Sam turned 10 last week. Ten on the tenth - his golden birthday! To explain the picture....somewhere along the line it has become a must to get a photo of the birthday boy (or girl) pretending to take a huge bite out of his/her cake. Unfortunately, I was so busy taking silly pictures that I forgot to take a nice one! Oh, well..... He had a really fun party with a few of his buddies. He had been planning FOREVER to have these four boys over for his birthday and play TACKLE football. Tim would ref, and Janie and I had fun plans to have a concession stand for the boys. Well, our plans were changed after Sam injured his elbow (from getting tackled...go figure) the week before the party. We were worried about a fracture, but the doc said it was just hyper-extended. Good news, but no football for a while. He was SUPER disappointed. But we came up with a plan B. He still had the boys over, and they played Wii football and had a Lego creation contest. Janie and I had our concession stand in the kitchen where the boys could come up to the counter and redeem their "tickets" for nachos, popcorn, pop, and candy. This was a huge hit with the boys, and they loved choosing from the menu and "buying" snacks whenever they wanted! They ate non-stop! We even had to "close" the concession stand towards the end so that they would have room for cake and ice cream! (Sorry to the moms for totally sugaring up your kids....:) We all had a really fun time!
It's hard to believe that my first boy is ten years old. I'm so proud of him and how he's growing up....of how they're all growing up!! Many of my posts kind of poke fun at the goofy things my kids do, but I just want to say how thankful I am for them. We all have those moments when we drive each other crazy, but the fact is I love 'em so much it makes my heart ache. Watching them grow and learn and mature is one of the greatest privileges I will ever know.
Okay, I'm finished...but let me close by sharing some unprompted phrases that humbled me this week:
"Mom, this shirt is so cozy..thank you for buying it for me!!" (shirt purchased from Goodwill for probably a dollar, since I usually tell them they can only buy it if it's the half-off tag!! :)
"I'm sorry for acting that way, Mom." (regarding tears of disappointment because MOM made a promise she didn't keep)
"Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for us and forgiving our sins.." (prayed at dinner by child who usually chooses the 'God is great, God is good, Let us thank him for our food..amen' route)
"I love you, Mom."
...these are the days...to remember......
