The Girlhood Gazette

This is a post I wrote for our family blog, and thought maybe you girls might enjoy it too:

Here at our lovely home, we were sure that there must be hummingbirds around. We had seen a few even at our old house in a subdivision, and one would think that here, with so much open land and fewer houses, we would find more wildlife.
Well, we were right.
We have two hummingbird feeders out, and have had them filled for quite some time. We’ve waited and waited, and then we saw a hummingbird a month or so ago, but it didn’t seem very interested in the feeder. So we added more sugar, which proved more effective. We now have a little “resident” hummingbird who stays around all the time, and what is more, we see every day what is apparently rather unusual. We see it sit. Most people spot hummingbirds in flight, but our little friend has a favorite perch on our Japanese maple, right by the deck, and we see it sitting there quite often.

Here are 3 shots of basically the same view:

It was very fun for me yesterday morning, which is when I took the first two shots. The hummingbird was sitting on her usual branch, and so I grabbed the camera and decided to go outside and see if it would fly away. It did, but was back in a moment and I was able to get those pictures with our “super zoom” lens. Then it flew off again, so I moved closer and waited to see if it would come back. I was standing about 2 feet or so away from the feeder, and then the hummingbird came right up to it! What a neat experience to be so close to one of these amazing creatures. Unfortunately the camera would not focus fast enough and I was not able to get any close-up shots.
It is amazing how fast their little wings go – when they hover, they don’t make much sound, but when they move, it makes a whirring noise. Very neat!

God’s creation is MARVELOUS!!!

I just wanted to share with you girls an idea of how to create a special surprise for your mom and dad. My sister and I did this for our parents, and they really liked it!
In order for it to be a surprise, you will need to have your parents gone for the evening. Maybe you can drop a subtle hint that your dad should take your mom out for dinner or something. The night when we did our surprise, Dad took Mom out, so we had the evening to prepare.
The idea is to make their bedroom look like a room at a hotel or a bed-and-breakfast. We did the bed-and-breakfast. First, we cleared out any clutter that was hanging around and moved it into the spare bedroom. Then we put a pitcher of (silk) flowers on their dresser. In the bathroom, we folded two sets of towels the way they do at hotels: Take the largest towel (the bath towel) and fold it in thirds; then fold it in thirds again, with the edge inside (see illustration). Set it on the bathroom counter (if it isn’t firm enough to stand by itself, you can fold it in half again). Now take a hand towel (not the washcloth), and fold it in thirds, as you did in the first step of the bath towel. With the edge down, lay it over the top of the bath towel, lengthwise. Now take the end that is on the outside, and partially open it up. Fold the bottom up, and tuck the sides around the back, forming a pocket. Now take the washcloth, “accordion” fold it, then pinch it in the middle and fold in half. Stick it in the pocket so that it fans out of the top. Voila! (Now, did that make ANY sense??).
After that, if you have any miniature shampoo and conditioner bottles, maybe from those little bags they give you at the airport if you’re flying overnight, put those on the counter in front of the towels too, or in the shower. Another nice touch would be to put a still-in-the-wrapper bar of soap on the counter and/or in the shower.
For the actual bedroom, you can create some ambiance by lighting a few candles and putting on some quiet, classical music. If you happen to have live flowers handy, especially roses, you can sprinkle some of the petals on their bed. Be sure to dim the lights!
My sister and I wanted to put a chocolate on each of our parents’ pillows, because they do that in high-end hotels. Alas, we didn’t have any in the house! Not being easily daunted, however, we melted some chocolate chips, poured it into 2 heart-shaped molds, and put them in the refrigerator to harden. When they were done, we wrapped them in foil and put them on the pillows.
For the final touch, I made up a brochure to look like a bed-and-breakfast brochure. We just moved to our new house, and were considering names for the house. One of them was Fairview, so I made the name of the B & B the “Fairview Bed & Breakfast”. The brochure is folded in thirds. Below is a sample of the brochure I made. When making your own, make up creative names for the different rooms and “amenities”. For instance, at our house, the kitchen table, where we generally eat breakfast, has a deck outside the window and there are always chipmunks running around out there; our cats go crazy watching them! So I called this “The Chipmunk Ridge Breakfast Parlor” and I assure you, my parents got a kick out of it! The “Conservatory” is really a small greenhouse, “The Beach at Glacier’s Mirror” is our pond. Do you get the idea? Make it sound like a resort, while at the same time giving it a humorous twist. Click on the images to enlarge.

