Richard celebrated his
4th birthday on Saturday, Jan. 22nd. It's hard to believe my baby has gone from this....
to this....
in less than four years!! It is astonishing how quickly a child grows, and that is why I'm determined to savor every single minute of motherhood that I can. I've heard the woes of elderly mamas who have looked back on their child rearing years with regret. I do not want that to happen to me! Sure, I have days that I can't wait for Richard to take care of his own potty issues or buckle his own seat belt...
...days when I can't wait for 6-year-old Juliette to grow out of her whiny voice or for 9-year-old Belle to not give me a daily "I'm all grown up now" attitude, but as a whole I find this journey of parenthood to be the most rewarding, exciting, and fulfilling experience imaginable. There is nothing on earth I would rather do than to care for my family with the heavenly virtues God is growing in me on a daily basis...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control....These are the qualities the Lord gives you opportunity ***after opportunity*** to practice when you are a parent. When it's all said and done, I will have no greater earthly reward than seeing my babies raise their own babies with the same morals and values Dale and I have instilled in them from birth. Lord, please let it be so...
For Richard's big day, we surprised him with a brand new bicycle in the same colors as his Daddy's dirt bike.
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| He's got that daredevil look in his eyes..... |
After a favored, but rare, breakfast of raspberry toaster strudels, our family headed to the Bootheel Youth Museum where we met up with some friends for a day of indoor fun and excitement.
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| Can you believe they actually posed themselves?!! |
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| I would need a lot of practice to get this right.... |
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| Careful....careful..... |
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| Angie doesn't stand a chance.... |
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What can I say, I work out?...
Alright, alright! I'll tell you the secret since it's obvious I'm no match for my husband. This tug of war game is rigged! I was thoroughly enjoying beating my enemy in a challenge of strengths, however. (But I did cheat). lol |
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| Making a collect call to Grandma, I'm sure. |
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| Blue tube, blue eyes, blue shirt, blue jeans, bluetiful... |
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| My biggest kid... |
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| And everyone's hero....(he's helping a crying Richard down the slide) |
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| Apparently he went shopping on an empty stomach... |
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| You can tell Belle has had years of practice posing for the camera ;0) |
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| Adorable little chefs |
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| See that face!!? It's because he knows he's not supposed to put REAL water in pretend toys. |
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| Male bonding... |
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| It's in his blood.... |
After all that, we needed a lunch break so we headed to Pizza Hut for Richard's favorite meal; cheese pizza!
The car ride home was pretty quiet...
When we got home, we settled in, watched Jumanji, and had cake and ice cream...
MoRE PreSEnTS!!
I think our big boy had a fun-filled day!
