Happy Fourth Birthday Olivia!

The Birthday Girl with her two brothers.

The Birthday Girl with her Godparents Ben and Maggie and Gabi

Olivia's 4th Birthday Ladybug Cake

Olivia celebrated her fourth birthday.  She is an intelligent, strong-willed, talkative young lady.  We are blessed to have her.  She keeps me on my Mommy toes.  I joke sometimes that I could raise one hundred Ethan's and Isaac's but there is only energy for one Olivia.  Her hobbies include avoiding bedtime, negotiating snacks and special treats and soliciting stories.

An Interview with Olivia:

Favorite Color:  Brown and White and Red
Favorite Song: Go Tell It On the Mountain and The Rainbow Song (Somewhere Over the Rainbow)
Favorite Book: The BFG
Favorite Food: Chinese Food and Pizza
Favorite Animal: A ladybug, a butterfly and sometimes spiders and ants are kinda icky
Favorite Day of the Week: Saturday
Favorite Place:  Nana and Papa's House
Favorite Holiday: Halloween
Favorite TV Show: Spiderman and His Incredible Friends
Favorite Bible Story: Adam and Eve
What do you want to be when you grow up: A Mommy
Who is your favorite person: Mommy and Daddy

Our beautifully determined four year old Olivia.

We celebrated Olivia's birthday with a unique Saturday.  Dennis had a funeral in the morning.  Ben, Maggie, Elizabeth and Gabi joined us for a luncheon celebration.  While they were getting ready for their drive home, Papa, Nana and Uncle Ben came for a supper celebration.  We ate roast beef, potatoes and carrots courtesy of the crockpot Dennis bought me for Christmas.  Olivia requested a Ladybug cake which we enjoyed with Cookies and Cream Ice Cream.

The past four years have been the most rewarding and challenging years of my life.  I am taking this parenting gig fairly seriously.  Olivia is my toughest critique and my greatest adversary.  Of the hundreds of students I met in the classroom, Olivia takes the cake for questioning my every move, trying my every nerve and testing my every boundary. Everything she does is fueled with a fiery passion.  She is the pinnacle example of James Dobson's Strong-Willed Child (a book I am rereading for the third time).  She is not a cuddler, lover or sweet as pie.  She is energetic, tough as nails and highly calculated.  She comes by her strong will honestly.  Her father and I are doing great things for God's Kingdom.  Raising this tenacious four year old to fear and love God is at the top of our priority list.  This has been a ride of a lifetime, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  I will raise my Mommy martini to another four years.  Heck, I'll be her Mommy for the next forty, should the Good Lord see fit.  Happy Birthday, Olivia, I love you.