Emma Turns Nine!!!

How do I have a nine year old??  There is no way, that my baby girl turned nine tonight.  I am in total and full denial.  But she has loudly proclaimed all day that this is indeed true.  My sweet Rose turned nine tonight as her sweet head hit the pillow and she said a prayer for her friend who moved last week.  Emma was born at 8:16 at night, a Thursday night to be exact.  

This year we decided to not do a huge party with all her friends.  They are a lot of fun, but honestly are a lot of work and stress. So, we talked to Emma and planned a few smaller experiences to celebrate her upcoming day of birth.  The fun thing was she got to do a few smaller party type things and made her day last a lot longer then one big party.  

We started celebrating about a week and half before her birthday.  Her school was out on Spring break and we had more time do fun things.  She started by getting to go get her first manicure with Aunt Jenn and mexican and hot chocolate from Starbucks.  She had a blast and her nails still look so pretty.  She really enjoyed having girl day with one of her aunts.  Then, we had a small family party with the Zook side of the family.  It included tacos and her favorite brownies.

Kendrick helping out!

Aunt Jenn is loaning Emma her Little House Books and she is in love with the stories.

Being sang to!

Then, on the last day of spring break we meet up with some close friends to play at the park and have a picnic with purple cupcakes to celebrate the almost Nine year old.  These are some of our closest friends and the kids love spending time together.  Especially when it involves a playground and food:)  

The crew!!

Yesterday, we took a break from the Easter fun and celebrated her birthday with the Clark family!!  Thanks Meme for the awesome decorations and fun at your house!  This time it was pink cupcakes and lots of giggles!

playing with her new soccer ball from Hudson!

Are these for me??

The new American Girl books and mini doll!

night gown

Meme telling her about an upcoming shopping trip that I will share about when it happens:)  

Happy to be with Family!

Well finally we came to today!  Taylor and I spent the morning adding to her decorations to surprise her after school.  

 We then took her lunch from Wendy's (chicken nuggets and a baked potato)  and cookies to share with her friends.  Emma really prefers cookies or brownies over cupcakes.  It was fun to eat with her and a friend during the school day.  After homework daddy came home to surprise her with her big gift.  She asked for a new scooter and it took a few weeks and a lot of looking to find her one that was safe but tall enough for Emma.  She can not balance on a razor so we had to look really hard for another three wheeled scooter that would hold her weight and height.  Daddy finally found a pink one!!

 a kiss to thank me!!

 After dinner of tacos (did you see a food theme when she got to pick what we ate?  Yep always tacos) we opened a few more presents.  

 excited she got two of the american girl movies she loves.  Our local libraries will be glad we will no longer be hogging those movies lol!

 I had found this new barbie during consignment sale time and have been holding on to it.  She loves cooking and barbies so chef barbie was a big hit

 One more signing and making a wish.  wish big sweet girl!

 These two have been together from day one.  Daniel stood by her bed in the NICU when I was still across town.  He was able to care for her more when I was still healing after we both came home.  He actually was home more in the first few months of her life due to his work hours.  He is a great dad and these two have spent nine years reading bedtime stories together.  Now instead of just daddy reading, Emma takes a turn too.  Times change but these two bond does not.

Happy Birthday sweet girl!  Love you to the moon and back!

A book review

I enjoy getting to be one  of Tyndale House's blog reviewers.  I mean getting free books to read is a dream come true for a book lover by me.  Normally we get a list to choose from and I love to pick historical romances or books for the kids.  This month I went for the historical romance and was intrigued by the settting of the dust bowl.  However, it was not your normal christian romance.....

On Shifting Sand by Allison Pittman is at times a hard book to read.  Reading about such a dark period of time, where people could be buried alive by dirt mere feet from their house, and where kids had to wear mask to and from school to not inhale dirt that was constantly flying around, is not easy to read.  Then, when you add the internal struggle of an exhausted mom/wife, it gets even harder.  But the book is a beautiful story that shows that even when things seem dead and crumbling beneath your feet, there is life and forgiveness still there.

However, I was slowly drawn into the sad and beautiful story with the words of the narrator.  I love having it from the view of the women.  The reader hears and reads her every thought and feeling.  It makes the story come alive.  The writing is so good, you can actually taste the dirt as you read about the storms.

As I mentioned it is not your normal love story.  There is more darkness, then flowers and sunshine, but it does not end in the darkness.  Forgiveness is woven beautifully throughout the story.  Forgiveness from God and from earthly man himself.  Goodness/forgiveness wins in the end, but it is a dark road till then.  I would say more but you need to read the book and learn for yourself.

If you would like to read mine or other's views on this wonderful book check out my Amazon Review here:
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Tyndale House. All opinions expressed are my own.