It's About the Journey: Aaron's 14th Birthday

Aaron was only 4 pounds 4 ounces when he was born. He is now taller than me and his sisters. I expect that one day, in the not so distant future, he will be taller than his dad too. He is a true delight! I remember the day we went in for his ultrasound. We had two beautiful little girls, and as difficult as my pregnancies were, I was pretty sure his would be my last. I was hoping, with all my heart, that I could have a boy. The tech didn't say anything about the sex of the baby until the very end. I will never forget the happiness I felt when I heard her say, "It looks like you're having a boy!" We are so grateful for the experience of raising a boy, even though it is much different than raising a girl. They are both equal in their challenges and equal in their joy. We are grateful to have a boy who is sensitive, kind, good, moral, loving, appreciative, conscientious, humorous, spiritual, and talented!

Lacrosse has been a big part of Aaron's life the past two years, what better choice for a cake? His jersey is actually #13, but he was turning 14, so I couldn't very well put a 13 on his cake.

I don't let the kids see the cake until I choose to give it to them. I make them close their eyes, and then I put the cake in front of them. I love the look on their face when they open their eyes and see their cake for the first time. It makes all the hard work and frustration worth it.

Megan's gift was the Hendrix t-shirt.

Aaron's major gift was a penny board this year. For those who don't know what that is, it's a mini long board. Like a skateboard, but intended for mostly "cruising." We were not very excited about the idea, Aaron is accident challenged. We gave in, and he loved his gifts.

Aaron's birthday was a little tough because he had to spend most of it in school. He wanted to go to In N Out Burger for dinner. After dinner he wanted to stop at a few thrift stores. I didn't understand this part, and I sat in the car while the three of them went in. Todd and Aaron both came out with treasures. We parked right by the front door at the second place, the store front was giant windows. I was going through mini-convulsions sitting in the car watching, because Aaron was checking out all the stuffed animals. Yes, he was touching them and I apologize in advance for my severe OCD. When it appeared that he might actually be taking something to the register from the stuffed animal section, I honked the horn a few times to show my disapproval. He came out with a teddy bear that "was the softest bear he had ever felt" and a creepy stuffed clown that he bought because he thought it was funny. Megan found the creepy clown propped up against her pillow the next morning, with her cell phone in it's hand. She wasn't happy about that. I told him if the critters survived a minimum of two to three hot washing cycles, I would THINK about letting him keep them.

See...he's taller. It's a little hard to get used to it.

Joseph is one of my favorite friends of Aaron's. They have been best friends since Aaron was three years old. The nice thing is that he only lives a few doors down, that makes things very convenient.