Birthday Bash

We had a wonderful 1st Birthday in America, what a fun party. Ryan just wanted everyone to come out and play soccer, volleyball and any other games they wanted to bring outside. All the kids brought water guns and we had a water war later in the evening with most every child ending up soaking wet. Our church soccer fields were the perfect spot, God held the rain and it was overcast; we couldn't have asked for a better night. Ryan blew candles off a cake for the first time, what a blessing to watch. A night of many firsts for our very deserving boy. It really is a gift for us, to be able to offer him so much, not materially, but in life experiences. Jon asked him if it was the best day of his life and after he thought about for a minute and said, "well, it was the best afternoon!" Not sure what the best morning was, we'll save that for another day I guess, but the point was that he thought about it and really did enjoy his party and his friends coming out to play with him. I pray it was a special afternoon he'll remember forever. We thank each of you for coming and supporting him! I've posted several pictures but made them smaller size. Remember, you can always click into one of the pics to make it larger. Then, just press the "back" button to get back to the blog. Other than his trampoline, he also got a soccer goal to practice kicking in the backyard, some toys and this way cool spiderman suit... in case you wondered how it was that Spidey just came to hang out in our house on the loveseat! (hee, hee)

The "BIG" Present... Literally

Why is it that one present on your birthday or Christmas has to be called, "the big present?" You know, "I got so and so, and such and such, but... that was my big gift." Well, a trampoline was his "big gift." In fact, after it was home he said, "That's the biggest prsent I ever got. Well, parents are biggest, then this." But, for the record, the trampoline is actually bigger than me. Ryan had jumped on trampolines at other kid's houses and really liked them. However, Iwasn't crazy about buying a new one, because I wasn't sure his long-term zeal would match the price tag. We hunted a used one and luckily our church friends had a neighbor selling one. We got a fantastic deal, $60 for this commercial grade trampoline! And, since it's hard to keep a giant 14 foot circle a surprise... he got to help put it together. He loves it.

Come to Ryan's Birthday Party!

Everyone is invited to Ryan's 1st Birthday... in America that is. It's his first real birthday party, according to him. However, he does not understand the concept of a theme, so don't ask us if we have one because he's just decided to incorporate EVERYTHING he likes! After explaining all the ideas for celebrating a birthday, he decided he wanted a "soccer parity." When pressed for what that would be, he simply said, "I just want everyone to come over and play soccer." Well, that's easy and it's what he wants. So, as I looked online for soccer plates and cups and all that jazz, he sat and thought. I asked if he wanted something different, "American stuff?" Yes, ok, so we are having an international soccer party with Americana accents. Got it. Next, the cake. Last night I showed him the cutest soccer cake, complete with little plastic player people. Again, he sat and thought. I asked if he wanted something different, "Iron Man?" Yes, ok, so we are having an international soccer party with Americana accents and now an Iron Man cake. Got it. Like I said, we're sort of all over the place, but he's so excited to just make his choices known and work everything into one party!

Our Soccer/Americana/Iron Man Party takes place at the Fortified Hills Baptist Church Soccer Fields, 4705 East Paulding Drive, Friday July 25th, 6:30-8:30 pm. Bring your soccer cleats and your water gun. Eat dinner before you come so you're not running around on a full stomach. This party is for the whole family. Join us as we celebrate Ryan's biggest gift this year- family! No gift required, it's your presence that's desired.

Independence Day

What a great Fourth of July we had! We went to see my mom and dad for a couple days in Gatlinburg. It was a double header for sure. Ryan saw his first parade. Gatlinburg has a midnight parade in order to be the first Independence Parade in the nation. So, he and I, along with mom, stayed up for that and it was worth it. On the 4th night, we wandered up in the hills a bit to get good seats for the fireworks over the city. Boy oh boy did we. We pulled the car off alongside the road. Shortly thereafter, others came along, jealous of our location. It was perfect, the trees just sort of parted and there was the sky! One other family finally stopped and pulled in behind us. Then, a local guy came and said he had been coming to that spot for 6 years. Come to find out, the fireworks were directly underneath us, literally. Just at the base of the hill we were parked on, sat all these little white boxes... which contained fireworks. We had a front row seat and I've never seen a show to that magnitude. It was awesome! I know the video is going the wrong direction, I can't figure out how to rotate it, but you'll get the point. This was the finale, about 60 seconds of it. I'm taking it from behind Ryan, just to get him in the shot. It was a great holiday, celebrating America's Birthday. Of course, while we were there, we used our Dollywood passes and rode some go-carts. We packed alot in a couple of days, that's just life for us here lately. We wish we had time to do more, but this summer is just packed with a million things to handle for this new youngun', as we say down south.