I have already shared with you that Leslie turned nine last Saturday, May 17, but I didn’t share the photos of her party. She was blessed with so many cards, gifts, and cash! My children are rather picky when it comes to cake. Some of them don’t like store bought cakes. I used to make really fancy cut-out cakes, but they didn’t like the homemade butter cream icing (the only frosting stiff enough to decorate with). So, I just make plain ol’ cakes in their favorite flavors and try to make it look as nice as possible. Leslie didn’t pick a theme, but I thought I’d go with Frozen, since our family likes that movie.

It didn’t come out the way I had imagined, but oh well. They said it tasted good!

Make a wish!

Her dad and I got her what she asked for: A Barbie sisters bicycle.

We also got her a Barbie dress. After all, Barbie can’t have enough clothes. 😉

She got lots of cards from friends and family far away. Our church family never ceases to overwhelm us with love. So many folks sent her a card or gave her a gift.  I tried to get a photo of each card. I apologize if I missed someone.

  

Each of her North Carolina cousins wrote her a note.

My mom wrote a nice note inside the card, and this acrostic on the back. She summed Leslie up perfectly.

Everyone had a good time at Leslie’s party.

She is growing up into a sweet young lady. She enjoys doing her own hair (as seen in these photos), organizing toys, books, or anything I”ll let her organize, and reading books. Because she is growing up, it was time for a checkup at the doctor. I have yet to find a family doctor for any of us here. (I know, I’m a bad Mom!) It’s been a real hassle to find a doctor who is covered by our insurance and figure out what restrictions our insurance has. For example, not all insurance companies cover well visits every year. (I found out the hard way.) And of course, Obamacare is only complicating matters in that area. However, I was finally able to find a doctor who was a provider on our insurance and who was taking new patients. Leslie was the first of the kids to see the new pediatrician. The doctor’s office was so adorable, that I just had to take some photos.

I’ve seen some murals in my time, but never this extravagant! Some details are three-dimensional, which may not show up in the photos very well.

Leslie liked the hat on the farmer! It made her think of a hat that her Granddad Basham wears. 🙂

I have to admit, that after seeing these cute rooms (the waiting area is done in a jungle theme), I expected the staff to enjoy their jobs. I didn’t get the vibe that they did, but maybe they were just having a bad day? I don’t even want to think of looking for yet another doctor, so unless the people are truly mean or incompetent, we plan on staying with them. At least we can enjoy the view while we wait!