Pretty in Pink

We had a large box that several Christmas gifts came in.  I hid the gifts and told Lainey she could play with the box.  I think she was decorating the inside of it with her pink pen when it broke.... and leaked onto her hair.  This, not many minutes before preschool was about to start.  I had a moment to decide if I would rather be the mom that kept her from school to wash her hair out well, or the kind of mom that sends her child to school with pink ink in their hair.  I chose plan "C" and sent her with pink ink spread all over her hair and purple hair chalk at the roots to make an ombre affect.  She loved it.  Which was a slight disappointment to me, but really what little girl wouldn't want pink hair?  So I couldn't be too surprised.  She spent several days looking this way...  Yes, I'm that mom.  Over a months later, I can still see the faintest pink spots if I look hard enough.  It just doesn't seem to wash out past that point!

Here she is a couple days later at our ward's Christmas party.  

Still just a hint of pink...

The Christmas party was nice.  The year before was CRAZY.  Our ward hadn't split yet.  There were so many people they didn't bother setting up chairs.  The time before that when they had tables and chairs, there wasn't enough room for everyone and some people just left.  So last year, they sat on the floors.  With so many people and the inevitable noise, not a lot were able to hear the program.  Everyone just felt so scattered/crammed/disconnected.  (In my opinion.)  This time was so nice.  We fit nicely.  We had a nice meal.  The kids put on a program, which Shandee, my 1st counselor was in charge of and she did great. 

Our ward was split around Labor Day and our Primary was literally cut in half.  I missed the friends who were moved from our ward to another, but it has been so nice to be able to run and maintain a normal Primary this Fall/Winter.  So many good things have come of it.  It's a massive stress relief to me in my position.  And a lot of missionary work is happening.  People are coming to church that haven't in years, accepting callings to help where we need more help now.  More people are serving in callings that help then to stretch and grow spritually, and I am able to recognize names with faces of just about everyone at this point.  I'm loving it.  My ward family feels like a family again.