Happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday Ireland!

We were in Richfield for the annual hometown 4th of July. It was nice to be with Jason's family and enjoy each other. Thanks, Devenishs, for hosting us! I have to say, though, that fireworks have taken on a whole new meaning for me now that I'm a mom. When I was a kid, hey - they couldn't be big or loud enough, but now it seems that the "mother hen" instinct has kicked in and I get aggrivated at people's huge, loud fireworks. There were illegal, huge, LOUD fireworks going on all around the house and it's not like I wanted to stop anyone's fun, but I wish I could put a huge sound barrier around my babies, because they both did NOT sleep and were very cranky the next day. Does anyone else feel that way?

Ireland was born barely on July 5th (12:33am to be exact). We celebrated on Saturday, but poor little baby was cutting molars and had 5 mouth sores, so she was a pretty miserable baby all weekend and most of her birthday pictures were not happy ones. I'm so thankful that we get to celebrate this milestone with her, though. She is so precious. So beautiful. She fills our lives with such sunshine and we pray in gratitude every day for being able to be a part of her earthly journey and witness as her growth and beauty blossom. Below is a video slideshow of her first year. The first song that comes on is what came on the radio as we were exiting the freeway to get to the hospital. I was in full-on labor (I went in at an 8) and there were fireworks going across the whole valley. It was pretty surreal and I cherish those memories (not the pain, the memories). I love you Ireland.


All the grandkids in their patriotic shirts from grandma Devenish

Loved this picture of Hayden and Daken

This was probably the happiest picture I got of her. Nice, huh? Oh well - I would be onery too if my mouth was full of sores and emerging teeth.