Claire's 8th Birthday

My baby girl is 8 years old today.   It's official, I sound completely crazy when asked what ages my kids are- 12, 10, 8 and 8.  Let me tell you, that raises an eyebrow; especially if I tell them my last two are 8 months apart and my kids aren't with me.  I tell them sometimes just to see their face.

It has been a joy watching Claire enjoy and soak up the special attention her birthday has brought.  She has shared with us that she would have a small cake on her birthday in China but never a birthday present.  She was very loved by her foster family and having a small cake is more than most children waiting for adoption receive but she has definitely been waiting for those presents.
She patiently waited through all the birthdays in the family and commented frequently about "my first birthday in America!"  I was a little worried she was expecting a pony or something with the amount of her excitement, but no, she was just looking very forward to her special day.  I found this t-shirt months ago and tucked it away for today.  Now the whole world will know it's her birthday and I'm sure she will be quick to tell them it's her FIRST birthday in America.

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Happy Birthday

Today is my birthday. Hip, hip hooray.

But, more importantly (at least, to me) today is also my grandmother's birthday. Grandmother is way too formal of a word so that just sounds weird, she's Grandma.

I had the privilege of joining the world on my Grandma's 40th birthday. Always a special day for me and a thorn in her side as well. Why a thorn in her side? Well, it's easy to add my age to 40 so Grandma can never hide her age. While I can't keep track of my other grandparent's ages without a birthday Rolodex, I know Grandma's age every year without even thinking about it.

On my 29th birthday Grandma and I decided that we would stop counting that year; I'd never turn 30 and she'd never turn 70. Well, this year I told her that even though she wants to stop counting I must continue because having children nearly as tall as I am gets some freaky looks when people ask my age and I tell them 29.

I had the pleasure of visiting with my Grandma this past weekend. Living a few (or sometimes many) hours away from her makes it difficult to spend our birthday together so I cherished the time I was able to spend with her this weekend. One thing I know for sure is that the older we both get the more I realize that I don't spend enough time with her.

I love you, Grandma, and Happy 73rd Birthday!

Now, all the rest of you stop subtracting 40 from 73!

the oldest birthday boy

This handsome young lad is the newest 12 year old in the house! I can't believe he turned 12 today; it seems like only a short time ago I was trying to make his crazy, cowlicked blond hair lay flat. He's nearly completed his first year of middle school and I couldn't be more proud of his achievement and poise.

He chose a homemade marble cake with chocolate frosting for his birthday celebration. He is now set for the summer after receiving many large books (Jacob loves to read!) and the new Mario Galaxy 2 for the Wii.


Whoa, that is a lot of candles on that cake!
Making his wish before blowing out the candles.

A pot of gold

Happy Birthday to my baby boy! I can't believe you are already 8 years old; it's obvious that the age-freezing potion I spiked your cake with last year didn't work. You are a ray of sunshine in the life of everyone you meet. The Lord certainly blessed all of us with your birth.

To go along with my blond-haired boy's heart of gold I made him rainbow cupcakes to take to school.

What's that? You have a child with a heart of gold as well? Well, let me share the love and show you how to spend 3 hours in the kitchen making them rainbow cupcakes too!

Ingredients:
2 boxes white cake mix
Items needed to make cake (eggs, water and oil)

I made the cake mixes according to the box but of course, the rebel bit of blood running through my veins means I had to change it a bit. I cut the water down from 2 cups to 1 1/2 cups and used 1/2 cup of vanilla coffee creamer and I also added a bit of vanilla extract just to make it extra yummy.

Mix it up good and then let it sit for a few minutes while you get your mixing bags ready.

Divide the cake mix among ziploc bags. I used five colors, technically not a scientific ROYGBIV rainbow but I was getting tired. Little did I know, I was only beginning.

I mixed the color into the bags and then zipped them closed to mix.

Cut the corner of the bags to fill the muffin cups; I put just a thick enough layer to cover the previous color.

Bake according to the box temperature and time.

Frost with your desired frosting and sprinkles, if you'd like.
To make this frosting I mixed 3 sticks of butter, a splash or three of milk, two dollops of cream cheese, some vanilla and enough powdered sugar to make it all stick together. It is very tasty!

Birthday girl

Last week another one of my children entered the double digits; Emily turned 10. She's growing into such a lovely young lady. She has a heart of gold and enough hair for 4 women; yep, she comes by that pretty honestly. The hair, I mean.

Her favorite color is turquoise, followed closely by lime green.
She loves crafts and always has. She has many half-finished craft projects hidden in her room.
She is an excellent student and a teacher-pleaser.
She is a very loyal friend.
She is an awesome daughter and I love her so very much.

I'm feeling pretty old now having two children in the double digit ages. We've traded well-baby appointments and play group dates for orthodontist visits and swim team meets. Good thing I have siblings still having babies because now I get snuggle them, then buy the loud annoying music makers and send them home. Love you all!

