Rebecca's Baptism was a really sweet experience and one I hope she will remember for the rest of her life. I made a little "Baptism Book of Remembrance" for her and I need to encourage her to write down what she remembers from today.
As I mentioned before, she planned out the program ... picked who would take each part of the program, and even made phone calls to ask if individuals could come and participate. She picked "When I am Baptized" and "I am a Child of God" as the opening and closing song.
She invited her primary class, and three of them were able to come, as well as one of her friends from school with her family. Her primary teacher also came, Rebecca had asked her to give a talk on Baptism. Rebecca adores her, and she has a very good way of helping and coaching Rebecca, who can be a bit of a challenge to keep focused and on task in class. One of the traditions of her family, is to make and present a lei when someone is getting baptized. This is the beautiful orchid lei, handmade by her teacher, with flowers shipped from Hawaii. It looked so pretty up against her white dress!
I'm not sure Rebecca will understand the significance of some of today's events until she gets older and has more experience behind her. At least I hope I am able to teach her to recognize and appreciate the significance of the sacrifices of others on her behalf. She was surrounded by family and friend who love her, many of whom had sacrificed in order to support her on this very significant day.
We had a great day celebrating Rebecca's birthday ... I thought I'd share pictures instead of a long drawn out explanation of the day. Tomorrow morning we have soccer games, family coming in town, ribs to smoke, chicken to bake and a baptism for one very excited little girl who is growing up so fast!
Rebecca enjoying her special birthday snack with her class at the end of the day:
The Chocolate Pudding Filled Cupcakes ... I used the Midnight Chocolate Cake Recipe, Jell-O Instant pudding, and then a simple sweetened cream for the "frosting." They turned out perfectly - so yummy! And although I couldn't find a 1-inch biscuit cutter, I did find a cookie cutter that did the job with some help from a trusty stake knife.
Rebecca requested going to a local chain Mexican restaurant we went to as a family a few months back for her Birthday Dinner. I've learned that when choosing the restaurant they want to go to on their birthday, my kids have two criteria ... Will a group of waiters and waitresses, sing Happy Birthday to them, and will they bring you a free yummy birthday treat, if both happen, well than you can be sure they will remember it forever!
Grandma Mum and Grandpa Bob were there, as were Dim, Aunt Suz and Aunt Barb. The food was almost as good as the conversation and company!
After dinner we went to our house for presents, cake and ice cream. Rebecca got some very thoughtful gifts. In the words of Aunt Suz, "It was her dream birthday." Meaning Rebecca got everything she'd wanted at the age of eight ... a beautiful gold locket from Grandma Mum and Grandpa Bob, a bike from Mom and Dad, her very own journal, silver necklace with butterfly charm, new clothes and head bands, and a few other misc items.
Her requested birthday cake ... a layered chocolate cake with cookies and cream ice cream and whole Oreo's on the top.
Phone call from GR this morning:
Guess what?
What?
I'm Employee of the Month!
Really!? For the Pharmacy?
Nope.
The whole hospital?! Really!? Why?! How?!
What do you mean?
The hospital is huge, so many employees, and they noticed you ... that is awesome!
I know it really is, huh!?
Way to go Honey, that is so awesome!!
So what are some of the perks for being Employee of the Month for May AND June?
- A great parking spot,
- $50 gift certificate to the gift shop (promptly handed over to me as my Mother's Day gift!),
- A certificate to have his portrait taken a photo studio so it can be added to the wall of EoM in the cafeteria,
- A duffel bag,
- A reception with cake in the cafeteria on a day of his choosing (the boys and I are planning on attending),
And the perk he's the most excited about ...
- Unlimited free meals in the cafeteria for May and June!
Last month, during Spring Break the girls both went to the eye doctor - a long, long, long overdue visit. We'd gotten reports from the school nurse that both girls had failed eye exams at school ... possibly because of not knowing how to read the charts, possibly because they needed glasses. The pediatrician felt that since his test was basically the same as the schools, we should take them to have their eyes checked by an optometrist. Since this recommendation, Rebecca has had a difficult time reading the board at school and within the last few weeks, has moved up to a single desk near the board so she wouldn't have to move around so much during class.
The Optometrist found that Emily's eyes are prefect, and that Rebecca definitely needed glasses... we got her prescription and she picked out frames she loves. She had definite ideas of what she did and didn't like and we let her make the choice all on her own. She choose some really cute, Kenneth Cole frames in blue - thank goodness for insurance!
They took much longer than they should have to come in (a month!) ... thanks to a lost piece of paper on the frame gals part. So the second we got a call saying they were in and ready to be fitted to her face on the 14th, we raced off to get there before closing time. Last week, on the 23rd the lenses were ready and she and Grandma went to pick them up.
When she got home from picking them up, she walked straight in the door and started showing me how to clean them, and that the gal in the frame shop had to shorten the ear pieces 'cause they were too long, and look at my case mom ... she was SO excited! And they look perfectly natural on her face.
I don't have a single picture of her modeling her real, perfectly fit glasses yet, but I'll do that after school today and post a better, full picture of her sporting her new glasses.
