Happy Birthday Emma!

Yesterday was Emma's 12th birthday and we celebrated with a wonderful dinner at a nice restaurant where Benjamin did NOT convulse and holler from his high chair or slam his face down on the table and cause his mouth to bleed.

Sweet Victory.

We are not the family who leaves a child behind in order to have a "pleasant" family dinner. We figure we will get to "pleasant" much quicker in our life if we can teach the standard of behavior sooner rather than later.

With that said, I am sure there are countless waitstaff out there who are sick and tired of picking of remains of what looks like a Ritz Cracker atom bomb, but hey! We tip well ;)

And as far as those of you who want an evening out with peace and quiet? My advice to you is eat after 7:00 p.m. AND choose a restaurant whose menu does not serve chicken strips.

You won't find us there ;)

The plan was a yummy dinner followed by the traditional Cold Stone Creamery cake with presents at home. By the time we left dinner and a little shopping it was late so we postponed the rest of the festivities until today.

More time to celebrate!

Steak Before

Steak After

Surprise Dessert :)

More Cake Today!

Emma was born when Hannah had just had her second birthday and so their little lives began to weave together very early on. It has been a beautiful journey to watch these two girls, raised in the same home with the same parents, turn out so differently. They are opposites in so many ways ... Emma with her jet-black hair has even raised the tactless question (from a stranger, no less) "Same Daddy?"

To which I respond with a shoulder shrug, "Got me."

Funny thing is, she is the spitting image of her daddy and my ever present go-to girl. Always ready to serve, I shudder to think of the day she actually tires of loading the dishwasher ... because she actually LIKES it for now.

She is the stand-in momma for every child under three and has done a superb job of spoiling Benjamin rotten. My witty girl who easily makes friends has begun her journey into young womanhood. Already she weighs decisions with consequences and against my own judgment (which is marred) has declined situations where temptation abounds. Again, God's provision over my children is evident in their young lives. His work of perfecting their hearts is by far the greatest blessing that parenthood brings.

Oh, how I love having girls! I love having boys, too! I cannot express the blessing that comes with both. But there was a deep void ... so vast and wide, the day that my mother left this earth, and I was certain that it would stay hollow and carved out until I met Jesus face to face.

How wrong I was. God has used these daughters of mine with their unique differences to be such a healing salve to my wounds.

They tell me when my hairdo is funky or if my outfit is nerdy.

"Um. Mom? Um. Are you for real going to wear that?"

It is a guarantee that I will laugh hard and loud at something that they do or say. Their impersonations of Dad are spot-on!

Their eyes fill with tears at even a hint of sadness from me ... something I remember vividly about seeing my own mother grieve. It is a bittersweet bond to have someone share in your brokenness, especially when they are your children.

Happy Birthday Little E, Bulldog, & Pickle (or the child with the most nicknames!) Your birthday marked the day our little home became a house of girls. What a sweet and joyful spirit you have blessed this family with.

We love you so much.