September's birthday kids included two adorable little girls, a 3 year old and a 6 year old.  We had such a great time! The party started with Rope Busters jump rope team from Dallas.  They showed the kids some moves and tricks, then all the kids got to try out jump roping, which they totally loved!  One little boy learned to jump rope for the first time and he was so excited!  After the jump roping we sang Happy Birthday to the birthday girls, passed our cupcakes, ice cream sandwiches, and juice. 

After the birthday presents were opened and all the cupcakes were finished, the kids enjoyed a water balloon toss.  The party ended with otter pops and a craft for all the kids to take with them.  We had some very cute comments made by the kids at this party.  One 11 year old boy asked if he could give us a hug and then asked if we could help him start us his own BBQ business. He said that he wanted to cook BBQ food and take it to the homeless people down by the bridge. We told him we would think about how to do this and talk with him at the next party. If anyone has any ideas for him, please let us know. What a heart!

Another little boy, a 9 year old came to us as we were getting ready to leave and asked, "How much do we have to pay you to come here?" We said, "Nothing at all. We come because we love to do this." He replied, "Wow, that is just great," and thanked us for being there. These kids are amazing and have the biggest hearts.

Thank you to all our volunteers: Janet Webster, Amy Taylor, Debbie Case, Julie McDonald, Julie Reimer, Sandy Johnson and Erika Anderson.

This month we had two birthday girls ages 6 and 7, and a birthday boy, aged 8.  We celebrated with a total of 15 kids and lots of adults.  The children began the party with a hula hoop race, then onto an egg relay. This turned out to be very exciting and challenging for the kids. They all got goodies and especially loved the bubbles. After that, we went indoors for some artwork (which will be posted soon) and cake, ice cream, and presents.  We would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers and donors who helped put the beautiful smiles on the children's faces. Julie Reimer did an amazing job on the gumball cake, as well as taking great photos. Also thank you to Amy Taylor and Janet Webster for volunteering at the party and contributing to this great cause. Julie McDonald, Erica Anderson, and Marge Hilts also made gracious donations. Seeing the smiles on the children's faces was priceless.

For the July party, the birthday kids were a 16 year old girl and an 8 year old boy.  We started the party with some games including bingo.  Thanks to a generous donation of new books, every child received one.  All of the children went outside to take turns smashing the pinata until it finally broke and tons of toys and candy spilled out!  The kids enjoyed ice cream and a cake decorated very creatively in a beach scene with teddy graham bears in bathing suits..it was amazing!  We ended the party with presents.  Thank you to Sheronne Blasi, Amy Taylor, and Julie Reimer!

This was our first birthday party as Lydia's Love at the YWCA Shelter.  We had two birthday boys, a 6 year old and a 10 year old.  The party started with a scavenger hunt with two teams.  The kids had to gather clues from all around the shelter and outside to make their way to the prize...the goody bags!  After the scavenger hunt, the kids played pin the tale on the donkey.  We ended the activities with some fun music and freeze dance.  All the kids were dancing around, and one little girl was really getting down!  After all the activities, we sang Happy Birthday and opened the presents.  Thank you Lincoln Hathawa for your initial support and ongoing contributions!