Now THAT is a party hat!
Romans 12:10 – Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
birthdays
Happy Birthday to me!
Like any other mom on the planet (?) I chose Chuck E. Cheese for dinner for my birthday.
It seems only fitting as my friend and co-worker, Karrie, thinks I look like Chuck E. Cheese. (Really, she told me that.)
The place was mobbed when we arrived. This is not how we typically find it. In retrospect we know we went TOO early; birthday parties were still going on. Once 6 P.M. hit it emptied right out.
We opened gifts first so that John could get them back out into the van.
I love Johanna’s wrapping.
We played games until the pizza was ready.
And after dinner, we enjoyed some amazing cheese cake.
Nigel has always been a Ticket Master at CEC. But what is different about him now is he gave all his winnings to his sisters.
Here is the close up of the new purse John gave me.
Can you see what makes it extra special?
(Pssssst – look for Mickey Mouse.)
Psalm 90:12
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Nan’s birthday
Happy birthday Poppy and Ba.
We had a yummy dinner and pie as we celebrated John’s Mom and Dad’s birthdays.
Stewart’s day out with Dad
After church, John and Stewart scooted out for their day out to celebrate Stewart’s birthday. They headed down to Letchworth State Park. None of us have been there before and Stewart has grown to enjoy exploring a bit, so it seemed like a nice outing for the two of them.
They saw tremendous gorges and waterfalls in the Grand Canyon of the East.
But what photos to I have to share?
Lunch!
They dined at Glen Iris.
And Stewart marveled at his (safe!) lunch, calling it the best meal of his life.
He has since amended this statement to proclaiming it the best sandwich of his life.
So glad they had a great time together.
Seventeenth birthday
Stewart has been the first kid to do a lot of things around here. Once again, he can claim to be the first one to wake up on a campsite on his birthday.
We arrived home, unpacked, and proceeded to invest in his celebration. The guys had stopped at Walmart and Tab helped me make a lemon cake (and filling. and frosting.).
Nan and Nene joined us for a most excellent dinner not prepared in the great outdoors or on my knees in front of a campfire.
He was blessed with some gifts.
(And blessed us with this smile.)
He not only liked this, he all but placed an order for it while he was shopping with me one day at Walmart.
Sisters shared homemade cards. (Hanny asked if she could have hers back if he thought he’d just throw it out.)
I love this young man.
And the cake rocked, too.
13 on the 13th
Marie was up before anyone else. She emptied the dishwasher and fed her little sisters and got some coffee. She’s a do-er.
Nan picked her up at 11:30 and took her to Longhorn for lunch, and to Glow Golf and then back to her house for a while.
Back at home?
WE PREPARED HER SURPRISE PARTY!
Friends arrived at 4:00 P.M. in anticipation of Marie’s 4:30 P.M. arrival.
I wish I had great shots of her surprise, but our camera suddenly stopped working for Stewart, and I accidently filmed in slow motion.
I invited them to the table for dinner, which we served in courses on China.
In lieu of gifting, I asked guests to consider bringing some art work of their own for her to keep.
I had a lovely craft planned, and ordered oil-based Sharpies on Amazon Prime on 7/6 and they were decidedly NOT here in 2 days. (It’s the third time this year Prime failed me… I’m counting Amazon!)
We pulled out Bible Apples-to-Apples and Ella won.
And enjoyed Oreo Cheesecake and ice cream.
Markers arrived and the girls decorated mugs.
I love these ladies.
And so does Marie.
In Between Birthdays!
It’s a little bit busy here these days.
We had exactly one evening where we could celebrate our July birthdays with grandparents.
Of course I forgot to take many pictures.
William’s birthday at Dave and Buster’s
Our dear friend, William, turned ten this year and celebrated with a birthday party at Dave and Buster’s. All the kids were invited and we had a lot of fun.
Stewart and Mr. Hoyt…
Tab and Marie…
Katriel and Johanna.
Tab, and Sophia W….
Marie and Nigel
I lost track of how many times these three raced on Mario Karts.
My sweet friend, Marguerite. She is such a blessing to me!!
Dayspring Disciples 