5

Today we celebrated our precious Alayna, who turned 5 years old. Oh, how we enjoy this little girl! She has been such an incredible addition to our family. Her smile can light up a room. On my worst days, she can make me laugh. It was nice to put aside a day to celebrate her life. So often over the past few years, she's gotten pushed to the wayward because one of her brothers requiring so much of us. But, she never complained or tried to get our attention with negative behavior. She just tried to include herself in everything--with Ezra's therapies, doctor appointments, feedings, or Jeremiah's teacher conferences, school activities, play dates with friends. But, now, she's her own little person. She has play dates and school activities of her own. And she embraces life with an enthusiasm and appreciation that we should possess ourselves. She is a pure delight.

We had her party this afternoon. With all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, not many people were able to join us, but we were so happy to have my parents, Peter's mother and brother, and a few friends over for some games and cake and ice cream. We played "Pin Alayna on the Castle" and Musical Mats. We took pictures galore! Peter's brother is a fantastic photographer and he brought a lot of his fancy equipment with him and took some great photos. Once he gets home to edit the photos, he'll send us a CD and we'll put together a slide show of the day. What a day it was!

For now, here are some photos the rest of us took.

Birthday Girl


Ready to Party


Games




CAKE




Presents!




Friends



HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS ALAYNA! WE LOVE YOU!