Abby lost her first tooth yesterday

We took my Mom out to Cheeseburger in Paradise for her birthday last night and Abby was showing her loose tooth to everyone because she was so excited to finally be losing her first tooth and it was hanging by a thread. She has been trying to pull it out for the past week or so, but quit trying when it got really close to coming out (probably b/c it hurt a bit). It was so close to coming out at dinner, but she wouldn't let anyone touch it. Then at the end of the meal, she asked Grant if she could have one of his gummy bears. She started eating it but after a few seconds, said she wanted to spit it out (which was very unusual for her). So I let her spit it out into my hand then I threw it on one of the dirty dishes. A few min. later, she noticed that her tooth was gone! Everyone started freaking out b/c we thought she swallowed it or dropped it on the floor. Finally I thought to look in the gummy bear, and sure enough, there it was! We asked her later why she wanted to spit out the gummy bear and she said, "because it was crunchy"!

That night, before bed, she made a little note for the Tooth Fairy and told him she liked him. I laid with her and she said, "Daddy, I really want to see the Tooth Fairy". I told her just to stay awake as long as she can and maybe she will. 5 min. later, she was sound asleep.

The Tooth Fairy brought her a $5 bill and she came running into out room at 5am to show Mommy.

Since December 31st (New Year's Eve) 2011, we started going to church on Saturday nights at Crossroads. After having problems time and again, Mom said this was our solution! She was right!!! It's been 6 weeks and we haven't missed a service. The kids are now involved in Choir and Jack is starting at The Light Company on Wednesday after school next week. It's been overwhelming how much of a difference it's made in our lives. Having someone to turn to and REALLY pray to is such a blessing. Yesterday, after Choir, I received the email below from the girls' (and Dylen's) teacher. So sweet!

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-PRAISE moment = During rehearsal this evening, I was in awe of the beauty of worship with these young ones. It was one of those times when you wish there was a hidden camera to capture it! Even though the upbeat songs are what make us want to dance, the slow songs can sometimes speak volumes for what these kids really understand. While singing the song, "Jesus with you," I asked the kids to sing the song with their eyes closed and in a worship pose. We talked about
worshiping with hands raised or hands on heart or hands folded in lap. In that beautiful moment of singing, these kids were in their choice worship pose worshiping God with eyes closed and hearts raised to the Lord. May this thought rest in your soul as you remember what great job you are doing by encouraging your kids to take part in these great worship activities.