Birthday Bashes

We now have a 5 year old in the house! Jaclyn celebrated her 5th birthday last Sunday, Feb. 1st. (Yes, it's sad that I'm finally posting pictures a week later!) We celebrated the whole weekend and she had a blast.
She was very instrumental in deciding what cake she wanted this year. We decided on a princess doll cake, and she watched the online demo with me and then helped me make it (sort of). Here's our little baker.

Our princess and her cake

We invited some of her friends over for a princess party. Here's Jaclyn with Ella, Aubrey, Kalin, Abigail and Hannah. This was definitely the first party we've had that was actually under control! The girls followed directions and sat so nicely. 5 must be the magic number!

So the party was on Saturday, but then we celebrated her actual birthday on Sunday with family. Grandma drove over from Des Moines and Aunt Jill spent the day with us. It was a special day.

And then on Monday, I went to her classroom and had lunch with her and brought treats for the class. I also got to spend the rest of the school day with her, so that was fun for both of us. She got a special birthday crown!

It's so hard to believe that 5 years ago I became a mother. Oh, how my life has changed since that day. This little girl has brought so much joy, excitement and laughter to my life...along with a good chunk of learning experiences! God has definitely used both of my girls to grow me, and He's definitely not done. Somedays it seems like an overwhelming task, but I must remember that I am the best one to raise my daughters, and God will give me what I need at the right time.

The song I have playing on this blog is a song that Christy Nockels (from Watermark) wrote for her daughter. Here's a part of it that I especially like:

"To mother a daughter, to look you in the eye,
To know that I had everything to walk with you in life.
To give you to Jesus, that He would impart,
The wisdom that I'm longing for to mother your heart."