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Happy 7th birthday, Gracie-girl!

November 28, 2011 By 1 Comment

Grace at 2 months old - January 2005


Grace at her first birthday party - November 2005


2-year-old Grace


3-year-old Grace


4-year-old Grace


5-year-old Grace


6-year-old Grace


Grace with her awesome Daddy on her 7th birthday

Dearest Gracie-girl,

Your birthdays are always bittersweet to me, because you are my first baby. The one who caused me to become a mommy.

And this year, it’s a little more bittersweet for me, because you are most definitely not a baby anymore. You are growing from a little girl into a young woman. Right before my eyes, each day you are growing into the young woman that God wants you to be.

I pray that as time goes by, and you continue to be your encouraging, responsible little self, you will always remember the reason we live. We are here for God’s glory…”to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”…remember? That means that it’s okay to live differently than people who don’t know Christ, because we understand our purpose. It also means that it’s good to do hard things – to take a stand for Jesus, to be completely honest, to practice integrity all the time – even though it can be really hard. And it’s okay to fail, because your Savior and Lord is always willing to forgive you.

My most earnest prayer for you is that you will live wholeheartedly for Jesus. As you grow and mature, remember that He is everything.

I love you so much, sweetheart, and I praise God for the delightful SEVEN years He has given us with YOU!

Yours always,
Mommy

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Ava’s Birthday Dinner

October 17, 2011 By 4 Comments

Not too much commentary today. Just want to share some pictures from Ava’s little birthday celebration at home.

The princess cake


Birthday Banner!


Dinner chosen by Ava: PINK chicken and rice


Birthday booty (er, presents)


Sweet birthday hugs

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Happy (belated) 4th birthday, Ava Joy!

October 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

8-day-old Ava Joy (2007)


1-year-old Ava (2008)


2-year-old Ava (2009)


3-year-old Ava (2010)


4-year-old Ava!

My dearest Ava Joy,

As you are turning another year older, we are celebrating what a sweet blessing you are to our family.

I love that we chose a name for you that really fits. AVA means “sings like a bird,” and your uninhibited giggle is musical! And JOY…well, you bring such joy and laughter with your smiles and silliness.

Your carefree spirit is so refreshing to me. Even at 4 years old, you still don’t spend much time worried about what others think. You are caring and sweet, but also spend a lot of time in your own little world.

You’re a smart cookie, too! We’ve done a little bit of pre-school work this year, and you surprised me when you could already recognize numerals. What?! How did you learn that on your own? Smarty-pants!

I’m learning that even though you’re carefree, you are also my middle child. You need to have some extra attention to be sure that we know you’re there. You need extra hugs and snuggles often, and you seem to feel like you get lost in the crowd sometimes. (“Everyone’s talking over me!”) I don’t want you to feel that way, but want you to know that we value you and we love hearing from you.

Don’t ever forget that the reason you are valuable is because God made you in His own image, and He loves you very much! I pray that you will embrace this truth as you grow, and that you will be a girl who loves God with all of her heart.

Happy 4th birthday, Ava Joy! I love you!

Mommy

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Happy 2nd birthday, Jaden!

June 14, 2011 By 5 Comments

On May 29, our baby boy turned 2. My, oh my, how time has flown! For the first time in six and a half years, the Rumley house officially has no babies!


A puffy little Jaden on the day of his birth – May 29, 2009. He was our biggest at 10lb 6oz!


Jaden at his FIRST birthday party – waiting for his cake!


Jaden on the way home from church on his SECOND birthday!

My dear son, Jaden,

We have always said the one word to describe you is “delightful.” You have such sweet smiles and squeezes. Your vocabulary has expanded so much, and you’re now talking in 3-word sentences. (“Go away, bug!”) You love vehicles of any kind, and you make little-boy noises when you drive them around. The only way to get you to sit still for 10 minutes is to put you on a tractor. It has been absolutely delightful to watch you grow and learn.

And sometimes I just want to pull my hair out because of your “busyness.” (That’s really a nice way of calling you naughty.) I probably can’t even list all the ways you’ve gotten into trouble this past year. Playing with the plunger, sucking on markers, eating the tips off markers, drawing on the walls, drawing on yourself, turning on Daddy’s grill so about $15 worth of propane leaked out before we noticed, crossing our really-not-busy-but-sometimes-people-drive-down-here street ALL BY YOURSELF, using toilet gel as a hair styling tool, ripping open packets of Jello powder and instant hot chocolate to lick the powders…Your latest incident involved a bottle of Aunt Alonna’s purple nail polish. Not only did you paint yourself, but you also painted your sister while she slept! She now has a section of purple hair amidst the blonde!

Oh, Jaden.

Someday I’m going to look back and guffaw at your craziness.

Someday.

Like when you’re married and have a child just like yourself. Yep.

But anyway, I digress.

I love you, son, no matter what. You are created in the image of the Almighty God, and my prayer is that you will spend your life trying to glorify and please Him. We will keep disciplining you and keep praying for you and keep squeezing you, and my deepest prayer is that you will become a true man of God. That’s the only true way to delight in life.

Happy second birthday, sweetheart! Daddy and I love you and are so thankful for you!

Mommy

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A birthday party fit for a…dragonslayer?

April 14, 2011 By 5 Comments

On April 2, the day after Caleb’s birthday, we had a whole slew of kiddos come to the Rumley Ranch for a birthday celebration. Yep, 13 kids came. Add our four in, and (in case you can’t add) that’s SEVENTEEN children at our house. What was I thinking?!

Actually, it went really well, and the kids had a blast.

Here’s the cake that inspired the dragon theme…

The kids ran around like crazy, playing with the balloons and screaming…

They ate a lot…



Here’s a shot of the dragon with his wings. I had the brilliant idea to put the candles deep into his mouth, so he looked like he was breathing fire. It turned out pretty well! (And the kids loved it!)

And the last highlight of the party – a cardboard tunnel/maze for the kiddos to play in! Doesn’t look that pretty from the outside, but it was really fun for the kids.


And, of course, there were presents.

Thanks to everyone who came! We had a GREAT time!

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