Happy Birthday Weekend for Mary Clare!

Whew! This past weekend was a doozy!!! There was so many things going on last week with Tim being in Arizona, a still lingering sinus infection (me), Attic Affair, and Mary Clare's big birthday weekend that I feel like I am just now recovering from the festivities! In fact there were so many things going on last week that I forgot to order Mary Clare's birthday cake....even after Jaclyn reminded me to at lunch two days before the party. I STILL didn't get it done, and was scrambling for a cake plan on Friday afternoon. Luckily my friend Lauren saved the day and sent me her grandmother's recipe for the cupcakes for the kiddos, and I used the Chocolate Sheet Cake from the Pioneer Woman cookbook for the actual birthday cake. They were thebombalicious! In fact - I ate probably two cups of cake batter Friday night, which was very detrimental to my Weight Watchers weight loss journey. I'll let you know what progress - if any - was made this week on my weight loss journey when I weigh Friday!

Saturday morning daddy took the-last-day-to-be-one-year-old to the Browse Shop to get her a pair of official cowgirl boots for her western themed birthday party that afternoon. She was ecstatic and apparently kept screaming with delight in the store. I believe him, because this was the same girl who was screaming with extreme anger at her mama Saturday night when her pink John Deere boots had to come off. I guess she wanted to sleep in them......

Wearing her pink cowgirl party hat watching the Brumley boys ride the horses around the yard.

Easy killer.....getting on the horse for the first time.

It's amazing to me that this child is deathly afraid of dogs, yet she rode the horse like she's been doing it all of her life. See her sister in the background? Kate stayed on the horses the entire duration of the party. And when I say that I mean ALL DAY! She would get off to let other kids ride, but as soon as the kids got off and lost interest Kate got back on. Let me just say Tim REALLY wants to move to Windthorst now!

Our sweet friends that we actually consider family Theresa and Chuck Berend drove up from Fort Worth Saturday morning and spent the night with us. Here is Kate & MC posing with only two of their children Evie and Luke because little brother George wasn't interested in iPhone camera time.

Sunday morning started off in a hurry as Kate and I were rushing to FUMC so Kate could sing with the Cherub Choir at their service that morning. Here is the little choir girl waiting in her robe for her debut. I really think she was too exhausted to smile..............

Kate is the first child on the back row. The choir did very well!!

After a birthday lunch with Grammy, Grampy, Aunt Coco & Aunt Coco's boyfriend Trevor, Tim took Kate and the birthday girl went on a road trip to OKC to pick up one of Tim's employees from the airport. They made it back in time for us to enjoy some play time at Kiwanis Park.

What an amazing weekend! I don't know if it was all the physical work that had to go into making the weekend so special for Mary Clare that wore me out, or if it was just the overwhleming gratitude I felt all weekend that emotionally drained me. Thank you to all of our family and friends that came to celebrate our sweet Mary Clare's birthday. Your unconditional love and friendship overwhlems me and makes my heart swell with love. May God continue to abundantly bless you and your family as much as He does for Tim and I.

Tim & I can't imagine our lives with out our precious Mary Clare. Mary Clare, the baby that I was so scared of losing because of the complications I was having during my pregnancy. The baby that the doctors in WF and Fort Worth scared me into believing was possibly going to have permanent physical or mental challenges for the rest of her life.

But by offering it up to God - by letting go and letting Him - I was at peace knowing that she was going to be the child God created her to be.

She is the precious little girl with blonde hair and big blue eyes that absolutely adores her big sister.

The beautiful daughter of mine that is terrified of dogs, crazy about her Grammy, loves horses, loves to read, loves to eat, loves to smile, loves to laugh,

and loves singing Amazing Grace............

Happy Birthday my precious pretty. I pray every day that I will be the mother God wants me to be to you and your sister. I pray that as you grow that you have an undivided heart, and that you will walk in the truth of the Lord. I pray for your faith, your character, your decisions, your friends, your future husband. I thank God multiple times daily for you and sissy.

I love you with all my heart,

mommy

xoxo