Happy Birthday to My Big Boy!

We have a big 7 year old in our family now!

Happy Birthday to you, joyful boy!

We had a little party here on the big day, then we went to Aunt A and Uncle D's for a big Bday Bash. Lots of family and loot and great burgers and cake and ice cream.

Happy Birthday to Daddy!

The gang with the best Daddy in the world!

Eldest made this special cake for her Daddy,

complete with chocolate decorations she piped.

Eating Fresh

For his birthday, the kids and I made dear husband a special meal with some new recipes. We started around 3pm and had everything ready in time for our usual 6:30 supper. Whew. I couldn't have done it without Eldest working with me, side by side. I just love that.

After we pushed back our chairs from the table and declared the meal delicious, I realized that most of the ingredients we used were super-fresh ~ homegrown by our family. Cool!

The Menu:

Fresh Herb Pork Tenderloin

Vegetable Medley

Scalloped Potatoes

Mint Tea

These items came from the grocery store:

Pork tenderloin

Olive Oil

Butter

Decaf Tea Bags

Milk

We grew all these ingredients ourselves:

Yellow squash

Bell peppers

Tomatoes

Potatoes

Onions (purple for the medley, white for the potato dish)

Garlic

Mint

Rosemary

Italian flat-leaf parsley

Basil

Oregano

Thyme

Eggs

Honey

Judging from the pile of fresh stuff on my porch right now, for tonight's supper I'd better work in lots of yellow squash, potatoes, onions, garlic, shallots, and herbs into the meal. I like a good challenge. We'll see how we do.

Baby Barricade

The tall pile of pillows and blankets is the Baby Barricade. It's so tall, I can't step into my own living room without a pole to vault.

The cuteness in pink is the Baby, for whom the Barricade was made. 

The smile on the Baby's face is there because said baby has figured out how to breach the Baby Barricade and scoot into the forbidden zone. 

Sunday Scripture

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep:

 for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

Psalm 4:8

The Entertainer

Our 6-year-old son is such a great baby sitter with his little sissy. She adores him, and he never tires of making faces, playing peek-a-boo, doing silly dances, singing, teaching her signs, and anything else that will make her happy. He is also my official dirty-diaper-notification system. 

"Maaaama! She's got a stinky one!" 

He'll do anything for his baby sister. Well, almost anything. 

Gotta Love Home Education