9

This boy...
Words fail me right now...
Nine years old. Half way to 18.
This boy...has a vivid imagination, a playful spirit, a brilliant mind, a tender heart, a fierce independence, a bold honesty, a love of books and words, a passionate sense of right and wrong. He is a goal setter, a list maker, a leader. He is loud and wild and energetic. He is also quiet and still and thoughtful.

Jeremiah, our prayer is that you will always know that you are deeply loved. Our love as parents is imperfect but God's love for you is constant. My you always feel His love and follow Him with all of your passionate soul.

the party

 Cake at the park. It was a gorgeously cool day!

 

Every kid loves it when we sing the Happy Birthday Song.

 Blowing out the candles. 

 A crew of kids! Friends are so much fun!

Dylan climbed UP the slide!

 

Every birthday ends up being celebrated a bit differently. This year was surprisingly simple. Birthday boy wanted a cake from Costco (which they decorated to his specifications with a pirate ship) and for his friends to come to the Bounce House with him. So that is what we did. And everyone had a blast.

he turned 6

Nathaniel turned 6 yesterday. I feel like I should be more nostalgic about it, but I just haven't had the time. We will have a party on Saturday so yesterday we had the cousins over for dinner and celebrated with pizza and brownies with ice cream.

He is a special boy, this monkey of mine. This summer he grew and matured and suddenly looks so darned grown up.

now he is 8

 

 

On Saturday we had a little party for Jeremiah who turned 8 on Monday of this week. The one thing he wanted to do this year was play laser tag with some friends. So we kept it nice and simple with cake and icecream at our house (and presents of course!) and then we all loaded up and went to play laser tag. Nathaniel was picked up and taken to another friend's birthday sleep-over so we took Jeremiah out for dinner. Then we spent the evening back at home building new Lego sets and watching documentaries about space. It was a perfect way to celebrate our growing boy.

36

Some years birthdays come with lots of fanfare and extravagant celebration. Some years the introspection is deep. This year my birthday came quietly and gracefully. Another day in this blessed life. A day full of little every day joys like hot coffee and my Monday breakfast date with Nathaniel while Jeremiah is in science class. It was also a day with a couple of extra surprises thrown in like a thoughtful gift from my sister-in-law by my door when I got home. And a few extra treats for myself (two pieces of pumpkin pie in one day!). A day to do the normal daily thing like dishes and nap time and laundry, and end with dinner out and a complete conversation with my husband. A day to enjoy the messages on my Facebook feed (thanks Ben for making me cry!), the text messages, and the phone calls.

I hate taking pictures of myself. I hate posting pictures of myself. I literally cringe when I see a picture of myself. But I think that I am starting to change a bit in this area. I am trying really hard to celebrate myself in a healthy way. I am trying to be thankful for this physical body that I have been given and to maybe even see it as beautiful. Maybe. I am still working on that.

With that in mind - here is a picture of me, all by myself, on my 36th birthday. 

Lilly turns 3!

Two weeks ago we spent a beautiful Sunday evening with family and friends celebrating Lilly's 3rd birthday! It is so fun to have a niece. And this little girl is full of fire and energy and imagination and creativity. We sure do love her!

Nathaniel's Pool Party

The cake.

Super easy thanks to a friend letting me borrow the soccer figures. 

 Annual birthday picture!

Late night target practice with the new marshmallow shooters.

We had a great evening at the pool last night celebrating Nathaniel. We prayerfully watched the weather reports all day and came up with a back-up plan that thankfully we didn't need. It was a gorgeous evening and the community recreation center pool was full of happy, playing kids. Nathaniel felt loved and special, which is always my goal for my kids birthday parties.