Thursday, May 17, 2012

Happy 5th Birthday Charlotte!

In the weeks between mid-April and mid-May, we celebrate 4 birthdays in my house (7 if you count grandparents!)  Charlotte was the most recent birthday girl and we had a very fun day!  

Traditionally at five, my kids get their first friend birthday party, but after going around in circles with Charlotte about what kind of party she wanted and who she wanted to invite (both of which changed on a daily basis), I decided to just keep it simple and invite her closest little girl friend to have an afternoon tea party.  Charlotte requested dress-up gear for the occasion, as well as the accompaniment of a favorite doll or stuffed animal. I set up a small kids table on the deck with a lace tablecloth and we used Charlotte's polish pottery tea set for the dishes. Charlotte chose all of her favorite junk food + crust-less sandwiches on white bread to eat for the party and instead of cake, I put a candle in a raspberry filled powdered doughnut from our favorite hole-in-the-wall, and split it in half for them to share. The girls had such a fun time and it was so cute to watch.




One of my favorite parts of Charlotte's birthday was the way the boys in the family stepped up to make sure she had a special day.  Ryan gave Charlotte flowers for her birthday (in all of her wonderfully garish favorite colors) and Brayden spent the evening before her birthday making her a friendship bracelet (his first one ever - can you tell?? ;))

Last night as I was cleaning up from the festivities of the day, I was thinking about Charlotte and all of the qualities and attributes that make her who she is, and I settled on the thought that Charlotte has taught me more about the divine nature of women than any book/poem/quote/story/lesson ever could.  For someone who always wanted boys, and - in my younger years - never quite embraced the "soft-side" of being a female - she has been a teacher to me. From the time she was very little she has been compassionate and a natural nurturer as well as very playful and athletic.  She is taking care of her dolls while wearing a dress-up and heels one minute, and then outside in basketball shorts and a t-shirt tearing down the street on her bike the next. 
Charlotte, last summer, riding with the neighborhood bicycle gang
I love that those two worlds combine so flawlessly in her. Although she can be frustratingly stubborn, she's a girl who knows what she wants and how to get it and I have to admire that kind of tenacity.  Hopefully she uses it to create a wonderful life for herself!  She is soft and delicate, but equally strong and independent.  She has taught me that as women, not only can we live in both worlds, but that we were innately created with the specific capability to do so!  I have come to realize that those two worlds work perfectly together to help us tackle the lives that we lead as wives, mothers, neighbors, bosses, employees, or leaders in our communities and churches.  I see a lot of potential for the type of woman Charlotte could become, and I look forward to being with her every step of the way.

3 comments:

Frankman's said...

I'm loving reading your blog again Lisa! Although, I can't get over how big Charlotte is, for some reason I thought she should stay the same size as the last time you were blogging!! She is adorable though and that was a beautiful essay on womanhood!

Meg said...

Beautifully written. A perfect portrait of your mother heart. We love that girl!

Jenny said...

I am so happy you're blogging again Lisa!! I just got a chance to browse through all your posts and I can't believe how much your kids have grown! I'm adding you to my reader right now so I can keep up from now on :) It looks like you have a perfect set-up there in Oregon!