5th Birthday Luau

Over a week late but better late than never right?! Our family had a great time celebrating our girl's 5th birthday with close family and friends with a birthday luau. Praise the Lord the weather was perfect for swimming and enjoying the sun. We ate a plate-style Hawaiian dinner and had plenty of tropical-themed activities for the kiddos. They crafted, played "hot" coconut (i.e., hot potato), had hula lessons, a fishy pinata and sugar galore. To those that were able to join, thanks for celebrating with us! To those that live too far away, here are a few pics from the day...

Horse Show Girl

This past weekend marked a big milestone for our girl; she showed in her first official horse show! I can't even begin to tell you how special it was for this mama to see my daughter riding Lucky, the same horse that I grew up showing. What a precious memory this will always be. The best part was that she loved every minute of it and even said afterwards, "Mom, I want to show Lucky all of the time just like you did when you were little". Sorry Daddy but you may have a future horse show girl in the making (just keep in mind that the cost is well-worth it to keep her focus off of the boys!).

The Little Miss did a great job holding the reins properly and practiced sitting up straight, keeping her heels down, and shoulders back. So much to think about! Here she is warming up for the class.

She was all smiles (her mommy was too!). I think she's going to be a future little hunter/jumper.

Here she is with the rest of the class, lined up after walking on the rail both directions a few rounds. I'm sure Lucky was thinking of the hundreds of times he'd been in this same position.

Talking to the judge, the Little Miss answered with her name and told her she'd just turned five years-old. Such a big girl!

Mission accomplished, her first horse show ribbon and it was even her favorite color...purple!

Great job to our Little Miss and "her" horse Lucky!

Happy 5th Birthday Little Miss!

Dear Little Miss ~ I cannot believe it has been 5 years since you made your remarkable entrance into this world. The memories of that day may eventually fade in our minds but now, even five years later, they are still as clear as having happened just yesterday. Such a reminder that we truly are blessed to have you, our sweet-spirited healthy girl with us today. God is so good. It has been such an honor to watch you grow into the little lady that you are today. Even at five we can see that God has filled you with His joy and kind heart towards others. Your sensitive and "cautious" nature has become more and more evident in the past year. You enjoy all things related to dance and have blossomed in your ballet class this year. You tend to expect a lot of yourself and can get frustrated if you don't do something "just right" (a little bit of a perfectionist maybe?). I have no idea where you get that trait (ha, ha). My prayer for you this year is based on the following verse that God often lays on my heart:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. " (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

Little Miss, may you truly seek God with all of your heart throughout your life. May you grasp hold of the hope that He offers, regardless of the life circumstances that come your way. Jesus alone kept you on this earth when you were born five years ago. He allowed you to grow from the tiny 2 1/2 lbs baby into the beautiful young girl you are today. He chose to keep you here on this earth so never ever doubt that He loves you and has wonderful plans in store for your life. I look forward to watching you continue to blossom into the young lady He has designed you to be.

Love you always and forever,

Mom

Lots of Sparkles

I just love the things that kiddos say and have gotten a good laugh out of some of our girl's comments lately. My favorite random comment as of late happened while taking the Little Miss to school for her second official day. Out of no where she asked during our drive, "Mom, am I going to get hot at my wedding? Is my dress going to have long sleeves and will it make me get hot?" (you see, our girl is not a fan of the heat). I tried my best to explain when the time is right, she will get to shop for her own wedding dress and choose exactly what it looks like or if she wants, she's welcome to wear mine. The Little Miss immediately replied, "I want to buy my own and it has to have sparkles, LOTS of sparkles." Someday Little Miss, I would love to take you to buy your sparkly wedding gown....a long, LONG time from now.

First Day of School: We Did It!

Yes indeed, Dad and Mom survived our girl's first day of school...amazing! Seriously, we both lost a little sleep last night because we were anxious about how our girl would do. She had a "meet and greet" with her teacher earlier in the week and was so shy and unsure of herself. Praise the Lord that today on her first real day she walked right in and was all about being at school. The Little Miss takes after her mommy in that she may be shy at first but once she warms up, she's a chatterbox!

