Eli 9 years old

Today my little big man turns 9!  Wow, hard to believe!

Eli is our JOY!  He can make everyone smile, especially when you put him with his "silly" Pap.

That grin and those dimples, he's just a happy little man!

More importantly, Eli loves Jesus!  He desires to be a preacher when he grows up and I think there are big things in store for him!

Eli was our Christmas gift and continues to bring us laughter and joy throughout the year!

Happy Birthday Little Man!  Have a great day!

Nathaniel 11 Years Old!

 Today my little big man, Nathaniel, turned 11!  Wow, time sure does fly!  Nathaniel is the most kind and caring young man I know!  He can be super sweet to his siblings and then go out on the football field and tackle someone!  

I love his passion and his sweet innocence!  

He said it was a good day, only thing that would have made it better - "No school for my birthday!"

 

Stylin in his new Russel Wilson jersey!

Ready for football!

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY NATHANIEL BLAKE! 
We love you so much!

Third Year in Double Digits

Today my little man turns 12!  Wow, that's hard to swallow!  How did that happen?

He is a very smart, hard working, Jesus loving little man that I'm sure God has BIG things planned for!  I'm excited to see as those plan unfold!

We are also excited to celebrate Ronnie Lee III today!

Happy Birthday little man, We love you!

Still Celebrating

We continued to celebrate Maddie's 6th birthday and will have one more "celebration" when my parents come this week!

It was nearly 7pm before we were able to celebrate together with dinner, cake and presents, but she waited ...mostly patiently!

She had asked for an ice cream cake, which made it easy on me!

I love that all 3 brothers got her something!  She was super excited about Ronnie's as he gave her a scavenger hunt to go on to find her gift.  She had to look first where the musical instrument books are kept (piano bench), then where she "cleans up" every night (bathroom), then finally to where the boys keep their Sunday clothes (their closet).  She loved it and then she got an M&M machine that Ronnie had made in his woodworking class! 

 She was also pretty excited about her very own "big girl" Bible!

Then on Saturday she got another celebration when Ron's parents came.  She even got a gift from Uncle Ryan and Morgan.  A leather purse that they had made together!  I loved it and Maddie was pretty excited too!

Then a doll that looks just like her - but she named her Abby!

I'm sure there will be more celebrating when my parents come this week.  We have had a good few days of celebrating this 6 year old!

Can't believe she is getting so big!

6 years

Today my baby turns 6!  Maddie Anne is an absolute Blessing and just what we needed in this family full of boys!  She makes us laugh with her quick wit and proud with her caring heart!  She is smart and kind and she is 6 today!

Happy Birthday Maddie Anne - we love you "Bigger than the Universe"!

 posing on the St. Andrews pier

 bright sun overlooking the North Sea

birthday girls!

Double Digits

 Today Nathaniel Blake turns 10 years old! 

Nathaniel loves his siblings!  They love him too!  He is the most caring and considerate of the 4 and absolutely loves to be with people!

 Nathaniel is a leader (both on and off the field).  

(He's in the gold socks to the right - quarterback)

I love those big brown eyes and the little man that he is becoming!  

He is growing physically, spiritually, and emotionally daily!  I am so proud of the young man he is becoming! 

We love you Nathaniel Blake!  

Happy 10th!

11 Years

Today Ronnie Lee III turns 11!

I'm not sure I'm ready for that!  We have a busy day with VBS and a ball game tonight, but we will find some time to celebrate this young man too!!

Happy Birthday Ronnie!!  We love you!

 

Happy 5th Maddie

Today my Baby celebrated her 5th birthday!

As I tucked her into bed tonight she seemed to think it went well, but she was very very tired!

We started the celebration off this morning with babysitting kids!  We even had cupcakes for lunch.  I don't recommend giving 5 preschoolers sugar before laying them down for naps, but it worked!

This picture is very rough - not a good face on any of them, but pretty funny.  Our days with this crew are never dull!

 

 Maddie couldn't seem to decide on a cake, so we combined some things.  Lots of Hello Kitty stuff this year and a Belle thrown in for good measure!  She seemed pleased!

I was impressed that all 3 boys wanted to go shopping for their sister.  They had just gotten a few dollars from their Pap and they were determined to buy Maddie Birthday gifts.  She was pleased with their choices!

