Another Birthday...

Our sweet Victoria Joy April 2009 in Ukraine...

My baby girl...

Turned 7 years old!!!

Words will never suffice... I cannot help but be overwhelmed with tears... reflecting on the grace of our God and the work He has done in this precious little girl of ours... She has come a long way...

Wednesday, she enjoyed decking out in her princess attire, opening presents, trying them all out (notice the pink boots and tiara head band) and playing with her brothers, sisters and cousins...

Cousins came back through town...

Boys and their DS's...

David Isaac was hilarious saying, "I don't like girl parties" to which the other boys agreed, ha... Boys will be boys...

Grateful for another birthday, another year to celebrate life and God's grace over our lives...

Meanwhile, going back a week...

Here is my entertainer son, Joshua, leaving the endodontist's office... the doctor is hopeful and will begin treatments on his two front teeth (roots, gums) next week...

This past weekend we ventured up to Virginia... caught a little girl time at Chilli's restaurant with my sister, Priscilla; our dear friend, Kate and her sweet daughter, Bree...

On friday evening, 18 adults and 10 children from our Imago Dei Church core team gathered in Stafford courtesy of Mt. Ararat Baptist Church for a weekend planning retreat. Saturday morning we gathered to continue working on details for our upcoming launch on 9/11...

After a few hours of planning, we dropped the kids off at my parents house (who, with the help of my sister, Priscilla & my cousin, Vivian babysat) so the rest of us could enjoy a fun afternoon in Washington, DC... My nephew, Soli, loved his new bud, Judah...

After surviving some I-95 traffic & the metro, we hiked up Arlington Cemetery to watch the changing of the guard...

As well as re-enact our engagement (ha)... Tony proposed to me at Arlington back in April 2003... so romantic :-)

We visited the Smithsonian's American History Museum and the Washington Mall...

Lots of sweat and laughter later... good times...

Sunday morning we enjoyed the privilege of leading worship with our Mt. Ararat family, who are our biggest support. So grateful for their hospitality, graciousness and Gospel partnership...

Meanwhile, a few video clips for your enjoyment:

Singing "Happy Birthday" to Victoria...

Joshua's first time off a diving board... LOVE how he wants to copy his older siblings who were diving off the board... precious.

Victoria, whose class had not yet learned to dive, decided to dive right in...

Jana gets a step closer to perfecting her dive...

Angela's graceful dive...

James' flip...

I didn't quite get Victoria's "thank you" (due to technical difficulties), but you get the idea... ha.