrating your birthday all weekend and will continue to celebrate up until the end of this week. Now that's a way to do a birthday! Nine. How is is that my baby is nine?! It's the last year I will have a kiddo in the single digits and I have to admit it's making this mama ponder a bit harder about all the wonderful memories of this past year.

You have GROWN tremendously! I think more than any other year we've had together, I am getting to experience you as the young woman you will be one day soon. At school, you are confident, honest, kind and curious. You have lots to say when writing (oh, how I love your stories!) and when contributing to class comments. I've noticed when I am in your class to help, you come over and give me a quick hug, but you are happy to skip off and continue to do your own thing. Your peers value your input, help and creativity.

One of the things that stands out to me this year has been your passion for social justice. Whether we are talking about animals, the Earth, politics or social issues, you have an opinion and express is strongly. While these opinions are still strongly tied to emotion, I am beginning to see your reasoning skills and abilities to convince others. Remember, emotion can stir your heart to act, but you have to be able to communicate to make true change.

This year we also walked through some strong personal emotions. It was tough to work through those feelings and not allow them to control us, while also acknowledging them as part of who you are. You have grown so much in self-control and perspective. This has taken work on all our parts and I am so proud of the positive changes you are making.

Hmm...things you love: reading Harry Potter and Warriors (you have taken off as a reader this year), your best friend Sally, playing with your sister, blue jello, animals of any kind, shorts (as you refuse to wear pants....and let's be honest underwear aren't your favorite either), sleeping, snuggles, your blankies, being theatrical, your family, school, art and pretending. You've been in two performances through the Children's Theater and absolutely love the stage. It makes me so happy to see you take a risk and practice choosing joy in circumstances that don't quite go your way.

Paige, my lovie, you are a bright, shining light in our lives. Whether you chatter in the back seat to tell us all the things or sit quietly and contemplate, we think you are thoughtful and have so much to share with the world. Your compassion and ability to care deeply will one day move mountains. I love
being in Sunday School with you as we explore more about who God is and I am beginning to see you apply those lessons to your life in practical ways. I have no doubt He will use you in big ways. Remember who you are and to Whom you belong. And if you forget, I am here to give you a snuggle and remind you.

I looooooooovvveee you!
Mom

friends

It's been interesting talking with Anna about friends lately. She doesn't have any close buddies as school. It's a combination of not coming from a feeder school and just her unique personality. She also doesn't have a phone and that is a big way students connect with one another. I am not too worried about it as there have actually been a couple times where it was good she wasn't close friends with some specific girls.

In any event, I have reassured her that while she is trying to grow friendships at her school, she indeed has great friends that don't go to her school. These are deep, sweet friendships where she is known and loved for who she is. These are friends who care for her and will support her in meaningful ways. It takes a bit of extra work, but I am trying to make sure she has opportunities to be with these friends even if she doesn't see them on a daily basis.

This past weekend, she went with Ashley to support her friend Caroline while playing soccer. They had a blast in the van to Rock Hill and Anna loved cheering on Caroline while she played. We also had Mrs. Blake over for some kayaking. You may recall Amanda is Anna's teacher from last year. While this is a different kind of friendship, we very much value her input into Anna's life. Amanda loved kayaking so much, she went out with her husband the very next day and bought kayaks!!

This picture captures Paige and Jonathan perfectly!

play time at the Powells...how come I can't get them in a dress at home?!

And speaking of friends, Paige has been enjoying special time with Sally while they practice for their play. It was so sweet hearing their conversations in the car yesterday. They read a book on slavery and discussed the social injustice. Then they practiced songs from the play. They are such caring friends to each other.