November 1998
My sweet Marky turned 11 this week. She turned 11 on 11/11. It was a pretty cool birthday date! She had so much fun celebrating her birthday. The celebrations began with a "fancy"dinner party for her friends, hosted at Grandma Oman's house. All of her friends dressed nice, the table was set with a table cloth, candles were lit and the lights were turned down. It screamed - "FANCY"!! Grandma outdid herself preparing a feast of Marky's favorite food, tacos. The night was full of giggles, shouts of "BINGO!!", and sincere "thank-yous" as Marky opened gifts of lipgloss, jewelery and all things girly. It was the perfect party. Following that, there were treats in the mail from Grandma and Grandpop Henricks, Aunt Renee, Aunt Lisa, and then came her actual birthday on Wednesday. Michael and I went to school and had lunch with Marky, and later on in the day made a trip back to school to enjoy a treat with her class. Marky's treat request was hot apple cider and Oreo cookies. Mmmm... We made it work and it was a hit - just like Marky is as the sweetest girl in the 5th grade. That night we finished our celebration with a birthday dinner of Chinese food and cupcakes. Grandma Oman was able to join us which made it even more special. Marky was blessed with many gifts from American Girl, making her doll Julie the best dressed dolly in the house. The day was wonderful, and I could tell that Marky had enjoyed herself so much. She is an incredible child, and I am feel deeply grateful to God that He chose me to be Marky's mom. After she was born and the "it's a girl" had been said, I remember thinking, "We are going to have so much fun". And we do.
November 2009
