princess picnic

Our neighbors across the street have been sweet to us since we moved in. They have two daughters, one in high school and the other in middle school (who keep begging to babysit), and the Mom (I'm SO embarressed I've forgotten her name!) works full time from her home office. She told me she loves watching the girls play outside all day and how much it reminds her of when her girls were little.

The other day I was out playing with the girls and our neighbors came walking over with two little pink princess dresses. They were their girls flower girl dresses when they were little and they've seen my girls out in the yard dressed in their princess dresses (which are nearly in shreds now!) prancing around. They thought instead of the dresses taking up space in their closets the girls would get enjoyment out of them. Oh man they have no idea! The second I brought them into the house the girls ripped their clothes off and insisted I put them in those dresses right away! Rasa danced in circles and said, "I can't wait for my Daddy to see me in my new dress!" They've been wearing them everyday! It was a very sweet and generous gesture of our new neighbors and I'm sure now seeing Rasa and Adia running around in those pink frilly dresses it reminds them even more of Nic and Sam when they were just about the size of my babes.

This afternoon one of the same neighbors, Doug, walked over as Rasa and Adia were tackling me in the front yard. He made a joke about trying to help save me from the girls abusing me and handed them a box of sidewalk chalk. The girls thanked him and took off to color up the driveway. What a welcomed surprise! I was able to get dinner started without so much as a peep from the girls.

Sometimes little gestures make such an impact. I go back and forth feeling lonely here and things like this not only make my day they make me feel welcome here and at home. It also reminds me how important it is to do nice things for people because as cliche as it may sound you just never know what someone is feeling or dealing with and a smile, a wave, even a small treat can really touch someones heart. I've been meaning to go over all night and thank them for their kindness but each time I think about it I tear up because it's so sweet what they've done it touched me so much. Tomorrow, I'll bake something tasty and thank them :)

So tonight, after spending literally the entire day outside, Royce barbecued us dinner and my girls, dressed in their new frocks, had a princess picnic.