{thirteen} a teenager birthday post

On June 10th, our oldest entered into teenage-hood.

This has felt so big for our family!

I didn't notice all the changes that have happened this year until I looked back on last years pictures. Our kid is really growing up (sniffle)!

Past birthdays:

Twelve

Eleven

Ten

We wanted to make this birthday a big milestone birthday, which feels a little tricky when you are living overseas. But, we tried our best! 

I do love how our kids have grasped onto the simple parties. 

Choosing their favorite meal, simple gifts, and some friends over and they will declare it 

"the best day ever".

Z has been counting down the days until his birthday for awhile!

He picked his favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

He had his friends over for a water balloon war.

His grandparents and cousins had sent gifts with a visiting team, so he had several presents to open up through out the day. 

We have two other families living here with us, two interns, and a visiting friend. 

So, we had a full house for his party!

We had been filing away some ideas for his birthday from other families we admire and from books we have read. We wanted to make this milestone birthday about THREE things: 

Privilege

Responsibility

Biblical Man-hood

Privilege in our family, where we live, means later bed times and some more movie options.  

Responsibility at 13, looks like Zander having to wash his own clothes and also owning the lawn mowing in our back yard. We want to be intentional about preparing him for adult-hood and giving him more responsibilities to learn hard work and excellence. We are hoping to continue to add to the privilege and responsibility areas each year until he is ready to fly on his own after high school graduation. 

The Biblical Man-hood piece was really fun! We contacted a couple hand-full of men that have been consistent in Zander's life. These men are guys that Zander looks up to and strive to chase after God. We asked these men to write letters to Zander for his birthday. The letters were so awesome! I teared up with each letter as they came in because they were EXACTLY what I was wanting for Zander. The notes were filled with encouragement and words of affirmation. They laid out what it looks like transitioning into man-hood, ways that Satan will try to trip him up, and even personal challenges that they faced when they were his age. David and I also added a letter to the mix! We are praying that these letters will be read over and over again as he encounters the blessings and challenges as he transitions into adult-hood. 

Uncle Titus and Aunt Ashley gifted Zander with their telescope! Such a special gift!

All the Esther's House kids came over and we enjoyed lots of cake and playing!

This years' cake request was sugar cookie cake on top and bottom with funfetti cake in the middle (Thanks Tyler ;)

We're so thankful for all who helped make his day special!

I always enjoy taking pictures of my kids on their birthdays and Zander reluctantly allowed me to snap a few pics in the back yard. 

Gosh, we love this kid so much! 

I definitely feel like we are entering a new era of parenting and a new phase of beginning that "let- go" process as we give more privileges and responsibilities. I am praying that our relationship will continue to grow and morph and will come out stronger on the other side! Friends with kids in the stage ahead of us, we are watching you and grabbing on to any advice you can give us!

ELEVEN {birthday post}

Ahhh, these birthdays just won't stop. 

And while I am so proud of my kids and the people they are coming, these birthdays are so bittersweet. 

The time is just going by so fast. 

Every time I do one of these birthday posts, I remind myself to just soak it all up.

This month, our G man turned 11!

Past birthday posts below:

Eight

Nine

Ten

Grainger is our out-going, silly, confidant guy!

He develops friendships easy with kids and adults.

Usually when we are out and about without kids, adults will always ask, "Ah, how is Grainger?" 

He is a favorite of our guards and when he goes out to talk to them at night, you can hear them laughing and chatting in Chichewa. 

This picture just sums him up! 

Goofy and loves to make people laugh. 

He is quite the joke-ster.

G loves to process his feelings verbally (which is a lot).

He loves to cook and many times I will come in late from work to find he has already made dinner!

He enjoys drawing, building Lego's and playing football (soccer).

He is either best friends or worst enemies with his siblings.

He is usually the first to apologize when he has sinned and lost self control and recognizes the convictions of the Holy Spirit. 

He has a huge heart for the under dog and for the elderly. 

We sure do love our guy!

11 year old interview:

Favorite Color: red

Favorite movie: The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings

Favorite Food: "I love all food"

Favorite drink: Sprite

Favorite Friend: Dayson (cousin)

Favorite thing to do with mom: cook

Favorite thing to do with dad: play sports

Favorite thing about living in Africa: the animals 

Favorite Bible Story: David and Goliath

Favorite subject in school: Reading

What you want to be when you grown up: a chef

SEVEN

Our baby is SEVEN!

Past birthdays:

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

We feel so blessed that we have spent four birthdays with Asher!

Asher brings so much joy and laughter to our family.

She has never met a stranger. 

She is compassionate, silly, and is into everything!

She entertains herself well and has a great imagination.

  

Asher is a dare devil and has no fear of trying scary or new things. 

She is a go-er and a mover and a champion racer on all fours. Asher is an Uno extraordinaire!

