Sophie Turns 10!

Our little Sophie Rose is ten years old today! Sophie has been such a blessing to us since the moment she entered our lives. She has the most contagious laugh and is full of creativity. Sophie loves big and is kind to everyone lending a helping hand to both friends and strangers. Sophie loves dance and playing outdoors with her friends for hours and hours. We are so proud of our little "Rosie-Posie!"

Make a Wish!

Make a wish, and blow it out!

May all your birthday dreams come true.

How old are you now? A lady never tells!

But here's one wish I have for you.

May you feel as loved as I do today,

On this very day of my own birth.

To have been given life and abundant gifts

To share with others here upon this Earth.

Each candle marking another year turned older

is a gift from our Heavenly Father Above

that signifies another year has passed,

and we have been given 365 more days of love.

So here's to  another year of  love and life

and to the many gifts we have to give

For it is in the giving of our own true gifts

in which we really know what it means to live.

I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy . . .

". . .Down in my Heart!" My birthday celebration couldn't have been better beginning on Friday with a wonderful 1 hour and a half massage at Belleza Salon that Howie had given me a gift certificate for. It was Heaven! On Saturday, the girls and Howie surprised me with birthday cupcakes and a gift certificate to my favorite place to shop, Southern Market! We had lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Don Gallo, and then had a wonderful night out with our friends Kristen and Pete at the Melting Pot in the Old City. It was a fabulous day and I certainly feel loved with all of the birthday wishes from friends and family, thoughtful gifts, and flowers from my sweet Daddy. I definitely have the joy down in my heart!

Yummy birthday cupcakes!
Making a wish before breakfast!

Birthday lunch at Don Gallo

Out with the Pearsons at The Melting Pot

Hilarious that we actually had coordinated outfits without consulting each other! We had such a great time out by ourselves!

Celebrating Emma-Caroline!

Emma-Caroline's 5th birthday will be one week from yesterday on March 3rd. We had an early celebration with Mimi and G-Daddy at American Girl Doll Place in Atlanta yesterday. Mimi and G-Daddy are in Atlanta for a conference and since it is such a short drive from Knoxville, we drove down to see them and have some early birthday fun. The food was awesome and we all had a wonderful time!

Waiting to eat at the Bistro
Getting Ready to Order

Mimi, G-Daddy and the girls

So excited to open presents!

Giving her dolly a drink.

Singing Happy Birthday!

Making a wish!

Birthday delight!

MMMMMMMM!

Happy Birthday Grandma Beverly!

( Howie's Dad and Mom before Howie)

Today is Howie's mom's birthday. Beverly is a wonderful grandmother, mother and mother-in-law. She has a great sense of humor and loves to play bingo and garden. We always love spending time with Grandma Beverly who has never-ending love and time for her "Little Girlfriends" Emma-Caroline and Sophie. I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful person as my Mother-in-Law and grandmother to my girls. Happy Birthday Beverly! We love you very much and hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Howie!

Today is Howie's birthday. He is turning 8 according to Emma-Caroline, who said when asked how old she thought her daddy was, "Well, Daddy's big, he's even bigger than you, so he must be eight."
Howie is a wonderful father and husband. He works very very hard for our family and has been supportive of me staying home to be with our girls. Howie is a fun-loving dad who would lasso the moon for any of his girls. He is my best friend and I am so happy that I have him in my life.

Howie we all hope you have a very happy birthday. We love you very much!

A Double Happy Birthday!

Today is my Aunt Linda and my Aunt Brenda's birthday. Yes, they are twins! When my grandmother was pregnant with them, the doctor was unaware of the fact that she was having twins as only one heartbeat was detected and there were no ultrasounds.
The doctor was constantly on her about her weight gain. When the time came for the "baby" to be born, the doctor was very apologetic to my grandmother when she gave birth to two babies instead of one with each weighing just at 7 pounds. No wonder she had gained so much weight! She was carrying 14 pounds of babies!

Aunt Brenda and Aunt Linda with Emma-Caroline at age 6 weeks.

My Aunt Linda and Aunt Brenda are wonderful aunts whom I love very much. They are so loving and caring and have always made me feel so special.

Aunt Linda with Sophie at age 6 weeks

Aunt Linda and Aunt Brenda, I hope you both have a wonderful birthday today! You deserve it!

Bonefish

Dinner with the Pearsons at Bonefish
Birthday cupcakes. Yummy!

Singing Happy Birthday!

Making a wish!

On my birthday, we went to Bonefish with the Pearsons. We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed the company of Pete, Kristen and Jack (Davis was at another birthday party.) On our way into the restaurant Emma-Caroline proclaimed "I don't want to eat at Bonefish!" "Why not?" Howie asked. To which Emma-Caroline replied "Because I don't like fish or bones!" Luckily she didn't have to eat either. I just love her perspective on things!

Many Thanks for an Awesome Birthday!

Me on my 3rd birthday!

Just a little note to all of my family and friends to say thank you for making me feel so loved and special on my birthday. I am truly blessed in so many ways to have such wonderful friends and family in all of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I have had the best birthday and it's not over yet!

Happy Birthday Emma-Caroline!

4th Birthday Party 3/1/09

Celebrating 3rd Birthday Party at the Little Gym with friends 3/8/08

3rd birthday 3/3/08 in Walt Disney World

2nd Birthday Party 3/3/07

First Birthday Party 3/4/06

Today is Emma-Caroline's fourth birthday! I can't believe she is already four years old. It seems like only yesterday that she was born, and then I also can't ever remember life without her. She is such a "big girl" now. So independent, so creative, so intelligent, so beautiful . . . just the perfect gift from God. I love her with all my heart, and I feel so blessed to have her in my life. On the wall in Emma-Caroline's room there is a plaque that I bought shortly after she was born which reads "Every good and perfect gift is from above" James 1:17 "You are a gift from God." And she is. Happy birthday sweet girl!

Feliz Cumpleanos!

Emma-Caroline is having a stretched out 4th birthday party beginning with our celebration last week in Disney World, continuing through this week with a birthday party Sunday night, then moving into today with birthday cupcakes at her preschool and finally ending in attending the Dora Live show on her actual birthday, March 3rd. Last night we had a small birthday party with our dear friends the Eatons and the Weigels. Mary Caroline and Karley will be attending the Dora Live show with Emma-Caroline tomorrow, so we decided to have our dinner party be a "Girls Only" party with the exception of Baby Jake Eaton and the daddy's of course. The girls had a good time being "girly" and are so excited to see Dora Live tomorrow. The festivities will continue and we will keep you posted.

A Complete Joy!

Emma-Caroline will be turning four on March 3rd. It's hard to believe that four years ago I was anxiously awaiting my sweet little baby girl's birth. And now four years later, here she is, a beautiful fun-loving, sweet, and spirited little girl. It has been such a complete joy for Howie and I to have this precious little girl in our lives. We feel so blessed to have been given such a beautiful gift from God. When we named her Emma Caroline, I found in doing research on her name that in fact it means "Complete (Emma) Joy (Caroline)". How fitting! We decided to call her by her complete name and even now sometimes hyphenate it to emphasize that she is called by both. Yes it is a long name, but she knows how to spell and write it without help and will correct you if you only call her by one of her names. Since she is a "complete joy" I am glad that we call her by a double name and that she so proudly wears it. Happy almost birthday Emma-Caroline! Mommy and Daddy love you very much!