My Baby is 9!

When I think about the last 9 years of my life, it seems to have flown by and stood still all at once. My life changed 9 years ago when we welcomed Lexi Ray into our lives. She is a blessing to so many and I'm so thankful that she is mine. It's so much fun watching the young lady she's turning into. She's so full of life and I can't wait to see what the future holds for her. I pray that she will grow to be a noble, courageous, kind, trustworthy, confident, humble, hardworking, patient, generous woman of God. That she will be bold enough to stand for what she believes in and loving enough to accept differences. Someone who is satisfied by the little things that life holds, but dreams for big things too. I hope that I can share in her joys, help her through her heartaches, and know when to stand by and let her make important decisions.

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This year after much pleading on my part, we opted not to have another slumber party. We settled on every other year...yeah me! We celebrated her birthday by taking 5 special girls to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and go ice skating. We couldn't have ended up with a better bunch either. They were wonderful little ladies and brought joy to my heart as I watched them help each other across the ice. It took about 45 minutes of warming up before they decided they were ready to become professionals. Tatum loved to grab my hand and lift her foot up off the ice without telling me...it was pretty cute! She also tried to sweet talk me into an ice skating outfit (and if I was rich, I would've given in!). Sweet Addie is a little fighter! She doesn't quit. Fall after fall, she never gave up or complained, just kept trying. Riley played it safe and stayed close to the wall or helped the little girls out by checking on them. Mia was a natural and took to the ice in 15 minutes. Lexi too! She was all over the place and even did a few spin moves. Best of all though, was watching them interact with a new friend. There was a sweet little fellow that we met almost immediately, who helped us with our skates, escorted us around the ice, and reminded us to use our manners. He was precious in his black helmet and gloves and the girls were so incredibly kind to him that we became his new best friends. My heart was so full of love for these little girls and their loving hearts!