Lydia is Seven

Lydia turned seven on Tuesday. The three weeks prior to her birthday, I heard something like this every day: "Only 19 days until my birthday," "Only 8 days until my birthday." By the time the actual date arrived, even the little ones knew what day it was.

We celebrated on Sunday with Grandpa Tom, Grandma Jane, Auntie Em and Raphaella. Grace made a loaf of sourdough french bread again, which we dipped in balsamic vinegar and garlic olive oil. I dare say the bread out shown the Emeril's ham I made. Grace also made a lovely from scratch devil's food cake with chocolate frosting. Needless to say, she wore herself out.Grandma and Grandpa gave Lydia a purple dress, which is Lydia's favorite color. (Lydia in the Bible was a seller of purple cloth.) Auntie Em had the bright idea of giving Lydia peanut butter, birdseed and pine cones so that Lydia could make bird treats. This turned out to be a great project in which all of the littles could participate. They were so tickled to hang their finished masterpieces in the trees outside.

Tuesday night, Grace made Cowboy Calzones for dinner, as that was Lydia's request for her birthday dinner. Daddy entertained all the kids with the stories he told of his adventures with the Boy Scouts.

For the most part, Lydia opened her presents unassisted. Jude really really really wanted it to be his birthday too, so Lydia let him open her last present. Daddy also lit the candles on the birthday cake again so that Jude could have his turn blowing them out. Poor kid, he has seven more months to go before his own birthday. Life is hard for little boys.