Birthday girl!

Natty's school asked us to dress her like a carrot that week.  Thankfully, it wasn't hard to find a carrot outfit...who knew?

Natty turned six on Monday.  We let her have the day off of school and we took her out for breakfast- cinnamon rolls.  I would have made them at home, but Scotty got sick on me over the weekend and we had already planned a birthday lunch for after church on Sunday.  So, I was a little busy prepping for that, hosting by myself (totally not as bad as I thought it would be), cleaning up and making a birthday cake...I just couldn't squeeze homemade cinnamon rolls in there, too.  After breakfast we came home to play, eat a quick and early lunch and then head back out to see a movie.  Then, home for cake and ice cream and back out shortly after for an early dinner at Natty's favorite restaurant.  The day was all about her and it was so sweet to spend it together!  Because we decided to give Natty her main birthday present early (a hamster), I had warned her that she would only have a couple very small things to open on her birthday.  At first that idea seemed very upsetting to her, but when the day rolled around, she was very gracious and didn't mention it at all.  I was proud of her, as those things can really send her reeling sometimes.  She was pleasant most of the day and even thanked us for taking her out at different times.  This might seem like expected behavior, but for her, it can be a bit iffy.  I wrote her a birthday note and told her how I've seen her grow in this last year.  It was good for me to take some time to really think about the way the Lord has worked in her character this year- really in these last couple of months.  It's been a long road at times and I know the journey is just beginning, but I see progress and that is encouraging.  Then, she got bangs.  Bang!  From 5 years old to 15 in one snip.

We continue hounding our lawyer and architect with very little success.  No news there, unfortunately.