Alden is Super 4!

Alden is 4! But before I dive into the festivities of his celebration, I have to take joy in the fact that God has blessed Wally and me with 11 years of marriage, and we are still loving it! Of course, we get grumpy (enter me) or irritated or impatient or need space or need lovin' and affection (enter Wally), but I thank God for His faithfulness to us and for Wally's faithfulness and love toward me. To think that Christ's love is bigger and better is really overwhelming. If only I could live like I believed that!


Celebrating at an insanely expensive Japanese restaurant that was probably one of the top dining experiences we've ever had. I no longer feel sorry for people whose diets consist of mostly fish. It was eye-opening and mouth-watering.

So back to my 4 year old guy.


He felt very loved and celebrated. You can tell by his face how excited he was! He asked for a superhero birthday party, and he was not disappointed.


Rhianwen picked out the Spiderman action figure for him. That was one of his requests for his birthday. I'm thankful she had that job, b/c there are way to many Spiderman toys out there for me to decide.


Here's Corwin taking it all in. He also is acting innocent as he holds the gift from Uncle Robeson, Aunt Natalie, and Benjamin.

Yum. Cupcakes.

Rhianwen wanted to make a "fancy" drink for Alden's b-day. So she made "orange fizzeroo" from Fancy Nancy's tea-party book. We all enjoyed it!


The next day was his superhero party (see more here for decorations etc.). His friends and he designed their own superheros.

Here are some of their finished projects.

I also printed out some pictures of various superheros doing feats of daring, and showed pictures of Jesus, doing similar things. He has many superhero traits and powers, but best of all, He is real and more powerful! This was fun!

Then it was outside for treasure reconnaissance. The evil Lizard from Spiderman had stolen their treasure, and we were calling all superheros to help us recover it. First they had to use a web to tangle up some evil fiends left by lizard to slow them down:


Then they had to scale walls and slide down into the swamp and destroy the water bombs left by the Lizard:



Next they swung over a pit on a web:



Captain America loaned his shield for them to toss into the sand trap (good target practice):

Superman had to try too.

Next Thor's hammer was used to destroy more water bombs:


The superheros had to get creative as evil thugs came pouring down from the sky:

At the end of the carnage, all of the bad-guys were reduced to bits and pieces all over the lawn.

Lastly was a face-off with the Lizard, himself. He was no match for the zapper (aka silly string can with spray-paint attachment). This worked really well, especially the balloon figure b/c it moved and recoiled from the attack:


All in a day's work for a superhero. No need to look excited:



Alden asked for a Lizard cake. I guess it wasn't enough to just zap the Lizard, they also felt the need to devour him.

Thankful for superheros!

A new take on the Super-Nanny.

We were happy to have my family come to help celebrate! Here they are after the adrenaline is wearing off.


My first boy. This year he has learned all of his alphabet, has started on blends, mostly can say his L's (instead of making them w's), has taught himself to write, learned how to swim, and found a comrade in Corwin...someone who will wrestle, slap, run, laugh without all of the orchestration that Alden's older sibling requires. In Corwin's eyes, he is a superhero! Whatever Alden does, Corwin mimics. I pray that the Lord will give Alden a vision of Christ, a powerful steadfast heart for Him, and determination and perseverance to fight the good fight and finish the race...to be a real hero...to imitate the real Hero.