CELEBRATE!

Yesterday was Clayton's 10th birthday! Double digits! Just a few days before his birthday we found out that his best buddy Devin and his family would be staying at our house for 2 nights and then leaving for Omaha on the morning of his birthday. About the same time I found out that Larry's whole family was considering coming to Little Rock to surprise Clayton on his birthday. I told them it would be a great encouragement to him since he would probably be sad.
My mother in law came up a day early. When she rang the doorbell we sent Clayton to answer it. He opened the door and saw presents and balloons sitting on the porch. When he walked outside to get them my mother in law jumped out and said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" He was very surprised! The next morning Devin left and it was quick so he seemed to handle it OK. The rest of us set about to clean the house and prepare for 4 more visitors without Clayton knowing. Around lunch time Larry said he needed to run an errand and ran to pick up his dad, sister (Val), her fiance (Philip), and Philip's daughter (Val's step daughter) Kennedie at the airport. When they all came through the door Clayton was shocked! When the shock wore off we all had a great time catching up, playing out side, and making a big dinner. After dinner we went to Clayton's choice for his birthday treat, Maggie Moos! Then we all headed back home and decided to go swimming. My boys were thrilled to get to swim until the sun went down and the lights came on at the pool! That night Clayton said that it was one of his best birthdays ever and that at the beginning of the day he thought it would be just another normal day. Boy did we change that!


Clayton's new shirt!

Maggie Moos!

Val, Philip and Kennedie

SWIMMING! A great way to end a birthday!

Today we shift from celebrating our sweet 10 year old to celebrating Larry. What a blessing he is to me and the boys. We all absolutely adore him! He is an amazing father and husband and it is a joy to honor him today!