Josiah's Cowboy Party

We had Josiah's 6th birthday party yesterday, with eight of his cowboy friends.  Altogether, we had sixteen adults and twelve children, and I think I've solved a problem in our house:  we need to carpet all of the floors, walls and ceilings, and then these parties wont cause so much noise pollution!  This one was a record breaker in decibel levels.  Kudos to all of the brave adults who attended and lasted through to the end! 

Getting ready to start!

Josiah, Casey and Jackson

First off, we had a bean bag toss competition.  Kole and Jack won.  Benjamin chose to take his turn crouching on the ground. :)

Next, we did a Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey game.  Boys are so competitive, but they seemed to get more of a kick pinning their tail in funny places than trying to win this one!  Mathias and Casey got the prizes for this game.

Then we had a stubborn pinata that provided lots of excitement, first for not breaking easily, and also because Josiah took a bat to the face (after many, many warning to back up).  Not a big deal when the bat is made of foam and rubber. :)

For lunch, we served hot dogs, beans and coleslaw.  The kids ate out of pie tins around the campfire.   I was going to lead some cowboy songs, but Abigail decided she wanted to eat too, so we sat in the back room together for several minutes.

Josiah and Benjamin helped Grandma make these Sheriff Badge cookies before the party, freeing me up to prepare everything else. THANK YOU, GRANDMA! :)

I found this easy cake plan, which came out looking pretty cool!  By far the easiest birthday cake to-date.

Cake time!  Here is everyone singing to the birthday boy!  

Most of the adults stayed huddled in the living room during the party. :)

The birthday boy showing off his new rifle cap gun from Daddy.

Opening presents -- THANK YOU for all of the wonderful gifts!

Nana enjoyed watching Abigail's antics during the party and coaxing her into a snuggle. 

Nana and Auntie Linda

As soon as the presents had been opened, we shuttled all of the boys outside for some "gun fighting."  Ah, quiet! :)

Abigail was a little party animal!  She loved the whole day.

She's our little scrounger, trotting around looking for food.

After everyone left, the kids enjoyed using the empty dining room to play with their new Western play set from Uncle Danny and April!

Uncle Danny brought Willy, too!

Abigail loves doggies.

Abbey trying to get Willy's attention. :)

It was a lot of fun, a LOT of noise, and a big relief to be done with! :)  The kids had a great time, but we're all pretty tired today.  Right now we're all laying on the couches watching "Zorro" episodes, Josiah's new obsession.

Package from NC

The boys were very excited to receive Josiah's birthday package from Papa and Grandma, Great Grandma and Aunt Emily!  Thank you for all of the generous gifts and for the wonderful treat for Josiah to get something in the mail. )

My Cowboys and Robber

My cowboys, shooting Josiah's BB gun on J's birthday:

Benjamin was just a little excited:

And here' my little robber, caught red-handed in the bathroom:

Here she comes with her spoils, looking very pleased with herself. :)

The Key to Maintaining Family Unity

I caught the second half of this sermon by John MacArthur today and thought it was worth sharing.  It is entitled, "The Key to Maintaining Family Unity."  You can listen to the audio and read the sermon text all at this link.



Excerpt:
Be little concerned about your personal injuries and much concerned about your personal holiness. Remember that in your trials God is at work making you strong and holy.
When all is said and done, what keeps a relationship together is forgiveness because we're going to fail and we're going to offend and we're going to wound and we're going to hurt. But where there is instant and comprehensive and constant forgiveness, the relationship stays together. And God is honored and blessing is poured out.
In the end, the biblical theology of forgiveness is summed up in one passage. Turn to 1 Peter 2, we'll close with this passage. First Peter 2:19, "For this finds favor," of course with God, "if for the sake of conscience toward God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly." God really is pleased when you suffer unjustly and you endure it. "What credit is there if when you sin and are harshly treated you endure it with patience?" There's no credit for people being patient with your sin...or rather there's no credit for...for you suffering for your sin, there's no favor with God in that. But when you suffer for doing right and you bear up under it, it brings favor from God. The end of verse 20, "If you do what's right and suffer for it and endure it patiently, this finds favor with God."
You want to find favor with God? Then suffer a little. That's how life is. And then he says this, "For you've been called for this purpose."

Lenten Quote

"When your heart is thus established in Christ, and you are an enemy of sin, out of love and not out of fear of punishment, Christ's sufferings should also be an example for your whole life, and you should meditate on the same in a different way.... If a day of sorrow or sickness weighs you down, think, how trifling that is compared with the thorns and nails of Christ. If you must do or leave undone what is distasteful to you: think, how Christ was led hither and thither, bound and a captive. Does pride attack you: behold, how your Lord was mocked and disgraced with murderers. Do unchastity and lust thrust themselves against you: think, how bitter it was for Christ to have his tender flesh torn, pierced and beaten again and again. Do hatred and envy war against you, or do you seek vengeance: remember how Christ with many tears and cries prayed for you and all his enemies, who indeed had more reason to seek revenge . If trouble or whatever adversity of body or soul afflict you, strengthen your heart and say: Ah, why then should I not also suffer a little since my Lord sweat blood in the garden because of anxiety and grief?



