Happy Birthday Kate!!

In a perfect world, I should be planning a party......maybe a princess party, or a tea party or maybe even a polka dot party {wouldn't that be fun?} In a perfect world I would have spent time shopping for the perfect little party dress and the perfect birthday present for the perfect little birthday girl. In a perfect world, our sweet baby Kate would still be here with us to celebrate her 4th birthday. The harsh reality is that life is not perfect and there are many situations in life that we cannot control. However, there are many situations that we CAN control. We can take the challenges that life gives us and let them define who we are or we can take what we're given, learn from it and try to better ourselves. In a perfect world, it should be easy as that. But it's not always that simple! Bryan found this quote that I often refer to:

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections. Master this and you've mastered you. Life is a constant adjustment of your mental and emotional sails. Life, like the wind, is always changing - that's a given. How you adjust the sails is your choice, though challenging at times, keep adjusting." ~ Unknown

So with that being said......when life hands you salt, make a yummy birthday cake!!!!

When it comes to Kate's "angel day," her birthday, Memorial Day, etc. I never know how I'm going to feel. So, I approach these days with no expectations, no set plans and just allow myself to feel whatever emotion I am feeling. Every year for her birthday I make a cake {that's a given} and I challenge myself to try something new. So this year, I attempted fondant. I have to say fondant has always intimidated me, but surprisingly it wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated and it was so much fun to work with. I honestly had no idea what fondant was even made of.......two ingredients is all. Yup, just marshmallow and confectioner's sugar. Can you believe it? I will admit that it was time consuming, but very therapeutic.

Later that evening we spent some time at the beach. We got 4 pink balloons representing the 4 sweet years Kate has been in our lives and one-by-one Mia let them go. It was such a sweet moment.

{Insert beach pictures here}

In a perfect world, computers would always function properly and not delete precious pictures. Unfortunately, we lost all the pictures we took at the beach. But all-in-all, it was a very special day.

Happy Birthday to our Sweet Angel Kate!!Kate's 1st birthday
July 15, 2007