Rachel's fake birthday and other happenings

When Rachel found out that her dad wasn't going to be here for her birthday she cried. So I decided to pull something together to celebrate before he leaves. So on Friday night (exactly a month before her 'real' birthday) we had a cake and icecream and opened up gifts. We went around the table as we were eating dinner and Zach had the idea to say somthing nice about Rachel by using the letters in her name. So the person that started had to say something nice about her using the R and then the next had to use the A an so forth. It was cute to hear what each person came up with. And Rachel LOVED hearing things about her self that others appreciated. We tried playing the princess card game she got but it was actually really confusing and I couldn't figure it out. So instead we put together a bracelet with the beads she received. It turned out pretty cute. It was a nice time. As I was putting her to bed she came up with calling it her 'fake birthday'. So she is ALMOST 6 and actually acts more like a teenager. I truly do not know where she gets some of her ideas. But she is very fun and has alot of energy and spunk. She is rarely in a bad mood and if she does get mad it doesn't last very long. She is a huge blessing in our home. She is very determined and sometimes that determination is hard to direct and gets a bit frustrating. It is pretty much her way or NO WAY. And the problem with that is I have that same idea. :) We love her and are so glad we were able to have daddy around to celebrate with us. Happy FAKE birthday Rach.

Friday night as I was putting the girls to sleep Don took Caleb, Zach and Ethan to town. He told the boys that Valentines Day is a day for girls. He picked out a dozen roses for me and let the boys pick out something for Rachel and Mayah. They ended up picking some very cute little stuffed animals. The girls both slept with their animals and Mayah took her kitty to church with her. Rachel had a cute red bear with a heart at the end of its tail. It was cute and it was such a nice way to help the boys understand about giving.

Don has been working hard non stop these last few days trying to get a bunch of stuff done before he leaves again. Tomorrow we are planting five apple trees. There is a bunch of brush and yucky blackberry bushes that all need pulled out. Zach, Caleb and Ethan have been helping with that. There is just so much that he wants to do but doesn't have time for. So I am pretty sure I will get the vote to finish it up. I don't mind.