Happy Birthday Clara Jill!

I can't believe it's been THREE years since this day:

One Year Old!

Two Years Old!

Three Years Old!!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! Your name means "clear and bright" and you are our little light, shining into our lives. You are such a joy and we are so thankful to God for putting you in our family. You changed our lives forever when you were born three years ago-so tiny and so quiet. You are still petite but now you never stop talking, singing, imagining, pretending, laughing and growing. You are just too amazing for words! Daddy and Jack and I love you so much and Jesus loves you more than we do! Happy 3rd Birthday Clara!

Jack's Penguin Party

It was a long time coming and even had to be cancelled once, but Jack's Penguin Party finally happened and was super fun! It even snowed that day just to keep things interesting. We had penguin bowling, pin the penguin on the igloo and a bean bag toss game. The kids were running around playing and the adults were eating the shortbread snowflake cookies as fast as they could. (note to self: make more cookies for future parties!)Thanks to everyone who came and helped with the party! And thanks for celebrating Jack and his big #1.

I was really excited about this banner I made. All it took was felt and craft glue and a few naptimes to finish it! The Igloo cake. Thank you Martha Stewart cake mold.

Here is Jack with my Boompa. Jack just celebrated his first birthday and Boompa is about to celebrate his 81st!!!

Clara and Ethan in their party hats.

I think he liked the cupcake but seemed a little overwhelmed by all the people looking at him.

This is Jack's new truck. It is his favorite new toy-he sits on it and pushes all the buttons all the time. A timeline of a year in pictures.
Marilee and I made this bean bag toss game. We still have it up in our house and Jack loves to put balls in and out of the holes. He and his cousin, Silas, also like to climb behind it and pass the balls back and forth to each other and peek through the holes. It's been very useful entertainment for more than just the party!

Happy Birthday Jacky Boy!

The Awesome Birthday Dude! We love you Jacky Boy! Happy First Birthday!

It's Jack's first birthday and what a year it has been! The theme of his life so far seems to be "expect the unexpected and be blessed!"

Before our 20 wk ultrasound, I was positive he was a girl-then saw clearly he was a BOY! My labor and birth with him was not what I planned at all, an unexpected and fast homebirth. Then my midwife weighed him and he was 9lbs 6 oz. and I thought, "Wow! This kid means business-he's not messing around." There was never anything small or tiny about Jack. When he was a newborn, I didn't look at him and think, "He's so tiny." I thought, "He's so substantial."

He was born yelling and has only gotten louder these past 12 months. He makes his presence known. At the same time, he is pretty content and a good sport, fitting right into our family and loving his spot as a little brother. He is also really passionate though and not afraid to tell us what he needs. He eats up our attention and will often preform daring-dos until Mama, Dada and Clara all tell him how cool he is.

He is a great wrestler and climber. He growls and grunts and yells a lot-not exactly verbal-just tough-guy sounds. He is such a sweet boy though and will sigh and give hugs a lot. I cherish these little hugs and pats.

Having a son is such a challenge-it's like creating a bond that is intended for separation. My prayer for Jack is that he will someday leave this family as a strong, man of God, dependent on Christ only. While I want Jack to find strength in our family unit, I want him to leave someday with confidence in Christ and wisdom to lead his own family. So for my short time of training and loving him, I'll treasure his little hugs, absorb all his loud noises and clean up his endless messes, answer constant questions, place bandaids on his knees, and pray daily for his heart. I'll be grateful for these unexpected blessings that are my son, Jack Timothy Green.

A few minutes old

One Hour Old
One Week Old

One year! Love those blue eyes.

Pretty happy with himself for sitting in a bowl after he emptied a drawed in the kitchen.
One his way to walking-may go straight to running

Happy Birthday Clara!

Clara is Two! We had a green polka dot tea party to celebrate. Clara helped me make the shortbread cookies, chocolate strawberries and pretzel sticks for her party. When it was time for cake, she blew out her candles before we were done singing. One of her favorite gifts was a guitar from her Great Tutu. Now she can play Rock Band with Daddy!