Happy 8th Birthday, Grace!

Grace is eight years old today! What a wonderful eight years it has been. Since the moment we laid eyes on Grace, we knew she was a special package sent straight from heaven. What a privilege it has been to have her sweet spirit in our home. Grandma Kathleen gave Grace the little china doll nickname because she was the most perfectly adorable baby we have ever seen. Happy Birthday, Grace!

Grace chose to have a party at home with her siblings. She planned out the whole day from what to eat for breakfast to party favors to the flavor of cake. But, first she wanted to have everyone create their own party hats. They turned out great and Parker even got to make a boy hat!

She was a bit spoiled this year. What's new? She is an excellent artist and crafter so she got a craft bag organizer that she can fit all of her art supplies in. But, her favorite gift is the two baby turtles she is holding in her hands. She named them Tina and Tiny. They are both under one year old and look like little old adorable men in a shell. Our whole family loves them, but they seem to like Grace the best. They love it when Grace pets their necks and they poke their little heads in and out for more strokes from Grace. It was love at first sight.

Later in the evening, Grace decided to let the turtles outside to get some sun and exercise. She closely supervised them and worried about their every foot step. But, turtles are surprisingly fast especially when they want to burrow in for the night. Grace went chasing after Tiny to keep her safe, but while she was away for half a second, Tina got lost. It was getting late and the sun was setting. It was difficult to see and we couldn't tell the difference between a fist sized turtle and a rock. Grace was almost in tears and kept yelling out Tina's name like she was a dog and would come running back home. But, that attempt was unsuccessful. Grace started to cry out, "Tina... Tina... Oh, it's all my fault. Tina! Please come home." Kate followed closely behind shouting, "Tina... Oh, it's all Grace's fault. Tina get back here!" The scene broke my heart and put a smile on my face at the same time. I said a silent prayer and started lifting bricks from the side of the house thinking that Tina had hidden herself in a warm place for the night. I kept lifting and moving heavy bricks until I found Tina wedged between the cement and foundation of our house. Grace was elated and I was so grateful that my sweet Grace's birthday was not ruined by a lost turtle. Whew!