I had some reservations about having a Princess event a day before we flew to Ukraine (especially since this was my own daughter's purity ceremony as well), but now I'm so glad we did - what a sweet, memorable night it was! Now I can separate from the girls for awhile and feel very positive about how we left each other.

Some of you know about The Princess and the Kiss (a storybook about purity) and the accompanying Life Lessons book that goes with it. Many moms and young daughters have done the Life Lessons study together (as a bridge to deeper discussions on purity) and ended it with a purity/blessing ceremony. I've been to many of these events and my oldest daughter was actually involved in the very first one, a beautiful ceremony held in a mansion along the banks of a southern Michigan river. Magical!

I wondered if we could really repeat the magic for my younger daughter. Every time I write a book, I tend to kind of distance myself from it after it's published - I guess I've worked on it so much that I feel tired to death of it! So I wondered if the study would have the same impact after I'd been through it so many times myself. Both my daughters have been through the book twice, and I've gone through it another time with a foster daughter included.

This study was actually the most fun. We did it with three moms and daughters, a "crash course" in five weeks, since my international travel was squeezing us. (Thus the ceremony right before we fly out.) We used a copy of a journal that some other moms had prepared. (There have been a series of these Life Lessons studies here in Central FL since we moved - these ladies who did the journal actually took 21 full weeks to study the book - amazing!.) We put together questions, crafts, and etc. in the journal for a keepsake. One of our moms is so crafty and I am NOT, so I was so grateful for her gifted input.

My young daughter was pretty intense about the whole thing. She knew the answers to a lot of the questions because we talk about this stuff constantly with mom in purity ministry and all. We had good talks during the lesson time at home, but in my heart I was wondering, (as all moms do) "Is she really getting this?" But she was!

A side note: It's amazing how young girls immediately catch on to issues of modesty, friendship and the kiss when you relate them to the heart. They may not be ready for all the sexual purity details, but they GET what purity is, and that's the foundation for everything that follows. It's awesome to see girls this age(8-12) talk about what they know after they've been through a study. They know what they want in a husband, they recognize that dating games hurt people, and they understand why they need to cover their bodies, among other very important things. (And to think that boys are learning similar lessons through The Squire and the Scroll - how amazing is all this???)

Back to the subject at hand: The ceremony itself was SOOOO precious. We had a cake with a crown and scepter and the girls' names on it, and some heart-shaped cookies we had made the night before. Our girls had pretty dresses and tiaras, and I dressed in my "princess uniform" to read the storybook again and ask review questions.

Then every mom and dad sat with their daughter and told her how much they loved her, how they felt when she was born, how they would be praying as the daughter pursued purity. This wasn't comfortable for all of us, but it was so worthwhile (especially in a society where very few rites of passage are available to celebrate our children's growing up)! Moms and Dads ended up sniffling and red-eyed, and in our case, our little gal just sobbed and sobbed. It was too much for her to hear such expressions of love and care in such an intimate setting. She hugged us and said over and over how much she loved us. We could tell it was one of those life-changing moments for her.

After the blessing, we all gave the girls Princess prayer box necklaces (see theprincessandthekiss.com) and prayed with them in the center of our circled families. And of course, pictures, pictures, pictures! We had created a table where we all had framed pictures and arrangements of photos with the girls' journals and candles - great opportunity to brag. And of course all the dads were snapping away and running video cameras.

I don't think I will ever forget looking into our little girl's huge brown eyes and seeing them begin to fill with tears as her daddy was talking to her about keeping her heart pure and quoting the verse about her being "God's workmanship, created for good works in Christ." She is such a jewel, so gifted and talented and unique. This ceremony was an opportunity to celebrate the gift of her joy in our household again, and I wouldn't trade it.

So, even thought I'm the author of this stuff, permit me to say, "Do these studies with your kids!" You will make memories that will never be forgotten, and pave the path to purity for years to come!

Whew! I was only going to write a little because we're washing the last of the laundry and finishing packing to leave in the morning. But writing always seems to end up being more important! (-=

We love you all. Please continue to pray for us tomorrow through the 16th. We're so grateful for your support and will try to write from Kiev if we can!