We started off the year 2023 at Grammy&Papa's farm in Georgia. Watching the steam rise off the field in the morning is so beautiful and peaceful.
One of the boys' favorite things about the farm, and there are many things they love, is Chip and Biscuit. Biscuit was just a puppy, and he was so goofy and sweet that he was easily loved. The boys wallowed all over him just as much as he wallowed over them!
Hunting has really become a staple of our visits to the farm. I love how much the boys can spend time with their Papa and Dad, I love that they are learning a useful skill, I love that they are bonding with each other and I love how proud they are of themselves as they feel less like boys and more like men.
David got in the habit of climbing my favorite tree - the Japanese Magnolia. Inevitably, he asks for a picture or I insist upon one. The beauty of the clear blue winter sky is never lost.
I had to snap a picture of my sweet friends Dalton and Ann leading prayer and reading scripture during the middle of the night.
I got this sweet little 'splash' the cat for Hannah's miracle baby. It was the same one Jessica's little girl had as a baby, and I absolutely love giving these little rattles at baby showers. They are just so precious!
Our Young Life ladies couldn't help but throw a baby shower for Hannah's surprise baby girl. It was hosted by Gayle Garrison, and so many friends from years ago when the Wests lived in Clay County came to celebrate - almost like a reunion! Praise the Lord for the miracle of her life.
Calvin's robotics team 'the Eaglebots' went to their competition locally. It was a chaotic, loud experience, and they did great for their first one. Go Eaglebots!
James had his soccer banquet to celebrate their season. Matt had the a soccer ball plaque made for James to keep- the same as the one pictured. Their championship season was one to remember!
David finished his 'goat boat' lego build from the Thor movie. He was so proud!
I took James to Grumpy's to celebrate his 13th birthday! It is such a strange and fantastic thing to watch your kid grow up.
As always, James asked for Legos and also got lots of books. I love the hair; grown out and shaggy in the junior high fashion.
For his birthday, we planned a paintball party with his friend and soccer teammate Eli, who celebrates his birthday the following day. They share lots of mutual friends, and these boys had a blast lighting each other up.
Mimi made a paintball cake for James to celebrate; it was a brownie cake I believe!
The birthday boys got to shoot a special gun on the range. Watching these boys was a lot of fun.
The party came back to our house, and they played games for hours. These boys never seem to wear out!
We had a Maranatha House church meeting at our friend's farm house with a bonfire and everything! The kids had a great time running all over the farm and looking at the chickens.
More honor roll praises for Calvin and tree climbing for David. James went to weekend camp for Wyldlife with one of our favorites, Anthony Stigler and another of our Young Life friends Hunter Tillman.
Honor Roll for Hayden and the boys finished the lego that Anthony bought them for Christmas. We planned David's birthday party early this year, so that we could share Mimi&Grandpa's time with John's family for his Evie's birthday.
To celebrate, Mimi & Grandpa brought gifts and a very special Mario cake! David got to have his Chuck E Cheese birthday for his 7th birthday, and Mario was his favorite thing.
One of the most fun gifts of this birthday was this mariokart that we got from Walmart on clearance! I never would have thought it, but this really was just a joy to buy for him. Mimi and Grandpa split the cost with us, like they had done for James' blue powerwheels jeep. David never got to drive that much, because it really didn't run that well by the time he was old enought to drive it. This mariokart even has a powerslide tire, and boy oh boy did David (and all the boys) enjoy driving it!
This hat and mustache with his '7' t-shirt really just made this day better for me. I loved it so much!
We had a lovely time with friends and family to celebrate David's birthday. Chuck E Cheese has been a tradition for all our boys when they turned 7 (except Calvin, who had to wait till he was 8 because of covid). It is a wild, overstimulating envirionment that for our older boys symbolized the age of birthday parties at places instead of parties at our house based on a theme. We have had such fun doing these celebratirons for our boys, and as always, this was a great memory. We are grateful for what we've been able to see and do.
James with his friend Bentley for his birthday. I love how they have become friends; seemed so unlikely when they were younger, but now they share a bus stop and attend the same school. Bentley's Aunt Cameron was my Young Life girl when she was in high school, and it is so fun and surreal for them to be best friends.
Then we had the excitement of these signed baseballs! Matt ordered these for Christmas gifts for his Dad and brothers, but they didn't come until the end of January. When he was a boy and his family lived in Texas, they would try to go get a signature at the games, but they never were able to get the chance. They have some great memories of those games, and Matt was so excited to get Nolan Ryan's autograph on these baseballs as a reminder of those fun times.
January 2023 seems like ages ago now. It is January 2025, and I am slowly catching back up on these blogs. Now that I have found a new print company that will easily make books for me, it is a game changer. I had hoped to get this book done last year, but I am thankful to be doing it now. I hope I can get 2023 and 2024 done this year, so that next January I can just do the one book to be all caught up. So, forgive me for the details that are lost to time's river, but I am thankful for the gift of hindsight and the nostalgia that floods me as I get to see how much my boys have grown up in two years. It never ceases to amaze me.
Thank you Lord for the gift of celebrating James and David's birthdays. Thank you for beautiful days to climb trees and for soccer seasons ending. Thank you for our precious friend and family. Thank you for Wyldlife and for Robotics competition. Thank you for the ways you fill up our days with so much fullness. I can be overwhelmed by it. Lord Thank you for enabling me to enjoy it and not fight against it. Help me to not hang on too tight, but help me be competent enough to smoothly organize our lives to all our benefit. Thank you Lord, Amen.
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