For Emery’s party I knew I wanted a way to document all of our guests, so I set up a photo booth (yes I totally stole that idea), and I LOVE how it turned out (even though some people cough cough Kelly Jones cough cough wrote hideous things on the board ;) I kid I kid I’m over my Salem hating days)!!
Last year we were bringing home a brand new baby to celebrate the fourth, but this year we were celebrating with a wild one year old, and LOVIN every minute of it!! Here are some pictures from our day!
As you can infer by my previous posts about dreading Emery’s birthday, I was a NERVOUS wreck about her party and about her turning a year older, but I must say her party was amazing! She loved every single second of it! Prepare yourself for picture overload!!!
She ate because we know Emery LOVES to eat :)
She opened her gifts, lots and lots and lots of gifts, and she lasted through almost all of them!
Katie, Donny, and Maddie got Emery this adorable birthday hat with her name monogrammed on it :)
Just the three of us!
Little Miss's smash cake :)
And the other cake
Happy Birthday to you Emery!!
“Are you sure Mom?”
She LOVED it…of course :)
And she shared with Mommy…
And Daddy…
The “old lady” face with a mouthful of cake!
Half of the clothesline of Emery’s year in pictures (wish I would’ve had time to take pictures of all of the setup/decorations before the party started b’c I LOVED the way it turned out even if I did have to hot glue the ribbon onto the brick haha)
My sunshine!
Emery LOVES her Daddy (and so does her mama)
My precious baby girl,
It seems like just yesterday I was anxiously anticipating your arrival, driving to the hospital, giving birth to you, and holding you for the first time. Now you are toddling around, eating solid foods, and calling me “mama”. I tell others all the time that this has easily been the fastest year of my life, but oh how sweet this past year has been. I could never have imagined just how perfect you would be and how you would make me feel.
You are such a beautiful little girl. Your eyes with those long eyelashes draw everyone in. Your smile literally melts my heart. Your cute chubby cheeks are so squeezable. Your sweet nose and lips I could just kiss on all day!
You are such a tangible example of the way that God loves us Emery, and you bring us so much joy! When we go in to get you in the mornings you are so excited to see us, and that makes me feel like a million bucks! When you do something new and reach a new milestone you make me feel so proud. When I look at you and think about the legacy that I am leaving I feel so responsible.
I love riding in the car just you and me, I love when you laugh at me or with me, I love when you want me to hold you, I love showing you off, I love dressing you up, I love reading to you, I love tickling you, I love watching you talk while you play, Emery girl I just love being around you. I hope that you know that it’s not that I do not want to stay home with you, but rather that I’m trying to do what I think is the best for YOU and for our family. I would love nothing more than to spend every day with you, but I can’t, but that makes our evenings and our summers even sweeter :)
During only one year you have challenged me and helped me to grow in so many ways. You have taught me so much about being selfless, about cherishing every second, about unconditional love, about priorities, and about joy and happiness.
I pray to be a better Mommy for you every single day. I hope that God will mold me, grow me, and stretch me to be exactly what you need. I pray most of all that I will teach you how to be a Godly woman.
If the rest of your years are anything like this one has been we are on a wonderful journey. I can’t wait to watch you grow up, but if you could PLEASE. SLOW. THIS. PROCESS. DOWN!!!
I love you Emery Lynn Collins!!
Your Mommy :)
“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
So as you may or may not know Brad needed to find another job for next year, so he worked really hard, and God provided a great opportunity for him. He’ll be teaching at the middle school in the same parking lot of the high school where he’s been teaching. He is going to be teaching sixth grade math, and he’s going to be great at it!!
Also I ended up resigning from my job in hopes to get into public education. There are lots of reasons for this, but ultimately this was the best decision for me and my family, and I felt it was the decision that God wanted for me. So, I resigned without having a job for next year. I had a couple interviews, and was really hoping to get a job. It was an uphill battle for me because I am provisionally licensed, but I got a job that I am SUPER excited about!! I’ll be teaching sixth grade science for Botetourt County. I actually saw the job posting on their website, and told Brad that would be my “dream job”.
