Twelve years ago the doctor said, “It’s a girl!”
I was first shocked- I only “knew” boys; then over the next 24 hours I grew so excited.  Before God showed Abraham the stars in the sky, He knew this little girl would be my daughter.  I trusted Him then and there to show us how to be girl-parents. 

We woke up Marie with our traditional birthday songs.

And I somehow convinced my jam-loving crew that today was the day to get the raspberries we needed for jam.  We picked for 90 minutes in 90○ F sunshine.

We grabbed some pool time.

And I did the jam up quickly.  (Raspberry jam is the most expensive, but the easiest to make.)

Nan, Nene, Ba & Poppy joined us for dinner.  And what a dinner it was!  Marie and I fabricated our own dish of tortellini, Alfredo sauce, mushrooms, and spinach, garnished with fresh tomatoes.  Oh yeah.

She opened a few gifts and cards.

And then we sang to her over her requested frozen strawberry cake.

Marie wasn’t the only one getting new things on this day.  Look at the smile on Johanna’s face for her new math book.  (That joy stops around grade 3.)

And I got some souvenirs from the berry patch.  Oy.