Little Miss Teenager

There is no turning back the clock, and as of November 4 we now have TWO teenagers in our home!

Our little Emma when born could be held in the crook of her dad's arm, so tiny and delicate. Now she is a young lady who shares my clothes and shoes and anxiously anticipates the day when she will be taller than me. Not only is she growing in stature but she is also growing in her love for the Lord and others and we couldn't be prouder! Emma is a joy and delight to all and we can't wait to see how the Lord uses her many gifts and talents to bless others for his glory. 

At 13 her interests are: knitting, crocheting, embroidery, reading, drawing, foreign languages, artistic gymnastics, Minecraft, Rubix cubes, eating and singing. 

Just a few of her recent creations

For her online English class project she chose to embroider characters from the book Redwall. Hours upon hours were spent making this masterpiece over the course of 8 weeks.

We had our Western Europe Administrator and his family staying with us for a week and that might have been one of the best gifts Emma received. Hanging out and forming new friendships with two other MKs was so very special that when they departed both she and Luca were left in tears. We are so glad the kids came and for the encouragement they were to each other.

Knowing how busy I was going to be the week leading up to her birthday, I decided to make and freeze her lasagna dinner. I wish I would have done the same for her cake, but in the end it got done and was enjoyed just one day late. 

We began birthday celebrations on Friday night with our Bible study group. Dalida offered to make a dessert which was very much appreciated after a long and intense week for me that was full of team meetings on top of hosting. Emma is crazy for Dalida's cream filling so it was only fitting that she made homemade bignè filled with cream and covered in chocolate! Hmm yum!

I thought taking pictures with older kids was supposed to be easy, but still our boys like to photo bomb. This was the third try and they still thought it was funny. At least Luca shaped up in this one.

On Saturday, we took a trip to Cervinia which is a town at the base of the Matterhorn on the Italian side. It was a cold blustery day as we anticipated our first rain since July to come later that evening. We had two visiting families with our team so it was fun to show them the Alps. We stayed warm over a long lunch and then a round of hot chocolate before heading home. Jonathan and Samuel stayed behind to sermon prep and do school homework.

The Matterhorn with some imagination to see the top

After dinner Emma opened gifts. Our friends live in Portugal and they are famous for their cork. The purse she received is made out of cork. So beautiful!

This face is classic as Emma read a card from Munga and Gramma and was humored by the drawing of "Peter the Onion". An inside joke that I won't even bother to explain.

Emma shares her birthday with Jodi, our Administrator's wife, so it was extra special to celebrate them both. 

Emma requested a "mirror cake" for her birthday. That's what happens when you tell your daughter to go look on Pinterest for cake ideas. I was clueless about this trending cake technique until now. So many steps, but hey it was worth it and tasted amazing!

It's mirror-ry, right?