Chapter Four--My Beautiful Bubble.

The Story
For my seventh birthday, I had in mind exactly what I wanted for my birthday party. I wanted a McDonald's Playplace Party. McDonald's in Danville had just gotten a new playplace and it was the popular hangout for kids my age. I know, not so very cool or original. I think that my mom must have thought the same thing. I rememeber her asking about a hundred times if I was sure that thats what I wanted. I did! I think my mom was hesitant because she never really liked us to be be over-the-top commercial. We were never allowed to have Disney-themed bedspreads or Light-up Barbie Tennis Shoes. I think she thought they were sort of  tacky. Thats why it comes to such a surprise to me that she actually allowed my McDonald's party. I remember I ended up having such a fun time at that party. When you're a kid, the fact that the whole room smells like dirty feet doesn't really get to you. I remember sliding down those slides about a thousand times. The funny thing is, when I look through my pictures of that party, which was over fourteen years ago, I cant help but realize that I still know and am friends with most of the same exact people.

Bailie and I posing by  Ronald McDonald's head.

School is still completely non-existant from my memories at this point. I know what you're thinking. "Typical of a homeschooler". Maybe so. But looky now, I turned out just as good as the rest of you, and I got to play all day. I think my mom's main goal in school for us was to learn how to read. A valuable goal, since I believe that all education is built on the back of literacy. Once we learned how to read, read we did. By second grade I was inhaling books as though they were oxygen. I remember I LOVED the Baby Sitter's Little Sister series. Anne M. Martin was a genius! She decided to write another series for the younger siblings of those that read the Baby Sitter's Club books, and I am sure it paid off grandly. I know that I for one, enjoyed them to death.

Me and My Aunt Sandy. I'm pretty sure this was taken at the Cinncinati Zoo, a place my mom loved.

For Mom
Mom,  thank you for that incomprehensible wisdom that you had concerning our balance with schoolwork and playing at this point in my life. Thank you for first and foremost instilling in me a love for God's Word. Even if we did not do a whole lot of schoolwork, we still sat down and read in the Bible. How important that was for me right after I got saved! I also remember so many fun outings with you at this age. I  remember tarapsing around everywhere looking for flower girls dresses for Nathan and Janet's wedding. I remember how you were beyond wonderful and you let me get a First Communion dress for my Easter dress even though it probably costed you an arm and a leg, but you knew that I wanted that dress more than anything. Thank you for always letting me be girly at this age, but still trying to lead me to be more adventurous. Thank you for your failed attempts for teaching me to ride a bike. Those lessons were always filled with enthusiasm for how much you loved riding your bike when you were little, sorry I never shared that love. Thank you for your love of reading that you passed on to me (and all of my sisters!). You taught me how one can lose herself entirely in a good book. I have always had an alternative to boring textbooks on my nightstand.
Thank you for teaching me by example how to be a great wife and an admirable hostess and homemaker. I think it was around this age that you taught me to make brownies by myself (following a box, of course) and I learned that I had inherited from you a sense of  "alone-cooking". What is that saying about there being too many cooks in the kitchen? Well that was us. We had a small arguement many a time about the proper way to stir brownie batter. Thanks though, for all of it.
Thanks mom, you made being a kid awesome!

