Emme shares a special anniversary too.  Today my parents celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary!!!  We have much to celebrate in our family this evening!  Two Forevers!!  Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!  And Happy Forever Emme Jade!  We LOVE you!!

Well, if you know us well, you know that July is the busiest month of the year at our house... Busier than December, and busier then the end of the school year...  We packed in 4 birthday celebrations, cabin time, a weekend retreat, volleyball camps, swim team practices and the swim team Championships...  Ruby closed the month on the 31st by turning 7 on us!!!  Jeff and I left the same day for a long weekend in Aspen..  It was a crazy and special month!~

So, this post will really be a scrap book of the miles we traveled!!

Starting with Mr. Handsome's Birthday...   I could not top last year's 50th celebration.  Honestly, I couldn't even try...  So we celebrated 51 with the kids and "Camp H!"  I think he was OK with that!  We even got a family photo..  A rare thing around here!

Next we headed to Stockholm, WI for an awesome weekend with our family group...  We had no idea what to expect..  We were blown away by the beautiful retreat center we shared with our special group of friends.  We spent Sienna's birthday on "the farm!"  It was a two day celebration...  Some of my favorite photos from our weekend in WI!





OK - I am not done yet..  One more birthday to go!!!  Our sweet Ruby Mei closed the month by turning 7.  She and Sienna decided to do a party together this year.  We did it at a local art studio.  They loved it!!  (And, so did I!!!)

There is one question that people usually ask The Little Bean when they meet her...  How old are you?  She usually answers with a very excited, "Four and a-half..!"  Lately this has changed to "almost five!"  In most cases her answer is a surprise...  I think they would guess 3 or 4 if they didn't know her. Emme Jade might be tiny, but her personality is bigger than life.  She is one of the most joyful and outgoing little girls I know.  She loves big..  She loves her family, her best friends, her dogs, and her "my blankie!"  We have been blessed with a bright light in this little girl.  This begs the question...  How does a little girl who lived in an institution for three years of her life wake up so happy every day?  How does she sprinkle her pixie dust of happiness wherever she goes?  Clearly, we had nothing to do with this.  This is how God created The Little Bean...  He protected her, put people in her path to love her, and gave her an inner joy that can only come from Him.  I am so very thankful for that!


Emme's birthday falls on the first day of swim team champs for "The Middles."  So, we are doing a little cake celebration tonight with her neighborhood pals and Miss Bella...  Next week, I have a special lunch planned for the little BFF's...  I think Five is a very special birthday to celebrate!  Some of you have asked if Emme Jade is starting Kindergarten...  The answer is no..  She is going to a new pre-school three full days a week.  She LOVES school, and I know this will be a great growth year for her in so many ways.


The Little Bean blessed me today by letting me steal her for a mini-photoshoot..  We snuck out so nobody would see her birthday dress.  She was so excited!  Here's a glimpse at our new five year old!

As we go into the home stretch of swim team this week, I need to stop to catch up on a little girl who celebrated her eighth birthday on Saturday!  In some ways her first birthday at home feels like yesterday.  She had only been home three months.  We have traveled a lot of miles together since that first party together.  She gets more confident and more beautiful every day.