Happy Birthday Leeny!

Leeny turned 7 on May 25th. Better late than never. Right?

In our family you get to have a friend party on your 7th and 10th birthdays. It was her turn. She was SO excited.


Leeny chose to have a swimming party. She invited her closest friends and their families. Home school families tend to have many children. I think we had around 30 kids plus adults.

Spaghetti is her favorite so we filled a 16-quart roaster full, had some veggies and dip and that was supper. The adults ate while the kids swam. It was great!

I couln't catch many shots of the kids in the pool. But here is one of Leeny in the hot-tub. They were like fish!

She loved opening her gifts and was delighted with each. This was made for her by one of her best buds. She sat it in a place of honor on her shelf at home.

She received so many nice presents and had so much fun. We found it very funny at the number of guns she got - water, Nerf, etc. Leeny is most definitely a tom-boy.

She said later how special she felt that all those people came to her party.

Happy Birthday Leeny! You are a delight! You fill our home with wonder, excitement and laughter. We are so thankful for you!

Happy Birthday Bug!

Our Bug turned 9 on October 25. Usually by her birthday, it is very cold. But not this year.

Because it was so warm, we had a wiener roast and hayride. She had a blast! A couple of her good friends came over. Bubby and Leeny had a few friends too.

They enjoyed playing on the playground, running around like wild banshees and the hayride.

Then on her actual birthday, my mom picked up an ice cream cake and brought it out. She loves ice cream!

I loved celebrating the Bug. She is such a beautiful young lady inside and out. Her servant's heart is amazing. She is a delight to spend time with. I don't want to wish away her childhood, but of all my children, I am most excited to know her as an adult.

Baby's One Year Pictures

It's kind of funny. When Bubby was born, I had his picture taken professionally every month, on the day.

When the Bug was born, I wasn't quite as good. We had her picture taken at 2 months and then every couple of months.

Along came Leeny and I was too busy. She had her first picture taken at 5 months.

The Baby was one. Other than one shot of her at Christmas, we haven't had her picture taken.

Does that make me a bad mom?

I do have more snapshots of her though.

So here are my favorites. Now I have to decide which ones I want to hang on my walls, set on my shelves, etc.

How am I going to decide? I like them all.

Each captures a different expression. A different facet of her.

Choices.....

Grandparents, if you have a favorite, let me know and I'll order it for you.

Same for you aunts and uncles. These are the proofs.

Maybe that would help me decide.
What's your favorite?

After all, I can't hang one of each up.






But the little cheeser is so darn cute!

Birthday Fun

She's ONE! This was before the party. She likes to "help" unload the dishwasher. She lays across the door and plays in the water.

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, dear Baby...." Oh, she loved being sang to.

The icing was sooo yummy!

The cake wasn't impressing her. She loved the icing but threw the cake on the floor. She quickly had enough.

All done. Time for a bath.

She'd rather play with the cooler full of ice than eat cake. What's wrong with this baby?

Finally she took an interest in the packages.

She really liked her swing. Like a little princess, she sat there to open the rest of her gifts. One of her favorites was a little book that played the Farmer in The Dell.

Love the Baby.

A new duck. The Baby likes to play with ducks in the bath. She says "quack, quack" and throws them out of the tub.

All in all, it was a very happy 1st Birthday for her. She seemed to have a good time.

Leeny's 6th Birthday

Tiny came to spend the night and go to Springfield with us for Leeny's 6th birthday. Leeny and her best buddy, Tiny, had a blast in the tub and I had clean floors when they were finished.

Leeny wanted her ears pierced for her birthday. Tiny came along for moral support.

Oh, how pretty! No tears, just smiles.

We had to ride the carousel 2 times. Once on the bottom and once on the top.

Who wouldn't love a cookie taco? Talk about messy! But the girls loved them.

Then we went for a Mexican lunch. Leeny wanted a pina colada and Tiny liked the strawberry daiquiri (non-alcoholic of course).
It was so much fun spending the day with these girls. I loved listening in on their conversations. Six-year olds have funny views on politics, homeschooling, dating, food, etc. I wish I could have recorded it.