Mandy's 18th Birthday Party and Other Events....

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble". Psalms 46:1

We celebrated Mandy's 18th birthday on Saturday, May 9th. Her birthday is May 13th. I am including pictures of the celebration which took place in Sharon's yard. A good time was enjoyed by all. The picture of Shane and Nicholas on top of the playhouse is showing them doing what they love to do.......climb! The two older gentlemen are my father and father-in-law. There are many precious people to me in my life and I am so blessed. These are two of them. Mandy 17th birthday celebration last year was in the exact same place and the pictures from that celebration are almost identical to this year's with two BIG exceptions. My mother was in the pictures from last year and there is actually one on a previous post from last year with her and my mother-in-law. The other exception is that Abigail is with us this year! It was a bittersweet celebration for our family as I know how much it hurts Sharon not to have our mother with us to celebrate Mandy's 18th birthday and her high school graduation that is coming up on May 30th.

After the birthday celebration, Andy took the little ones for a ride on his 4-wheeler. Abigail was right in line for her ride and enjoyed it very much. It is one of Nicholas' favorite things to do with his dad. I am including a picture of the kids playing in the front yard. I must confess that I took the picture hoping to capture the flowers. I missed the peak for my azaleas but oh, well...... I love Spring in Virginia. Aren't you homesick for Virginia, John?

My husband and children were wonderful to me for Mother's Day. John and Melissa sent me a lovely bouquet of flowers, Jeremy gave me a beautiful card and chocolates, John gave me a card and dress and my two little ones gave me a sweet card! They also made me a lovely 8 1/2 x 11 card with their pictures on it in Sunday School. As usual, John made me breakfast and one of the best gifts of all!.......after church he took Shane and Abigail to the park to play so I could take a nap! Naps are few and far between these days so it is always a treat to get one.

Abigail is doing great. She can be very affectionate and I love it when she gives a kiss or a hug without prompting. She can squeeze her little arms around your neck so tight. Her English is growing day by day. I am still amazed that I have a daughter. Have I said lately how much I enjoy dressing her up in pretty dresses and fixing her hair for Sunday School?

I sent our baby granddaughter a small gift (she is due to make her arrival on July 15th!). John was kind enough to take a picture of it with his lovely wife so I am including it for all to see. We are spending 2 nights at Virginia Beach next week and are looking forward to the small break before I return to work on June 8th. Abigail has an MRI, ultrasound, and other tests to be done on June 2nd and June 4th........not to mention that Mandy graduates high school on May 30th so we have a couple of busy weeks ahead of us.