Whoa - my daughter is going GOTH!

Okay - that was me just a few months ago.

I'm not sure the difference between Goth & Emo but we were treading some lines here with our oldest daughter.

First day of 6th grade

She was very into beauty, princesses, fairies and dress-up during her elementary years.  We know she is creative and we have always encouraged her to express it.

Enter Middle School.  The first few weeks were filled with trendy clothes, trying to fit in, requests for athletic shorts (all the kids wear them Mom!) and pleas to wear makeup.

Then a few weeks after that all color disappeared.  We were informed that she was in her "black stage" and all colored clothes were moved out of her drawers and into a storage tub she found in her closet. (Other items in that tub were relocated in a heap to the corner of her closet - Mom cringed.)

Double pierced ears
were a Christmas present.

Feeling this was a phase, we tried to ignore it.  I did more laundry since she only had a handful of all black clothing.  She started spending all her spare money on black clothing.  She went to stay with Grandma and came back with a bright red streak in her hair.  She invested in black lace gloves, black shoes, black jewelry and even adamantly demanded black underwear!

This continued for months and months and all the way to the end of the year. People started to notice. Of course she always looked polished and put together.  Most of her black clothing was x-small women's clothes.  Clothes you might wear to work.  It was like pulling teeth to get her to wear jeans and a t-shirt.

She also began to withdraw more and more - I don't have many pictures of her since she didn't join a lot of our family activities.  She wanted to be included but at the same time just wanted to be left alone. (Can't say we are out of the woods on that one yet.)

Then came summer.  School let out and she decided to take a break from it all.

Analysis:  At this point I really think the black was just an escape from the overwhelming task of deciding what to wear and how to fit in.  It was infinitely easier to choose from a single color palette. And I think it was very important for us to not make a big deal out of it.  It never became an issue for us.  I didn't understand why she was doing it but it seemed to be essential for her to cope with middle school. And now, I am beyond thrilled to see her colorful self again!

So - let your pre-teen express themselves, let them push those boundaries a bit even if it doesn't make sense to you.  Even if you've always picked out their clothes.  Even if they used to explain everything to you.  They  may not even know why they are making these choices.  They are just trying to cope with not knowing who they are yet AND the choices they are making at this age are not necessarily indicative of who they are going to be in the future.

So pretty, creative and ready for 7th grade

A new home, settling into our Colorado life.

Oh I know.  But, I've been moving.  Okay - so it's been nearly a month since we left beautiful Illinois and headed to also beautiful Colorado and I'm sure you are wondering how things all turned out.

Was God faithful?

Were WE faithful?

I'm happy to say that God was truly faithful.  I continue to struggle with trusting him with major life-altering details, but he worked in spite of me.

We were able to get into our house with all our furniture, boxes, etc 2 days before school started.  While it was crazy, things did go smoothly. The girls were able to start school while I worked to get records, birth certificates, shot histories and the like in on time.

Things have calmed down now, nearly 4 weeks later. The girls really love their schools.  Claire and Katherine are at an elementary school and Annabelle is into middle school.

Anna's first day of 6th grade.

Claire & Katherine - ready for 4th and 1st grade!

The hardest part has been adjusting to the Colorado mentality.  I can't hardly describe it.  People seem the same as anywhere else but in small ways it just has a different feel.  I don't want to criticize (but, I'm so good at it!) because I'm still settling and going through my emotional change-is-good roller coaster.  So I won't.  It's enough to say that we are learning to get out and enjoy life and nature with hikes, a new trampoline, a visit to ProspectEats - a fun gathering of food trucks at a local park, and visits to Estes Park.

Bubble Time at the park.

Thanks for everyone's support and encouragement.  I'll be back soon with some pictures of the house and my feeble attempts at decoration.

My kids are fighters.

School begins next week.

Who me? Chaos?

Thankfully.

We are so ready around here.  We have gotten our class lists, visited the new school and are ready with school supplies in hand.

I'm a bit nervous about 2 new schools, my youngest in Kindergarten and my oldest in her last year of elementary school.  It is amazing how much they have changed in just one year.

I can see all the girls growing up and my hope is that they can be kind and loving to those around them.  Although I don't think it'll be to each other any time soon.

Every read those posts from Moms who have wonderful children?  They seem to always be posting photos of their kids hugging and sharing toys and making each other breakfast.  Seriously? If I wanted a picture of something like that I'd have to be some kind of superhero.  That split second is nearly impossible to capture.

In my space I'm going to have to be real.  My kids fight.  A lot.  They call each other names, they pinch each other, they even occasionally chase the appropriate younger sibling around creating terror and panic.  It's chaos.  Often.

There are moments of love and kindness.  I try to praise them anytime I can although it is admittedly hard when my heart rate has not lowered yet from the chaos.

Anytime I'm really frustrated I can just quote the words of my wise mother: "Just wait, you'll have a kid just like you someday."

Thankful Five #2

I would love for this to be a habit.

I'm totally thankful for these two!

But, every time I've tried to start writing I find my mind is filled with everything I'm not thankful for.  I'm not thankful for loud screaming in my ear, I'm not thankful for stepping in cat barf, I'm not thankful for dirty floors, you know?  So, here I am - definitely needing a re-align.

Things I'm thankful for:

1. New school clothes for my girls
2. New running socks and shoes for my feet
3. New challenges at my job
4. A 15 year anniversary date this Friday
5. My dishwasher

Hopefully there are no repeats there.  I am so thankful for my life and the all the love that surrounds me.     And many, many days I am especially thankful for that dishwasher.

Summer cooking, junior style

Middle of the week. I skipped my workout this morning to sleep in. I was awakened at 6:30 to Anna unloading the dishwasher, cleaning her room and doing other chores.  Huh?  Thank God for my schedule!

Anna prepares something yummy.

I asked her to be a little quieter (I'm a light sleeper in the morning) and I went back to sleep.

At 8 AM she came into our room, proclaiming that breakfast is ready.  Huh?

Matt and I went into the kitchen to find homemade crepes.  Matt makes crepes on a regular basis and Anna has been wanting to make some "changes" to the recipe.  So, she put every different kind of sprinkle and candy possible right in the batter.  But, she has learned something after living with her two non-candy eating parents.  There were 2 plain crepes for us to enjoy.

Truly, the crepes were good.  They were a little dense.  She made 5 crepes out of the recipe, whereas it is supposed to make 15.

I'm working on seeing all the cooking lately from our 10 year old as a huge blessing.  And I'm totally signing her up for cooking school asap!