Happy "Sweet 16", Valerie!

Happy Birthday, Valerie Hope!

We are so thankful for these 16 years with you!

You have brought soooo much sweetness into our home!

And we have thoroughly enjoyed watching you blossom into a Godly young lady!

It is especially exciting to see the passion He has given you to bring HOPE to orphans, and for how He is blessing your efforts.

We know you will bear much fruit for His kingdom as you continually abide in Him!

Thank you for blessing us everyday with your gentle and quiet spirit and for your sweet servant's heart!

We love you so much!

 

Stuffed french toast with fruit sauce for breakfast, chicken fried pork chops with dilly beans for dinner, and "death by chocolate" cake for dessert!

 

(Valerie has a dream to one day visit orphans in another country.

She has been raising money with her dog breeding for such a trip.

We are in the beginning stages of helping her dream come true!

And we're praying she (and all of us ;-) just might be blessed with 

an additional little heart's desire! : -)

Her birthday celebration ended with a rip-roarin' game
of Mad Gab with Lydia and Richie!

 

 

Do You Like My Hat?

One of Benjamin's favorite things to do right now

is put hats on Allie and ask for Mommy to take a picture. 

These are just a few of the many photos we have collected recently.  : -)  

 

Joe's "Real" birthday!

It's been another great day of celebration around here! 

And Joe is officially 6 now! 

 

 

For breakfast, we all enjoyed Joe's choice of strawberry crepes! 

(Yup, a pleasant repeat of Timothy's breakfast choice!)

 

Then, a full day of doing his favorite thing . . .

playing with legos.

(His biggest bro and Daddy featured here in the picture, really did work and do school during the day. 

This picture was actually taken after dinner. ;-) 



Speaking of dinner, his choice was meatloaf . . . .

(And we chose corn-on-the-cob as a side dish for him,

as Joe hasn't really acquired the finer tastes in life called

 "side dishes." ) 

 

Thanks for making our world so happy, Joe! 

We love you soo much!



Happy Sweet 16, Caroline!

The best things come in small packages!
Caroline was the littlest of the quadruplets,
weighing only 3lbs, 6oz! 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Now, 16 years later, she is a lovely, Godly young lady!
We are so thankful for you and all the JOY you bring, Caroline!
You bring such beauty into our home
both with your sweet smiles,
and your inner beauty which comes from all the fruit of the spirit in your life.
We especially enjoy watching you love on all your little brothers! 
You are such an awesome sister! 
We pray the Lord will continue to use you mightily
for His good plans and purposes 
as you seek to love and serve Him all the days of your life!

We love you sooooo much!

 

Peach bread for breakfast!

White chili and cornbread for dinner!

Happy "Sweet 16", Victoria!

Happy 16th birthday, to one very SWEET young lady!

We are so very proud of you,Victoria,

and the way you have grown up to be such a lovely, Godly young woman!  

We love your sweet and funny presence in our home daily 

and we can't imagine what life would be like without you!!! 

We are sooo grateful for your wonderful sense of humor,

and how you make us smile and chuckle and laugh every day! 

You bring us such JOY!!!

You were such an adorable, full-of-life little girl,

and now you have grown into such a beautiful young lady,

with such a gentle and quiet spirit!

We are so grateful for how the Lord has created you with such special and unique gifts and abilities,

and for how He has spared your life sooooo many times! 

He has such great things planned for you!

Keep on walking with the Lord and seeking and serving Him with all your heart,

and in whatever you do, you will succeed!!

And you will continually bring Him glory and honor,

as you walk in the deeds He has prepared for you. 

 

We love you, Victoria!    

 

 

 

Monkey bread for breakfast,

and chicken-broccoli stir-fry over rice for dinner.  

 Cake and lemon ice-box pie for dessert!

 

Joe's Big Birthday Adeventure - Part 2

 

 

 

So, after visiting the great pumpkin patch,

we were off to our free night's stay at a new Hampton Inn!

Joe really wanted to swim in their pool! 

Aren't these colorful fish cute? : -)

 

Then, Saturday, after another swim in the pool,

and a great free breakfast at the hotel,

we were off to use our family membership

at the really awesome Flight Museum!

 But of course, first things first!  

It was Joe's birthday celebration,

but in honor of his birthing day,

his mom was treated here . . . 

This store just happened to be right next door to the hotel!
How convenient!

A Birthday in Joe's World!

Some while back, we started affectionately talking in terms of what it is like to live in "Joe's World". 

It is a VERY happy place . . mostly all the time!

It is a place where there is not a care in the world.  

Life there is wild, and loud  . . .

and goes at the speed of lightning, has the stamina of the the Energizer bunny,

and the grace of a bull-in-a-china-store.

It is a place where it's good and perfectly acceptable to wear your shoes on the wrong feet and 

your mis-matched shirts and pants backwards and inside-out.

And where smiles and giggles are abundant!

It is a VERY.HAPPY.PLACE!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What would we ever do without our Joe,

bringing us sooooo much happiness!



Joe wanted to go to a pumpkin patch for part
of his birthday celebration!

 

 

This was a VERY challenging corn maze! 
Only Victoria and Kyle stuck it out in the rain till the soggy end.

Just realized that I missed getting the birthday boy's photo up against the wall! :-(

This photo has some "inside-family-joke" qualities behind it!
Through the years, these two are always
competing to see who is taller!
Looks like they're still fairly even here.
Of course, it depends on who you ask . . .
and what shoes they are wearing. . .
and  how their hair is fixed . . .
and if they have eaten their vegetables lately . . .
and  . . . .
 

Then, there is their quadruplet brother . . .
who is almost off the chart! 
 

 That's all for now, folks!

Stay-tuned for part 2 of Joe's big birthday adventure!