Emmalee Rose

Summer of 2011

So, notice I am not going in any particular order with introducing my kids. :)

Emmalee was born April 20, 2000 and is my ONLY girl. The running joke in our home is it's a good thing she was child number 5, because if we had had a girl first, I would NOT have 8 children! (it's a joke...calm down) It's true what they say, girl's are dramatic. Much different than raising boys. VERY different. But, I can NOT imagine my life without my little girl.

Mom, Emmalee & Kevin

She is exactly like me when I was little. I am sure my Grandmother would call her "Gabby Girl" too...she LOVES to talk. She is a beautiful girl, full of love and sweetness. She is very girlie, which surprises me because with all these boys in the house, I didn't think she'd have a chance. BUT, she is our "tough chick". She has attitude and can hang with the teenage boys better than anyone. Her brothers torture her to death, but she holds her own pretty darn well, hands on her hips and all! She is very athletic and loves to play soccer, too. Actually, any sport she enjoys...I love that she will get outside with her brothers and play football (and she throws a pretty good spiral, too).

Emmalee camping

I have watched my little girl grow into a wonderful young lady. She loves God and I see her always trying to do the right things by Him. She has always gone to public school, but this year, she started to really struggle with social issues and peer pressure and major amounts of "girl drama". She did NOT like it at all. After I started home schooling Elliott and Gideon, she came to us and begged that we allow her to try. After weeks of back and forth, we agreed and now she is home. I have seen a major, positive change in her since she got away from the school drama. I know she misses the social interaction, but she seems to be more sure of herself and less distracted.

Emmalee and her best friend at age 2, Kayla

Emmalee is being evaluated for Asperger's Syndrome, and although not officially diagnosed yet, we believe she has it, although NOT severe. She most definitely suffers from anxiety and depression but she is working very hard at working through these things.Funny enough, because of this, Kevin (the 18 year old) has become very in tune to when Emmalee is feeling bad and doesn't hesitate to offer her hugs and reassurance that she will be ok. They are very close, which cracks me up because there was a time when I thought they would kill each other! ;)

Emmalee 2010

Emmalee is a Papa's girl. She was 13 months old when Eric and I started dating and that man loves her more than life itself. She is constantly seeking Papa's approval and goes to him when she is hurt or down. A Papa hug always makes everything better!

Emmalee, the amazing sister & Gideon

I can't imagine life without my sweet, loving, intelligent, sporty, beautiful little girl!