Our Birthday Girl

On September 23, our Debbie-Girl turned 8 years old.  To this Mama, that sounds so grown-up...doesn't 8 sound so much older than 7? 

 My baby girl's first pair of shoes.  Don't they look so sweet?!

Debbie's Sunday shoes

Her birthday wish was that she be able to ride a horse.  (Our original plan was to travel down to the capitol city and go bowling and let her pick out her gift; but due to the roads being blocked by the disgruntled teachers here, we were advised not to go.)  So we came up with Plan B:  to go to a local park where Debbie could ride a horse and where we could have a birthday picnic.

Debbie woke up and smiled when she came into the living room...she was excited to see the birthday sign I had put up the night before after she went to bed.

I fixed one of her favorite breakfasts:  French toast with cinnamon.  Before we sat down to eat breakfast, I prepared a scavenger hunt so she could have fun looking for the gift that her Daddy and I had bought for her.  She and Andrew had fun running through the house and yard, following the clues to find her gift.  The last one said, "The nose of an elephant is called a ________; look there, and you will end this hunt."  Yep...it was hidden in the trunk of the car.  She was thrilled with the dress-up teddy bear we had gotten for her.

Mimi had a very special birthday card (as she does for everyone every year!) with the cutest little poem:

"Once upon eight years ago, an angel came from Heaven

And brought a lovely Princess down, and she's no longer seven.

Horses, dogs and peacocks this Princess would love to own

And maybe her wish just might come true before she's even grown."

I wanted a picture of Debbie and her Mimi together, but Mimi said, "No!  Look at my hair!  It looks horrible!"  So Debbie just took off her hat and put it on Mimi's head, and look at the adorable picture that I got.  What a sweet, treasure this picture is!!!

We finally got our picnic things together and drove out to the park where we were to meet some little friends.  But when we pulled up to the park, it was...closed!!! (We had forgotten they don't open on Mondays!)  So we went to Plan C, which was to drive to another park not far from there, where we had a lovely birthday picnic and a fun time with our friends.

We came home and rested some, and then it was time to pack up and leave Mimi's house.  Debbie was disappointed she would have to leave Mimi's on her birthday; but Daddy had to be at work early on Tuesday morning.  So travel we did, and we had a nice trip (all three children slept the whole way, which made for a nice time for Daddy and Mommy to have a sweet visit).

As we drove into our town, Daddy said, "Debbie, it's still your birthday.  Do you want to go get some tacos for supper?"  "Yes!" was her prompt response.  So we went to the best taco place in town and had a delicious supper, ending her day with a sweet family time.

She didn't get to ride a horse for her birthday, for which she was just a wee bit disappointed.  But her Daddy told her that to the best of his ability, he would find a way for her to ride a horse BEFORE September ends.  (Hurry up, Daddy! You only have 3 more days!)

 Debbie sleeping with her birthday gifts

That night, when I kissed her sweet head as she drifted off into dream-land, I thanked the Lord for this sweet, witty, talkative little girl with which He has blessed our home.  She is truly a ray of sunshine in our world.  She has such wonderful qualities, and a heart full of love.  She is a natural baby-sitter to our Baby Tommy Greg; and she absolutely adores her Daddy.

Little girls are just a lot of fun, aren't they?  I look forward to seeing how much fun 8-year-old little girls are.

We love you, Sweet Debbie-Jolenie!!!