Hannah Ray Baker is 19 today!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Hannah Ray Baker!!! Here is the BEAUTIFUL Birthday girl on her way out for a birthday dinner and going to see a play called Wicked, with her guy!

And here is the happy couple!!

Hannah Ray, my precious 3rd daughter!! She is pure joy to Ray and I! She is even more beautiful on the inside than she is on the outside and that's, WOW, because she is GORGEOUS! She is the kindest, most gentle, merciful, SWEET, discerning, WISE, gracious and a GODLY young woman!! She is what every parent would dream of having in a daughter!! I have loved being her Momma!! I pray to be more like her every single day. I can't wait for this next year in her life. She is going to be blown away by what the Lord has for her!! She probably is 1 of his favorites, ha!! I don't know what I did to deserve her (Ray I'm sure deserves her) but I am SO GRATEFUL for my precious Hannah!! Austin has such an amazing gift that he will be able to walk this life with. She is a rare, rare gem!!

So Hannah, ALL grown up and going to be a wife in 5 short months! I know I have said it before but I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! Today is her birthday and the last birthday as a "Baker" girl! I really didn't know that that reality would hit me so hard!! I added up all the ages of my 5 children and I have celebrated 93 different birthday days with them. Almost all of them I have been in charge of, planned and ENJOYED!! 93 BIRTHDAYS is a lot!! And it hit me that this birthday would be the last that I would be "responsible" for. Ray says we should shout for joy but I'm just a bit sad about it. Birthdays are a BIG, BIG DEAL in our family. It's the celebration of YOU!! We do them up BIG! Not with huge, lavish gifts or anything like that but it's a day that when the clock strikes midnight you get a call from everyone in our family. You get a text and now a twitter or a Facebook comment almost immediately. It begins at midnight and for the next 24 hrs. you're a REALLY big deal. Next is usually breakfast - it happens 1 of a few ways. Breakfast in bed by Daddy, taken to your favorite place by sisters or sleeping in! Then lunch is usually skipped because of breakfast but toes & fingers are usually done at a local salon. Then a party of some kind is had, even if it's only family. Special is what you feel the WHOLE DAY!!! I have a feeling most of these traditions won't change next year when she's Hannah Ray Baker Benjamin (she told us yesterday that she wants to be a Baker forever so she's keeping her maiden name, ahhh). She was talking about her next years birthday and I told her that if it's a weekend they could come over and stay the weekend. Well her eyes lite up and she ran to Austin & grabbed her phone to see what the day will fall on. He giggled at her & they figured out that next year it would be ON Memorial Day so we discussed going camping as a family. I think by May she will be very comfortable being away from home but right now I think it's hard for her to take. Austin being precious just agrees that they can come stay the weekend. So, Austin and Hannah will start new tradition in their little family and we have all of our amazing memories of amazing birthdays!! So I have enjoyed this birthday day with Hannah like I did the other 18!

This year Ms. Hannah has had 2 days of fun because this is a BIG 1 in all of our minds! Yesterday we all piled up and went to Turner Falls in Oklahoma for the day. We took some friends of all of ours and then some of Ray's family was there camping for the weekend so we got to spend some time with more family. I can't express how amazing our day was. It couldn't have been more perfect!!!

Here are bunches of pics of our day!

The drive was a lot of fun & here is 1 of our stops on the way.

Silly, BEAUTIFUL Hannah

Here is the group & friends that went.

These are some pics of us at Turner Falls

A bunch of them went hiking up the side of the 77 foot waterfall and LOVED it. Here is a few of that.

After a full day of fun we headed to the camp site where Aunt Wendy, Cousin Rena's family and Cousin Bobbi's family were. We played horseshoes and other games. Then came the most amazing steak dinner w/ all the fixins & her Aunt Wendy made her favorite dessert - dirt cake!! SO SWEET!!

And then today she, yes, went to breakfast and she got a garden (she said) of flowers and was SURPRISED by her guy and went to see a play that she has been wanting to see SO bad - WICKED!! She got lots of money because that's what she wanted. She's heading to Ikea with Austin tomorrow to buy stuff for their bedroom when they're married. WOW!! Crazy!!

Here she is with her flowers, cookie cake and some of her $$$!!!

So her birthday is almost over and her life here in our home is coming to an end but years and years and years of birthdays are still to be celebrated in her life. I pray I get to share many, many more of them with her. I love you Hannah Ray Baker - you are a JOY to your Mother!! You're more precious to me than the day you were born 19 years ago. In fact I LOVE YOU more than the very, very last number!!! I THANK God for you and for your LIFE!!!

Do I REALLY have a child that is 25??