She insisted on wearing a dress today and was happy to finally be able to wear her new backpack.
We are so thankful for her teacher, Mrs. Lang, who also goes to our church and still remembers having prayed for our girl when she was born (JuRita, makes me miss having you around because I know how much you and your kiddos adore Mrs. Lang). It's still going to take some time to get used to this new "routine" but at least our girl is ready for it!

(please forgive the iPhone picture quality...of course my camera battery was dead on the first day of school!)

Season of Change

It is officially September and while it is not quite Fall, the feeling that we are entering into a season of change is upon our family. I admit that I am struggling with anticipation of entering into new life stages, as minor as the changes truly are. God has been reminding me, "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven..." (Ecclesiastes 3:1). A time to be born, a time to heal...a time for our daughter to start school....and a time for Yours Truly to change jobs.

Our girl's first day of preschool is this week and while she has still not comprehended it is just days away, Yours Truly already has butterflies thinking about it. I am not sure what is bothering me the most: the change in our daily routine, the idea that she will be in {gulp!} school or the thought that it means even less time at home together. Pretty sure it's a combo of all three. Good thing it is only a few half days/week and we know the Little Miss is going to adore her pre-K teacher!

On top of the school transition, Yours Truly will be making a {much needed} job change. You see, back in May after clear prompting by God {and supporting confirmation from my hubby after yet another work-related emotional breakdown of his wife}, I approached my boss and asked to be moved out of my technically-part-time-but-often-requiring-lots-of-additional-hours-and-stress management position into a part-time project manager role. God showed favor and opened the doors for that to happen, officially beginning mid-September. While I am actually excited about THIS change, it does mean reporting to a new boss who will doing what I have been doing for years, and ensuring a humble spirit in the process. Having confidence that God directed this change will make the transition easier and I am very thankful for the opportunity. On top of everything else though, it is feeling like yet another ripple in the current.

While I normally think of myself as being a change-seeker and one who likes challenges, right now I am struggling with embracing the unknown and not worrying about the future. In the spirit of starting school, my own homework assignment for the week is to reflect on Luke 12 and Jesus' reminder, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes....Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?..But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." (Luke 12:22-31).

Yes, we are entering into a season of change but there is nothing to worry about or fear. These concerns are minor in comparison to what many of you are facing. Our upcoming changes will simply be "routine" before we know it. Who knows, by the end of next week, Yours Truly may even be fully embracing the change. Just maybe.

Annual Friends Trip 2011

We just completed our annual close family friends trip with the Booth, Bronson and Curtis families. Unlike recent years past, this year we actually did rough it and decided to spend the weekend camping at Diamond Lake. Having grown up spending countless weekends during both the winter and summer months in the area to camp, fish, water ski and snowmobile, I was excited to share the location with friends. I must admit that going into the weekend I was a bit anxious about everyone having a good time; thankfully those worries were unfounded! The bugs can be annoying but were completely tolerable. My biggest concern was the potential for thunderstorms. We had one that started rumbling over the lake but it blew over quickly...phew!

The view of Diamond Lake and Mt Bailey right from our camp spot

We enjoyed a day outing to Crater Lake National Park, a special location for our family since it's where my dear hubby proposed 6 1/2 years ago (he won points for choosing one of my favorite spots in the world!)

Unfortunately I neglected to get the group picture that I'd fully intended to take. The kiddos stole the show with the camera. It was such a blessing to watch them having so much fun together throughout the weekend: the giggling, chasing, rock skipping, bike riding and playing never stopped! The adults agreed that camping is something we want to keep doing with the kiddos as they grow because the memories will be invaluable.

Logan (almost 4), Emma (3 years) and Bekah (almost 5) enjoying the morning fire

Allison (2 years) and Bekah always have a good time together

The Bronson Family: Zeke (1 year), Robert, Samantha, Emma and future babe #3

Mr. Wagner sporting his stylin' camping hat. LOVE this man...hat and all.