My SwEeT BeThAniE hAd A BiRtHdAy!!!

What can I say about this sweet daughter of mine! I cant believe the young woman she is growing into! She just turned 9 a couple weeks ago. She was so excited because we gave her her very first American Girl Doll. She has wanted one for a very long time. I gave her the choice between that or a laptop. She chose the doll, hands down! I was very impressed that she wanted to stay little just a bit longer! So for her birthday, we rented a conference room at a hotel and had her party there. Her friends all came, and we played games. One of the funniest was the Hula-Hoop contest. Little Madison (4) took all of the girls down and won it easily. :) She is great at it! So I ended up making her a 4 layer birthday cake. It was a confetti layer, then a chocolate layer, then a confetti layer and a chocolate layer. She helped me decorate it. Since Matthew is allergic to egg whites, I made it with applesauce instead of eggs. It makes the cake very moist. I was afraid the cake would just fall apart, and it did once we started cutting into it, but it was DELICIOUS to say the least. At any rate, she had a great time with her birthday.

Soon, she will be moving into 4th grade. She was chosen to be a Peer Mediator at school. Only a handful of 4th graders are selected to do this very responsible job. I know this will be good for her, and for the younger children she will be working with!

Bethanie is such a wonderful example. She is my guide that tells me we are on the right path as a family. In all the chaos of our life, she is there setting the examples. She does so many kind things for people. Her heart is so full of love! I know what a gift I was given when I was chosen to be her mother! I remember clearly the day I found out I was pregnant with her, after 10 years of trying! I had been sick for a long time. I thought I was suffering from the flu. I went to my dr and they asked all the usual questions, have you taken a pg test, and such. After 10 years of trying, we never suspected. So I was pregnant, and so terribly excited! My pregnancy was a dream with her. The hard part was a couple months before she was to be delivered, my husband lost his job. So we had a scary time deciding what to do with a child almost here, another one who had such high needs at the time (even then) and then, as she took her time to come to the earth, suddenly she was in a hurry to be with us. She came 6 weeks early. Oh how terrified I was! But even though she was early, she was still 6 lbs 11 oz. She is a terribly shy young girl, but once you break the ice, she is full of spunk, spirit and loves to tease! What a gift she is in my life! I LOVE YOU BETHIE!!!