Rachel turns 4!

Rachel about to blow her candles, Danielle, Daisy, Julia, Nathan are 4 of the 5 cousins that joined us that night. :)

Princess and Mommy

Papa and Lala with Rachel.

Rachel and Yaya

Danielle, Rachel, James and Julia posing with Chuck E.

We didn't plan a big event to celebrate Rachel's b-day this year, due to our family trip in early July. We decided to go to Chuck E. Cheese with the grandparents and uncle. I also called my aunt and asked her to invite her children and grandchildren for Rachel to play with. Even though it was totally a last minute thing, we all had a blast. Rachel was so excited to have her cousins there to help her celebrate. Ben and I were just overwhelmed by our family and their love for our daughter (and us too). :) God has truly blessed us tremendously.

Rachel,

God has truly blessed your Daddy and I with YOU. You are HIS child and we are eternally grateful that God has trusted us with caring for you.

You are our SUNSHINE and brighten our days with your sweet smile. Your positive attitude is so contagious. Your sweet spirit is such a breath of fresh air. :) I pray that God will bless you always. Your Daddy and I pray daily that you'd make the decision to ask Jesus into your heart and live for HIM always.

We love you so much BABY GIRL <--- and yes, you'll always be our baby AND we'll NEVER stop loving you! :)
Love always,
Mommy & Daddy

Long time no post! :(

Rachel and Daddy and the back part of the White House

Rachel and Mommy playing at the Natural Science Museum
(I think- I can't remember now!)

Our future President of the USA! ;)

Her shirt says, "Future President- I Can Do All Things Through Christ Phil 4:13"

It's been so long since I've last posted on my blog. :( I hate that I've let the blog go lately (this past year actually). I've been using my time differently and blogging hasn't been top on the list. I am always thinking of things that I want to blog about, but never get to it. I try to use the "blogging time" as my workout time instead.

Going on vacation, Rachel's 4th B-day and other everyday things has kept me super busy.
I want to post pics, but don't have the pics available on my netbook, so I have to wait until I get to my desktop to upload pics.

Today I wanted to blog about Rachel's 4 y.o. check up before I forget. She is now 32 lbs (25th percentile) and 39 inches tall (40th percentile). She is "tall and skinny" as my doctor described! ;) I can't believe MY daughter is "tall and skinny". ;) She had an eye exam and did well! The nurse was excited that she was able to recognize and name the letters on the chart. She had 20/30 vision on both eyes, but they said it was nothing to worry about since she is only 4 and it should (may) get better as she gets older. She had a hearing test and passed. I just wanted to chuckle as she was doing the test because she was too cute notifying the nurse when she heard the beep. Dr. Smith also found a heart murmur this time, but told us it was nothing to worry about. Overall, she's doing WONDERFUL! THANK YOU GOD! :) He's blessed us with a healthy, fun-loving, sweet, kind, happy, loving, joyful, (I can go on and on) little girl.

Well, I hope it's not another month before I post again. I will TRY to blog again soon with pics! :)
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Summer 2009

We've started off to a great summer, but it's been fast paced! ;)

On May 22nd, Mom and Dad celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary! Happy Anniversary! :) This picture below, wasn't taken on the exact date, but I liked it! :)

Happy 9th Anniversary to my baby!

We were able to celebrate at Maggianno's for lunch and a movie afterward. I can't remember the movie, but I know we just had a blast being together and remembering all that we've done and seen together! :)

After our date for our anniversary, we went to church to watch my dad, his sister (Lilia) and bro-in-law (Ash) and Miros get baptized! :) What a great thing to witness! :) It was even sweeter that I got to see my Dad's obedience to the Lord. Mr. Pat Hile baptized them. :)

*Our anniversary was special enough, but now it's even more meaningful to my dad and his re-commitment to God! :) Thank YOU Jesus for setting the example!
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Kelly came over to hang with us the other night and here's the pic we took! :) It's always fun to catch up with my be-fri! After Rachel was in bed, we headed to Brindles to get our favorite ice cream! :) Yum!