{This Moment} Nine Trips Around The Sun

{This Moment} A Friday ritual. A single photo -no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you are inspired to do the same leave a link to your moment in the comments section for all to find and see. Wishing you a lovely last weekend of February! xo

A Surprise For Emma

 A surprise arrived in the mail today! 

She quickly opened the package and discovered this very long box inside.

 "It's like my other mouse, mama!" 

 "Oh! They are grandparents! I must get their granddaughter mouse!" 

 Such a very sweet set. And yes, that is a mustache you see on the grandpa mouse!

 All together. 

 "Thank you, Grandma Joan and Grandpa Ron for my grandparent mice! I love them and their very long bed!" 

All tucked in.

"Mama, but we don't have a Grace mouse or a mama mouse or daddy mouse."
"All in good time, sweet girl. All in good time." xo

Nine Is...

This is nine. 

Nine is Wonder Woman dolls. 

And tools. 

And wishes come true. 

Nine is a wonderful sense of humor. 

And a love of googily eyes. 

Nine is red dresses (with pockets!) that twirl! 

It's beautiful birthday greetings from family and friends. 

 It's rainbows and horses (and rainbow horses), 

It's best friend necklaces. 

Nine is hikes in the woods. 

And hot chocolate with friends. 

Nine is a Barn Owl carved by your Grandpa Gene. 

 It's birthday wishes from daddy (and mama and Grace). 

And lighting candles as you remember each trip around the sun. 

 This is nine. 

 It's sweetness and light and magic and wonder. 

 Nine is Emma, and we couldn't be more proud of the young lady she has become!

Happy 9th birthday, Emma Faith! We love you to the moon and stars and back again, and cannot wait to see all that this next trip around the sun has waiting for you! We have no doubt it will be another amazing year! xo

Happy "Give Emma A Sparkly, Red Dress" Day!

February 19, 2011 

(almost three years old)

February 19, 2017
(almost nine years old)

Evidently, February 19th is "Give Emma a Sparkly Red Dress Day". Six years ago, before her third birthday my mom gave her what became her "first favorite fancy dress" . She wore that dress to her family birthday celebration that afternoon and pretty much daily after that. The day that dress no longer fit was a a very sad day for our sweet Emma. Fast forward six years, and as I was walking through Target one afternoon in January (while the girls were at ski team) I noticed this sparkly red dress and was instantly transported back several years to my sweet second-born daughter and her love of a certain red sparkly dress. I snapped a picture, texted it to my mom and a plan was set in motion. "Sparkly Red Dress the Sequel" would given to Emma for her ninth birthday as her gift from Gramma Terri and Grandpa Gene. It was perfect!

So, last night, as I was thinking about all that needs to be done for Emma's birthday this Tuesday I realized that it might be wise to see if my mom would like her to have her dress a couple of days early. "Yes, give it to her to wear to church tomorrow" my mom replied. A bag was found, the dress placed inside and the card my mom had sent (along with the new addition for the birthday ring) was placed on top. I put it on the china cabinet and waited for it to be discovered in the morning.

And then, as I was scrolling through Facebook this morning my "memories" popped up. I can't ever pass up the chance to look back and reflect on our many adventures and am especially happy that I did so today because it was then that I saw that six years ago today she had received her first red sparkly dress! What an absolute treat to know that six years later on this very day she was being given her next red sparkly dress. It just made this day all the more special!

And so, when our soon-to-be nine year old saw what was inside the bag today she was over the moon!

"It's like my first red sparkly dress, mama! How old was I when I got that one?" she asked.
 "You were almost three years old! And what's even more interesting is that Gramma Terri gave you that dress on this very day six years ago! So, clearly, February 19th is 'Give Emma a Red Sparkly Dress Day!"

And as you can imagine she has totally run with that one!  xo

Second Breakfast

"Mama, since Emma made French Toast the last time do you think I could make French Toast today?!" She prepared the ingredients and then I showed her how to cook the first piece, after that the rest was all her. In total, she cooked four pieces and I didn't have to do anything more than take pictures.

It seems to me that this year - her ninth-  is full of all sorts of amazingness, and this French Toast making is just the latest skill added to the list. It's truly incredible the independence that's coming for both girls lately. I'm pretty sure it's not just that they are the ages they are, but also (and perhaps even more so) because they have been there watching, helping, taking it all in their entire lives. To watch Grace cook so confidently this second breakfast of ours gave me pause. No matter how many times I beg and plead with them to "stop the growing" it's to no avail. Grow they will, but with that growth comes so much goodness, so much pride, so much confidence that I truly cannot wait to see what each day, each week, each month and each trip around the sun brings for our sweet girls. xo