Han's Birthday

Han loves guns. And he wanted a rifle more than anything so he could go hunting this fall. So, for his birthday, we surprised him with a rifle. And he was very surprised!!! The kids usually get their presents the night of their birthday, but since we were getting him a gun, we gave it to him first thing in the morning and Hubby took him and Obi out shooting for the day.

They had lots of fun. Han was so pleased.

Apparently part of the fun of having guns is cleaning them. When they got home, they spent quite a bit of time cleaning their guns in the garage. And Obi is always a lunatic when I am taking pictures!

Okay, not always.

Han had a great day and was thrilled with his new gun. Now let's see if he can make his first kill this fall....

Ultimate Frisbee Showdown

The Ultimate Frisbee league ended this past week with the Final Game. Our boys' team, Ultimatum was in the final and they were undefeated. We were all very excited, and the boys were very nervous. Here are a few pictures from the final game.

My camera had dead batteries for the game, so none of these are my pictures. Remember as you look through these pictures that Ultimate Frisbee is a NO CONTACT sport. Whatever...

Here is the team praying together before the game.

I love this picture. Obi being attacked by a girl in midair.

I love this picture, too. He loves orange!

I had to include a picture of this girl on the boys team. She is a real go getter and this is what we have come to expect of her.

Han making a catch with his shadow not touching him.

Han showing off his muscles.
Making another catch with his shadow in place.

It was a good and close game and Ultimatum ended up winning. We were so excited. But no team pictures were taken at the end. They didn't want to rub it in with the other team too much I guess. What a great season they had. The parents on our team were great and I think Hubby and I had as much fun cheering and visiting with people at the games as the boys did. And the younger kids had a blast playing with other kids at the park. Overall, a successful season. Can't wait for next year!

17 Years Ago Today

I never wanted to have children. I was going to have a career and make something of myself. Children did not fit into this plan. After I graduated from college I was accepted into a Master's Degree program in Physical Therapy. Life was good. Three and a half months into my two year program I discovered I was pregnant. Hubby and I were both terrified and a bit distraught. We had no idea what we were going to do. We were poor college students and children were not in the plan. And going to any type of medical school while pregnant is a very bad idea. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. My imagination ran wild my entire pregnancy.

When Han was born, I was absolutely exhausted after 40 hours of labor. I was just relieved he was born and I was NEVER going to go through that again. I didn't even get a good look at him before they took him to the nursery to care for him. I didn't mind at all. I was just relieved it was over.

However, a few hours later they brought this little guy in to see me.

And I was a goner. I thought he was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. I couldn't believe he was my baby. How could this amazing little guy be mine?

Every ounce of ambition in my body fled and all I wanted was to be a momma to this little guy. Truly the best day of my life was when I became a mom to this little guy and the others that followed.

I can not believe that he is 17 years old. It is my privilege to be this young man's mom. I only wish it wasn't going so fast.

Homeschool Prom 2010

When we first moved to Colorado, our boys did not know how to dance and they were not in the least interested in learning how. However, the group of teens here love to dance. And as time went on, they missed out on a lot of events because they didn't dance. So this year when Prom time rolled around, they wanted to be ready. They had their clothes purchased and they got some dancing lessons.

The Homeschool Prom is not a dating event. The parent is the date, and it is meant as a family event. I had the privilege of going with both my older boys to the prom. Here are a few pictures of the night.

Han ready in his spiffy clothes.

Obi looking handsome in his.

There was a catered dinner prior to the dancing. Here are the boys sitting at their table.

Here is the group of teens that attended the homeschool prom this year. You can see that there are twice as many girls as boys, so the boys were in great demand as dance partners.

I took more video than pictures and I didn't get the best pictures, but here are a few. This is Obi during one of the many Civil War Ball dances that they learned.

Here is Han dancing with one of the girls who taught him to dance.

After the Prom ended, most of the group, along with parents, went to IHOP for more fun. Both Obi and Han had a great time. They didn't want the night to end, and I agreed. I also had a lot of fun and I loved watching the boys dance. It was a successful night overall and we are already looking forward to next year!

Family Favorites Friday: Han's Secret

Grateful for Grace is hosting a blog carnival every Friday for sharing your favorite family stories. Stop by her blog and check out more stories.

When I was pregnant with first two boys, we did not want to know the gender of the baby. When we were pregnant with Luke, we thought it would be fun to know. But after we found out, my mom told me that my family did not want to know. So how do you tell everyone else, except your family? So, we decided that we knew, but we weren't telling anyone. But 5 year old Han figured out that since we had seen the baby on ultrasound, we had to know what it was, and he really wanted to know. (He had been praying for a baby sister for quite awhile at this time.) So, I swore him to secrecy and told him that the baby was a boy. He was a bit disappointed. But he said he could keep a secret. I was a bit worried. There was still 3 months to go.

