Happy Birthday Zachery!

Today is the big day - Zachery is officially 14! We had a birthday party for him on Friday night and so the pictures are from then, I'll save the pictures from today for another post. On the menu was stir-fry and blackberry pie....I really can't remember how many years it's been since I made Zach a birthday cake - he's always preferred something else. Zachery wanted to invite the Shively family over for the evening and then have their 2 youngest boys stay the night so that's what we did. I think the rest of us had as much fun at his party as he did=)

Here he's opening up the presents from Joseph and Jon....some much needed bicycle tire tubes=)Since our church has been participating in a town softball league we've spent many hours at the park practicing and playing games - after the very first practice Zach's glove disappeared so here he is with a new one for his birthday.

He also got some clothes, a boomerang, a hockey jersey, a movie (Lord of the Rings), and a few other treasures from his family=)

We did things a bit out of order so after supper he opened presents, then we played a game, then he had his birthday pie. The game we played was probably more fun for those of us observing than the ones playing but they were good sports=) It was a race to see who could find the first 5 Skittles out of the plate of whip cream (or applesauce for Jon who's allergic to dairy=)

Zach enjoyed the game and the whipped cream a little too much!

When the birthday pie was delivered Jesse started blowing out the candles before Zach was even ready to start - I guess that's the life of a big brother!

The next activity on the list was making s'mores but I didn't take any pictures of that, or of the boys riding their bikes and playing outside, or of the somewhat brutal games of Jungle Speed and Slap that were going on inside. The boys went to bed late and were up early, ready to go at it again....oh, to be 13 again - I mean 14.

There are days when I just sit back and smile - so happy for the family I've been given. Today was one of those days, I'm so glad to have the privilege of being a stay at home mom with these 5 kids and getting to watch them grow and change and become the people that God is molding them into. Zach is on the brink, making that step from boyhood to manhood - sometimes it seems a tiny step away and sometimes its gigantic. But Matthew and I are so glad for the opportunity to be the ones that get to be there on the front lines cheering them on as they grow up and prepare their wings to spread wide open and leave the nest.

"We love you, bud! Have a good year and keep choosing the right thing, you've done well and we are proud to see that as time goes by you are growing not only physically but spiritually as well!"