Aubrey turns 10

It's hard to believe it was a FULL DECADE ago that I became a mother.

  The moment I heard Tyler's tearful voice tell me, "it's a girl", I knew my life would never be the same.  I had no idea that you could love someone so quickly.  I had no idea how much heartache and how much joy being a mother would bring.  I had no idea how much my own mother loved me.  I had no idea how much I would love being a mother.  There were so many unknowns.  However, the moment I heard Tyler's words (and the emotion behind them) and saw my beautiful red-head I knew our life would never be the same.

Aubrey has been such a joy to have in our family.  We love her freckles and her quiet confidence.We love her example for her sisters and brothers.  She is fun to be around and keeps us all on our toes with her detailed memory!  We love her sweet way of reading others and their needs and her immediate desire to serve and help.  We love her constant singing, humming, or whistling (most days!).  We love her desire to do accomplish big goals.  We love her pleasant demeanor and helpful attitude.  How blessed we are to have her in our lives.

That being said, hitting "double digits" was a great celebration!  She shared her favorite mint brownies at school and got out early for a minimum day - hooray!  She had been anxiously awaiting her gift and was slightly confused when it was on the table in such a large box!  Surprised, she opened several boxes before getting to her new camera.  She loves making videos with her friends and seriously debated between a Powershot or a Flip video camera.  But, in the end she can do both with her Powershot and is already having a great time

 We had our family party at lunch time and she invited a few friends from church over that night for some video making, dancing, squealing, craft time, and enjoying her favorite dinner.  

Aubrey once again choose the delicious Thai Noodle Salad.  These girls enjoyed a private dinner party in the back yard and were so cute and had a fantastic time together. 

This is the craft they made, although they are modeling them like purses they actually are for their bedroom doors.  We "mod podged" the front with cute scrapbooking paper, covered them in super fine Martha Stewart glitter and made darling paper flowers to match. 

Aubrey hugged me several times throughout the day, thanking me, reminding me that this was the best birthday ever.  

As simple as our day was, this just tells you what a wonderful daughter she is, always grateful and appreciative!