Happy Birthday Jacob

Today my oldest "baby" turns 11. He's transitioned from asking for cars and trucks for his birthday to asking for I-Pods and CDs instead. When did all this happen?! I simply can't be old enough to have a child starting middle school in the fall.

A few things we love about Jacob:

* He remembers every.single.thing he reads or learns. This comes in handy when you are wondering how many light years separate the Earth and Jupiter or just how many teeth a shark has.
* He loves learning about how things work.

* He can be extremely helpful around the house; he'll even start laundry on his own sometimes!

* He is very passionate about what he believes in.

* He is very concerned with doing the right thing. We hope and pray this will help him overcome bad peer pressure as he matures.

* He is extremely intelligent and we know he will change the world in some way.

* He loves to mow the yard!

* He loves to read and will out read J and I any day of the week.

* He loves to act and entertain; he's a great storyteller too.

* He is a great big brother to Matthew, even though we know younger siblings can be annoying sometimes. Matthew looks up to Jacob for everything.

Jacob made his splash into the world 3.5 weeks early to two very young parents that had no idea what they were doing. The first time he cried J and I looked at each other and said "Now what?!" Somehow we've muddled through and I don't think we've messed him up yet; I credit that all to Jacob's resilience and forgiveness! Jacob teaches us that we all love in a different way and Jacob has already touched many people in his short 11 years.

My baby is 7!

Happy Birthday Matthew!
I can't believe my youngest child, my little sweet boy, my baby is actually 7 years old today. Matthew decided to make a grand entrance and cause a lot of hub-bub commotion 7 years ago and he didn't stop there. A few things about Matthew:
1. He loves to build. He will build with anything he can find and has the most creative ideas. (in fact, his teacher had to remove a stack of paper from behind his desk because every time she looked up he was folding paper to build sculptures; is it bad that I laughed?)
2. He loves anything to do with Egypt and mummies; he knows more about mummies than I ever cared to learn. The grosser, the better.
3. I am convinced he will be an archaeologist when he grows up but if that doesn't work out he will be an architect.
4. He idolizes his big brother, Jacob and even said he wanted to have the same job Jacob does as an adult so they can be together.
5. He will climb any and every tree he can find; the picture is proof. He was actually climbing the small tree so he could reach the bottom branch of the huge tree. He has named that tree "The Grandfather Tree;" because I guess it has to as old as a grandfather?
6. He will ruin every shirt and pair of pants I buy with mud or holes from sticks. I have given up and started letting him wear his holey jeans because he thinks it's cool.
7. Despite his mummy loving, tree hugging, clothes ruining characteristics he has the softest heart of any boy I know. He has always been a cuddler.
8. He is very sensitive but also tries very hard to not show others he might be crying; "I've got something in my eyes" is his favorite cover-up for tears.
9. He is a great friend.
10. He is a wonderful son and he makes me a better person. I might have gray hair before he graduates from high school but he is going to give us a ride we'll never forget.

Happy Birthday Emily!

Nine years ago today I was lying in a hospital bed, crying and begging for the doctors to induce me. My dear daughter had overstayed her welcome by one week and J would be leaving for a week in two short days. It was imperative that I put the "Closed" sign on my womb and evict the tenant. The doctor's finally relented and decided to induce my labor. I tried to tell them that I'd be no trouble, my babies come quick and I wouldn't use too much of their time. They didn't believe me.

From the start of Pitocin to a bouncing, screaming baby girl in my arms was 2 1/2 hours. I secretly love proving people wrong; one labor nurse in particular.

It is hard to believe my little girl is 9 years old today. Here are a few things I love about Emily.

* She has a very caring heart and is always thinking of other people.

* She loves any type of crafts, making for a great craft partner.

* She has beautiful eyes that are a color of her own. Her eyes are a grayish green that doesn't match anyone in the entire family.

* She has beautiful, thick hair. She often likes to complain about how thick her hair is and I remind her that she didn't have a choice; it is a trait that she comes by honestly.

* She makes friends easily but then does not forget them when we move her around often. She will have many friends all over the country by the time she graduates.

* She loves little children and is wonderful with them; she will make an excellent babysitter in a few years.

* She likes to bake and cook.

* She is an excellent student whom the teachers always love.

* She is extremely responsible for her age.

We will be taking Emily and three of her friends to lunch and a movie on Saturday to celebrate.

Priceless Gifts

Emmy's birthday was a couple of days ago. She picked to go out to eat the evening before due to our church lifestyle this spring and afterwards we came home and had cake while she opened a couple of presents. Matthew realized he didn't get her anything for her birthday so he ran out of the room and came back with a picture of Tinkerbell, just for Emmy. It was so incredibly sweet. I asked him how he knew to spell Tinkerbell (he's just learning to spell phonically) and he said "I just looked at the TINKER in my 'Tinker Toys' and put BELL on the end" :) Gotta love him.