"One can thus find in Christ strength and comfort against all vice and bad habits.... And they are called true Christians who incorporate the life and name of Christ into their own life, as St. Paul says in Gal 5, 24: "And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof." For Christ's Passion must be dealt with not in words and a show, but in our lives and in truth.... But this kind of meditation is now out of use and very rare, although the Epistles of St. Paul and St. Peter are full of it. We have changed the essence into a mere show, and painted the meditation of Christ's sufferings only in letters and on walls." -- Martin Luther, "How to Contemplate Christ's Holy Sufferings"

Happy Birthday, Josiah!

Our Josiah is six today!  I posted a "Happy Birthday" message on Facebook and was reminded by a couple friends how horrific Josiah's birth was.  It is amazing how time erases the memory of pain!  Enough so that I'd consider doing it all again and again!  And of course, I am deeply grateful for that special day six years ago, despite its trauma. :)

Josiah means "Fire of the Lord," and it is a name that suits our firstborn quite well.  He is full of life and energy and plans and has a knack for keeping us on our toes.  Josiah cannot wait to be a man and a boss.  He is very anxious to be in charge!  And he'll be a great man.  :)

Every day, Josiah spends hours drawing pictures and cutting up "recycling" cardboard into little trucks, plows, firehouses, etc.  He has masted the use of tape and scissors.  He loves to play dress up, and goes through obsessive fascination with different professions.  Here are some pictures Logan's sister took last summer when Josiah flew to NC with them.  He insisted on dressing like a pilot, and earned himself a visit to the cockpit!

Right now, Josiah is consumed with all things cowboy.  We're throwing him a Western-themed party on Saturday with several of his guy-friends, although last night, he played with a girl that kept up with him and his gun play!  After Penda left, Josiah told me, "I didn't know girls could be as much fun as boys!"  He was very impressed. :)

Josiah is getting very tall and grown up looking.  Today, Logan brought home some BB's so Josiah could shoot his BB gun from Papa.  The boys were thrilled!  And Josiah picked spaghetti for dinner, although he never wants sauce on his pasta.  We went grocery shopping today, and he asked everyone that we passed if they knew it was his birthday, then he told them that he is six now, he was five yesterday but he is six today, his actual birthday is February 22nd but his birthday party is February 25th and its going to be a cowboy party with hot dogs and beans but he's not going to eat the beans, and on and on.  Everybody seemed to be getting a kick out of him. :)  Mom took him with her while she ran a few errands, and he did the same thing to everyone they met. :)

Happy birthday, little man!  We love you!

President's Day Hike

We decided to get out of the house yesterday, since Logan had the day off for President's Day and it was driving him a little nutty to be home with the kids after working hard all day Saturday to clean the house.  It doesn't take them long to undo all that hard work!

So we headed up the Maine coast to Camden, less than an hour from us, and climbed Mt. Battie.  

It was lunchtime when we go there, so we stopped for our picnic about 1/4 of the way up.  Benjamin posed and asked me to take his picture.  He's got a good concept of composition! :)

It was freezing cold and the wind was bitter.  Not what I had expected when we left the house and it was reading 50 degrees outside.  No hats or gloves, and I also put the boys in boots because I was anticipating trekking up trails, not a road.  Bad mommy.

It's a mile up the mountain, but it took us an hour because we had to coax the boys up the whole way.  They preferred to tromp in the snow and ice, so we bribed them with a cookie at the top and little races that kept them motivated.

We did it!  There's a cool "castle" tower at the top that the boys enjoyed climbing.  The view was stunning!

 

Abbey slept most of the way up on Logan's chest, then cried when we got up to the windy summit, so she and I huddled in the tower.  Then I carried her down and she wept the whole way.  Not a happy hiker!

The boys were quite tired on the way down!  We were proud of them for making it up their first mountain!  But in Josiah's words, "No way am I ever going up that hill again." :)

Cutie was very happy to warm up in the car, and Ben quickly fell asleep.

Here is a picture of Mt. Battie from Camden Harbor.  Thank you, ma'am, for our little adventure!
 

Bangin' on Pots and Pans

Disney on Ice

Benjamin enjoying the first few minutes of the show!

Josiah talked non-stop throughout the production, asking questions and making observations. :)

I promised to share photos from our very exciting "Disney on Ice" experience on Sunday...so here they are!  We all had so much fun!  Even Abbey was on the edge of her seat for the whole show.  It was beautifully done and entertaining for all ages.  We were proud of our children for not fussing when we didn't purchase the $12 cotton candy or $15 snow cones.  What a racket!

Abbey's cute little pig-tail silhouettes.

Abigail was very intense about watching the show!  She LOVED it!

Handsome Josiah.

Benji and Daddy.

The boys' favorite moment: when Captain Hook was swallowed by the crocodile!

Abbey and Grandma.

Thank you, Grandma!  We had a blast!!!

And here's a little video to give you an idea of how the kids were enjoying their experience: