Happy Birthday, Sweet Rachel!

Rachel began her birthday celebration at Lake Quinault where our good friend Jean gave her some earrings, a headband, and a card listing 11 reasons why she loves Rachel.

 I can't believe my baby is 11 years old today!  She has grown up to be such a fine young lady.  I love her so much.  Part of our new birthday tradition includes writing one thing I love about the birthday girl for every year she has been alive (thanks Jean for the good idea).  I hide the notes along with a little treat.  Erin Joy had 9 candy bars hidden around the house with special notes attached to each one.  Rachel made it very clear that she didn't want candy or food of any kind.  I ended up hiding 11 pop-up monsters around the house and in her backpack with 11 reasons why I love her.  It was  a lot of fun.

Here are 11 reasons I love Rachel (the reasons might not be the same as the reason I gave her, I'm not sure where she put the papers)...

1.  I love you, Rachel because you are so responsible.  You always do your own homework and stay caught up in your class.

2.  I love you, Rachel because you are usually so kind to your sister, Erin Joy.

3.  I love you Rachel because you are so organized and help me stay organized too!

4.  I love you, Rachel because you set goals for yourself and work hard to achieve them.

5.  I love you, Rachel because you are a great ice skater and gymnast and I enjoy watching you.

6.  I love you, Rachel because you practice the piano (even though you don't like it) and practice the flute. I love hearing you play music.  I love music!

7.  I love you, Rachel because you are fun to be with. I enjoy traveling with you and having adventures.

8.  I love you, Rachel because you love to read and I love to talk about good books with you.

9.  I love you, Rachel because you know the difference between right and wrong and you strive hard to choose the right.

10.  I love you, Rachel because you are inquisitive and always want to know about the world around you.

11.  I love you, Rachel because you are sweet, kind, and a wonderful daughter! I am so blessed to be your mom!

Thank-you grandma for the great books and craft projects and the money.  Thank-you Erin Joy for the umbrella.   Rachel has wanted an umbrella because she is a member of the safety patrol team and must stand in the rain holding a flag to help students cross the street.

 Her gift from me is coming next weekend so I am so thankful that her sister and Grandma always give her gifts too.

 We put up the tree every year on Rachel's birthday. Fun!!!

 This is the first year I have let the girls do the lights.  It was a bit of a tangled mess.

 Evidence of tangled lights...

 Our tree will never be fancy, but it will always be full of good memories.  Each girl gets an ornament with their picture every year.  They also have a lot of ornaments that they have made.  We enjoy talking about the ornaments and other Christmas memories as we decorate the tree.

 It is a bit over-decorated, but we like it!

 I sure love these girls!