It’s hard to believe that it has been 7 years since we said good-bye to our precious Emma Anne. Her birthdays still have the power to bring up emotions in me, but I’m not afraid to live through them. This year I actually had the wrong date in my head, so we celebrated a day later, but it was still a good day.

As usual, I took a day off from the computer to mark this special anniversary. I wish I could say I spent a lot of time in prayer and reflection, but as often happens we ended up having several interruptions to the day. But they were all good interruptions, things that showed me God’s care and love. I’ve been feeling quite isolated the last two weeks as we’ve fought the flu. I’m limited to what I can get out and do even though I am better, because the boys are still sick. But on Friday I was able to get out to see my counselor for the first time here in Germany and to visit with another new friend as well. It was helpful to me to be able to share a few details of Emma’s life and her place in our family.

We obviously weren’t able to go to the cemetery as usual. But we went the day before we left the states and were able to get our usual pictures. On Saturday, Elise and I walked down to a cafe in town and bought some slices of fancy cheesecake and other cakes to celebrate Emma’s heaven birthday. We had a nice relaxing family day.