Birthday Season

Even though Hubby's birthday was yesterday, Buddy's birthday on September 24th marked the beginning of our family's birthday season. Less than four months and all six of us have birthdays, all amidst Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.

Buddy turned 15 this year. He's at that stage that he doesn't like for me to take his picture. It makes me sad.

Our football has been sort of flat for a while, so he got a new one from our friends. I'm not really sure who decided it was a good idea to put a bow on his head.

Said friends are also huge Michigan fans. They asked permission to get him a Michigan shirt. We acquiesced. Buddy does tend to cheer for them when he watches them play.

Now if they ever play the Razorbacks, that will be an entirely different story.

Signs Of Summer

Easter

We colored eggs again with our Spin an Egg. I can't tell you enough how much we love them.

We got our first one from a specialty toy store in New Jersey when the oldest three kids were under five and Caboose wasn't born. We would pass it around and everyone would take a turn.

A few years ago I got a second one somewhere. It made things go faster so that two kids could each share one.

Now they sell them at Wal-Mart and places like that for $5 each. We bought two more last year so each child could have their own. I boil four dozen eggs and give each child a dozen to color the way they like.




I purchase the tie-dye coloring kits in the box each year (four of them, of course) because they have the right kind of egg color to use in the spinner. They come in little white packets like you see on our table in five different colors.

Each one of the kids comes up with their own favorite and unique way of coloring their eggs.

Chatty:

Sparky:

Buddy:

Caboose:

After church today we had our annual Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt for the kids to find their baskets. This is where the egg was hidden with the first clue (we used to hand them the egg but started doing this last year).

Each of the kids picked an egg to start, but nobody found the clue the first time around.




Caboose finally found the first clue!

For the last clue, they had to find the golden egg in an egg hunt with about 30 other eggs in the rec room.

Success!

Do You See The Irony?

We're having Caboose's party later today. I guess you can tell what the theme is.

First and Last

This week (as in two days from now) we have our first birthday of the new year.

This week (still as in two days from now) we have the last birthday of the family birthday bunch.

Buddy starts it off near the end of September, Hubby has his the middle of October, the girls share the beginning of December, I wrap up the end of December, and a mere two weeks later into the new year we finish up with Caboose.

Less than four full months and we cover all six birthdays and Christmas!

It's craziness, I tell you.

Merry Christmas!

From the girls in our house,

and the two boys willing to be photographed this morning,

Merry Christmas!

We had an atypical Christmas for us. It was only the second Christmas in my life that I haven't had the traditional homemade chicken pie. The other time was 1993 when the girls were in the hospital and we were staying at the local Ronald McDonald House.

After unexpectedly spending Thanksgiving Day in the hospital with Hubby this year and the kids spending it with special friends from church, I cooked our turkey on the evening of Black Friday. It was what has become known as the great turkey disaster.

I always cook my turkey in the large plastic bags and they always turn out fine. My problem is that I always want to cook them upside down. Hubby always has to tell me which way is up. Since he wasn't here, I couldn't ask.

And the year I decide to cook it opposite the way I think it should be is the year I'll have it right the first time.

Well, the meat thermometer said the turkey was done and I started cutting. Eventually I realized I'd cooked it upside down and most of the meat wasn't cooked. It was too late to remedy the situation. I also found a second bag of innards, which is my second turkey-cooking issue. I can never find them or there is a second bag I don't find.

So for Christmas we had turkey! Complete with a surprise bag of innards upon cutting it!

I can also cook a turkey right side up if I buy one with a pop-up timer.

Here are the kids with their beloved socks, which we open last.




This is our "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" cake. It's a Williamsburg Orange Cake with Williamsburg Butter Frosting. I'll share the recipe soon!

I pray that you all had a wonderful day celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior!