always come home

Our Elijah turned 8 years old!!! Gosh, I love this boy! We've been enjoying extended celebrations...a special outing with Grammy Potter last Friday, a family party on Sunday, a friend coming to play tomorrow, and a mini party with two families on Friday! Whew! Turning 8 is a big deal!!! Here are a few pictures from his birthday...in reverse order from how I wanted them to be...

The chainsaw Elijah, Daddy, and Luke created from his K'nex Education Kit "Gears."

He loves a good building project!

Hard at work

Opening gifts on his birthday morning

A REAL slingshot...oh, yeah! It shoots small paper balls really well for tons of fun IN the house!

Elijah LOVES reading "manual" type books...his favorite, well-used, well-worn book is The Survival Handbook: Essential Skills for Outdoor Adventure by Towell. We found these great books from Popular Mechanics that he's already taken a liking to: The Boy Camper, The Boy Scientist, The Boy Mechanic, and The Boy Mechanic Makes Toys.

And, of course, we all enjoyed the "traditional-9x13-sprinkle-filled cake" with a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday!

I love you, Elijah! You are a joy and a pleasure! How blessed we are that God has given you to our family!!!