9 years old

hard to believe my little lia is 9!

we had 2 birthday parties this year--

1 on her actual birthday that included gram and pop

as well as all of her favorites---

sweet and sour meatballs, green bean casserole,

strawberry salad, dinner rolls, and 

chocolate cupcakes and vanilla ice cream 

then, a couple days later we headed to the roller skating rink

she invited 6 little friends 

and

they

had

a

blast 

sofie invited a friend as well

and we welcomed the families of the girls to join us too

was quite a partee! 

out of those 6 girls--

she has known 2 since birth 

2 since kindergarten

1 since preschool

and 1 is a new friend from homeschool

this guy was so funny!

it was his first time roller skating

and he wasn't very good at all when we started out

held sam's hand for a long time and fell down a ton 

but, he kept with it and by the end

he was skating all around

and turning circles 

what a fun week celebrating our special girl!
she continues to be filled to the brim with compassion and generosity!
always willing to give when there is a need!
volunteers weekly at the nursing home and LOVES it!
such a huge helper to me!
a friend to the friendless without even trying!
prays for the opportunity to go on another mission trip!
god has big, big, huge plans for this little girl!
i just know it!!

 
 

the beauty shop

date #7

the hair salon

this was such a fun date!!

i love surprising her!

and she loves being surprised!! 

she learned just how important it is to properly take care

of her hair!

got a fun haircut!

and learned how to style her hair as well!

she is now borrowing my straight iron all the time!

pretty cute! 

then we headed out for sodas to learn more about

what god says about beauty.

the bible is full of such good stuff!!

 

easter 2013

easter morning started off wonderful with our usual

easter activities!

scavenger hunt to find easter baskets

and then

our resurrection eggs to help us reflect on

the real meaning of easter

however, somewhere in there it took a turn for the worst!!

if i remember right, all 3 were crying minutes before these photos

were taken.

and kye was still crying during them.

nice!!

this was the best i could get...

so thankful jesus loved us that much...

sam and his girls

last year we were in haiti when the daddy daughter dance was held.

the girls were kinda sad to miss it.

 

so this year we made sure to get it on the calendar as soon as we found out the date.

 sof wanted a colorful dress and curly hair!

lia chose a denim button-up shirt, sequin skirt, cowgirl boots,

and actually combed her hair. 

 

sam was kidding them that he didn't get corsages this year.

they were quite surprised when he pulled them out. 

i love that sofie and lia will have these memories of their dad!

 

what did kye and i do that while they were gone????

ate chinese for 2, drank root beer and played wii for 3 hours!!

he was in heaven!!

a day of shopping, food and friends

date #6

what a special weekend!

for this date i invited 5 of sofie's good friends and their moms

to join us.

this date was about dressing modestly so we headed

to the mall for a day of shopping.

each girl was able to chose a new outfit.

dressing rooms were our new best friend!

to make the date extra special we decided to make it an overnight getaway!

we rented this awesome house not far from our town.

so, when the shopping was complete we headed to our next stop. 

after a yummy italian meal and a bunch of trips up and down the elevator 

we started the games! 

we finally called it a night--or a morning--at 2:30 am!!!

i can't remember the last time i was up that late!

i thank God for these girls!

as each one of them is a very special friend to my sofie!

some, since birth and others she has met along the way! 

what a gift for me to have friends that are raising their daughters

the same as i am.

and what a gift for my daughter to have friends that share the same morals as she! 

will sure be hard to top this date!