Preston's 9th Birthday ~ Part 2

The second part of Preston's birthday took place on Saturday the 20th. He had what was supposed to be his last football game of the season {turned out we had two more weeks after this!!} at 10:00 in the morning.

Papa Rusty and Jennifer had come up from OK to watch his game and to help him celebrate. Preston played a great game and even earned $10 from me for a tackle.

{I'll tell that story in another post}

Then it was back to the house where we had a full blown Chili Bar ready to eat!! We were a HUNGRY crew after the game.

I didn't get any good pictures of our set up because we just started digging in as soon as we said the prayer. But I had two crock-pots of chili {one with beans, one without}, a handful of GIANT baked potatoes, hot dogs, Fritos, cornbread, and plenty of embellishments and crackers!



It was definitely a crowd pleaser!!



Preston ate the fastest lunch in history and was about to explode with excitement until everyone else finished and was ready to watch him open his gifts.




{LOVE that he can read his own cards now!}



He hauled in MORE LEGOS, money, an airplane model, more money, pencils and notebooks, and a camo jacket. He was a Happy Boy!!

Then more cake and ice cream...Preston wanted 2 cakes, so we obliged. Grandma Janis made her Strawberry Cake and we made another version of the chocolate cake from Thursday. 8 adults and 3 kids ate a LOT of cake....but it was all so good!

Dear Preston,

How can it be possible that my firstborn is 9 years old?! Do you realize that this makes me feel like I am getting to be an OLD woman? I was only 22 when I had you...that's only 13 years for you!! You are halfway to 18...halfway to moving out on your own! Only 5 years away from being behind the wheel of an automobile. Probably 5 or 6 years from "dating". Only 2 more years before you enter Middle School. Oh, the pain it causes me to think about all these milestones that are on your horizon!

But there is another side to this equation. It's what I call the wings stage. We are slowly moving from the season of developing your roots and starting to watch you start to spread your wings. I know you are not ready to completely take off and fly, but I can see that you are wanting to branch out and experience some of life outside of the nest. There is still much watering and nurturing to do, but it's a fine balance; for both us and you.

The tender heart you were born with continues to be one of your greatest assets. It can also make it very hard to be a BOY in today's world. Preston, don't you EVER lose that tenderness that you have!! It's hard now I know, but you will come out of boyhood and become the MAN that God created you to be.

Oh man, the amount of LEGOS we have in this house is criminal. I fully intend to save every single one of them and pass them on to your first born! When you whine and complain, I will love telling you of all the times I picked up Legos, stepped on Legos, got Legos out of the vacuum...! You can build some really amazing things with just a little time and your imagination.

You continue to accel in reading and math, but don't really care for "going to school." Playing video games, watching army movies and hunting are your activities of choice! You know more about the military and specifically WWII than any other 9 year old I know. I am amazed by how much of the information you see and hear you are able to retain.

Preston, please keep spreading your wings and making us proud of you. BUT, don't forget to keep your roots strong. This house and the people in it will always be here for you and will be your biggest fans your entire life. Your brother and sister seem like a pain at times now, but the older you get the more you will realize how much you need them. Keep them close to you always. Dad and I are so happy that God chose us for you...I think we are the lucky ones!!

Love you always,
MOM