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December 3, 2015 | Stacy

My birthday came on Wednesday. An all around busy day for us.
We had CBS in the AM. I got to be a helper in Katriel’s class. Those teachers are SAINTS!

Lunch was our regular Wednesday sandwich feast, courtesy of Nan. She also made cuppy-cakes.

We PuSHeD through school and I couldn’t even tell you what we woofed down Steakum sandwiches for dinner. We hurried through a few gifts and had a HUGE good laugh when I opened the exact same sweater from John that I had opened hours earlier from Nan!

We took Marie, Johanna and Tabitha to an outing they had, and Stewart and Nigel stayed home to shoot a movie. So, John, Katriel and I went to Target for a few things and then to Panera for a chocolate brownie. The new Panera in Penfield was a huge disappointment. The “crummy-design” Panera with super small offerings. So we hightailed it to the fab-tastic Fairport location and all was right for the night.

When we all got in for the night Stewart presented his video offering. That just may be the best gift I’ve ever received.

Stewart’s birthday gift to Mommy

December 2, 2015 | Stacy

The plan prior to our trip cross country was for Stewart to take footage of us dancing in as many locations as possible and we would put it to the music, “We Were Made to Thrive” by Casting Crowns.

Unfortunately, once we were home we could not find the SD card for the last leg of our trip, from after the Rockies, through Mt. Rushmore, Mall of America, and Caddie Woodlawn’s home. The project was shelved, and I admit, I was VERY disappointed.

Last night, Stewart surprised me with this for my birthday. Whilst it is still missing the last bit of the trip, it still fills me with such gladness. It was the best vacation of our lives.

I love this family.

Stewart's birthday gift to Mommy

December 2, 2015 | Stacy

Last night, Stewart surprised me with this for my birthday. Whilst it is still missing the last bit of the trip, it still fills me with such gladness. It was the best vacation of our lives.

I love this family.

Nan’s birthday

October 26, 2015 | Stacy

My camera battery died. Kelly took photos but I never saw them. I did get a picture of the cake earlier in the day….

Fifteen…

August 19, 2015 | Stacy

We woke him up…
And then spent a quiet day at home.
Nan splurged and bought steaks all around, so I made him mashed potatoes and cole slaw to go with it.
Yum.
Truth be told, he was actually FAR more interested in getting part of the yard/woods prepped for the upcoming filming the boys have planned for their new movie. We had to BEG him to come back in the house for gifts and dessert. LOL.

My “baby” is sure growing up. He’s taking a college class this fall, we went for a work permit, and he’s applied for a job.
I guess 15 in the new 16, or something like that.

He’s a great guy. I’m excited to see the young man he grows into, and I am fervently praying he always follows the King of Kings.

Happy Birthday, Marie.

July 13, 2015 | Stacy

Eleven years old!
We woke her up with a birthday song.
Doesn’t she look, um, delighted?

It was the first day of VBS and she spent her morning there.
After lunch, her friend Kole came over for the afternoon and evening.

Nan and Nene also joined us for dinner. Hawaiian pizza was the main dish, with watermelon and pasta salad accompaniment. Summer-yum food!
Such sweet beauties.

We had a few gifts, including the song Tabitha played for her.

Lots of silly cards from siblings.

And a heart-made gift from Kole.

Jammies.

And cake. After we all enjoyed Nigel’s cake 11 days earlier, she put in an order for the same chocolate masterpiece.

She’s so beautiful. I love her smile. I love her heart. I love her.

Nigel is 13

July 2, 2015 | Stacy

All my kids’ birthdays are special – but I always get choked up at Nigel’s. My former preemie is a teenager today.
We assembled in the hall in the morning to head in to wake him with a birthday song. Nigel is pretty fortunate that Daddy ends up with his birthday off more years than not.

Like last year, Nigel made a request to have a mystery date with Daddy in lieu of regular gifting. This was the fourth year in a row, and honestly, this works SO well for us. Stuff is stuff. But time together is a treasure. I’m sure that it is even more so in a larger family. The one-on-one time for fun means a lot to us.

Daddy isn’t a blogger, nor is he equipped with a smart phone. So we have to just envision the good time that they had.
Mini-golf. Grand China Buffet. Batting cages. Go Karts. Other stuff I don’t remember.
They took it easy on dessert because Nigel was home in time for his requested dinner of angel hair pasta with Alfredo sauce. I had not been able to score a decent price on shrimp, but Nan came through with some from her freezer.
After dinner we had some cards, gifts, and cake.

And when I say, “Cake,” I mean, “CAKE!!!!!!”

Daddy’s birthday

April 20, 2015 | Stacy

Daddy had to travel on his birthday, so we celebrated a day early.
He had helpers for his gifts.

And we ate some of the cupcakes from Tab’s party to celebrate in his absence.

Tabitha’s 9th birthday party

April 18, 2015 | Stacy

It was a gorgeous day out. Seventy degrees and sunny.
We had all day to prepare and everyone worked together.
The party was scheduled for 4:00 – 7:30. Which is really cool. Except in my head I thought it was 4:30 – 7:00. Which left me sort of surprised as cars started pulling in at 4. LOL. It was even on the calendar!!!

They played a few games in the driveway. Johanna was a party guest, along with all the big girls.

Katriel hung out with us most of the time, as well. But she didn’t get into the games.

These girls were so fun and funny.

Time for dinner. Pizza and fruit. Survey says, most 9 year old girls don’t like pineapple… (because that was all that was left just about.)

After dinner we handed out aprons for each girl.

And we started frosting cuppycakes. On Thursday Nan had made 72 cupcakes. We put them in these little boxes (you can really buy ANYTHING on Amazon). Then Saturday morning John and I made frosting. Lots and lots of frosting. Lots.

The girls were super creative.

Because we wanted them each to get to take home their creations (and because I enjoy making frosting?) we had a regular cake to sing over. I had no ~~time left~~ creative juices left to make a “fun” cake, so Tabitha provided Lego girls to doll up the cherry frosting. Her smile tells me she is okay with this.

Some of the finished products.

As fun as it was to party with the big girls, Hanny was excited to see a new baby in attendance. She asked the baby’s mommy if she could hold her, and the mommy said yes. ♥

When Katriel figured out what Hanny was up to, she wanted a chance, too.

The party ended around 7:30 – I think. And we have a lot of cupcakes around the house as each of my girls made 6. I think we will freeze some. Because that’s a lot of frosting!