Wisdom from Little Ones

There are moments that make me smile, and moments that make me stop and realize how little I understand.  And there are children who seem to be restless, unable to settle into the atrium.  They wiggle, don't look at me and seem to be in another world when receiving a presentation.  Then out of their mouths come some of the most beautiful and profound words, and I realize that no, they aren't listening to me, thank the Lord.  Rather they are hearing the sweet whispers of the Holy Spirit in their hearts.  They can tune to those whispers easier than I, they have fewer obstructions blocking their vision, their hearts are more open.  Those are the moments when all the work is forgotten.  Those are the moments when all the frustrations, complaints, broken materials, and long hours disappear.  Those are the moments I learn to be still and to listen with them.  And when I stop, and listen with them, these are the things I am blessed to hear:

A child at the baptism area, lighting his candle over and over again:

"They had light, and more lights, and no dark.  Had a meal, then it was night and they went to bed.  It was all light so no hurtness could be around.  Seven candles, then they had light in the world, but not the sun."

A third year child crossing himself as he prays in the baptismal area

Another morning a child sang these words while lighting his candle:

"Light, light, light.

God is good.

He loves us, He loves us.

Spirit."

A second year child at the Mystical Supper materials

Months later, that same child, a four year old boy, spent 20 minutes at the model altar, asking me to sing song after song.  Then he completed his work and went over to the baptism area.  Once his baptismal candle was lit, he stood before the table for several minutes, lifting his light up into the air over his head, singing softly over and over again:

"My light is growing, my light is growing."

301. wiggly, jumpy little boys
302. sweet words from children
303. unconditional love from little ones
305. brutal honesty because all they know to tell you is the truth
306. children who don't worry about how poorly I sing, and instead can hear the beauty of the words in spite of my inability to carry a tune
307. mornings in the atrium, where I too can learn to slow down and be still, and know that He is God

Finally! the Hazel skirt

I love this skirt.  I am not kidding, it takes about 2 hours to make. 

 I had one finished weeks ago, but just couldn't seem to slow down long enough to get the other two completed.

So I stayed up late the night before our beach vacation and finished the other skirts.

The girls wore them to dinner one night in a quaint little sea side village.  I saw this cute table and bench so I had them pose for photos.

 Only after I starting snapping photos did I notice that the dress in the window coordinated with their shirts!

Fairy Party: The Table

A fairy party really should be held in the gardens; where else would fairies play?  While I waited until just hours before the party to get it all out, we were fortunate, as the tail end of hurricane storms delayed a day and the predicted rain didn't arrive to spoil our fun.  Had the rain come down, we would have pulled everything under a covered porch (and I would have been a mess :)

Grapevine wreath suspended from a tree, draped with sheer fabric found on clearance and used for previous parties.  White sheets make the perfect table cloth - they bleach easily, they are big enough to drape, and my linen closet is full of them!  A bit of a splurge- the rose petals.  A few dozen roses (if you can get old ones they are discounting you can spend about $20 and really make an impact) deconstructed to decorate the grassy carpets with a bit of color around the table.  A few folding tables in the yard, along with nearly every chair we own will accommodate 14 guests ranging in age from 2 to 12.

A few flowering artificial branches mixed in among branches from the yard made for an impressive main arrangement.......

....while smaller fresh blooms burst from tea pots and tea cups.

And a sweet friend can always be counted on this time of year to provide an abundance of garden grown zinnias to add extra color and homegrown delight.  Small doves and bird nests were scattered along the length of the table, scavenged from the Christmas decorations boxes.

Mix and match plates always work well for a garden party, so a selection of patterns were set out....

.....and c*rning ware dishes and glass jars were planted with moss and ferns dug from the yard and turned into tiny fairy gardens with the addition of furniture items borrowed from the dollhouse.

This is the perfect time of year to snag a few fairy statues, when all of the garden decor goes on clearance at your local hobby store.  I bought these 8 years ago and they have been used for three different fairy birthdays now, so at $7 each they were a deal!

And upon her arrival, each fairy guest found her very own set of fairy attire hanging from her chair.

An aerial view of all the little fairies feasting.

And here is what things looked like at the end of the night .......

......little ones gone, food put away, candles still flickering in the dark.  I am sure there were some pixie visitors just waiting for us to all go to bed so they could continue the festivities!

Summer Thanksgivings

Before I fully embrace the cooler weather, berries on my dogwood and changing leaves, I am taking a look back at all the fun and beauty that was this summer, so here are a few of my summer joys and blessings.

287. seven hour concert - singing along with the Brothers of the Sun

288. karaoke with friends after Vespers on Saturday nights

289. performing "Livin' on a Prayer" with my gals, who are wonderfully forgiving of my out of tune singing!

290. discovering Downton Abbey and Doc Martin

291. the Feast of the Dormition, standing by her tomb, offering prayers every evening

292. the abundant and beautiful liturgies of September

293. the Life Giving Cross of our Lord

294. opening our Level 2 atrium

295. toes in the water, toes in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold margarita in my hand!

296. holding hands with my husband of 18 years

297.  watching my kids jump into the ocean, pure delight and joy on their faces

298. paddle-boarding for the first time! 

299. walks on the beach at night

300.  seven days of sitting on the beach, building margin into our lives and doing nothing but 

enjoying time with my family 

Fun at Co-op

Flying kites they made, just like Benjamin Franklin

blue eggs

Fairy Party: The Frocks

Every fairy needs a frock, so with a bit of coordinating with the moms of our guests, we matched skirts, wings and fairy crowns with leotards or shirts the girls already owned.  Once the colors for each girl were known (and waist measurements), we went to work creating skirts fit for a fairy queen.  First, yards and yards of tulle!  For several months I collected tulle on sale (best deal - H*bby Lobby at 77 cents a yard!).  Pink, purple, blue, brown, green, yellow, red, black, plain tulle, shimmery tulle, glittery tulle, tulle in every color imaginable. Needless to say, we did not stick to a pastel color scheme, but rather represented the colors of an abundant garden, overflowing with flowers of all seasons!

I have tried several different techniques in the past for creating fairy skirts.  One year my sister-in-law and I used a length of ribbon for the waistband, cut 14 inch squares of sheer fabric and tied one corner of each square to the ribbon.  One year I found inexpensive fairy skirts from Orient*l Trading.  This year, I found a simple pattern from Lazy Mama Designs, and I think these skirts are the best ones so far!

They were incredibly easy to make; in fact, I can't take credit for making more than a couple of them.  Dimples godmother offered to help, so she got started and cranked out the first 4-5 skirts one afternoon.  Once the elastic waistband is sewn, the rest of this project is stitch free!  

Then, as time ran short, I put the Little Princess to work, and she worked for two days straight, making the rest of the skirts!

I also had a few skirts leftover from the last fairy party, which consisted of a length of tulle folded in half and a waist band stitched into it, with ribbon threaded through the waist, and flowers and small bells placed into the folded skirt.

Upon arrival, each fairy guest located her garments and quickly dressed for the evening.  Tags were inspired by this lovely fairy party.  Each girls name was printed on their tag (names shopped out to protect privacy :)

Soon our woods were full of colorful fairies, running, jumping, swinging and playing!

After seeing all their lovely skirts - I want one too!  Might make that a project for the next fairy party.