Erin Joy's Birthday Party Report

Erin Joy's Birthday Party

We had to reschedule Erin Joy's birthday's party because she was sick with the flu the day of her party.  It seemed strange to celebrate her birthday two weeks after, but she didn't mind.

We went to a ceramic painting place because Erin Joy loves art.

Erin Joy enjoyed painting her unicorn.  

Her handprint was added to the birthday wall.

She really wanted the peanut butter chocolate cupcakes.  

Instead of receiving presents, Erin Joy asked her friends to make a donation to Starfish Foster Home in honor of Faith, a child with a PWS birthmark similar to Erin Joy's.  Of course, this idea was her mother's.  I talked to her about it earlier on several occasions and she seemed very excited about it.  I reminded her in the car that she would be receiving money for Faith instead of presents.  At the party, however, she kept asking about presents and wanting presents.  Argh...

Group picture:

The wind just about carried her away with all the balloons.  She enjoyed playing at the park with her friends after painting.

We then went to McDonald's, her choice for her birthday dinner.  She was so excited about her little bear she got in her Happy Meal.  She said the bear was the only present she wanted for her birthday and Faith could have all the money as long as she could keep her bear.  (She did receive family presents on her birthday two weeks ago, but she has a short memory).

While eating dinner, Rachel said that she might ask for donations for her birthday too.  I was stunned.  I didn't think Rachel would ever do anything like that.  I hope she does.  I hope both my girls grow up knowing how important it is to give to others.  Generosity, kindness, and compassion are qualities I really want my children to develop.  Besides, we have enough junk and toys cluttering our house:)

Here is a picture of sweet little Faith.  I hope she is adopted soon.  

By the way, Erin Joy has had 13 laser treatments on her birthmark.  It is amazing how much lighter it is than little Faith's.  Erin Joy's birthmark was just as dark as Faith's before her laser treatments.  

I just have to compare pictures.  Here is a picture of Erin Joy as a baby:

I just learned from Amanda's blog at Chinese Starfish, that we share the same religious beliefs. I had no idea, but that makes our little donation even more exciting to me.  Happy birthday, Erin Joy!  Thanks for being generous and making a donation to a good cause:)

Teacher Erin Joy

Erin Joy enjoys writing messages to my students.  She is very proud that she figured out how to spell "PE" all by herself:) Here is the message she wrote this morning:

Fun Halloween Dessert

Rachel's teacher came for a visit tonight. Her teacher is crazy...she is doing home visits with her students. I would never have enough energy or time to do that for my students, but we are grateful that Rachel's teacher is so ambitious. Rachel has been excited for her special visit. She had a hard time sleeping last night in anticipation of the fun night.

We had a fun time making pizza, playing games, watching videos of Rachel when she was a baby, and making "ghosts in the graveyard" dessert.

Here are a few pictures of our very sugary dessert:

My Great Entertainers

I love watching all the shows my children perform.  Here is last night's performance (notice the lyrics Erin Joy carefully wrote on the paper and please ignore the messy house...):

Larrabee State Park

The weather has been so beautiful. Being stuck inside with sick kids has really given me cabin fever. Yesterday afternoon, we celebrated Erin Joy finally being fever-free and drove along the beautiful Chuckanut Drive and stopped at Larrabee State Park. We didn't see very many people and we were careful to keep our distance from the few people we saw so none of our germs would reach others.  

It was so beautiful.  I loved the autumn colors, the crisp cool air, and the gentle breeze over the ocean.  I really enjoy living in the Northwest.  There are so many gorgeous places to explore.  I hope my girls love it as much as I do.

 

This is how Erin Joy looked after our little drive:

 

I told her to wait on the couch and we would read stories before bed.  She never heard stories:)

Salmon

Rachel and I watched the Pink/Humpy/Humpback salmon spawn in our river while Erin Joy and her germs stayed home. Spawning salmon is one of the many things I love about fall and love about living in a beautiful area. Rachel thought the fish were disgusting...especially the dead ones. We also checked out the Arbor Day trees we have planted by the river and included a couple of pictures of the trees at the end of the little movie.

Enjoy our spawning Pink Salmon!

H1N1 Virus

Both girls have been very sick and tested positive for the H1N1 virus (swine flu). They are slowly recovering, but it has been a long week.  Erin Joy has been especially sick and spent a lot of time looking like this:
Bella Kitty has kept close vigil and enjoyed snuggling with Erin Joy.  

I have read two books so far.  The first was kind of boring and not worth talking about. The second one, A Walk in the Woods, was very entertaining.  Bill Bryson's writing style reminds me of Dave Barry or Patrick McManus.  He is very funny.  Several times I was laughing so hard that Rachel asked me to leave the room or shut the door between us.  Erin Joy was usually on my lap and told me to stop laughing because I was jiggling too much and it made her hurt all over.  Sorry girls.  It felt good to laugh hard in between worrying about my kids:)

If you want to learn more about the Appalachian Trail and want to read something humorous, this is a good choice.  Actually, I care nothing about the Appalachian Trail and just wanted something light, but found it interesting to learn about the trail...

I am very grateful I checked out three books at the library last week not knowing that my girls would get so sick and we'd be stuck in the house.  The girls and I have done a few art projects and played games.  We have been watching magic rocks grow, too.  I have also caught up on scrapbooking and had a great time playing cards online with my sisters.  The next thing on my list is to disinfect this house and maybe cross stitch and maybe read the third book I checked out.  

Of course, top of my list is to take care of my sweet girls and to keep praying that they continue to recover. 

Tooth Fairy Time!

Look who lost her first tooth!  She's been sick so she hasn't enjoyed her missing first tooth as much as she should.  After the tooth fairy visits tonight, I bet she perks right up:)  Poor Rachel has been sick too.

Notice her hair poking up.  This is what happens when you give yourself a hair cut.

Love the beautiful smile!  Even cuter with a tooth gone:)

No Party Today

This is how my children look at the moment. Erin Joy is sick. She is very sad that her party had to be canceled. We will have her party another weekend. Rachel is just sleepy (I hope...) I am just bored. I am used to being busy and staying home with a sick child is not my idea of fun. 

They do look peaceful when they are sleeping.  It is finally quiet too.  No more complaining from Rachel and just an occasional cough from Erin Joy.  Maybe I'll do something productive like scrapbook or cross stitch.  I am enjoying listening to conference.  I usually miss the Saturday session and just listen to Sunday, but this time I get to hear both.

Mid Autumn Festival

Erin Joy's birthday was the same day as Mid-Autumn Festival this year.   What a great way to spend her birthday! The weather was surprisingly nice.  It has been raining all week.  It was pouring in the morning and cleared up nicely by the afternoon.  We actually saw the full moon!!!  Yeah!!!

Happy Birthday, Erin Joy!!!

Look who is six years old!She wanted a chocolate cake with pink frosting.  That is what we ordered and that is what the tag said when we picked it up.  It is a white cake with white frosting.  Sweet Erin Joy said, "That's okay, Mommy.  I really love it.  It's just what I wanted."  What a great kid!  

The cake was free from our local grocery store so we can't complain too much.  They give free cakes on kids' birthdays.
She loved both of her presents.  She is such a gracious receiver.  Both of her gifts were "just what she wanted."  Oh good.  That is all she is getting.  She is having a birthday party tomorrow but instead of gifts, she has asked her friends to bring a donation for a child in China.

I love you, Erin Joy!!!  Happy Birthday!