Our sons 11th Birthday

Our son turned 11 last weekend. There was no party no presents and no cake with candles to blow out. You see the flu spread through our family like wild fire. It started with my son who got buy with hardly any symptoms I might add. Then it jumped to me and attacked with vengeance as I was in bed for 4 days. Finally it hit Tim. We had to call and cancel his party and he couldn't even see his Nana and Papa who so desperately wanted to come and celebrate. But My son never complained and was a great help to his sick mother.

We asked all of his friends to join us this weekend and joyfully all but one said they could. They played a wonderful game called Imagine if. They had to imagine if one of them were something like a fruit what would they be? Then it gives 6 choices and they children pick the one that best describes the child. The answer with the most votes wins and they get to move one space forward. As you can imagine there were fits of laughter at some of the situations.

After the children played the game, ate popcorn and drank pop they went out side to play. Then it was time for them to decorate their cupcakes. Yum Yum, My son had wanted strawberry cake with strawberry frosting and since the party was so close to valentines day he thought pink hearts were in order. However a week later it seemed odd but the kids loved the idea.

Finally it was time to open presents. His friends know him well. Books about the ocean, dinosaurs and boardgames are a perfect match for this young man. He was just excited to have his friends in his home playing with him. Who ever said you need to go somewhere exciting and expensive to have a great memorable birthday party was mistaken. All that is needed is a loving mother, an inviting home and cake to make a child's eyes light up. This was by far my favorite birthday party.

Our Son The Basket Ball Player

Here are some pictures of my son playing Basket ball. The picture is a little fuzzy but you can still see his handsome face. He has enjoyed playing on the Zion team with all of his friends. They may not win many games but the experience they recieve is great. My sons greatest fan was Nana and Papa who attended most of his home games. My son even had his aunt and cousins frome NE watch games and his aunt and uncle from MT. I pray he knows how special h is to our family.

The Voice of Children

I was standing in front of about 40 or 50 children on Monday. Eyes shinning bright eager to sing praises to the Lord. As I began to lead them in song I could hear the excitement in their voice. I suddenly came to the realisation that to them it was all about singing praises not how good or how bad they sang. Not one child poked fun if someone made a mistake. Instead they smiled, laughed and opened their hearts to one another. This alone is enough to bring tears to my eyes. On Tuesday I was brave and took my first graders on a field trip that ended with lunch at McDonald's. Before we ate we joined our voices in song to thank the Lord for our many blessings. One lady who was enjoying her lunch spoke to many of the children thanking them for blessing her with they musical prayer. I pray that my students will continue to share this joy with everyone they meet. I know that this is where the Lord has calld me and I am ever greatful.

This is another picture of an adjacent wall that also adorns my beloved crosses. My treasured posession is the picture of my grandfathers hands folded over the bibile.