Happy 12th Birthday, Shelby!

Shelby's birthday is on Christmas Eve. 12 years ago, she gave her mom and dad such a shock when she came 5 days early and the day before Christmas at that. Since her birthday falls when it does, we usually celebrate it early with her friends. This year she and 2 friends went ice skating, and we all had a great time. I took the book You and Your Girl by Vicki Courtney and in between skating, I was able to get lots of reading done. One of the 2 friends moved away over a year ago, so the 3 of them had a great reunion. Her actual birthday was lots of fun, too, since, of course, there was no school to do. Her breakfast of choice was Monkey Bread- her favorite. Shelby had really outgrown her bike so she picked out a very nice new bike. By the way, our camera stopped working the day of her birthday and I had to use Shelby's camera. Thus the pictures aren't too good. Thankfully, my BIL fixed it the night of her bday! (Thanks Tripp!) That afternoon, before church, Shelby's grandparents and other family came by to have cake wth us. Note: the huge crack in the cake is a mystery. I assure you it was not there after it cooled. It was not there after I iced it. It was such a pretty cake, and I was really proud of it because I am not very good at making pretty level cakes. Well, God must have thought my pride was sinful because when I took the cover off the cake, I was shocked. There was a HUGE crack. Oh well, I learned my lesson. "Pride goes before destruction. . ." Proverbs 16:18 Seriously, I spent too much time trying to create the "perfect" cake and God showed me that despite all of my efforts, His plan was different because my cake was far from perfect! However, that red velvet cake with the gigantic crack still tasted delicious, and the birthday girl was happy. Shelby is a special child with the temperament of her father- not her mother. She is so patient and loving especially with her younger siblings. Many days, I just listen to her and am convicted of my impatient attitude. She loves the Lord, and I can't wait to see how God uses her to further His kingdom.

Happy 10th Birthday, Katie!

Katie celebrated her birthday 2 weeks after Shelby. She and 3 friends went to Build-a-Bear and had great fun creating new furry friends. On her actual birthday, she started the celebration with her breakfast of choice: chocolate chip muffins. I'll share a new secret I learned. The store was out of choc. chip muffin mix, but I noticed a new Martha White pound cake muffin mix. I debated in my mind whether or not I should just make a muffin batter from scratch and add the choc. chips. My mind quickly remembered that her birthday was on a school day and that I better go w/ a box muffin mix. So I made the pound cake muffin mix and added choc. chips. Let me tell you- those were the BEST choc. chip muffins ever. Try it! Anyway, back to Katie's birthday, after breakfast, she opened presents and loved her new purple bike. Then she had to do school although she tried her best to talk me out of it to no avail. Later that night, her grandparents and other family dropped by for pizza and birthday cake. It was a great day for Katie. She is a precious child with such a servant heart. She thinks God is calling her to be a missionary in China. I'm not sure how God plans to use Katie, but I know He definitely has big plans for her.