Hair and More Hair...and then Less Hair...and Then Tears

For Ansley's wedding, I wanted to do our fanciest 'do to-date on Abigail.

I looked around my Pinterest board and got inspiration...and then whipped this out...

Flat braids in the front, into puffs...and then two more puffs in the back

...in "only" one hour and thirty minutes.  Only.  I was actually surprised it only took me that long. Someone with more experience could do it much quicker...and I have hopes to be much quicker eventually.

On Friday night I washed, conditioned, detangled, and banded A's hair...getting ready for actually doing the hairstyle on Saturday afternoon.

I had to work around her "bald" spot (which isn't actually bald...just much, much shorter) in the back...choosing to do this diagonal part, instead of the vertical/horizontal ones I had planned, that I realized would look funny because of the length discrepancy.

This style lasted 4 days, but was pretty raggedy by the end (meaning:  I wouldn't have taken her anywhere important looking like that!).  I took it out last night and it is now "free", and so cute!








And for the wedding, Elisabeth wanted to do this pretty braided bun style that she's worn several times recently.

I found this on Pinterest (of course)...and we've both loved it.

So pretty, and it doesn't take very long to do.

And it's a good thing that we've gotten to do that hairstyle several times recently, and "get it out of our system"....because E now doesn't have hair long enough to pull it off anymore:

Elisabeth has been working for a long time now on growing her hair out to donate.

I have been trying to persuade her for a while that her hair was long enough to go ahead and donate, but it would have ended up being in a short bob (which I have always loved on her), and she wanted it to still reach her shoulders after the cut.   

But now she was ready.  So we told Mrs. Donna that the next time I came in Elisabeth was ready for the big chop.  And then the last few days I started to have doubts...I love Libeth with her long hair!


But she was ready, so today, in no time flat....

...the deed was done:

And then Donna straightened up the bottom of Elisabeth's hair, and we talked and laughed...and cried.

I didn't cry because I missed E's hair ....but because Mrs. Donna told us today that she and her hubby are moving to TX for his job.

Donna started getting teary on E, and right after I snapped this, they hugged for a long time and Donna spoke words of love and encouragement over Elisabeth.  I cried.

I am sitting her getting misty-eyed again.

Donna has cut my hair for 13 years now.  But she is not "just" my hairdresser.  She has become a dear friend.  She is my prayer warrior.  When I go in to see her we end up having prayer meeting.  She has prayed us through all six of our adoptions.  She has spoken and prayed words of hope and encouragement and victory over our family.  When I slip into her chair, it is like an oasis...and I have adult talk and prayer and she has prayed me through many a tough time.  We have solved all the world's problems during our times together (although you wouldn't know it to look around).

No one else has ever cut Elisabeth's hair....

E's first haircut

...or Noah's:

N's first haircut - 11/2005

And she is the only one who has cut LK's hair since she came home:

March 2010, LK had been home 6 weeks, and just turned 4

For months now, G has wanted a haircut every time I go, so Mrs. Donna sits him up there, big as you please, and she pretends to cut his hair  - and he isn't any the wiser...and he is so happy:

Seeing these pictures reminds me that I need to get a pic of Daniel with Mrs. Donna before she leaves.  By the time D came home, we had learned how to cut boy hair with clippers, so she has never cut his hair...but I have to have a picture of the two of them together!


Now excuse me while I go pray...and cry...