December 27-Our birthday girl

Words of wisdom from our newest nine year old:                                        

Relax deeply-"you must not do anything, just breathe deeply"

Dream big- "my dream is to become a doctor, have a daughter, have a nice car."

Believe with all your heart- "what I believe: Jesus! I believe I'm going to have a nice, crazy future."

With a birthday only two days after Christmas we typically celebrate with the family earlier and then have a special day with just a few of us on her actual birthday.  So, today started with hot cocoa in mom and dad's bed, along with some interesting conversation and a few good laughs. 

Then, daddy prepared a late breakfast topped with candles and a 

Happy Birthday song that hopefully was not recorded!

After a relaxing day at home, we went to the movie to watch Annie and consume lots of buttery popcorn and soda. Followed by dinner at her favorite place, Panda Express.  

I'm not so sure her use of chopsticks would be acceptable in China, but it certainly gets the job done!

Our evening ended snuggled on the couch, in front of the fire playing games.  It is so hard to believe that our sweet girl has already spent 5 birthdays at home.  It seems like she has always been part of our family. We thank God for every birthday we celebrate as she continues on the journey(in her own words),  to her "nice, crazy future."