Joel is ELEVEN!

Eleven years ago, God blessed me with my first child, a sweet angel baby boy (who I really thought looked like a little dinosaur -- but he looked better after the nurses cleaned him up and I had some more pain meds). Now he's growing into a young man with his own opinions and plans and ways of looking at life.

This morning, I got up almost right when my alarm went off so that I could get ready and go to Carrs for Joel's birthday doughnuts (and some Starbucks). After Seth's speech therapy, I took chocolate cupcakes to the school for Joel's class. Their favorite part was the giant pile of whipped cream I sprayed on each cupcake :-) Then I took Joel out of school to go birthday shopping. I thought I knew what gifts we were going to give him, but then changed my mind at the last second. He got a Nintendo DS (video game machine) yesterday, so we went shopping for the extras to go with it. He had some money left from Christmas and then got some money in the mail in birthday cards. So between his own money and gifts from us, he got two games, a memory card (to save his progress on the games), a stylus (similar to what we sign the credit card machines with in stores, except with some cartoon character on the top of it), and a case to hold his games. He was pretty happy with all his gifts!

These pictures are of my birthday boy when he first woke up this morning. He's not quite as smiley as Seth is in the mornings, but he's very pleasant and pretty talkative when he wakes up. I just love this kid!

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today's song: "We Live" by Superchic

We live, we love, we forgive and never give up
'Cause the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love.

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today's verse: II Samuel 22:31
God's way is perfect.
The word of the Lord has been tested and proved good, reliable, and trustworthy.
He is a shield of protection to all them that trust in Him.