Happy Birthday Kirsten!

She has looked forward to this day for so long, & it FINALLY arrived. February 12 was Kirsten's 6th birthday & her first birthday with us. First thing in the morning I told Kirsten that God had the first gift of the day for her. He made it snow so she could have the day off school. She smiled from ear to ear. I think she thought it was just as special to have a gift from God for her birthday as it was to have the day off. We had to sing Happy Birthday first thing & give her a cupcake with breakfast. They went outside to play of course, and finally when Dad got home from work the birthday fun began. It was a special night. I personally was a little nervous about the cake that I made for Kirsten. She wanted a Barbie cake & I just couldn't justify spending $50 on a cake. I tried making my own. I kept calling my friend Maren for advice. She saw my hilarious example of a Pirate Ship cake last year for Josh's birthday. She didn't want any other children to have to relive my "theme cakes". Just kidding Maren. Anyway, it turned out better that I thought. That night as Kirsten & I were writing in her diary, she said her favorite part of the birthday was the cake. So, amen to that. I guess another child has lived through my experiments. Kirsten was just so tickled with all her gifts. After everything was open & we all just sat eating cake & ice cream, she came running over & said, "Mommy, I love all my presents. Thank you." Gratefulness is the best attribute a person can have. It's gratifying to know she is learning things here that will make her a better person know matter where life leads her. Even if it turns out that she goes back home, she will taking home more than she brought.