Favorites at Seven

Favorite Colors: blue and red

Favorite Movie: Moana

Favorite Food: Cereal 

Favorite Drink: Kool-Aid

Favorite thing to play: "with my brother"

Favorite Friend: "Esther"

Favorite thing to do with mommy: "watch a movie and eat popcorn and chocolate with her"

Favorite thing to do with daddy: "hanging out in you guys-es bed and watching a movie and eating chocolate"

What do you want to be when you grown up? "a ballerina"

Chatbooks

I tend to be late to the party....and even more so since living overseas, but I just LOVE Chatbooks! 

I am such a sentimental person! 

I love memories with my favorite people! 

I take lots of pictures, but they never get printed and tend to just get stored on the computer. 

So, I was pretty excited to learn about Chatbooks through a friend. 

If you haven't heard of these sweet little books, watch this entertaining video to learn all about it!

I chose to have my Chatbooks linked to my Instagram account. 

I downloaded the app and within minutes, I had all of my pictured uploaded onto the app and arranged into books. 

I spent about an hour editing and re-arranging the photos. 

This is with sllooooowwww dial-up speed internet out here in rural Malawi. 

When your book has 60 pictures in it, you will automatically receive an email that your book is done. You then have 3 days to edit your book before it ships!

I had the books shipped to my mom's house since I knew we were going to travel back to the States for Christmas. I was really excited to get my hands on our memories!

The paper quality is nice and thick, the ink is vibrant. 

Some of my first pictures I used on Instagram were from an Iphone 3, so the camera wasn't that great and my photos are grainy, but it really doesn't bother me, I just love having the memories!

The size of the books are about 6" x 6" and are an affordable $8!

Perfect for little hands (not mine, obviously, but the kids)

 Each page has a date stamp and a place for captions (or no captions which I sometimes choose if I don't feel like dealing with it.)

My kids absolutely LOVE looking at the books. 

They are nice and sturdy, so I don't stress about them tearing the books up. 

I absolutely love how the girls now have books that include them in the family pictures!

Another feature of this app that is my favorite is the ability to upload pictures straight off of my phone camera. My kids are getting older and don't always want their pictures posted to Instagram (I try to always ask permission from them first). 

Being able to "add a photo" allows me to add pictures without posting the photo to Instagram. 

If you aren't a social media person, you can have ALL of your photos added to Chatbooks straight from your phone favorites. 

Do you already do Chatbooks? Do you love them also?

Would you like to try Chatbooks for yourself?

I have a fun offer for you! Follow this link to get your first Chatbook FREE!

 In full disclosure, I will also receive a $5 credit to my next book! 

Win-Win for all!

TWELVE

Last week our oldest turned 12. 

It is our last year before we have to start throwing "teen" in on his birthdays. 

I am sure if I go back and read all of his birthday posts, I will see that every year I have a bit of a hard time with my first- born continuing to grow older!

It's such bitter sweet feelings all rolled up together.

I love seeing glimpses of the man he is becoming but also clearly see how fast this whole mom-gig is going by. 

And this mom-gig is my favorite thing.

Past Birthdays:

Eleven

Ten

Things I want to remember about Z at 12....

Z is our one quiet child. 

He is greatly outnumbered by all the "louds" in our house.

We are learning his love language is quality time.

He loved that on his birthday, he got to pick all 3 meals and have his whole family sit together and eat and watch him open a gift. 

He and his dad got to get away for the weekend on his birthday and spent the night in a hotel.

You could just tell his quality time cup was filled when he got home. 

He continues his love for reading and most of the time if he goes missing, you can find him in the house with a book.

He is still our day dreamer and I love the ideas he comes up with!
He is learning to play the guitar and likes to practice and watch videos.

He is growing into his role of being the big brother to 3.

He loves to play with his siblings on the trampoline or bring them into his game he invented. 

He is also totally fine being by himself. 

Favorites at 12:

Favorite Color: black and neon green

Favorite movie: Battle of 5 Armies

Favorite Food: fried chicken

Favorite drink: Sprite

Favorite thing to play: sword fighting

Favorite Friend: Corbin

Favorite thing to do with mom: watch movies

Favorite thing to do with dad: Legos, drawing, and sports stuff

Favorite thing about living in Africa: it's really pretty

Favorite Bible Story: Joshua

Favorite subject in school: History

What you want to be when you grow up: a blacksmith for making weapons for movies

E turns NINE {Birthday}

G (10) and E's (9) birthdays just fall 3 days apart so there are lots of birthday celebrations going on in that second week of April.

On Esther's Birthday, we happened to be at the lake with a team.

The kids had a great time getting to do Vacation Bible School on the beach and swim!

The last night before the team left, the staff at the hotel brought out Esther a beautiful, huge birthday cake covered in bright pink flower petals and sang to her.

It made her year! It was so precious seeing how surprised she was to see everyone celebrating her.

This year, after taking into account the HUGE growth that E has had since she has been with us, the advice from a Dr. and a dentist, we decided that Esther would turn 9 on her birthday instead of 8. 

So we celebrated turning 8 & 9 and got a new pretty bike!

Here are her past birthday pics......

