Our Birthday Valentine

We started a new tradition this year where Mom and Dad would write somethng special about each child and put it on the wall every day leading up to Valentine's Day. Each morning the girls would run up to the wall and try and find their new heart and read what was on it. It was really fun for all of us and a great new tradition to start out the year. 

So when February 14 came around, we were all ready to show our love and gratitude to Lorelei, our birthday girl. Daddy was up bright and early making her somethng special she could try for the first time~ crab cakes for breakfast.

She was a little apprehensive at first, but she loved them!

For her birthday present, she got what she had been wanting for a long time, a Harry Styles shirt from One Direction.

That night, our sweet neighbors surprised her and brought over some lanterns to light up and let go. We were all so excited, though both Meredith and Cole were too scared of the fire to hold them.

 

So Daddy helped Lorelei until it was ready to go and be lifted off. It was so beautiful, and knew it was something we would love to do again...

...until we had a couple of girls in our ward come and help us with the other ones. It started alright until the last lantern got caught in our neighbors tree and threatened to burn their house down and the neighborhood along with it. Then, after a minor heart attack and thoughts of 'what-things-do-I-need-to-run-in-the-house-and-get-before-the-house-burns-down' ran through a mother's brain, the lantern finally got itself unstuck and floated up in the air. After all the lanterns were safely as far away from us as possible, a police car comes slowly around the corner, obviously trying to see what idiots were setting off floating fires in a tree-lined residential area. Luckily, they saw we were without the contraband and didn't see us as a threat.

 

The next weekend we had Lorelei's Birthday Party! She was able to invite some girls from church and also ALL of the girls in her school class, all nine of them.

We had pizza, a really yummy "love potion" drink, and played some old and new minute to win games. One of the girls' moms came up to us after the party and said her daughter said it was the funnest party she had ever been too. Well, of course!!

Happy Birthday, Our Sweet Girl. We grow prouder of you everyday. You never cease to amaze us with your humor and wit and your kind heart. You have told us that even though we go through hard times in life it is all part of Heavenly Father's plan. So much faith for such a young girl. Life can be hard and sometimes cruel, but everytime we see you smile and move on with a happy heart, we know that there is nothing in your path you cannot conquer.

We love you.