On my honor, I will try...

Last night we had an investiture ceremony for our new Girl Scout troop, so the girls are officially scouts! They received their pins for being able to recite the Girl Scout promise (in case you need a refresher):

On my honor, I will try

To serve God and my country,

To help people at all times,

And to live by the Girl Scout law.

The ceremony was for Wendy and I as much as for the girls, because we've both put a lot of work in to get this troop started.  So it was exciting for the girls to give each other the Girl Scout handshake and say "Welcome to Girl Scouts!".

It really is a neat program. They are earning daisy petals to be added to their vest - one for each line of the Girl Scout law. So for example, one week, the activities revolve around "being honest and fair." Another week, "courageous and strong." Another, "to use resources wisely." The 8 girls that we have so far have been really excited about everything and seem to really be learning the concepts.

Everything has it's challenges, of course. Sometimes a parent has a different idea about how things should go. Sometimes it's supposed to rain on your parade (literally), and you have to find the balance between disappointing the girls and ticking off the parents. And sometimes the council keeps emailing you to see if you'll take more girls who can't find a troop, just as soon as you've gotten things organized. But it will be worth it, for these girls.