We had a party at her school to kick off her birthday, July 1. Since she has a summer birthday, her teacher was kind enough to give us the last day of school to party up, Emma style. So you know me, I sort of went all out with the Strawberry theme.

Emma helped me decorate the goodie bags. She had an "ocd" mom who gave her a crash course on spatial decorating.  They devoured the brownies. I even put raspberries on a green tipped toothpick to make it look like a strawberry on dirt. I knew all the girls’ names by memory because Emma talks about them all the time. They were surprised I called them by their names and recalled stories about them. In Kindergarten terminology, that’s called a stalker. I’m glad I proved them wrong…….with Cheetos.

The boys were the tough table. No one wanted raspberries. They didn’t like all the fancy decorations. But I
won them through Cheetos and my sparkling personality….ok, just the Cheetos.  Lesson learned here is to always have a bag of Cheetos to make any kids’ party successful.  You’re just asking for it if you bring a bag of Lays unflavored chips.

I wanted to take a picture of Emma with her teacher but all the girls quickly ran in to join. Notice, only the girls. I think there’s a special relationship between the female gender and a camera lens.  I, however, broke up that relationship a long time ago. OK, OK…I got dumped. Happy?

Emma with her beloved Kindergarten teacher Mrs. M. I talked with her while the party was going on, and Mrs. M kept telling me that she saw a "Light" in Emma. It showed every time she tried to help people, be the peacemaker between two people fighting, and was always kind to everyone. I knew what she meant by "light" because one of the songs Emma loves to sing is "This Little Light of Mine." Give Jesus the glory anak. Let Him shine through you.

We’re so proud of Emma, not just for graduating Kindergarten, but because of getting over so many of her initial fears when her school year started. We love you Emmanuelle. You shine so bright in our eyes. You’ve accomplished more than the required academic standards on paper. In just only 10 months, you’ve become increasingly confident, social, brave, and independent. You’ve also tackled many challenges that didn’t come as easily to you, working diligently to push yourself from your comfort zone. Your resilience and determination really make us super proud.