Owl Invitations

Preparations are underway for Emma's upcoming eleventh birthday gathering! Invitations have been delivered via owl and plans for decorations and cupcakes are being discussed! Her Harry Potter themed celebration is sure to be one of her most favorite! xo

Night And Day

These might be my most favorite Derby cars yet (which I'm pretty sure I say every year)! xo

Professional Pictures From The Holiday Show

These gorgeous stage pictures are courtesy of Laura Donia Photography! xo

A Snowy Sunday

Our sweet, old farmhouse always looks lovely, but she looks especially magical when covered in snow. xo 

Nevertheless, We Persist!

Once again, a group from our incredible faith community headed into Boston to attend the Women's March. 

And once again, the signs were amazing! 

Rebecca and I take a pre-March selfie. 

The Boston Red Cloaks were out in full force today. 

It was truly incredible to see them walk by. 

(insert Beyonce's "Who Run the World (Girls)" here)

My most favorite sign of the day.

The fact that we have to keep marching is frustrating but it does give me hope each time I go, too! There really is nothing like seeing the sea of pink hats to help you feel like you are not in this alone! Nevertheless, we will persist! xo

A Magical Ending

Six years and six days ago, Grace lost her first tooth. The magic of having the tooth fairy come to visit was far more than she could take and it made for a very, very, very late night for one so young. That first tooth fairy visit brought lots of glitter, a sweet note, and a lovely fairy dust necklace. Yesterday, Grace's final two baby teeth were taken out and once again the tooth fairy brought lots of glitter, a sweet note and a lovely fairy necklace. The adult teeth were so crooked that there was no way they would ever push the baby teeth out so out they needed to come. We were in and out of the dentist in nineteen minutes, and truly the worst part for her was that she couldn't go to dance class that night.

Last night, she found it hard to get to sleep. She was not looking forward to this tooth fairy visit at all. She wasn't ready for them (and this part of her childhood) to end. Perhaps it's because she's homeschooled, or perhaps it's just speaks to what a truly magical (and sweet soul) she is, but even at twelve-and-a-half she very much still believes and is very connected to Lily her tooth fairy.

And so, we both got a bit weepy last night (well, I may have been more than a bit weepy) as we sat together in the girls' bedroom with Emma sweetly dreaming and the stars from the turtle all around. It reminded me a lot of the night before Emma was born. I tucked Grace into her crib on our last night as a family of three and then promptly burst into tears. My guess is that this little ritual of ours will always be part of what we do as she moves on to each new stage of her life. I can already see the night before her wedding being one much like this. 

In a day and age where children seem to grow up way too fast I am so grateful that both she and Emma have had such a magical and long-lasting (and in many ways old fashioned) childhood. One full of magic and wonder and love and enchantment (and so much fairy dust)! And even though she's on the cusp of becoming a teenager there is no doubt in my mind that she will always believe. That she will always look for magic wherever she goes and that she will always find the fairies. xo 

Yesterday Afternoon

 Buns in, 

along with glitter covered hair (and jackets), 

 and make-up on, 

 can mean only one thing...

It's holiday charity show day! xo

(Stage photo cred: Laura Donia Photography)

For Sunday Morning

When the theme of the month is "possibility" and you have a children's message to write and you get to share about that time you started a new sorority on campus. xo