Our final birthday in April

April has always been a delightful month for our family.
When my husband and I decided on a date to get married way back in 1995, I thought April was perfect!
It felt "spring-like" to me with all the flowers and pastels and pretty spring things in the stores.
Tulips and pink everywhere.
Like new life and a fresh start were bursting out everywhere after the long winters!
My husband's birthday was the day after our wedding day, so that immediately made it fun.
I grew up with my sister and my mom also having their birthdays during that month.
So I felt right at home when I found out our second child would be born in April.
That settled it for me, and I was thrilled with the idea of having all our babies in April, and sure enough,
our third child was born 2 years later in April.

He turned 9 this last Friday!
I remember the exact moment my OB/GYN looked at the sonogram and told me we were having a boy.
I couldn't believe it.
I really, honestly, always thought I would have 4 girls, one after the other, and we would live happily ever after.
I couldn't imagine what to do with a boy.
I thought boy clothes were so boring.
And I know nothing about sports or cars or fishing or hunting.
What would I teach him about?
I was pretty sure boys were not interested in cake decorating or tea parties or nail polish or shoes!!
But when the doctor laid that 8lb. 6oz. baby boy on my belly for the first time, I was IN LOVE!
I thought he was the single most gorgeous baby boy I had ever laid eyes on.
(And I STILL think that!!)
But what a journey we've been on with him over the last 9 years.
His ADHD has taught us so much about ourselves and where we need to do better as parents, and has forced us to depend moment by moment on the Lord for patience, endurance, wisdom, and understanding.
We have learned so much about how God has wired the ADHD brain that we can almost pick them out in a crowd!!
We are so thankful for what the Lord has taught us about Himself, His relationship with us as His children, and how He has a very specific purpose for how He makes each of us unique.

Happy 9th Birthday, Grant!!

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Happy Birthday, Again!!

Today we're celebrating my husband's birthday!
Yesterday was our 15th anniversary, and we've been working hard to pull off a little getaway weekend.
We have the children going in various directions for the next couple days, and we're heading off to a couples retreat in a neighboring state!!  So excited to get to do this!
Have a lovely weekend!!

Happy 11th Birthday!!

Today, we're honoring Ashlyn who is celebrating her 11th birthday.

More pictures of all the fun tomorrow!



Happy Birthday!!

2 weeks ago was my self-appointed "Personal Assistant's" 7th birthday!!

This precious child is such a gift of Grace from the Lord.

He knew I would need her.

She has such a servant's heart that neither her father nor I can take one ounce of credit for developing or nurturing.

It was programmed into her from God above.

She is such a helper; but not one that needs any instructions.

If something is lost in the house, ask Abby.  She always knows where it is.

If I'm getting ready to leave the house, Abby is making sure I have everything I need.

If I'm creating in the kitchen, Abby will be at my elbow, wanting to help.

If her younger siblings are fussing or disgruntled, Abby will entertain and help them work through the problem.

If it's time to sit quiet and do our schoolwork, Abby has her pencil and books in front of her.

If I'm cleaning a bathroom, Abby picks which fixture to clean with me and makes it sparkle.

A gift.

Not perfect....still has a few rotten spots, but precious to our family!!

Happy Birthday, Abby!!!

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The first birthday of the season

Yep.
It's here.
Just as I get the last box of Christmas stuff packed shut and stuffed up into the attic.
Birthday season has officially begun!

From now until May 23, we will be celebrating 5 children's birthdays, the Mommy and Daddy's birthday, as well as the Mommy and Daddy's anniversary.
Not to mention a couple of Grandparents and the only Aunt will be celebrating their birthday within that time frame as well.
We have at least one birthday every month until that date in May, with the heaviest grouping of them being in April when we will have a daughter's birthday, the Daddy's birthday, and the Mommy and Daddy's anniversary all in one WEEK!!

And the first birthday of the year in our immediate household goes to......

ARYN!!

The baby of the family turned 3 years old yesterday.

In some ways, it's hard to believe that it has been three years since she was born,

but so much has happened in our lives since that time that it's hard to believe that

it has only been THREE years??

What a treasure she is.

So full of fun and sweetness...even with those occasional rotten spots!!

 We always start out the birthday celebration with "breakfast in bed"

complete with a donut for every year old they are now,

and the first present of the day.

 We decided to do the rest of our birthday celebrating at lunch today

especially so Daddy could participate with us on his lunch break from work.

The girls and I baked and decorated her cake,

and though we certainly would not have taken any awards for precision or beauty,

we so enjoyed working on it together.

Our nickname for her is "bear-bear" because of her little satin blanket with the bear's head attached that she so loved when she was even smaller.

Hence, the bears on the cake.

We all went out for a walk after lunch because we had such beautiful weather,

and I knew she would love to walk her "baby" in her new stroller.