HAPPY BIRTHDAY TESSA!!!

Well, today our little girl turns 9 year old! We still can’t believe it! She is such a sweet girl and we are so blessed to have her in our lives! She is one of the most compassionate, kind, and caring little kids I know. She LOVES to help out in any way she can, whether it’s cleaning the house, doing laundry or dishes, helping with yard work, reading to her little brothers, helping her teachers at school, or just being nice to others. She absolutely LOVES animals, and LOVES riding horses. She wants to be a vet when she grows up, or possibly a physical therapist that works with kids with disabilities (on horses), or possibly a teacher or a nurse (she has lots of great ideas, but wants to help others). I love her sweet smile and laugh. She can be quiet and shy, and reserved in new situations, but get her at home with her brothers and she can be a crazy, goofy, spaz! She keeps us laughing and we are so grateful that she is our daughter! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TESSA!!

Here are some pictures from Tessa's & Jonah's class parties at school. Clay always loves going to those, because he gets treats too! Then there are some pictures from our Halloween. PJ was one of Santa's elves (then later he changed his mind and was a magician), Tessa was a pretty witch, Jonah was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (I kept laughing at his "ninja moves"--they were hilarious), and Clay was Thomas the Tank Engine. We had a great time. We had pizza with our neighbors (it's kind of become our tradition each year since we moved here), then took the kids trick or treating. We've always gone to the Wal-Mart home office to trick or treat, but this year we decided to just go around our neighborhood instead. The weather was perfect! The kids all had a great time and got loads of candy.

Then on Saturday we did some things for Tessa's birthday, since it fell on a Sunday this year. She had her riding lesson in the morning, while Neil & PJ went to a service project with our church, then after that we took the kids rollerskating. Neil and I even put on skates. I SO wish I had gotten a picture of Neil falling a few times when he first got his skates on! It was too funny! He said he hasn't been skating since he was about 10 years old. I managed to go around a few times without falling at all (amazing, I know). However, any time I'm at the roller rink, I feel like I should be back in middle school with my "poodle doo", my favorite flourescent pink oversized sweatshirt, and matching leg warmers! We also had fun playing air hockey and Neil beat me every time! After that, we went out for dinner at The Olive Garden (Tessa's choice), and then came home and watched the movie "Kit Kittredge", that she's been wanting to see for a while. Then on Sunday, after dinner, we finished celebrating with cake and presents. It was a lot of fun and a great weekend!