Sakes Alive, Breanna's 5!

GËZUAR DITËLINDJEN, BREANNA!

That is how we say "Happy Birthday" in Albanian. You would follow that up with "U bëfsh njeqind vjeç" or "May you become 100 years old". On February 20th, we celebrated the 5th birthday of Breanna. It was a wonderful time to praise God for the sweet gift of Breanna to our family.

CLICK on the arrow to watch a 35 second video of Breanna singing her favorite song to Jesus on her birthday. This is one of the most wonderful things for a parent to hear coming out their child's mouth.


Here is Breanna on her birthday morning. She woke up and ran downstairs to see if everything was decorated. There were some presents from family in the states and from us. It was fun to see her face light up when she saw the birthday banner, the ribbons and the gifts.

Breanna only asked for a few things and one of them was an umbrella. Thankfully, I had purchased one at Target before we left and had it ready to wrap for her birthday. We use umbrellas quite frequently because we walk more here than in the states. Now she has her own umbrella and rain boots for tromping around in the rain and mud.

We enjoyed a small party for Breanna at our house with some friends from church and school. Here are some of the party-goers. There were 9 adults and 12 kids that shared dinner and cake. Speaking of cake...

Breanna requested a chocolate cake with pink frosting. The cake was one of her birthday presents because the powdered sugar to make this frosting was almost $10. Who knew it would cost so much. Actually, at one store I saw that it was double that price. I also splurged on a pint of strawberries and sliced them for in between the cake layers. It was a tasty cake and we ate every last crumb and dollop of frosting.


One week after Breanna's birthday she ran into a gate and got this nasty cut on her forehead. Thankfully, she did not have to have stitches, although it was a close call. This was the first bit of Stire blood spilled on Albanian soil. I'm sure it won't be the last though. She was up and running a few hours after the visit to the medical clinic. I wonder where she gets her adventurous spirit and her hard head? Me, of course. Who were you thinking of? Lol!

We praise God for Breanna and for the 5 wonderful years we have been blessed with her. We pray for many more and for years that are marked by a sincere and committed love for Christ. We covet your prayers for her salvation and a soft heart towards God.