A Banner Day!

Gosh, what a busy but wonderful day it was. We celebrated Olivia's 9th birthday today. NINE! I can't hardly believe it. My first, my baby, is nine. Can it be?

My memory serves me well. I can remember being two years old, my parents as my witness. I remember a particular event because my dad was driving us to PA so my grandparents could care for us while my mom gave birth to my sister. She was born about 2 months shy of my 3rd birthday. And I remember that ride to PA at 2 years old. I also vividly recall my 3rd birthday. The little red sweater I wore. My Uncle Jim present. I got a cat for my 4th birthday (and a Spirograph too). As I said, my memory serves me well.

And now my Olivia is 9, yet I am at a loss for where the time went. I didn't "forget." It's just hard to remember (or perhaps bittersweet to reflect?) Somewhere between adopting four children, a job relocation that included moving from the country in one state to the burbs in another, and the fact that time waits for no one, my baby is (I know you know) now 9 years old. Sigh. Half her time with us, passed (past). Half the time God has given us to train her up in the way she should go. And like the half-time of a football game, I realize that I'm supposed to take this opportunity to examine the game plan and adjust as we move forward. Forward into tween-age and teen-age. Forward toward adulthood. So many mistakes made to this point and yet her dad and I do NOT take this parenting job lightly. God entrusted her to our care. And so did her birth family. What an eye opener that has been. What a blessing!

And so today we celebrated for the second time (the first being with our dear extended family last week). She loves lions and tigers and so I made her a lion cake.


We swam at our local waterpark, where everyone had a blast, in spite of the two women who wanted to rumble with me over our, uh hem, "daring" attempt to share a humongous oversized poolside umbrella with them (yeah, they felt they owned it and pretty much threw a temper tantrum because we had the audacity to try to claim a little public shade for our kids, lol). We then came home and had homemade potato and leek soup with whole grain bread, which she loved. After cake and icecream, she opened her gifts (which included leashes for her stuffed tigers from Nana and Papa who sport real cat collars from Aunt Lori and Uncle Scot).

And finally, we ended our day by returning to a local walking trail to see if we could again spot the Indigo Bunting pair we saw last night. Remember how I talked to the frog? Well, pardon me while I switch hats because once again, I kid you not, I mimicked the song the male sang last night and within 30-45 seconds, he appeared.


And so did she. His blue is spectacular, but she isn't blue at all. And she wouldn't sing as he did. What a privilege to see them not once but twice, especially considering the fact that I've NEVER seen one. The photos aren't great (I had a 10X zoom but it's a non-SLR camera). But at least you'll get the gist.

Seeing blue birds fascinates me. Cardinal color is awesome. But the Indigo? Magnificent!
If you want to know more about this little star gazer (The Indigo Bunting migrates at night, using the stars for guidance. It learns its orientation to the night sky from its experience as a young bird observing the stars), you can read the terrific post my dear brother wrote about them here.

Toni