Silas' 6th birthday

Our spunky, full of life, funny, incredibly cute and sweet Silas turned six in September. My mom encouraged us to have his party before we left for Mali, which at the time, I thought was just a bit stressful. However, once his actual birthday came around in Mali, I was quite thankful that we had done his party. Moms do know best! Brett and I were sitting in a room full of stuff working on something when Kenan came in and asked what day it was. I said, "The 7th." It was only then that I realized that the next day was S' birthday. So we celebrated with his meal of choice and cookies. And then the craziness of moving into a new place continued. So I am so very grateful that my mom decided to have his party with friends before we left, despite what my thoughts on the matter were. :)

His party was Avatar themed, which was fitting as that was their thing this summer. He was Ang.

 The cake had some troubles, mostly because I was impatient and tried to move faster than I should have. Haste does in fact make waste.

Thankfully with persistence, the cake turned into a fairly decent looking cake. (Yes, that is the same cake)

Brett was the Fire Lord. I get much pleasure from dressing him up as various villains for the kids' parties. I so enjoy getting to laugh at the terrible outfit we put him in. Despite our cheap dress up clothes, he always ends up being the hit of the party. What boy doesn't like saving the day and triumphing over evil on his birthday party?

Reading the directions of what they must do to master fire, wind, earth and water.

The final battle of Ang vs the Fire Lord.

Ang won, even before he had help from others. Brett was a really good sport.

A fun day was had by all and was followed with a sleepover with their friend, Nate.

Silas, you have truly grown up and are becoming such a big boy who can do so much! We are so thankful the Lord gave you to us. You make our lives better and more exciting each day. Love you so much!!

Another post of just my little girl

I told Brett the other day that while I know objectively that H probably isn't the cutest baby in the whole world, when I look at her, that is all I can think. She steals my heart each and every day.

The hat and matching blanket were made my mom for H. 

She looked so cute after church one Sunday that we just had to have an impromptu photo shoot. :)

This is the christening gown that my grandmother made for me when I was a baby.

A few days before we left for Mali I decided H should have a few pictures with grass since she won't see it for quite some time. I think she likes it. :)

There was one, there were two, there were three little monkeys, there were four...

Have I said enough that the boys LOVE their sister? Because they do.

There were two...

there were three...

there were four little monkeys

If one of the boys gets to lay with Haven, they all want to. And below is often how our mornings started where each boy would make it into my bedroom to say hello to me  Haven. If H had had a bad night I always had to make sure my light was off in the room near the time the boys got up, even if I was feeding her, so that they wouldn't enter into the room and I could sneak in a little more sleep. If they saw the light on, they came in. 

And she loves them just as much as they love her. She thrives on all the attention and the general loudness of life around her. The few times Brett and I have traveled with just her she seems lost and bored with just us as entertainment.

I never thought the boys would be so into their sister. I knew they'd love her but it is so sweet to see how much they genuinely enjoy her and love to love on her. Haven has been such a sweet, sweet blessing to our family. I can't imagine us without her!

Fire bending

When I am writing in the month of October about pictures from July, I feel a bit overwhelmed by how far behind I am in keeping up with what's been going on. But I am reminded that this is for the kids to look back upon more than for the present so with that in mind, I press on. (Hopefully they will thank me one day).

One thing I hate about summer in America is that it gets dark SO LATE and the boys are always sad that they have to go to bed while it is still light outside. While I'd love to let them stay up, they don't sleep in and we pay for it desperately the next day so in general, my boys rarely see the dark during summer months. So on the rare occasions that they do, I hope it feels them with excitement and much joy. The week before my sister's family left for Ecuador, Zachary spent the night with the boys. They watched a movie and ate pizza and popcorn and then went out and did sparklers. They were into Avatar this summer so they enjoyed "fire bending" with them.

These are the moments that I will cherish forever. When all are happy and filled with wonder. When there is nothing better than what is currently happening with the loved ones around them. It's as though my heart will burst with all the love and joy I feel. I hope the boys remember these special moments in time and one day come to realize what a gift these times are.