Another one with my Aunt Sandy

Personal Notes
Back to the part where I said that I was friends then with the people I'm friends with now:
I used to think that growing up in this small town with no civilization for a mile was second rate. I had been taught (by the general public) that I was missing out on something greater. I always had this idea in my head that there was more out there that I needed to explore. I felt like I did not belong with these farmers. I was born for higher things. As I get older, see more of the world, taste, smell, and touch new things, I realize that in some ways I was right. To never set my foot outside the small confines of my universe (which encompasses about three or four local towns in a thirty mile radius) would have been to miss out. Then again, to have grown-up outside of this beautiful bubble would have been a tragedy. I call it a beautiful bubble because it is just that. Many people look at it, and they see only a bubble. A small circumferance of people who all know each other, who have grown up together, and who are always up in each others buisness. I wish I could open their eyes to see that the bubble is beautiful. It is made up of people with traditional values, and many of whom are sincere. People who love and care about one another. If they are not your family, they treat you like you are. I know many of you out there are rolling your eyes. I once was too. It took me stepping back, going away for a few months, to get a sense for what I was missing. I suppose everyone misses home at one time or another, but I think it is pretty rare to miss a home that you have sort of regretted all of your life. By "home" I do not mean my physical home, which I have always loved, but "home" defined as; streets I have driven down, restaurants I have laughed in, sidewalks I have walked down, theater seats I have sat in, stores I have shopped at, gas stations I have filled up at, classrooms I have learned in, and pews I have been convicted in. This universe here is something very special, and I am just now coming to appreciate it. My friend Susan said, "funny how things that used to be humbling, bring pride now." How true this is to my own life!

Longest Ponytail Contest winner at our local Freedom Celebration.

The World

My world was filled with constant busyness, and pretty much always has been. It must be the fact that I have grown up in it, that I thrive on it so much. I long for my shedule to be filled to the brim, and only when it is just over-flowing, do I stop piling things on (who needs sleep, anyway?). At this age I remember being new to a homeschooled girls program called, Keepers At Home. This program was much similar to a Girl Scouts type program, but instead of promoting feminism, it was designed with scriptural values in mind. Laugh and scoff if you will, but I learned many a valuable lesson throughout my years as a Keeper at Home. I think I even became a Stepping Stone (high honors!). My mom was never overly-concerned about us getting badges, but I do remember getting some badges particularly. For the Reading Badge you were required to read three types of books; fiction, biography, and autobiography. I still remember that I read a biography about Aberham Lincoln, and an autobiography by Helen Keller. Apparently, these things stick with you! Another badge that I got was "Storytelling". For the Homeschool Talent Show (I'm sure you can imagine...) I read/performed a picture book to the audience. It was called "Ice Cold Birthday" about a little girl who has the power go out on her birthday due to a storm, but who makes the best of it anyway. My mom always loved that book. I think this was around the age when I realized that I loved being in front of an audience. I lost a lot of my attention-seeking nature when Abby was born, but during performances, it returned full-force. There were no big performances to really elaborate on by this point though.

In second grade I began to take piano lessons from our pastor's wife, who all of the kids called Miss Diane. She was a very strict teacher (not mean) and she wanted perfection. I loved playing the piano. It was my first exposure to music in an artistic outcry, and I loved it! I remember once she got out a Chopin piece and played it for me. I sat there, mouth hanging open like a cod-fish. My love for music lives on, however my piano playing does not and you shall learn more about that in a later post.

Hearts I loved.

Nathan and Janet's wedding, April 1997

Right before I turned eight, my brother, twenty years old at the time, decided to marry his highschool sweetheart, Janet. I have always loved Janet, and from the moment I met her I could tell that she was feminine and beautiful and I that wanted to be just like her. I rememeber she always smelled good (still does!) and Abby and I used to fight over who was allowed to sit by her at dinnertime. (Thats why I smile when I sense Daniel's brothers and sisters competing for my attention now, I remember when that was me!) I was so excited when I found out that I would be a flower girl for the second time! I got to wear a big poofy dress and my hair was done very fancy. I felt so beautiful! I remember Abby (only 4 at the time) and I being pretty squirmy during the ceremony, but we had a great time!
From that point on, my family size grew and shrunk constantly. It would never again be the traditional seven. I still remember asking my mom how many to set the table for. "Seven" she'd always reply. The funny thing is, life only lasted like that for four and a half years and yet when I think of how many people are in my family, my immediate response is still always, "Seven." If you're wondering, I was not sad at all when my brother got married. Honestly, it didnt mean much to me. He was great, and I loved having him around, but my day to day dynamic didnt really change enough for me to care.
I feel like I must be leaving something out, but if I am, I suppose I shall have to tack it on next week.

I'm linking up to Mommy's Piggy Tales where we are telling stories about growing up. :)