WOW!! Rach is 25 years old today!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY my #1 daughter!! It's been a wonderful day spent with her. Sarah & Hannah had to work so Olivia and I had the honor of spending the day with the birthday girl. She woke up with breakfast in bed that Liv got her and then her best friend Megan got her a 1 hr. massage. After that Liv, Ray, Grant & I took her to a nice birthday lunch. Then we dumped the boys off and Liv, Rach and I headed to our favorite salon for a manicure and pedicure! It's been a wonderful day. Tonight she is going with some of her girlfriends for sushi and then back home for some dessert & girl time.

Rach starts the "Summer of Baker Birthdays"! We have 2 in May (Rach & Han), 1 in June (Megan), 2 in July (Sarah & Austin), 1 in August (Olivia) and 1 in September (Grant)!! And that's just the Summer! Plus mine is in May & Mother's day! OH BOY I'm tired. But 25 is a BIG 1. Rachel is 1/2 way to 50 or 1/4 of a century old -- or what she realized at lunch -- 5 YEARS from 30!! WOW, I don't feel that I could have a 25 year old child, but I DO!!

The times with my grown children just get better and better every year. That is for sure how I feel about my time with Rach!! She has been such a grown up for years but our friendship has grown so much in just the last few months! Her best bud Megan moved away and even though we miss her terribly, it freed up some time I think for more time with Rachel and the rest of us!! She's so much fun and she's always up to go or do anything. She's our family "cruise director" and she keep most of us in line!

I'm so proud of my eldest and so, so, so proud of the woman she is. I just can't express the love I have for her. She's the rarest kind of person with her love for people and the way she loves to make everyone in her life feel so special!! Birthdays are Rachel's thing that she LOVES to do for other people. She tries to make everyone around her have the BEST birthday, the best birth when they have a baby, the best wedding, the best anniversary, the best--WHATEVER is going on in their life. If you have your wisdom teeth out, Rach is there to bring you a ballon, a funny card and ice cream! She is such a GIVER and I so love that about her. She has the heart of her Heavenly Father! So when it's her birthday it's hard not to want to give her the moon!! I love that she loves so well. She's such an encourager and she gets excited for people when others would'nt think much of a friends new car or a new outfit or a new apartment. She has a way of making you feel so good about yourself - such a wonderful characteristic about her.

I have so many dreams for her and her future. I can't even imagine how much more the Lord wants for her!! The future is SO BRIGHT and the SKY IS THE LIMIT!!!! She is working so much on herself and I'm beyond excited to see the transformation happen in her life. So Rachel, my sweet, precious daughter that made me a Mommy - I love you SO, SO, SO MUCH!!! I'm excited to see what the next year is going to bring!!! We are on a wonderful journey together and I wouldn't want to be on it with anyone but YOU!!! Have a wonderful evening and I can't wait to share the rest of our lives together as Mom and Daughter - Friend and Friend!!

I love you more than the very, very last number!!!

Mom

Just a few pictures of her 25 years!!

Wedding Planning

Today marks 8 MONTHS until the big day. The Baker/Benjamin Wedding!! These almost 2 mths. have FLOWN by since the engagement and makes me see how quick the next 8 mths. will pass! The planning is in FULL SWING!! The date has been set - NOVEMBER 6th 2010. That came with many challenges but FINALLY it is set in stone. Because we had a very specific time that would work for a lot of Austin's family to come from out of the country - we had to pick a time that would work for all. We are pushing the weather to the limit...Hannah is fasting 1 day a week, just for her "wedding weather"! All parties have decided on "the place"! YAY! That was a doozy! Hannah has had her heart set on an outside wedding. Nature is where she strongly feels the presence of the Lord. She really does see things through the Father's eyes. She has always been my child that sees things in the clouds, things in the way the leaves dance before the Lord. Her quiet time has always been outside, under the great big sky! That's 1 of the reasons why Austin proposed outside in Israel. YAY, an outside wedding.

Her Aunt Toni & Uncle Mike's house is the specific place of the wedding/reception. Toni is my sister and she has a beautiful home & property that is just gorgeous. Their home is a gift from God for my sister's family but it's been a gift for our WHOLE family. It's the 1 home that we can all still get together and actually have room - since we are over 50 peeps to date. I think I have written before about how sentimental my Hannah is - she is beyond sentimental. If you give her a gum wrapper that has some meaning she will remember what it was, save it & NEVER probably throw it away. For her to get married at someone's home that's in her family - that's the BEST. This home will in all likelihood be in our family for generations. It will be a special place that the 2 of them can always go back to and remember their day. Hannah really believes that the Lord gave it to them for HER wedding, ha! Then Austin comes into the family & I believe his 1st time to meet the whole gang was at Aunt Toni's house. The 1st time he saw it, he feel in love with it!! At Thanksgiving this year he stood on the back patio looking out with Ray & at that time he had already asked Ray to marry Hannah. We knew it was coming & they had already discussed that Aunt Toni's was where they would love to get married. He looked out & said to Ray - "my Dad's gonna love this place, I can't wait for him to see it". He could never wrap his thoughts around another place that would be more perfect to marry Hannah. So for both of them to think of having it in any ole place outside - doesn't have the meaning that this place has. The peace of God dwells there - you can feel it. It has been declared God's property & I believe the birds in the air even know it.

