EMILY

Emily, what an amazing gift you are to me, to our family, to anyone who meets you. Sweet, quiet, gentle. I love you. To God I give thanks for the gift of you.

I love to see you with Michael and how much he adores you. I love to see you playing in the pool with the little girls like you are still 6! I love to see you faithfully believing in your ridiculously hard headed dog.

I know you have stood in the middle for all these years. Being with the older girls sometimes and yet still wanting to be with the young ones. Has it been hard for you? I think it has, but it has made you so great with little kids. They just follow you around and so many moms tell me how wonderful you are with their kids.

Four teen age girls. I would not have wanted 4 teenagers like I was, but you 4 girls are the most incredible kids I could have dreamed of. You are full of laughter and kindness. Your are creative and intelligent. You are musical and attentive. I pray God will bring men who rise up and call you blessed (but not any time soon)!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

~E~M~I~L~Y~~G~R~A~C~E~

Sweet sweet Emily! Today she turns 13. She is a teenager. She is an young adult and she is a beautiful young lady. Here are 13 things about our sweet girl.

1. When Jamie was a baby she called her "MeMe" It stuck. I still call her that.
2. Her middle name is Grace. It suits her perfectly.
3. She plays violin and piano.
   
4. She is a wonderful artists. Her baby dragons are so round and cuddly I could hug them.
5. Her sweet disposition is a joy to all of us.
6. She loves her huge oversized Golden Retriever/ Lab mix.
7. She reads anything she can and she reads fast.
8. She likes her school work.
9. *At the age of two she proudly talked about all the things her "other mother" would let her do. (Ex. Stay up late, eat ice cream before bed, watch TV)
10. When she was three our friends loved to ask her what her name was, she always replied "Emily". And then when asked her name, "3"
11. Again at the age of two, she acquired a small wart on her thumb. When the tree men came to remove a tree in our yard, she proudly introduced herself by holding up her thumb and proclaiming, "I have a wart!"
12. When she was 8 she made a canning jar into a piggy bank and gave it to our grandfather. When asked what he was supposed to do with it she replied, "Fill it up and give it back!"
13. She has a sweet, gentle, and loving spirit. The man who wins her hand and heart has won a treasure.

I love you MeMe,
Jessica

Happy Birthday Emily...In Advance

How To Be A Good Mom - Part One

Work is good
Hard work is better
The harder the work the better it is.

However,
Smiles are good
Laughter is better
The harder the laughter the better it is.

As you strive to be a Good Mom
take time out of the day
Stop the school work, the cleaning,
the daily toil for survival

and say things like,
"Break Time" or
"We are going outside to PLAY"

My mom did this today
and one of my sisters stopped and said
"Wait. Did you say we are going to just PLAY?"

We did the sprinkler, croquet, and picked blackberries.

Remember, that is what they will remember. The moment you said... let's have fun.


Be a good mom today!

Signed,
A Mom in Training