Someone had a birthday!!!
We spent a wonderfully relaxed day together. No school on birthdays of course. ;)
I spent it reflecting once again on how far we have come. Remembering that now long ago birthday where we barely got out of the hospital in time to celebrate his 3rd birthday at home. How that ended up just being the lull before the storm. And how we weathered that storm and survived.
Indeed thrived, in it's aftermath.
Praise the Lord!
For his birthday dinner Atty picked a roasted whole chicken baked with potatoes/carrots/onion, and rice on the side. It's nice to be able to add in rice now, once and a while. I like the dinner combinations my children come up with on their birthdays and making that special for them. They always pick such delicious and sometimes surprising things. :)
Atty was swamped once again with all things bird related. Banden likes to make his gifts, so he made Atty some birds. :) Ira gave him a gift certificate to pick out his own bird on amazon, and Leiella got him a bird watch. I love seeing the kids wanting to give to one another and finding such joy in it. They save their own money up and buy the gift that way. Or they make things, putting such thought into their ideas for others. They will skip buying stuff for themselves to make sure they have enough to buy gifts for others. It makes my heart so happy to see the joy that giving brings them.
He was very thrilled by the bird book his bio brother and family sent him. He has been sleeping with it since then.
Even since his third birthday when his daddy got him a funny singing card, after his long stay in the hospital, we get him a funny singing card. He loves them. :)
He was very excited about this puzzle.
Showing me how the bird he just got matched up with a real bird in his new bird book. :)
Made yet another winner in the grain free/dairy free/soy free/corn free/refined sugar free/preservatives, food coloring and msg free department. ;)
It was quite tasty.
It is required by Atty that his cake be in the shape of a heart. The same heart pan I've used since his first birthday. Because he is my heart child. He will have in no other way. He reminded me numerous times through out the day. I had to make two cakes this year because we needed a little more cake than the small heart shape would give us. But I stuck with tradition, because we are all about traditions around here. ;)
Happy bird birthday tooooooo yooouuuuuuu!
So big!
Banden loves to photo bomb, it's his favorite thing to do right now. ;)
Twinsies! Ira can hardly wait to turn eight now, he hates being younger than Atty. Ha ha!
My kiddos just won't stop growing up way too fast! No matter how much I beg! ;)
Snuggles for my heart child.
His heart day is actually the 9th of February. The day he came into our home and into my heart. At six days old. My first glimpse of him, he was a tiny wrinkly little thing with red fuzz for hair, all curled into his carseat. I took one look at him and felt my heart fill so full of love I thought it would burst! Love and a fierce need to protect. I surprised my own self with how fast we bonded! We make that day a bit special as well around here, because I didn't get to be there when he came into this world. So that day, for me, holds more significance in a lot of ways. He grew in my heart, not my belly. :) Although I am of course super grateful for the day he was born! I've been working on a quilt square for every year (Although I'm a bit behind, but Atty forgives me.) and after we celebrate his eighteenth heart day I'm going to sew it all together and give it to him. Each one has a different theme but they all have a heart in the square somewhere. He loves looking at them every year on his special heart day, and talking about the story of how he came into our lives, and what he was like as a baby.
Family picture! J doesn't like being in pictures, but is sure is nice having him around to take some. ;)
It didn't take long for my puzzle geniuses to get this puzzle together, ha ha! They sure love a good puzzle.
