It's her first birthday with with her new family!
Since joining us in December she has watched a few of the children have birthday celebrations!
Abby was in January and Sarah was early March!
She has been counting down the days until it was her turn!
And finally,
March 31st arrived!
Her gift list was long and ever changing!
Anna and Jenny wrote their lists together (bc Anna's b-day was two days after Jenny's!)
Anna took Jenny under her wing and explained how we do it at our house-
the birthday gift list
picking out their cake
deciding what they want for dinner
and sometimes picking out a fun family activity.
Jenny decided she wanted to go to
go to a family movie for her activity!
So we went to "Miracles From Heaven".
It was really good! A tear jerker but wonderful!
We had a great family discussion about faith, life (which is not always easy) and miracles.
Then we opened gifts at home!
Two days before her big day she changed it up and decided she wanted roller blades.
What a great idea! So I asked her, "Do you want roller blades instead of the bike?"
Silence...
pause...
No, I want the bike!
(Whew, because we had already bought the bike and we have lots of roller blades at our house!)
Your turn sweet girl!
YESSSS!
It's your birthday and it has finally arrived!
Your time is NOW!
Enjoy!
We give 4 presents!
Sometimes there are a few extra things stuffed in a box and sometimes not.
Jenny chose Lea,
the American girl doll of the year!
Her very first American girl doll, ever!
Hold it!
Where's the birthday girl?
Ahhhh, there she is!
I'm standing on the table just to get pics!
Bad Mom!
And there's Dad!
Relaxed, not worried about a thing... Mr type B!
I love being married to a B type kinda guy!
(I have a bit enough A in me for the both of us!)
Unless you want the light bulbs changed or...
I'm gonna stop there because I'd rather have a dimly lit room then any other option!
We are all truly blessed to have our "Mr type B"!
Oh man!
A matching outfit with Lea!
FUN!
And an artist outfit!
Jacket, dress and leggings
complete with paint splotches!
And a random bike helmet...
Why would she need that?
TaDa!
Unless, it's to go with her new, very own bike!
Thanks for helping out Sam!
You are a great delivery boy!
Jenny was thrilled with her new bike!
We did have her practice on our old, smaller bikes,
so she could get used to riding again after a long winter!
We also explained to the other children that Jenny's vision is impaired on her right side
and that they need to give her space and not get too close.
Sometimes they play follow the leader and they ALL end up running into each other!
We wanted Jenny to feel comfortable and confident when she rides her new bike!
She is already a pro at riding it!
Didn't take long!
We are starting to take individual pics with our children when it's there birthday!
For post placement reports and for memories!
We went out to dinner in the evening!
Two peas in a pod!
But they always include their other sibs!
These two have hearts of gold and they are nice to everyone!
It is a blessing to have such positive leaders in our family!
Definitely, God's plan!
The children LOVE watching the chef cook!
HaPpY BiRtHdAy!
Thinking of a wish!
It was so cute, she didn't know how to blow out the candle!
But finally, she got it!
And she had a few helpers when it came time to eating the dessert!
Big brother Johnny joined us for the celebration!
Yes, we were stuffed but we can't forget about the birthday cake!
Jenny picked a beach scene for her cake!
She loved our family time in Florida!
When the pics where taken she was still deciding on her bangs...
I love her in bangs and I was careful not to influence her.
We wanted her to have the opportunity to make the decision
At first she looked at her sisters and wanted to grow them out
but then later decided to keep them.
I love her bob, too but she has decided to grow out the rest of her hair!
After 9 years in an orphanage and unable to have any control over her hair
it is freeing for Jenny and for our other kids to finally have some say
over their own hair!
When the kids live in an orphanage
the Nanny's decide when to cut hair
and when to shave heads...
It doesn't matter if you are a girl or a boy, you can have your head shaved at any time.
It may be because of a hot summer and no air conditioning or an outbreak of lice,
a lack of brushes or multiple heads filled with snarls...
All of our children have shared about having their heads shaved
or their hair randomly hacked off...
That's one of the many reasons we have lots of girls with long hair!
She loved having everyone sing
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to YOU,
Happy Birthday Dear Jenny,
Happy Birthday to You!
And it just so happens this girls has the best voice of all our crew!
I was so pleasantly surprised when I heard her sing!
Blowing out eleven candles was challenging...
(I absolutely LOVE her dimple in her right cheek!)
But she did it and smiled all the while!
Way to go honey!
Happy 11th Birthday!
