Twelve!

I don't know how it happened, but I now have a twelve year old.  Emily Grace entered the world a little before midnight on December 15, 2003.  And now here we are, twelve years later, maneuvering the preteen world of middle school.  It happened in a blink--but what a great blink it's been!

Now that Emily is in middle school, her birthday is right in the middle of end of quarter exams.  She had to take a math test on her big day--however, she topped that off with a 100, so I guess it turned out okay. :)

Her day started with balloons on the wall in the shape of "12" (at least they're supposed to be).

 She then was surprised by special birthday donuts (as well as cards/gifts from a few family members):

She headed to school wearing one of her favorite outfits:

 After school, we went to dinner, and Emily got to sit on the saddle:

And we finished the night with yummy cookie cake:

We're going to Great Wolf Lodge over the break for her birthday, so that will be her gift/party.

Emily, I am so thankful for you and the special bond we share.  You are a handful, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love watching you in your many activities (soccer, basketball, piano, and band to name a few), and I love how you are a leader both on and off the field and in the classroom.  You are full of life; you are beautiful; you are a blessing to me.  I'm so thankful for your love for Jesus and for people, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for you next.  Happy birthday, dear E!  Love you more.

Celebrating J

This past weekend was a three day weekend, so we finally celebrated Josh's birthday--a little late.  This year he chose to go to Great Wolf Lodge rather than having a party.  It's actually the third time in five years he's chosen this, and I love it!  It takes away the party planning and let's us all have a low stress good time.  Besides, it's one of our family's favorite places, so you can't beat that!

We were there for about 25 hours, and I think we made the most of every minute.  We played for hours in the water park, played Shadow Quest for a few more hours, trick-or-treated, ate yummy food, and even managed to sleep a little.

It's been a couple years since we've been there, and it was fun this time as we realized how much easier it is now that the kids are older.  They are much more self sufficient, and we were able to have a good time together without always worrying about if they were going to fall out of the tube on the water slide. ;)

So, though it's been a few weeks since my boy turned 9, happy birthday, J-man!  I am so thankful for you!  Thanks for letting us celebrate with you!