Constance's first year

How quickly it passed...

To our precious Constance--you are such a gift. We are so grateful to God for giving you to our family. You delight us with your smiles and laughter and we love you more than words could ever express!

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays volume 3

Constance Joy celebrated her first birthday on March 30.

The birthday princess.

She was gracious enough to share her party with big brother Elijah.

This is Elijah's cake. He wanted a Lego Space Police theme.



Constance had cupcakes.

It was a beautiful afternoon/evening, so we had the party outside. Dan cooked burgers on the grill and we roasted hot dogs and brats over the fire pit.

Grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles and cousins joined us for a great time.

A pile of presents for the birthday girl.

Blowing out the candles

Constance had her very own cupcake to eat. She was actually quite neat about it, and ate almost the entire cupcake.

The birthday girl all worn out!

Multitude Monday ~ 4/19/2010

26. the smell of lilacs in bloom

27. after supper walks to the Frostop

28. leaves on the trees

29. tadpoles in GG's pond

30. the love and support of family

31. wishing flowers

32. Constance's wet kisses

33. kids who run out to greet me when I come home, even when I've been gone less than an hour

34. automatic dishwashers

35. clean water

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays, volume 2

Elijah turned 9 on March 26.

Elijah's goal on his birthday is to eat as many pancakes as he is years old. He started this tradition when he was six, and he was not going to back down from the challenge this year.

Nine chocolate chip pancakes

He started off great...

...and stalled with only this left.

So, he took a break to open a couple of presents.

Star Wars Legos.

Elijah is a Lego enthusiast.

After the excitement of new Legos, Elijah worked up enough appetite to finish off the last of the pancakes. Mission accomplished.

That afternoon, we went to our homeschool group and he shared cupcakes with his friends. We came home and had his favorite supper, Italian chicken. All in all, a very good day.

It's hard to see him growing up. My baby boy gets closer to being a man every day. He still snuggles on my lap and still lets me rub his fuzzy head, but in a hundred small ways he is growing up.

I am so proud of the young man he is becoming. He is bright, creative, curious and sincere. Even though I miss the cute little boy he was, I am excited to see what God has in store for him.

Happy birthday, Elijah!

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays, volume 1

Mackenzie turned twelve in February.

Here she is opening a present from her siblings before enjoying her birthday breakfast: Belgian waffles. It is a tradition in our family that the birthday person gets to decide what we eat for each meal. She picked waffles for breakfast and wanted to go to the Chinese Buffet for supper.

Her birthday lunch was a the week before, when she and I had a shopping day, just the two of us, and ate lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise. Strawberry lemonade. Onion straws. Sweet potato fries. Yum.

After breakfast, she came out dressed in her formal and tiara, ready to be the birthday princess.

The Sunday after her birthday, we celebrated with family and friends.

Mackenzie, Aunt Penny and Aunt Mandy all share birthdays the same week.

Just before her birthday, Mackenzie told me she wished she was turning 13 instead of 12. I, on the other hand, think she is growing up entirely too fast.

Mackenzie is the firecracker in our family. She brings fun and excitement to whatever we do. Whenever there is noise in our house, Mackenzie can usually be found in the middle of it. She is the favorite playmate of her younger sisters. Even Elijah, whom she often squabbles with, was heard to say recently on a Saturday that he was bored because "Mackenzie's not here and there's no one for me to play with."

But at the same time, she is very gentle, thoughtful and reflective. She often leaves me sweet notes around the house saying "thank you" or "I love you." She loves to visit the nursing home. She is generous and sincerely concerned about those in need.

She has the heart of an adventurer. The fearless toddler who scared me to death has grown into a fearless young woman who is ready to try anything (and still sometimes scares me to death). Mackenzie looks at any challenge with an attitude of "I can do that" and she is almost always right.

She is passionate about the things she loves: God, her family, her friends, her horse, Lucy.

Mackenzie, I am thankful for every day of the twelve years God has blessed me with being your mom. I love you!