Toni & Mike are the biggest givers I know. They give IT ALL!! You name it, they give it. The time that they so graciously give to their children, their extended family & ANYBODY that God brings to them - it's a TRUE reflection of Jesus. SO, we are going to bombarde their home with over 200 people. Well not their home because it will all take place outside, well not all because there will be plenty going on inside - OK wait, she is a SAINT for saying yes to us, HA! I WILL owe her for the REST OF MY LIFE!!! Many of us in our family feel we owe them for the rest of our lives. Of course she doesn't keep score but I will owe her!

The biggest, biggest challenge with this wedding is the SIZE of the guest list. Hannah comes from a BIG, BIG, BIG family. Just Hannah alone has over 120 family members that are aunts, uncles, 1st cousins & 2nd cousins. WOW, my children have almost 50 immediate cousins, 50!! Austin has a few, as in he can count them on 1 HAND!! BUT, Austin has a HUGE, BIGGER, GIGANTIC church family! YIKES!!! This is a challenge. Our number that will fit under a tent - have a parking spot, will be 230. Boy oh BOY! The fair way is 115 each. BOY OH BOY!!! So the lists begin. And of course in our family unit most EVERYONE has an opinion. I began Hannah's list and started with 216 people on the list -- REALLY? That's a short list in my mind....ha! I went over it with Hannah and she added 13 people that I forgot. So we were looking at a list of 243 and don't see WHERE we can possibly cut it. It's unrealistic to think that EVERYONE that she would LOVE to be there to share in her day, can come. The "issue" with her list and really Austin's list is that they will probably have 95% of the people invited, come. So it's not like we can over invite knowing we can go by the 70% will come rule. We 1st have to make some hard decisions. It takes us probably 3 sit down times to do it because each time she leaves the table upset. We finally got our list down to 118 people. 118 PEOPLE!!! She says thats it, she's not going through it 1 more time to cut 3. Then comes Austin's list. He had a whole different set of challenges. He got his to 125 and he also had to leave out people that mean a lot to his family and to him. The more I talk to other Mothers of the Bride or MOB, ha - I hear the same thing - there isn't anything wrong with your children wanting an intimate wedding with family & close, close friends. There are things that Hannah wanted - a sit down dinner, which we couldn't have done for 400+ people. So, sacrifices had to be made & in the end we all PRAY that everyone will understand & support the happy couple. But we are all learning we just have to give and take. Austin has been precious as usual. He would probably give Han 50 of his people if he could. He is ALL about everything being perfect for his bride. What a wonderful way to plan a wedding. SO, I think we are close to having a firm list after some tweaking is done to it. It will be a magical night that is SO Hannah and Austin. We are loving the planning and looking forward to the big day. Can I just say that I truly love my new son that I already feel is my son. He is just so precious in so many ways. Ray and I just love him. He's so perfect for Hannah, so protecting and caring. I couldn't have asked God to pick a more perfect man for Hannah or our whole family. I can hardly wait to see their lives unfold together.

There is so much to update on wedding stuff. They had their engagement pictures taken last week. Can you repeat after me - perfect, gorgeous, most precious couple!! Brad Shull from Shull Photography www.shullphotography.com took them. He is a family friend of Austin's and now our family friend. Also he spent the afternoon at the place taking other pictures and a photography friend of his came to and she took their pictures also. Vanessa is from www.cpcamera.com - they both took such beautiful pictures and I was quite surprised that I had enough restraint to leave my camera equipment at home. Brad told me I was welcome to but I wanted to be the Mom and be there for Hannah. It was loads of fun and it was beyond strange to be on that end of an engagement shoot after me being the 1 to take the pictures for dozens of engaged couples. Of course it doesn't hurt when you trust the photographers. Here are a few...

These are some that Vanessa from CPCamera took.

Here are just a few of the many that Brad took from Shull Photography.

Such a precious couple. So that is my update on some of the specifics of the wedding. Lots of wonderful changes at our house that I will share later but God has turned us upside down and inside out. He is so faithful to us all and AMAZING things are ahead. If I would blog more often I wouldn't have to be so general but soon I will share more!!

Love to all!!