Thirteen........really?

Monday officially marked the day that we now have three teenagers in the house.  Micah has reached that special day. He is so proud that he is almost as tall as Daddy! He sure is tall. Keep in mind this is coming from a 5' 2" tall mom. I am a little amazed at the difference in just one year. Check out last year's birthday picture below!

As is our tradition (credit given to my sister for the idea), Jeremy took Micah to his birthday breakfast while I took Mariah to the hospital for her routine labs. 

I left the house before 7am. I guess I do not understand why there was only one person to register everyone. I withheld Mariah's morning meds in order to get an accurate result. I almost had to leave before her labs were drawn. We had about 12 minutes left before I would have no choice but give her the meds. We waited for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Mariah never even cried. they drew four tubes of blood. They missed her vein and had to move the needle around and she was a trooper. She never cried and I only heard an ever so slight whimper.

We have spent a lot of time playing in the snow this winter. Well, not me but the kids. Mariah gets so excited at the prospect of going out.I love this photo that Jeremy shot of her. I wish I knew what she was thinking. So sweet!

More fun in the snow with a couple of new sleds.

Micah enjoys being outside as well. He would probably shovel driveways all day long. He truly loves to shovel.

Our sweet boy! My special name for him is Mikey. We all used to call him that but a few years ago he told everyone that I was the only one allowed to use that name. I love it!

Why can we not just press the slow motion button and live life that way sometimes? We are on our knees for our boys as they approach these difficult years. We pray that we seek God's face every single day and pray for wisdom.  We want to always be the parents that love unconditionally but with wisdom. We want to raise boys of courage with a God-fearing love for Him. When I jokingly told him he had to move next door when he gets married he smiled and said, "I don't know mom. I'll move wherever God wants me to go." Ahhhhh.....that is exactly what I pray for!

Micah has such a sweet heart. He loves to please. Micah certainly has a special place in his heart for Mommy and I am not ashamed to admit that. He is quick to give me a hug, or several, every single day. He loves that he is so much taller than me. He is a fierce competitor and hates to lose....ever!

While opening his gifts he had a little "helper".

We always take a photo of all of the kids together. You'll notice that our youngest was missing for this photo. She was having a tough time.

I love being mom to all of these kids and the one missing in this photo! 

We pretty much constitute a party with just our family alone. I told Jeremy that shopping at the grocery store is funny now. We buy the largest size of everything! It is good to know that Doritos come in a party size bag now! I am that lady at the grocery store that no one wants to stand behind in the check out. My cart is always overflowing and each week I find it a challenge to try and fit everything back into the same cart. Usually I amaze myself and make it work! I can pack a mean grocery cart and car trunk!

Micah was thrilled to get a new pair of snow bibs and two new pair of jeans since he will not stop growing! He got a Lego set and wallet as well.

I love sharing these special days with the kids. Each of the kids choose their birthday dinner. Micah chose my baked chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and rolls. Selah and Rebecca baked his cake. Selah and I made the frosting and iced it. It was a pretty great day together celebrating Micah's 13 years!


Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.  
Psalms 127:3