Looking ahead...

This one came home yesterday with a packet for MIDDLE SCHOOL!  Whew!  I just don't know how a momma readies her heart for these kinda changes!  I mean entering kindergarten as our oldest a mere 6 quick years back was hard enough!  But my girl?  She is so excited!  She is one to rise to a challenge and she looks forward to meeting new friends, gaining new experiences and growing up!  I love her confidence and her optimism and I hope it always lasts!  If they must grow up (and I'm told they must) then I guess I will let her!  I am thankful for the responsible and sensible girl she is and has always been so at least I can trust her to make good choices (for the most part) along the way!  Anna, you are a darling and a dear, I am prouder than proud to be your momma!

Anna is 10!

Our oldest, our daughter Anna has entered the double digits and is now 10!  This feels big and in many ways is big!  I cannot believe it has only taken 10 years (and it has felt like less) for our baby girl who we adored and treasured and cuddled in our arms to be big enough to stand only a head shorter than me!  She is still treasured for sure and I wanted to share some of the celebration we had for her birthday!

We celebrated with a "Spa Birthday" at her Grandma & Auntie's Salon with 3 of her friends from school - so fun!  They had their nails done, their hair styled (soooo cute) and relaxing mini-facials!  They also enjoyed sweets & treats & sparkling martinelli's.  I love little girls chatter, I loved to see her carefree and enjoying time with them & it blessed my heart that she had a special birthday!  

 

Thank you to the girls who came and made her day so special and also, thank you so much to her Auntie's Jeneah, Sara, & Tara and Grandma Jill for each contributing and doing your special part for these girls! 

We ended the fun time with a little trip to Claire's and picked out a trinket for each girl! 

In addition, Anna asked for a bedroom makeover for her birthday!  She picked out such darling room and lots of people pitched in to make the changes come to life!  Since she is not a "little girl" anymore she was craving sophistication!  Here is how it turned out!

She says it is "awesome" and amazing and she loves it!  I love it too (even though it departs from my typical faded blues and yellows and beiges)!  A big thank you to Aunt Mary Claire, Nanna, Grammy (with our contribution also) for completing the transformation for our girl! 

I did want to add one thing!  This year has been a very celebratory year for our family!  Carolyn turned 1 and Anna 10 - both special milestones and the boys turned 5 & 7.  We celebrated with real and over the top birthday parties because this is the last year we are celebrating this way!  At this point, we really feel that we can mark birthdays with a special type of family day that gives each child a memory unique to their interests and age.  Birthday parties are fun yes, but also extremely expensive and for me as a mom (the kids though too) they can be stressful!  I for one am really looking forward to a new way of welcoming each new age! So while Anna's "Spa Party", the boys "Pool Parties" and Carolyn's 1 year old Bash were maybe a bit over the top, we are certainly moving into a new tradition of simple abundance.

A little introduction...

Meet sweet Carolyn, the baby of our family of six! I am blessed to live in the country in a small town with my husband and 4 beautiful children in an old farmhouse with a couple of acres. Although it is really more of a cottage with 3 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms and just under 1800 square feet of finished space for us, it is quite "cozy"!

Our baby, Carolyn, just turned one and she has 2 older brothers and an oldest sister who I will introduce in upcoming posts! We are a typical family trying to live life to the fullest and enjoy simple pleasures! I have been so inspired to live more purposely and achieve more beauty in small ways each day by browsing through other women's blog's. I decided it would be fun to share in the experience! I look forward to connecting with others who share in my passion for family, friendships, faith, community and country!

Blessings!

Olivia