Birthday Wishes Do Come True (Ineke turns 10!)

Ineke, going in to her 10th year, has a deep and abiding love (infatuation?) with horses.  

And so naturally, horses had to be a part of her birthday.

Besides horse socks and a horse notebook and a little horse lantern, she got a beautiful horse card...

and on that card, she got a ticket.

And on that ticket, she got a birthday trip to ride a horse for the first time!

(I think, from those tears, that this was a very Special, Secret Wish that she had been holding close inside for a long time.)

Thank goodness for friendly, generous, homeschooled horse-people like Kate, who are willing to make birthday wishes come true.

This is Boon.  

I think both Boon and Ineke had some trepidations about trotting.  Poor Kate had to practically pull the horse to a trot...

But eventually trot he did. And Ineke was glad that she had done something that made her nervous.

What a brave, beautiful, boisterous girl you are, Ineke Beaneke. 

And we love you more than a barn FULL of horses.  ;-)

For her dessert, Ineke requested a fruit cheesecake.  Here is a fruity cheesecake at dusk.

 And here is her fruity cheesecake on fire.

And here is her attempting (and failing) to blow out the MANY candles upon her fruity cake:

One can only assume she had such a hard time because all her wishes had already come true.

Adele's birthday presents

Adele' turned sweet 16 this year.  

And 16 is a very weird age.  It turns a girls' brain.

Case in point:

Present #1:

Present #2:

She can barely contain herself with the butternut squash and weeps over the amazing, autographed BOOK.

What a weirdo.

(Just kidding, of course.  She is lovely.  Too lovely for words.)

PS.  If you think that this is Matt trying to light a napkin on fire, you'd be correct.

The little pyro.

My Little Panda

 Andrew was delivered at midnight to begin a commute into NYC to catch a flight to Idaho in order to attend a week-long Christian conference there with two other, younger guys.  This will be his first time flying (where he will remember the experience) and he'll have to navigate the whole airport experience/travelling/huge conference, not only for the first time but as the 'man in charge'.

The whole thing has got this Mama feeling nostalgic and sentimental about the little Panda that is almost all grown up.

All of this made me think that I have not yet posted his 18th birthday photos (from back in April) OR the photos I have taken of his cabin (I know some of you have expressed interest). 

 It seems to me that now might be just the perfect time to do so. 

I miss him already.  

Homemade donuts for dessert

Papa and the Newman men joked that he ought to give a speech, given that he was turning 18.  In true Andrew form, he took the joke and made it a reality.  

(Take note of his podium... he has an affinity both for shoes and keeping the boxes they come in.)

It was a good speech and it made me cry.  (surprise, surprise.)

Also- I was impressed with his public-speaking... even though he was addressing a room full of family- he made eye contact with everyone as he spoke, included jokes-but avoided silliness, spoke succinctly and loudly and had a commanding presence.

And he didn't have to do any of it at all.  It was a sweet moment.

He's a funny bird and enjoys making people laugh.  (As you can see here)

He also loves Haribo.

Aunt Holly and Uncle John's birthday card included a photo from a Christmas performance he did.

That too, was an idea he had, just for the pleasure of being witty, funny and charming.  

Hat tip to any who recognize the performance!! 

I love that Andrew doesn't shy away from being the center of attention but also doesn't need to be there all the time.  I love that he does not take himself too seriously but that he takes seriously other, important things.  

I love seeing the manly man that he is becoming and yet so enjoy that I can still see glimpses of the sweet, mischievous little boy shine through every now and again.  

And I am so incredibly thankful that he (with nary an eye roll or complaint) still lets me hug him long and hard when he is about to embark on yet another grand adventure.  

In fact, he hugs back.