Happy Birthday Hero!

Dearest Hero,

We love you so much! We tell you all the time, but it is true. A friend of mine recently said, "I've never heard of anyone having difficulties because they were told 'I love you' too much." So we will be telling you all the time. We love you.

You are such a delight. This last year you've matured greatly: as an artist, sister, friend, daughter, Jesus follower, storyteller, cook, housekeeper, dancer, listener, student, and as one participating in life. Hey, we love you!!!

One of our favorite things about this last year with you, has been your ability to relate. You are becoming more aware of those around you. You're beginning to elevate those you come into contact with. The fruit of this is seen in Asher. The more you put her and others first, the more she does the same with us.

It's so beautiful to see you blossom in your role as sister/leader. (We love you.) You are taking on more responsibility with Amara and Asher on your own. We don't ask to do as much because you see opportunities to be helpful and you help. We can also see you being a great friend to Asher. Through your leadership and example we can see how she is going to be a joy to others.

You are getting super good at making and being a friend. There are definite hurdles, but we can see how you push yourself to grow and to be a better companion. It is especially neat to see your growth in making friends. You've even made friends at Trader Joe's, that our entire family is blessed by. You are showing, through your example, the joy and excitement that comes when we make new friends. We love you!

We are truly looking forward to seeing what being a five-year-old is like for you. You are beginning your first year of home-school as a kindergartener and so far you've been doing so well. We love you! We also can't wait to get you into dance. You have such a gift to dance and we are anxious to see you get your chance to shine in that arena.

Our Adventurous Beauty, we could not have asked GOD for a better first daughter! We love you! You are just right for this family and we definitely need you!

Love Always,

Dad, Mom, Asher, and Amara

Yosemite

We had such an amazing time in Yosemite! We only were there for 4 nights and 5 days, but it was incredible nonetheless.

Preparing to go, was so crazy. I had no idea that it would entail so much. We started to get ready for our trip about a week and a half in advance just to make sure we had everything. (Which I think we did?)

We left for our trip at 4:30 am. We made such good time by leaving so early, I highly recommend it. We only stopped two times and all three girls handled the trip up with no difficulties. We are so blessed to have such easy girls. I was expecting some fussing, but the fussing didn't start until we started to set up camp, so the first night they went to sleep reasonably early. Actually, we all did.

So, the reason we went to Yosemite was for Wesley's family reunion. They have some fun traditions: floating down the river, a talent show, and enjoying a family potluck. Wesley's favorite was the river, we floated down it a couple of times. I had the honor of hosting the talent show and with the help of some creative judges and nice stage, it turned out really well! One tradition they have is just crazy, though. We went to this beach and had a nice lunch, then we swam in insanely cold water to sit on a rock. It was freezing. I couldn't believe they got into the water on purpose. I swam to the rock, just so I could say that I did it. That's it... I'm never doing it again.

Here was my favorite part, though: cooking! It sounds crazy, since I was on vacation, but I absolutely loved it!! The best meal, hands down, was hobo stew. It consisted of kielbasa, potatoes, onions, corn, garlic-pepper, butter, and salt. I double wrapped all the ingredients in foil and placed it over hot coals for an hour. Everyone came over to have a taste... it makes my mouth water, just remembering it. The other meal, Wes really enjoyed, was bacon wrapped hot dogs topped with grilled onions! Mhmm! I'm looking forward to going camping again to try more recipes like that.

The trip ended on two highlights: The first great event took place during a morning walk. Diana took a walk with one of the girls, she then came back, extremely excited, telling us that she had just seen a mother deer with her two fawns! We walked back to where she had seen them and there they were, coming toward us. The three deer trotted right passed us and proceeded to enter the housekeeping sites. They led us all the way to our own site. They stopped right in the middle of our family's area to nurse. We couldn't believe it! It was so amazing.

The second story I have to share is more my brother-in-law's, but it was still awesome. So Chip and some cousins decided to sleep on cots and mattresses outside. They didn't fall asleep until around 1am and just before sleeping they were laughing hysterically about seeing bears and betting one another about who would see the most. About an hour later, Chip, a very light sleeper, awoke to see a bear! He proceeded to see bears (I think 5 and they may have been the same ones) until 5am. The last bear was large and he had had it. So, Wesley wakes up to Chip banging and yelling at the top of his lungs. Wes says the bear was so large, that though he didn't see it, he heard it gallop away. Chip is our hero!!! Oh, I should also let you know, it may have been my fault Chip had no sleep. I left a candle out and one of the bears was going through our things. Oops! Sorry Chip. Lesson learned.