Birthday Photos

I am now officially 14, as of 8:55 pm on January 14.

Whenever one of the kids has a birthday, Mom always tries to take a picture at the minute they were born.

Here are the pictures from my birthday on Saturday.

I had a cake with horse models on top of it a couple years ago, and I had saved the horse models. I had wanted another cake like that one, but Helena hadn't wanted to make it. So we decided to just have cupcakes with the horse models on top. We used blue Sour Belts for the streams, red apples for apples, and jelly beans and chocolate rocks for rocks.

Helena making the cupcakes.

The finished cupcakes from one side...

...from the other side...

...and from the top.

What do you think?

Also presents.

A sweater and a model horse from Mara.

Along with a Klutz twirled paper book.

A big box from Benedick with...

...a puppy inside that wags its tail
when you rub its back.

A cute rubber stamp with a bird on it,
and hair things from Helena.

FRESH CHERRIES!! From Grammy.

And a balloon puzzle, also from Grammy.

The 4th season of the Richard Greene
Robin Hood TV show, from Mom and Dad.

And THE 101 G.A. HENTY NOVELS ON CD!!!!
Also from Mom and Dad.
I have always loved the G.A. Henty books, and
when we came across this I immediately put
it on my wishlist! I am so happy I got it!!! 

I loved watching the 1935 "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for my birthday! It was everything I was expecting, and more!! I had just read it, but I didn't know that the movie was going to be so funny! I especially liked the Pyramus and Thisbe performance at the end! I thought it was hilarious!! The whole movie was great. I guess when you take a book that has some pretty funny parts, and make it into a movie with actors who add little tiny things, and just add their whole manner of acting, it will end up pretty funny. I must have watched it 3 or 4 times since my birthday!

P.S. If you are wondering why it's been so long since I posted, blame it on my Henty CD. I've been reading it as much as possible.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 14th birthday!!
Dad always puts up signs whenever there's a birthday for one of the children. He tries to make the things on the sign have the person's age in them, and make them about things that the child really likes.

Here are some of my birthday signs.

I really love horses, so for my dessert tomorrow -when we celebrate- for dessert we are going to have cupcakes with little horse models on top (not edible).

Tomorrow we are also going to watch the 1935 "A Midsummer Night's Dream!

A couple days ago I got my third follower. Just in time for my birthday! How nice!

When we go out shopping, I always look for dropped money on the ground.

We are going to have spaghetti for dinner tonight, and then have the real celebration tomorrow, when Mara will be home.

We went out shopping yesterday and Mom bought me two helium balloons.

I named them. The purple one is Benedick, and the pink one is Beatrice, from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

My balloon weight. Mom said the lady filling them with helium
picked out the nicest one. 

Fresh Orange Juice

Mom, Helena, Benedick, and me went to Grammy's house awhile back, and while we were there we picked a whole bunch of oranges off her trees. We juiced a lot of them today.

Doesn't it look delicious?

The Battle of the Hangers

as Written from the Front by your War Correspondent

Helena was hanging up laundry a few days ago, and we were playing keep-away with a skirt hanger and wouldn't let her get it. She had one skirt already on a hanger, then she went out of the room, and Benedick hid the hanger we were playing with. Then Helena came back down the hall, saw that her hanger was missing and went mewing to Mom and Dad (note: in our house mewing usually means longing or sadness). While she was gone, Mara quickly went over to the skirt already on a hanger, removed the hanger and hid it.

When Helena came back and demanded the hanger Benedick had hidden, Mara said, "which hanger?" Eventually, Helena noticed that the skirt was off the other hanger, and she went down the hall into Benedick's room, and came out with one of his Nerf dart guns (Benedick has zillions), pointed it at point-blank range, and asked, "Where are they?!" He wouldn't say, and went and got another dart gun. 

As you might expect, a furious combat ensued. There were darts flying everywhere, but Helena was still trying to find the hangers with "warmer" and "colder" hints from Mara. More dart guns kept appearing as the combatants would occasionally retire momentarily to Benedick's room for more guns. Once I found that Helena had taken refuge behind the couch I was sitting on. The line of fire moved so as to accommodate her new position. When the darts started coming too close for comfort, with one actually hitting an innocent bystander (me), I removed myself to a safer location.

Soon after, the active fighting ceased, and Helena could devote all her attention to locating the missing hangers. Even after searching constantly for several minutes, she couldn't find them, and she went to get more hangers. But while Helena was getting them, somehow the original ones appeared out of nowhere (with a little help). Then when Helena returned with new hangers and found the old ones laying on the couch, she went to put away the hangers she had just gotten out. But when Helena came back, the old hangers had disappeared again. This time she was able to trace them to behind a couch cushion. 

Note: the pictures were posed after the fact, but the second one is quite accurate to their positions at some point during the battle.
Second note: guns supplied by Benedick & Co.; quite willingly to himself, and through no fault of his own (except leaving his room vulnerable) to Helena.

Christmas Decorations Part 2

I know it's after Christmas, but I thought you still might enjoy seeing more Christmas decorations.

Here are some of my favorite ornaments from our tree:

These bells are Mara's.	I really like this cardinal.
Dad says this is his favorite ornament.	You can't really see her, but this ballerina spins in a circle!
We always use this tree topper.	The spinning carousel is Helena's.

Messiah 53: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain

Revelation 5:12-13
12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Merry Christmas! I hope you've enjoyed listening to all these videos of beautiful Christian music.

Messiah 52: If God be for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31-34
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

(The text of the aria leaves out verse 32.)