^ This is the front and the inside flap of the brochure.^

^This is the inside of the brochure.^

Alright, the last thing we did was to make a small card which we set by their telephone that reads, “Please Dial {insert your phone#} for Room Service.”

Well, I hope you have fun creating a special evening for your Mom and Dad!

Here’s a great idea for a cute and fun project. Take a name (you could also do a word if you wanted to), and then fit a Scripture verse to each letter of the name. For example, “Kathryn”:

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Prov. 4:23)
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. (Ps. 42:1)
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. (Prov. 3:5)
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8)
Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right. (Prov. 16:13)
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Ps. 23:4)
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. (Ps. 115:1)

These would make very nice gifts; create a Scripture acrostic in the receiver’s name, print it out on feminine paper in a pretty font (unless you are giving it to your dad or brother!) and then place it in a frame.

Enjoy making up your own acrostics!

Last year, my father, sister & I attended the Vision Forum Father/Daughter Retreat, at beautiful Callaway Gardens in Georgia. The grounds of the resort were just lovely! On one of our walks, we passed a small pond, and at the edge was growing a lily. Looking at the picture we took of it, it reminds me of what we “maidens of virtue” are striving to be; pure, blameless, rising above a world of awful impurity and corruption. In this picture, we see the lily, white and spotless, and beneath and behind it we see the mud and grime of the pond’s edge.
I just want to encourage all of you girls out there to stay pure and faithful to what God has called us to be, and not be defiled with the “dirt” of the world.

Do you love tea? I do. I always have, suffice to say that I used to load it with milk and sugar. I have fond memories of visiting my Oma (grandma) and we would always have tea and cookies. As a matter of fact, we still do. My Oma tells me that we (my sister and I) used to ask her all the time, “Oma, can we have sweet tea?” Now, perhaps we don’t have it quite so sweet, but tea and cookies is always something we do together.
I hope you and your mother and sisters, if you have any, have tea time quite often. We recently moved to a beautiful 6 acre property, and while exploring the land the other day, discovered several picturesque little spots that would be perfect for an informal tea party; there is a little screened garden house down by the garden, and under one large evergreen, the lower branches had been cut away creating a big “room” underneath, high enough for me to stand up straight. Now, isn’t that just the perfect spot for a “woodland tea”?

Tea Time…what does it bring to mind? I think of little girls dressed up in hats and gloves, sipping tea out of white porcelain teacups with roses painted on them. But Tea Time doesn’t have to be just for little girls; older girls enjoy it too.

For me, Tea Time is the perfect opportunity to be a “young lady”. It is the time when good manners and proper posture are at their peak. What girl doesn’t love to put on a pretty dress, curl her hair, and play at being a “lady”? Sadly, girls these days are usually too caught up in cell phones and goofing off to appreciate the value of having tea. Tea Time offers a welcome rest from the hectic rush of the day. Even if you don’t “dress up” for it, Tea Time gives a sense of femininity and grace; there is a certain old-fashioned charm about pouring out tea, and asking your companions if they take cream or sugar?
Tea Time need not always be a “tea party”; it can be informal, or very elegant. Invite your closest friends, or just share a cup of tea with your mother. When girls grow older, too often they shut out their parents, and do what “they want”. What a mistake! Having Tea Time with your mother is such a lovely way to keep acquainted, so to speak. Somehow, it seems easier to talk to your mom over a cup of tea.
Don’t think that just because you are older than 10 you are too old to have Tea Time; I’m 13 and I love it! I have a tea party for my birthday every year. It’s so fun!

So, two sugar cubes or none…either way, it’s Tea Time, young ladies!

Article used with permission of FunEvents4Girls.com.