Emily's Birthday Camp-Out

Well, the day finally arrived to celebrate Emily's birthday...Dad had a day off and we had cleared the calendar...to camp out in our backyard. :-) Granted, our back yard is quite large these days. The day started with Dad finding all kinds of silly birthday songs on youtube. Their favorite was by the minions.

I made the cake...

Em opened one of her presents and the girls got all dressed up.  Dad took photos so I set up the background.  :-)

We started with pictures...before the dirt and cake.

We fed the horses...it's just great having built in entertainment everywhere!  K is the cautious one...

Em, not so much.  It's okay, they are very gentle, at least the ones I let them feed.

Dad set up a rope swing, two swings and horse shoes.

I bought a real lasso rope and K invented a game of lasso Mommy as she swings by on the swing.

She got a little intense.  It may have been the taunting her mother was giving her.

Playing horseshoes.  I bought real ones so the girls could throw them.  We had a great time!

Then it was time to shift gears into My Little Pony.

That look in the background is Em's face when she is really excited but trying to hide it.

Eating cake with boots on.

The rainbow dash jacket Daddy bought her...it has wings on the back.

Papa and Nana came out for this part.

We played two more games and then went for an impromptu horse ride.

We made hobo dinners and had hot dogs and sausages.  There just isn't anything as fun as hanging around the campfire on a cool night, eating food and relaxing.

K and Sam still love to cuddle all the time.

Early the next morning Nana showed up with bacon, donuts, hot coffee and cocoa.  Hallelujah!  To say it hit the spot is an understatement, it brought pure joy.  :-)  Thanks Nana.

It was pretty cold though so we headed into the house after that.  What's the point of camping in your own yard if you can't escape the cold?

Em had her follow-up dr appt this morning and he was very pleased with her eyes and how well they are tracking.  They really seem to be working together.  There is still slight nystagmus vertically (bouncing up and down) which the dr may want to fix later on down the road in one more surgery, but for now, her eyes are doing outstanding.  She is even seeing better because the eyes are working together and he thought that with her glasses on and working together (not individually), she might be seeing as good as 20/60.  He did mention that without her glasses Emily wins the prize for being the most visually challenged patient he has in Redding.(Did I mention he is the only specialist here so he has all the patients in Redding?).  Sadly, he still wants us to patch the weak eye and I am fairly certain I would rather poke small needles in my eyes than start that fight back up again, but alas, I have no choice.  For now we will simply rejoice in the good!

God Bless!!

Em Turns 5!

Well, this little monster turned five a couple days ago!

I am happy to report that for the first time since Emily's birth, I was thrilled and excited to celebrate her birthday and there wasn't even a twinge of fear, guilt or any of those other negative emotions associated with it. In fact, I planned the entire party without a thought about it and it wasn't until I was all done that I realized I had planned this one just like one of Kylie's! We are celebrating tomorrow, but on the morning of her actual birthday, we did let her open a couple of presents from some Nana and Poppy E and GiGi. Yes, we are officially a My Little Pony house. We have not forgotten Frozen, just taking a break. :-)

And thus we embark on the 10 weeks a year that the girls are the same age!!  Now when I say no they aren't twins, I get asked, "Are they both yours?" Good times.

I wasn't going to say anything sappy about her this year but every one of my devotions this week has been about proclaiming God's goodness to the next generation and declaring his good works so we don't forget.  So, to keep it brief, here is my proclamation:

- the baby that should not have lived...ALIVE
- the baby who came home from the hospital blind...SEES
- the baby who needed a monitor to remind her to breathe...SLEEPING SOUNDLY (as does Mom)
- the baby with all the early signs of cerebral palsy (remember the head rotation and stiff walking and running posture?)...GONE...COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED
- the toddler whose BPD (lung disease) landed her in the hospital for a week, required an inhaler, and left us wondering about her future ability to play...RUNNING ALL OVER OUR RANCH
- the child who could not swallow...DRINKS WATER (while walking),
- the baby whose intestinal problems would leave her small and unable to absorb nutrients...TALLER THAN HER SISTER BY 5 YEARS OLD
- the child whose brain would have multiple learning disabilities...LEARNING TO READ
- the baby with heart surgery, blood transfusions, pneumonias, blood infections, intestinal infections, breathing problems, and I could just keep going with the list but I am done remembering all that.  GONE!!

It is all gone.  By the grace of our precious Lord and Savior, YAHWEH, what once was lost now is found, she who once was blind now sees.  He heals our wounds and binds up all our diseases.  He has been faithful in the past, He is faithful now, and He will be faithful in the future.  God is good!  All the time!

SO, as we let the sun set on this chapter and He opens a new chapter in her life, I wait eagerly for God to finish what HE has started. Yes, we get spectacular sunsets at our new house.

Sometimes the girls and I just sit outside and watch the sun set.  It doesn't take long (which keeps Em's interest) and it's beautiful (which always interests Kylie).

Did I mention Emily has caught Kylie?  This is the height chart.  At the time they both turned five, Emily is taller.  Kylie has about half an inch on her right now but it won't be long.  We have tears over this every time Kylie thinks about it.

For all who have been a part of this with your prayers and in so many other ways, THANK YOU!!  And my God bless you ten fold!!  All our love.