SIX

SEVEN

She likes playing jump rope, jumping on the trampoline, and riding her bike.

One of her most admirable qualities is that she can laugh at herself.

She has done so well this year in second grade and works hard to do her best.

She has gained a lot of ground in reading.

She is quick to forgive and is a kind friend.

She is a thoughtful and loyal companion.

We sure do love her and are thankful we get to celebrate her birthdays!

9 year old interview:

Favorite Color: pink and purple

Favorite movie: Hotel Transylvania 2

Favorite Food: grilled cheese

Favorite drink: Coca Cola

Favorite Friend: all the EH girls

Favorite thing to do with mom: spend time with her

Favorite thing to do with dad: spend time with him as well

Favorite thing about living in Africa: that I have a lot of friends

Favorite Bible Story: David and Goliath

Favorite subject in school: handwriting (cursive)

What you want to be when you grow up: a gymnast

G is TEN

My baby boy turned 10 in April. Double digits....how in the world?!

My friend Kristin was in town again this year and snapped pics of my kids, which is why this birthday post is actually happening! 

EIGHTH birthday

NINTH birthday

Grainger is funny, silly, and loves making friends.

His current favorite pastime is playing football with his friends. 

He is on the Jr. football team here at Esther's House and loves it!

I have to drag him in every night at dark from playing with his friends.

Of all of our kids, he has picked up speaking Chichewa the most. 

I am always surprised to hear him saying something to someone and thinking, 

"hey, I didn't know you knew that."

G has BIG feelings and we are working on how to share those BIG feelings in a positive way :)

He loves his siblings (somedays you may not be able to tell ;)  and I think we have been in a brother wrestling phase for every.single.day of the last 10 years. 

I have no hope that he will outgrow it. 

10 year old interview:

Favorite Color: red

Favorite movie: Harry Potter 4

Favorite Food: cake

Favorite drink: Coca Cola

Favorite Friend: Isaac, Precious, Nedson, and Zander

Favorite thing to do with mom: cook

Favorite thing to do with dad: just sitting down together and playing a game

Favorite thing about living in Africa: that I have 80 kids to play with

Favorite Bible Story: when Elijah outruns Ahab's chariot

Favorite subject in school: Reading

What you want to be when you grown up: a chef

ELEVEN

{Last years birthday post can be found here}

There is something about your first born that is so sentimental and special. 

The child that changed you from a "couple" into a "family". 

The child that rocked your world and taught you to put someone else's needs above your own.

The child that taught you a whole new level of love and made my understanding of God's love for me "click".

That is this guy to me.

Back when Zander was born, we had dial up internet and a flip phone. 

Facebook was created the year he was born, but you know...the whole dial up thing; and instagram wasn't in existence.

Money was tight as we had just transitioned to a one- income family.

So, we really didn't get out a whole lot.

I spent most of my days just staring at this kid and relishing his every moment. 

I remember watching him as he slept, laughing at every cute thing he did, and going for lots of walks.

He was my whole world for 22 months!

It is fun to watch him grow and turn into this man child, but it is also scary how fast it is happening!

He is my deep thinker, big feeler, dreamer, and intellect.

He also likes adventure and will try about anything!

Buddy, we love you so incredibly much. You are so special to us! Praying the years we have left to parent will be joyful {and slow down a little}. Being your parents is the highlight of our lives!

Birthday Interview at 11

Favorite Color: black and neon green

Favorite movie: The Hobbit

Favorite Food: pizza

Favorite drink: cherry plumb soda

Favorite thing to play: American football

Favorite Friend: "I don't want to offend anyone by saying one person" {good answer}

Favorite thing to do with mom: cooking

Favorite thing to do with dad: going on trips with him from Lilongwe

Favorite thing about living in Africa: that one day I can go big game hunting

Favorite Bible Story: David's Mighty Warriors

Favorite subject in school: History

What you want to be when you grow up: NFL football player

FIVE

It is hard to believe that this little lady is five!

We saw her sweet face for the first time (via photo) at 2, brought her home at 3, and somehow here she is, 

5 full years old!

To see her birthday pics/interview from last year, click here.

She is a girl that feels BIG. 

She is happy BIG and shows disappointment BIG!

 She is pure JOY. 

Her joy bubbles over in every area of her life. 

 She embraces life fully and finds wonder in the smallest details.

She loves her sister and her siblings and is the most affectionate child on the planet.

She is a prayer warrior.

She teaches me so much about dropping everything to pray whenever the Spirit leads.

 Favorites at Five

Favorite Colors: blue

Favorite Movie: Tinkerbell

Favorite Food: Rice

Favorite Drink: Fanta 

Favorite thing to play: "with my dolls"

Favorite Friend: Mphatso and Busisiwe

Favorite thing to do with mommy: "color with her and play with her"

Favorite thing to do with daddy: "play airplane with him"

What do you want to be when you grown up? "to be a good mom"

{So thankful to my friend Kristin Copher who spent so much time capturing these pictures of Asher during her time here in Africa!}