One

Can you believe it has already been one year since sweet little Mattie came into our lives? Oh, how precious she is, and oh how I can not possibly imagine life without her - it's so nice to feel a completeness to our family. This precious gift from God has our unconditional love, and we are so grateful to God for bringing her to us.

It was a great day of celebration . . .

Her first birthday gift opened:

She was so cute - she seemed to feel an excitement
in the air. As soon as she heard the voice of a relative
at the door, she grinned huge, got up on her feet,
and went to greet them with a big smile and a hug...
so adorable!

Looking out the window to see who's coming:

Fun opening gifts:


I had fun decorating the cake to match the plates and napkins:


Oh yes, and the smash cake...


Time for cake...she was so surprised to see this was for HER!

I LOVE this video (wish the quality was better for you):

A wonderful example of why we call it a "smash cake".
She really didn't eat much of it, but it was fun to watch her demolish it!

Thank you Jesus for blessing us with this sweet little Mattie girl . . .
Happy Birthday Mattie!