About a month before Luke was born, a friend from church, Lisa, ask Han about the baby. It was driving her crazy that we weren't telling what the baby was. She actually asked him what he wanted, boy or a girl. He told her he wanted a sister. She thought since he knew, he had told her what the baby was. So, she came and told me that Han had told her about the baby. And she was very pleased with herself. When we got home I asked Han what he had told Miss Lisa, and he told me. I figured out that she thought he had told her, but he had told her he wanted a sister. I said nothing to her. For the next month every time I saw her, she smiled a secret smile at me. And I smiled back.

When Luke was born, I called to tell her. She said, "What is her name?" And I said, "Her name is Luke!" Then I explained that she had asked Han what he wanted, not what we were having. And we had the best time laughing about the last month! And Han is my only kid that can really keep a secret. All of the rest of them have slipped up and told Christmas or birthday presents. Even my hubby has accidentally told me my Christmas present twice! But Han has never let a secret slip.

Obi and Han's new Pictures

Obi-Wan's 14 year old pictures. Obi is a natural, and takes great pictures. He seems to know the exact smile and never has trouble getting his pictures taken. It makes it hard to pick out the best one!

Han Solo hates to have his picture taken. It is like torture to him and he has a hard time getting a good smile. I tell him the pictures aren't for him, but for me, so please try and SMILE! And he tries.

Birthday Pictures

Here are the boys ready to leave for Elitch's. Notice that younger brother is now taller brother? Everyone except Han, of course, was very excited about that, for Obi's sake. Obi has grown four inches since Jan. He is hoping he isn't done. Han is hoping that he is.



We have a tradition of making homemade ice cream for the kids' birthdays. With birthdays a day apart, I try to do two different cakes for Han and Obi. This year I tried a homemade ice cream cake. I have thought about this for years. How simple it would be. Sounds simple. I put it in a springboard cake pan, and when I went to put it into the freezer, the spring part kicked in, and my runny ice cream started running all over. It was a bit horrifying. Leia helped me, we salvaged as much as we could, slopped it into a real cake pan, added more of all the ingredients, and into the freezer it went. The boys all declared it the best ice cream cake ever. But it was too ugly for a picture. Here is a picture of Han eating it, though.







Here is Obi with the second cake. However, I put their real names on the cake, so Obi is covering up the names with his hand. But is was such a good picture of Obi, I had to include it.





Obi with his new MP3 player. The boys like to listen to some music on them, but use them primarily to listen to books on tape.



Han, with his very interested helpers, with a Redwall book on CD.

Han is a huge John Wayne fan. My parents gave him this book after he has about worn out theirs whenever he is at their house.

His new dart board

Obi's compound bow. He is demonstrating his shooting form.

I took the boys to a local musical production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. The boys knew 7 or 8 homeschoolers in it, so we thought it would be fun to go. It was a fabulous production and we were so impressed with all the performers. We had lots of fun and really enjoyed the show.

Overall, the boys had two very nice days and made good memories of their birthdays. We are very thankful for both of them and the joy they bring to us. Thank you Lord, for blessing us with them.

Happy 16th Birthday Han Solo

I can't believe that my firstborn is 16 years old today. It seems like he should maybe be eight. Or six. How can time fly by so fast? After being a follower of Jesus, becoming a mom is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Han had a rather prolonged and dramatic entrance into the world. After 40 hours of labor including 2 hours of pushing, he was finally born in the operating room, drug out with forceps. It was traumatic for both of us. He was in a bit of distress, so they showed him to me, and then took him to the nursery. I was SO relieved that it was finally over, exhausted, and in a bit of shock. They took me to a recovery room, where my sister-in-law was videoing me and asked me if I was ready to do it all again.(OK, how smart was that?) I had no doubts that I would NEVER do that again. And we have video of me saying it. After a few hours, I was in my room, and they brought him to me, and I held him for the first time. I was smitten. I thought he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. And I couldn't sleep at all. All I could do was look at him.

By the time he was four months old, I had decided that I would do anything to have another baby like him. But I wanted an epidural next time. That story will continue tomorrow....

Even though Luke is our only child that we planned, whenever Han complains about his younger siblings, we always tell him it is his fault: If we hadn't liked him so much, we wouldn't have kept having kids! He is not amused by that, but we think it is funny.

Happy Birthday, Han. You are a wonderful young man and we love you very much!