Happy Birthday Emma!

Saturday donned bright and sunny which was a wonderful invitation for Becca and I to travel 1 ½ hours north to attend my cousin’s daughter’s birthday. (Not too sure…does that make her my 2nd cousin?)

Before heading north I packed in a couple of other fun times which is pretty much my normal thing to do. I met a friend for coffee at 7:30 and then at 9:00 went to the church to attend a great parenting seminar. My eyes welled up as I was registering as I realized that after 40 years I was attending a Parenting Seminar!! The speaker was Dr. Marv Penner who is an author and speaker. Even though I’m not technically a parent yet I was able to pick up on some helpful tips to use later and also learn some things about what the youth of our day are facing. Let’s just say that the stuff they’re dealing with on a regular basis are things that I didn’t have a clue about as a teen, or even as a young adult. Our youth need our prayers and support as they face their day to day lives.

I picked Rebecca up at 11:00 and we began our drive north. About a half hour into our drive I thought we might need to turn back as we faced very snowy conditions and the car immediately in front of us spun into the ditch. I kept my speed slow and left a ton of distance between me and the car in front of us and we moved forward….slowly.

I have to say that I love the times we share together in the car. We talk about so much and it’s a great way to keep in touch with my Boo and learn what’s happening in her life. We enjoy playing some Disney games that we’ve made up. The ‘Disney Alphabet game’ is one where we go through the alphabet and try to name as many Disney characters that start with each letter of the alphabet as we can. Another game we’ve called ‘The Mickey Mouse game’ where we take turns describing Disney characters and see if the other one can guess who we’re talking about. It’s lots of fun and often brings up memories of our trips that we love to talk about. Talking about sunny Disney when you’re driving through a snowstorm is a great way to keep the memories alive...and remember warmer temps!

We arrived safe and sound at the party just as everything was starting. Emma was turning 4 years old and really wanted a ‘surprise party.’ She was so excited when she arrived home and everyone yelled ‘Surprise!’ and blew birthday horns! I guess she’d been at other surprise parties and figured that by the time she’d reached the grand old age of 4 it was her time! :o) When we’d surprised her she looked at her Mom and Dad and said with all sincerity, ‘It was just like I’d hoped for! You listened to me…thank you!’ Too cute! Happy Birthday Emma!

Rebecca loves her Uncle Tim and was so excited when she found out he was going to be at the party too! He and Aunt Chris had made the 5 hour trip the day before and also brought 2 of Emma’s cousins for the party too. Our family may be spread out a little but we’re still very close and I always love the time we share together!


I couldn’t believe the difference in the amount of snow after just a short drive north. Here’s the beautiful scenery Sean and Trish are able to enjoy each morning as they sit at their kitchen table. A little piece of heaven on earth!

When we arrived home Saturday night it was time to call it a night. You may remember Rebecca’s desire to sleep in a boxin December. This time since the box was in the basement safely storing Hannah’s stroller, she decided to make herself a haven of pillows to sleep in. My friend Deborah has often teased that I have way too many pillows in this room and I guess she’s right but for this one night, Rebecca loved them. Sweet dreams Boo. I love you!