Emily's 19th Birthday!!

March 21st was Emily's 19th birthday. We celebrated on Sunday afternoon and had quite a few of her favorite people over to help eat cake, play games and celebrate this most wonderful day! :)

She was actually born on at 6:46 pm on a Saturday night at Pekin Hospital. Doug and I had headed for the hospital at 9:00 that morning. I knew for sure I was in labor and both of us thought from watching tv (smile.) that it would be only a matter of a few minutes, at most an hour or so and our new baby would be here. So once we realized what was happening we jumped in the car and drove to the hospital at TOP SPEED! :) (thankfully we survived :) . And at  6:46 THAT NIGHT, she arrived. She weighed 9 lb 1.5 oz and was 22 in long.  She was our first little girl, our first C-section, and our only, thankfully, so far. She was face up or something, could not be persuaded to move otherwise and so at the last minute was a c-section. (We had a very similar event with Rachel, but she was kind enough to be adjusted at the last minute and didn't need a c-section). She has been a joy to me and her dad and we are thankful everyday that God gave us such a beautiful girl with the same kind of beautiful temperament to match.  Her brothers and sisters adore her, and she is truly a blessing. :)

Rachel, Abigail, and Sarah enjoying the beautiful sunshine on the porch.

I'm not sure what Gracie is telling Lauren about, but it sure makes for a funny face! :)They were helping Em make cupcakes to take to work,

Em making cupcakes, and happy to have her picture taken! :)

Jacob waiting patiently for a chance to have a cupcake.

Still Waiting......Sometimes it's hard to be 3!  :)

 We also put up our zip line a few days ago. This is Grace giving it a try. Notice the hay bails in front of the tree? The first round they weren't there. Ooops!

 And of course Doug gave it a try! It can hold up to 250 lbs, BUT it's not far off the ground. So toward the middle taller adventurers have to improvise!  :)  I think we are  going to move it somewhere that it can be a little higher!

Doug also took the loader and reshaped the dirt pile. By the end of the summer it tends to be a little flat and sad.

Sam thought this was neat so he took a few pictures for me. :)

And it's done! So we are ready for another summer of digging and of course at times water MUST be added to make rivers and mud and things. :)

Rachels little hyper dog needs a drink after its busy day of running around, barking, and terrorizing unsuspecting visitors!  (Our neighbor stopped last night for a few minutes and upon seeing this little animal asked "Is that really a dog?"  :)  He! He!!

Liv driving her little mobile to somewhere very important!

Sam working hard. (And loving every minute of it!)

Just like his dad.

For all you city folks, this is a cow. :) Who someone thought needed her picture taken.

A very tired Jacob after a very long , busy, fun filled day in the sun! He skipped his nap this day and couldn't keep his little peepers open another minute! He fell asleep while we were reading last night. We are still on the Lilian Trasher book, but almost done. We looked it up on the computer the other night and found the orphanage she started in 1919 is still operating in Egypt, and to think people tried to talk her out of it,and wouldn't help her. But because she knew God called her to do it she was successful and saved the lives of thousands of orphans and widows and brought them to the Lord in a nation largely inhabited by Muslims. Incredible! Really though...Nothing is impossible for God. :)

Thanks for visiting! :)