I had big plans to get this published this morning and, well, life. We had a beautiful day of celebrating with family and the party continues tomorrow as we host a joint confirmation/birthday party. You know us, there will be hard liquor, sweet tea, lots of good food and sweets. It's how we sacrament. If you're the nostalgic kind, then I'm pretty sure you'll love this. Oh, and remember this? I'm sorry. I'll stop. That's enough rabbit hole for tonight. Birthday letter, coming at ya. Dear Gianna, Or, should I say Gigi/Geejers/G-Money/Geejer McGeejerson? So many nicknames. So much love. When all your siblings can't stand the sight of one another, they always love seeing you. … [Read more...]
Clare, The Resident Ray of Sunshine, Turns Nine!
It's birthday letter time! Enjoy. Dear Clare, Where do I even begin? When we say you are the house ray of sunshine, we mean it. Our house is littered with signs of your loving heart. On any given day we can find you in the office, busily crafting away, making love notes and projects for your family and friends. Dad and I are usually the major beneficiaries and my nightstand proves it. Just this week you made more than a dozen tissue paper flowers and passed them out to your friends at your birthday party. Please do your mama one favor: never lose that generous heart of yours. You also happen to be a hoarder. Each summer when you go off to camp and dad and I clean your room, I am … [Read more...]
Easter and a Birthday: A Letter to My Teen Son
Happy Easter, y'all! What a glorious day. What a glorious savior. I pray your Lent was fruitful, your Holy Week blessed and Easter full of triumphant joy. It won't happen often (if ever again), but our oldest has his birthday today. On Easter! How crazy awesome is that? He's used to having the "Lent birthday" so it's such a nice surprise to have the celebration fall on today. And, even sweeter is that he and my dad share a birthday. There will be sweets, songs and lots of smiles at our house very soon. The birthday letter, let's get to it. Dear Will, You're fifteen today. I don't even know how that happened, but it did. You started high school this year and I'm already … [Read more...]
A Stellar Star Wars Birthday Bash
Star Wars. The theme we loved so much we partied twice. Shortly after the first Star Wars shindig, John Paul said, "Wouldn't that be fun to do for mine?" Yes, yes it would. Honest point of planning though - doing a party for 100 was much easier than for 10. I think it was all those extra sets of hands. Ha! Last week, we hosted 10 twelve-year-old boys (plus two 14yo ones, Will and a buddy), along with our crew of kids, which made for 16 kids in the house. Around hour two I looked at Scott and asked where I should plug in the margarita machine. Oh, I kid. <--see what I did there? Alrighty, let's talk details. My favorite party love language. The Food Because with that many … [Read more...]
The 10-Year-Old Trip to Chicago: Part One
When our children turn ten, we treat them to a 10-year-old trip. To catch up on the full story with Anna-Laura, read parts two and three. The 10-year-old trip is legendary at our house. It's more than a milestone, or counting your age on two full hands. It's an adventure. Because we have six children, uninterrupted one-on-one time with them is precious. We don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, this sharing with other siblings gig, but we do think a trip with just one is worth saving our pennies. And so we do whatever necessary to make it happen. The catch? The child has to choose one parent for the trip, a destination and the place must include a plane ride. Our oldest … [Read more...]
