the joy of a child

hello friends! 

Oh, I love being able to call you friends. Thanks. :)

At the moment, my camera strap is splotched with powdered sugar and melted chocolate from our gift baking, my stomach is full of way too many sweet treats, and i am so very content and thankful in my heart. The past few days have been great. i had my very first Seussical rehearsal which was fantastic! My family went to a play, shopping, and dinner at the cheesecake factory (for which we had to wait three hours!) but since it's a tradition, we simply had to. usually in stead of going to a play, we all go ice skating but this year since my brother and i are getting so old, it's really annoying since everyone else our age is with their boyfriend or girlfriend, and we're not dating and don't want to. but we never knew or cared when we were kids. it's strange growing up, ya know? everything seems to be changing. i can remember so vividly waking up as a child to the first snow and having so much joy inside that i couldn't handle myself. past christmases when i could hardly sleep, and simply couldn't wait to see what santa had brought me. or even playing kids' games. Now, i still enjoy snow, christmas is, no doubt, exciting, and i like to play games, but it simply isn't the same. childhood is such a blessed thing that just doesn't last forever.

 Last night as we made some deliveries of the sweet stuff we baked, i got to spend some time with three children. a boy who was five, a three-year-old girl, and another little girl who was under two-- in the same order as my brother, sister and i. The surprised looks on their faces as we walked through the door were priceless, and the happiness in their voices when they heard that the gift we brought was for them was so real that i could feel it seeping into me. The laughter that came from them and the sparkle in their eyes as i chased them was so joyful that i was blown away. They are so happy just because i'm playing with them, i thought. when was the last time i was this happy? See, the more we grow up, we take everything for granted and forget the joy in the everyday things. I wish i had that kind of joy. I wish i could be a child once more. I feel like we are so intent on growing up and buzzing through life that we can miss some of life's simple pleasures. Even as teenagers, there are some who are so ahead of themselves that they're dating when they're twelve. Is that really necessary? We're still essentially kids. At least, we're not adults. So i don't know what i'm really trying to say, but i guess i'm trying to motivate us to live each day as a teenager to the fullest, before we're all grown up and we can't do the crazy things that teenagers do anymore. So here's to living our days to the fullest with the joy of a child.

a bad picture of peppermint cheesecake

this is how i wrapped my bestie's christmas present

Well, sorry that all these photos were so terrible and boring! I'll try to be more exciting next time.

Have a lovely day!

much Love and a hug,

Lindsey Nicole

{p.s. i am having one of those Peeta love breakdowns. i know i sound crazy... i am. :)}

{p.p.s. there are only six days till christmas!!! AHHHHHHH!!!! i've got a lot to do... }