Happy Birthday Elijah!

What a day! Elijah's birthday was Tuesday. First, let me start by saying that it's NOT a good idea to look at photos of yourself from a year ago when you were about to have a baby a year ago! I mean look at this!! I remember telling myself that I was "much smaller" this time. There is NOTHING small about that belly! I guess what I saw in the mirror and what everyone else saw were two different things.  Rylie snapped this pic for me a few days before Elijah came. OBVIOUSLY he should have come a few days prior to this picture.

I'm not the only one who has changed over the last year. Here he is the day we brought him home. I think he had been practicing that "suck the thumb" stuff before we met him.









Here he is now! A big 1 year old. What a joy he  has been to our family!




So, the birthday celebration was fun, but leading up to it maybe not so much. For some reason I decided that  that day was a good day to teach 5 piano lessons, have a full day of school, clean the house, put up 20lb of ground beef, bake cupcakes, and decorate for the party. WHAT WAS I THINKING!!?? It's good to have goals, but really?? Right before noon (and a meltdown) I called my sister who happened to have the day off work. She graciously came over and helped me out. I just have to take this moment to say that I really love my sisters. All four of them are the best! (And my brother too!)

Things were going along pretty well by 5:30. (The party was at 6:30.) I was feeling pretty prepared. I asked Zack to feed the baby his spaghetti while I finished up dinner. Somehow 9 yr. old boys and feeding babies don't always go together. Before Elijah had his first bite the bowl was dropped and the spaghetti had flown the full length of the floor. It couldn't have just turned over and plopped in one big pile. Oh no! It had to spread the length of the clean floor from the table to the front door right before the party. I didn't have time to clean it up, so Zack got the job. Here's proof of the spaghetti.

Did I mention I was cooking dinner at this time??? Oh yes, dinner. You know those blogs where these great cooks cook fabulous things and then take even more fabulous pictures of them and post them on their blogs? Well friends, this isn't one of them! I was in a rush. I don't normally cook Hamburger Helper, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I'm not much of a cook in the first place. In fact one time I overheard one of my children telling someone that they were used to the fire alarm because it went off every time I was cooking..... How do you mess up Hamburger Helper you say?? Well, just give me a box and a pot and I will show you!  Here's my fabulous photo of my gourmet dinner. I call it Bubbly Soup. If you want the recipe let me know.....

It was a crazy day. But it was a good day. It's my everyday life. I wouldn't have it any other way. I am blessed beyond measure.