Recently a friend encouraged me to foster that passion after seeing one of Gillian’s outfit creations while she was visiting.  I am so thankful that she did.   Today, Gillian had her first sewing class and loved it!!! She completed a project in 2 hours!!   That is simply amazing to someone like me who can take 15 minutes to replace a button.

I am very excited to see what comes of this new hobby and see how far she will want to go with it. Even if her true passion is designing clothing, knowing how to sew is still essential.

The Finished Project:  Pajama Bottoms

Last year for Christmas Gillian only wanted a ferret to have a pet of her own. I honestly could not believe that we were entertaining the idea of buying one ferret but when we met the bonded pair of Lizzy and Blizzard, Kip and I knew they were going to become part of our home and bless our little girl.

We were in quite in a pickle when we found them 2 weeks before Christmas, when this was THE ONLY thing Gillian wanted. What do we do, how do we keep them a surprise for that long before Christmas? Well, we did the only thing we could do. We gave Gillian her Christmas present early! We were both so nervous how she would handle that on Christmas day, but once again, we were amazed how gracious and understanding our daughter handled it.

These two little critters brought us so much joy, lots of love and many hours of entertainment.  We loved how they played together and were afraid of nothing and nobody.   We loved how they brought friends joy, the kids some common ground. The greatest joy as a parent was to see your child grow with responsibility, although not perfect, but much growth.  The compassion that they have for animals shows much about their character.

Sadly this week, Blizzard is now living in the Big Condo all alone.  Still not sure what happened, he looks just as sad as we do.

It was very much a damper on our Thanksgiving day, but we do see a few blessings in what happened.  We were so grateful that Gillian was not home when we found Lizzy dead in her habitat.  We were also grateful that we were not faced with a huge decision of having to put her down or to spend the money on a costly surgery.   It was also an opportunity and an open door to talk to our kids about such hard things.  To explain that even when we pray for one outcome and get another that God is still good and present.  It is so hard for us as adults to grasp that concept so I cannot imagine how hard that is for our children.

We grieved together as a family last night, one little girl cried herself to sleep as I held her close.   Today, we have talked much about Lizzy and her sweet, quirky and fun personality.  You are missed sweet Lizzy.  RIP little girl.

Actually, our little princess needed a make over!  For a girl who loves clothes and can still wear clothes from when she was 5, space is an issue.  In an attempt to get creative and utilize her living area better,  moved her into the old office and installed an Elfa closet system in her soon to be new room.  We will lift her bed and add drawers underneath for more storage.

I absolutely love how her closet turned out.

I ask miss Gillian to please put away the clothes that are still on her floor. She comes downstairs and says, “I decided to wear them all so I wouldn’t have to put them away!”

Nice outfit, eh?  Course her plan didn’t work as she had hoped….she still had to put them away!  It is funny how often our sweet kiddo’s think they can out smart their parents!!

This year my son opted out of a party (smart boy) for a bigger gift which worked out fabulously because my daughter wanted a party with all her friends, of course I had to bring her back to earth and ask her to limit it to 11 of her friends.

We went with an American Girl Doll Tea Party.  Pinks, yellows and whites with a hint of green thrown in for the greenery.  I ordered hand made purses off Etsy for the each of the girls dolls. I had so much fun finding decorations in those colors, I want to transform our front room area to look like a garden.  I had white lights wrapped in white tule and ivy going up the stair rails, a streamer canopy, pink tule table cloth, pink and yellow candies for the yellow vases, English roses, the sweetest tea set, and lots of treats dipped in pink chocolate with yellow and white sprinkles.

The girls all arrived in their cute tea party dresses and I could not believe this but all 12 girls had an American Girl doll and nearly half of them dressed just like their dolls.  It was so precious to see these sweet girls all dressed up with their dolls.

The girls made a craft, danced and seemed to have a fun time.  Gillian was so gracious and so thankful.  She kept telling me thank you for all of the work I put into her very special party.  That was all this mommy needed to know it was all worth it.

We pray that this group of  young ladies will continue to grow their friendships and always be an encouragement to each other.

Disclaimer:  Insanity took over when I came up with this idea.  Thankfully, my kids do not have parties like this every year.  Although I had a blast preparing for this event, it was a lot to take on on top of all other things “Summer” .

For as long as I remember my Gillian has wanted to work with animals, she is very passionate about dogs and horses specifically.  Although would not turn her back on any living creature.

What is really cool is that her grandma (Kip’s mom) is also very fond of horses and has more to her collection than I think Gillian does.  But that that bond is shared from  her paternal side whereas the love of doggies comes from my family.  It is just really cool to see what shapes our children. 

This past week Gillian and I had a dream come true.  Although, Gillian has been on a few horses she has never had the opportunity she had this week, thanks to a very precious friend of mine.  My sweet friend, Alison taught Gillian so much about caring for a horse and riding a horse.  My little girl is so hooked and has talked about it nearly every day since. 

There is something about being in the country, on a horse.  Time slows down and there is a peace about you, a peace you just cannot find at home in the daily grind.  I would love to be able to own a ranch and have horses, it is one of those dreams that you wish could come true.  But, in the meantime we have this lovely day to keep close to our heart.

We thank you Alison for sharing T-bone and Millie with us that day.

Lillian got lots of pampering that day. She got her hair done for the big birthday tea party and she got her ears pierced.

So much fun!!!

Yes….mommy is having lots of fun too!!!

Kip and I initially told Gillian she had to wait until she was 10, but we surprised her this year by letting her get her ears pierced ON her 8th birthday. What an ‘event’ it was too. Should be, right? After all it is a huge milestone in a young girls life.

Gillian and her friend and neighbor Alicia who also just turned 8, embarked on this adventure together. Other people who attended this very enormous event were; both sets of parents, big brother, Aunt Nicole and Gillian’s friend, Annabelle.

We went to Merle Norman in the mall and got a very sweet woman to help us. Both girls were very excited and very brave.

I know they will remember this day forever!!!  I know I will.

Things I love: Swimming at grandma and grandpa’s house, playing with my friends.

My favorite thing to do is horseback riding and playing with my friends.

My favorite singer is Selena Gomez.

My favorite movie from this Summer is Soul Surfer.

My favorite things to play with are my American Girl Doll, Barbies, my stuffies and cars.

My favorite food is Nachoes (highly nutritious).

My favorite animals are dogs and horses.

My biggest wish is to have an older sister.