It has been an awesome season of provision in our lives. We have really felt like God has been holding us in the palm of his hand, and telling us just obey me and I will take care of you. I was totally at peace with resigning from my job because I knew that since I was faithful to obey him that he would provide for us. I can’t even tell you the different ways God has provided for Brad and I since we’ve been married, but it is insane. God is still in the miracle business, and I have seen them happen first hand. Since I know that some of you are in a position where you too are unsure of your future, or that you are in a position where things are getting “tight”, I just wanted to remind you guys that our God is a God who provides. Hope these verses will encourage you :)
Matthew 7:11
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
Luke 12:7
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything; you may have an abundance for every good deed
Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
And my favorite song by Hillsong (Desert Song):
This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides
I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and he is here
This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on his promise I'll stand
All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
This is how Emery feels about her Dad…she obviously isn’t old enough to type it, so she had some help there :)
My Daddy is a coach, a REALLY good coach. Sometimes it means that he has to stay out late for practice or a game, or sometimes it means that he has to go on a Saturday, but that’s okay because I know he’s doing what he loves and what he’s good at. Even though he has to spend some time away from me, I know how much he loves me because he tells me all the time, and when he’s home he is always playing with me or loving on me! I’m not exactly sure what it means to win or lose, but I think it’s good to win and bad to lose, and that’s good because this year daddy’s teams won lots of games. I always hear my mommy talk about how proud she is of daddy, and you know what I am too because the boys on his teams really seem to look up to him just like I do. It’s cool when your dad is a coach because that means you get to stay out late on game nights while all of your friends are home in bed, and when you go to the games everybody always tells you how cute you are! Of course mommy dresses me up and puts a big bow in my hair, which is another reason I like going! When we go to his games I really like to watch the boys play basketball or soccer, play with my toys, eat my dinner, try to walk, and just hang out with my mommy. We have so much fun at daddy’s games!
My Daddy is a husband, a REALLY good husband. I see him help my mommy do things around the house that my other friends’ daddies don’t ever do. I like when he loves on my mommy, I think it is so funny. When I grow up I want my husband to be just like my daddy. It’s great when your mommy and daddy love each other because it makes me feel safe and secure.
My Daddy is a friend, a REALLY good friend. He is funny when he’s around his friends, I know they have a great time making up games, watching sports, and just hanging out. I want a good friend like my daddy when I grow up and have friends of my own. I know he cares about other people, and I love that about him. He’s always willing to do anything for anybody, especially his friends. My mommy and daddy have told me all about God, and I think the way my daddy loves other people is just how God loves people.
My Daddy is a teacher, a REALLY good teacher. This year he worked so hard all year in order to get a permanent job. He is going to teach middle school math, and I am SO proud of him. I saw him working on his computer, writing papers, and going to take tests all just to get a job. I know he thinks it’s really important for him to provide for me and mommy, and he works really hard to do that. I’m sure he’s a good teacher at school because I hear mommy tell him what a great job he does to help all the kids pass the tests they have to take, and one day we went in to his school and he was helping a girl study extra for a test. I hope my teachers in school work as hard as my daddy to help me because he is an awesome teacher!
My Daddy is a coach, a husband, a friend, a teacher, and so many more things, but most importantly to me My Daddy is my Daddy, and he’s a REALLY REALLY great Daddy!! He spends all the time he can with me, he changes my diapers, he sings to me, he reads to me, he helps me walk, he takes me outside to swing, he plays in the floor with me, he feeds me, and he dances with me. I’m so lucky to have a daddy that loves me as much as he does. My favorite thing that my daddy does is pray for me before bed. He always says that I’m a blessing or a gift, and that makes me feel so loved! He tells me how pretty I am, or that I am his princess, and other sweet things like that and he makes me FEEL like a pretty princess. I can’t wait until the day that we get to go on dates just the two of us, and we will make mommy stay home! When it’s time for me to choose a boyfriend or husband, I won’t settle to be treated any different than my daddy treats me, and it’s going to be VERY hard for a boy to match up…I wish I could just marry daddy, but mommy already did. I love you Daddy, and I hope you have a GREAT first Father’s Day…you are the very best Daddy in the whole wide world!!
