five years of natalie

We had a great night celebrating Natalie!  The family came over and our babysitters, the four Cook girls, stopped by.  The kids all enjoyed using our huge slip-n-slide with Jordan at the hose spraying each of them down.  Natalie seems to have an endless supply of energy so far this summer but not enough different ways to burn it off.  So when the cousins come over, she is in all her glory.  We did a bug themed birthday party which composed of beetle juice, honey bee pee, catapiller kabobs and cupcakes, and a bucket of worms and dirt... all for our little bug-lovin' girl!



(great new things to play with)

 

(this is the look of a boy enjoying his cupcake)

(Ruby's soul-sister, Ava)

(gotta love cash!)



(the little kids lined up to get their makeup done by our babysitters)



Natalie has been such a joy to our family.  She is always quick to pick on us to get us laughing and she's always open to a big hug.  She is also our most emotional child which is both a strength and weakness.  She's very tender-hearted and the things that she cares deeply about are often times questioned or prayed for.  On the other hand, she struggles with controlling her negative emotions, something we're constantly trying to help her along with.  She's still an animal lover and continues to enjoy acting like animals!  She can also make her eyes water on command... future actress perhaps?  She has a knack for paying attention to details... nothing seems to escape her notice.  Her drawings are very detailed and she already has her own personalized signature, something she developed all on her own.  And along with these traits of being emotional and detailed comes perfectionism.  Another characteristic which is both a strength and weakness...a weakness because it gets her down when she thinks that she is not good enough.  And, Natalie has such a love for Jesus, something I've witnessed that will never leave the depths of my heart.  A sincere passion is instilled into every area of her life.  We love her dearly and I praise God for these five years He has granted us.  They have forever changed me.