 At dinner this evening Maddie announced,  "You now have a 5 year old sister".  Well I guess it's official.  She followed her statement up with, "Don't worry guys, I'm still gonna be funny".

Love this little princess!

So so blessed to be her Momma and watch her grow daily and even more excited to see what she will do for Jesus in the years to come!

Happy 5th Birthday Maddie Anne! 
We love you so much!

A Whole Hand!

My beautiful baby girl is growing up!  

Today Maddie Anne turns 5 - a whole hand!

She's beautiful, talented, loving and kind!  She has such a sweet personality.  She's a delightful mix of her Daddy and I!  She is just so much fun!  She brings laughter and fun into our home and a little "girly fun"  too!

Maddie Anne I am so proud to be your Momma!  Although it is difficult to watch you grow up before my eyes, I'm excited to see all that Jesus has for your life!

7th Birthday

Eli = 7 years old!

Difficult to believe.  My babies are getting so big (this is the part of parenting I don't like)!

He's growing and maturing and not at all the little baby that watched that first Christmas from a bouncer seat, not sure he will ever be that still again!

I have to admit I was nervous about the cake this year.  I didn't really have the drive that I usually do and I contemplated just going to the bakery, but Eli's last input was... "Mom, surprise me!"

So with Ron's help we went with a Big E camo cake, he loved it!

Pap and Grandma came to help celebrate too.

This is a rare moment, so thought I better document!  

Eli tackled Ronnie in order to get a hug after opening a gift from him.

Eli was excited about his Duck Dynasty Truck, boat and ducks from Pap and Grandma.

And despite the look I captured on his face, he loved his new tent!

So much so that he convinced his Dad to try to set up a 10 x 10 tent in the living room.

 It didn't work ,but he got the idea!

As Eli told his grandparents tonight about the day, he was so excited!  It was a good birthday.  A "camo birthday", he called it!  

We enjoyed celebrating our Big E today!

Happy  Birthday Eli, We Love you!

Elijah Wesley

Today Eli turns 7!  WOW!  It doesn't seem possible.  I remember bringing him home from the hospital just  two days before Christmas.  I remember him sitting in a bouncer seat as we celebrated Jesus birthday.

This little man is a JOY!  You can tell by his face he is just all fun and boy and smiles and laughter.

We got the nicest compliment this week.  While we were celebrating Uncle Ryan's life, ,a cousin was greeting us and said, "Ryan could always light up a room with his smile.  I thought I would never see someone who could do that like him, but your Eli - he has it.  His smile lights up rooms."

It's true too!  He's the kind of boy you love to be around.  The kind that can make you laugh and just brings so much joy to our home.  Eli is a smart little man too and his desire to be a preacher someday like his Daddy makes us so proud!  He's passionate and sweet and kind and loving, but mostly he's joyful and fun loving!  He's Eli and we are so blessed to have the privilege of parenting him!

Today we celebrate Eli and the joy he brings!  We celebrate his seven years of life and look forward with anticipation to what the Lord will do in and through him!  I'll post more on our celebration, but for now - know that today there is JOY!

Nathaniel's 9th Birthday

Today our little man turned 9 years old.

It seems hard to believe!

His brothers  and sister all love him so much!

Maddie gave him a picture she colored!

 He liked his cake!

FV is Fairview!  He didn't know what he wanted for a cake, "surprise me" he said!  He seemed pleased and excited!  Although he said I'd have to do it again in two years with #11.  That's the number he likes! ;)

Nathaniel had his friend, Kolton, over to spend the night on Friday night. 

They had a fun time playing football, baseball and just having fun!

Nathaniel Blake, named after his Uncle (Ryan Nathan) and his Pap (Blake).  He is an amazing kid. The most sensitive little man I know.  He is kind to everyone, loves life and is just a great kid.  I'm amazed by his strength, by his sweetness, by his innocence.  He's kind, loving, gentle and just so much fun!

Nathaniel, we love you so much and are so proud of the man you are becoming! 

Happy Birthday Big 9 year old!

89 Years

Today we went to the Nursing Home where Grandma Donna lives to celebrate her 89th Birthday!

There were 3 daughters, 3 granddaughters and 11 great-grand kids who came to celebrate with her (I didn't get them all in a picture)

It was a little chaotic, but we celebrated Grandma's Birthday!

Happy 89th Grandma Donna!