Monday, July 2, 2012

Rachel is 10 Years Old!



I say it all the time...but I really can't  believe that my firstborn is TEN years old! Ten years ago today, I became a Mommy. It was one of the hardest days of my life and probably the closest to death I've come. But everything was worth it to have my precious Rachel in my life. I cannot imagine my life without her in it. 

She celebrated with ten good friends this past Saturday at a local cake shop. The girls all got to decorate cupcakes. It was so much fun and they all had a great time. Rachel has been blessed with such sweet friends in her life.



Today we celebrated with family. The grandparents and us all ate spaghetti and brownies - Rachel's requests. She had to be very patient today, because she couldn't open her presents until after Jon Paul got home from work. It was hard, but she persevered.



She was so excited about all her stuff. But her main surprise was her gift from us. She opened a box with three things in it: a tripod, a video camera and an envelope. Inside the envelope was this:


We bought her a domain name and created her a website/blog. She was thrilled. She loves to read, write and has taken an interest in videoing, so we told her she could do it all on her very own website: www.RachelsChatterbox.com! And she has already made her first post, so go check it out and leave her a comment, she would LOVE it!

So, my darling daughter, I hope your birthday was all you dreamed it to be. We are so very proud of you and we love you to the moon and back, again and again. To close, I'm going to list my top ten things I love about you. This might be the last year for these lists. I have some other ideas in my mind for the next birthdays. There are many, many things I love about you and I could go on and on, but here is my ten.

1. I love your heart for being the hands and feet of Jesus. I was sad we couldn't go on the family mission trip this year, and it meant a lot to me to know you were as deeply saddened because you wanted so badly to serve again. I promise you, we will do another mission trip soon!

2. I love your leadership skills. You are growing up to be a wonderful leader. I was so proud to hear that you were voted President of K-Kids this past year. That was quite an honor and great experience for you.

3. I love your creativity. You have some of the best ideas floating around in that head of yours. The workers at CAPAA have been impressed with your ideas, especially your Marlin costume for Camp Nemo. :) I can't wait to see all the creative things you do with your new blog!


4. I love your piercing brown eyes. You got those eyes from me and we all know that everyone loves a brown eyed girl!! I pray your eyes stay pure and focused on Jesus.

5. I love your thirst for knowledge. You never seem satisfied with a passive answer to your questions. Which at times can be annoying, but it just shows how smart you are and how much you want to learn. I pray you always ask questions and always want to learn - no matter how old you are.

6. I love your voice. I love to hear you uplifting your sister or your friends. I love to hear you reading to your sister. I love to hear you singing. It amazes me to see you on stage at church and hear you sing your solos. You have a gift and I'm so happy you aren't afraid to be in front of people.

7. I love that you know what is right and will take a stand for what is right, even when someone is treating you bad. You learned a good lesson this year about friendship and what it means to be a true friend. True friends don't hurt each other. I was proud you stood your ground and showed them that you weren't going to take it anymore. I pray you keep that boldness and fight in you and know that your self-esteem isn't wrapped up in friendships. You are still YOU, no matter who your friends are.

8. I love seeing the motherly instincts coming out in you. You've asked several times when you can start babysitting. I hope you keep that desire in you. You are so sweet around some of the little kids and several of them already look up to you and love you so much (Caleb!!). :)


9. I love your silliness. You can really make us laugh. I pray you never grow too old to be silly. Some of the things you come up with fills my heart with joy and laughter.

10. I love YOU. Simple. I love YOU for being YOU. I hope you will always be YOU, no matter what anyone else says or does. I know sometimes YOU don't like it when Bekah copies YOU and YOU want to be different. She just loves YOU so much and wants desperately to be like YOU. There will be a day that she won't want to do that anymore. But please keep being YOU, no matter what. YOU are unique and God's special creation. I am thankful He chose YOU for us. YOU have blessed our lives in so many ways and we cannot wait to see what the years ahead hold for YOU!

I love YOU so very much!!!!!!



Monday, March 12, 2012

Happy Birthday Bekah! (one day late!)

Wow, I've really gotten out of the blog habit. I do want to get back into it, it just isn't high on my priority list right now... :)


My baby, Rebekah, turned seven years old yesterday! I can't believe she is that old. Guess that makes me even older! Ha ha... and Jon Paul turned the big 4-0 last week too. I have a couple of years before I hit that mark!
Happy Birthday Rebekah! I hope your day yesterday was great. We had your party on Saturday, the day before your birthday. You had 19 little girls come and celebrate your special day with you. You are blessed with such good friends.


I just wanted to say that Mommy is proud of you loves you very much. So, in keeping with tradition, here are seven things I LOVE ABOUT YOU!!


1. I love your meek spirit. You don't like to have all the attention on you and are content watching others in the lime light.


2. I love your servant's heart. You are quick to offer to help me in the kitchen and are observant to see a need and do it without me having to ask you to do it first.


3. I love your silly faces you make. You sure do like making us laugh!


4. I love it when I catch you walking on your tippy toes. You used to do it all the time when you were little. And you still do it every now and then. Maybe you will be a prima ballerina someday!!


5. I love seeing you get more and more brave about doing things in front of people. You are my shy little one, but you have come a long way. You even will get up on stage at church and help lead in worship!


6. I love that you love school. You have never complained once about having to go to school and I am so happy you are happy there. It also helps having AWESOME teachers - which you have been blessed with last year and this year.


7. I love that you love to be tickled. We have some of the best tickle sessions and I love hearing your laugh so hard you can't catch your breath!!


We are so proud of you and can't wait to see what your future holds. Enjoy being seven!!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Take 2 - Pirate Style

Go Bekah!

YouTube Video


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Rachel's Turn

Another version!

YouTube Video


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Dinner Time Fun

We love being silly!

YouTube Video


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Saturday, July 2, 2011

Happy 9th Birthday, Rachel!!

Nine years ago today you came into our lives and we were forever changed. You made us Mommy and Daddy. We are so proud of you and grateful to God for allowing us to be your parents. We love you and we celebrate you today. We hope you have a most awesome day!!


Nine things we love about you...
  1. We love your creativity. You can write the best plays, songs, and stories and we hope you will always continue to be creative.
  2. We love your confidence. You are bold in your ability to get in front of people and perform. This is something your Mommy has never been confident in.
  3. We love your friendliness. You have never been afraid to be a friend to anyone.
  4. We love your long brown hair. We really like how just growing out your bangs has changed your appearance. Not sure about how it makes you look older.... :)
  5. We love that you still have the innocence of a child. You haven't been too anxious to grow up, like some of the other girls your age have. We want you to be a child as long as you can - you have your whole life to be "grown up."
  6. We love that you like to read. You've started reading longer books and that makes us happy. We hope you will always have that thirst for reading.
  7. We love how smart you are. You've done great in school and you did awesome on your first benchmark test in school. You will do great things when you get older.
  8. We love that you love Jesus. We pray you will always want to know Him better and serve Him in everything you do.
  9. We love your bracy smile. You got braces about six months ago. You have been a trooper through this round and one day, you will see how all this work and a little pain will pay off.


Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Rebekah Says the "F" Word!!



 Great dinner time conversation with my six year old!