A Quiet Birthday

Turning 41 means you are solidly in your fifth decade of life; there's no pretending you're not in your 40s.  At least that's what I told Eli last week when his birthday rolled around!

This year we enjoyed a quiet celebration.  Eli has never been one to appreciate attention on his birthday (says his birthday-loving wife with a sigh...).  Since I created such a fuss over his 40th last year, I acquiesced to his desire to keep his birthday on the downlow this year.  I tried my hand at making sweet and sour chicken for the first time ever (which turned out pretty good!), and we devoured scotcheroos for dessert.  And that was it.  Truly, it was a quiet birthday and Eli was very happy.

I found this amazing "Philosoraptor" shirt on Amazon and knew Eli needed it.  Eli is always in need of more T-shirts because 1) that's the only thing he wears if he's not in scrubs, and 2) he hates shopping with a zealous passion and therefore never adds to his already-sparse wardrobe, which means he also wears out the small clothing selection he has until it's in tatters and then just keeps wearing it like that, much to my chagrin.  On top of all that, finding shirts that are long enough for his tall frame is not easy.  So I am always on the lookout for fun, long T-shirts for my man.  And this shirt fit the bill perfectly!

Fun fact: Eli double-majored in Physics and Philosophy.  In fact, he actually was a triple major until his Math major was demoted to a minor because he needed to squeeze in space for pre-med requirements after he decided to pursue medicine.  Eli is as nerdy as they come!  Also, he likes Jurassic Park like every human being should, so this T-shirt is perfection.

I am incredibly thankful for my man.  Just last night we had the privilege of sharing our story again with some visitors - how we met and how we felt called to medical missions - and I was encouraged anew by God's faithfulness to us.  The Lord so clearly brought Eli into my life, and He so clearly led us down a path, one nudge at a time over the course of years, that led us to Kenya and to this ministry we're blessed to be a part of.

This story of mine wouldn't exist without Eli in it.  And it's a good story.  I am deeply thankful.

A Misty Mountain Birthday

We have three autumn birthdays, and Asa's is the first!  He turned 8 last month and we had a wonderful time celebrating this lively, energetic boy.

To kick things off, we hosted a Kid Movie Night in our community house (the 100-year old house that the original missionaries lived in when they came to Chogoria in 1922).  Asa chose Kung Fu Panda and we invited all the kids on the compound to join.  There was a lot of laughter and spilled popcorn - a successful night by far!

The next morning, on Asa's actual birthday, we began the day with a present followed by baking the cake.  I had found this T-shirt and Nessie stuffed animal in Scotland and knew Asa would love them.  All of our boys have a fascination with mythical creatures, and the Loch Ness Monster is no exception.  I had found a couple books about the creature while in Scotland and brought them back as souvenirs, which the boys have read more times than I can count.  The fascination continues!

After baking the cake, we went to Mount Kenya National Park.  It's a special place for us and, honestly, is one of the only places to go around here anyway!  We were greeted by cool and cloudy weather in the foothills.  Even though we couldn't see the peak on a day like that, it was beautiful.

It was the perfect atmosphere for this particular birthday, too, because Asa wanted a Lord of the Rings birthday.  It felt like God sent the weather on the birthday boy's behalf, a little nudge to say "I see you, and I love your love for all things Lord of the Rings, and here are some misty mountains just for you today."

Another perk: misty mountains have a marvelous tendency to soothe the soul.  We breathed deeply that day.

After our traditional picnic of PB&J, the kids wasted no time in running amok again.  (To be clear, there was a surplus of running amok happening at the same time we were breathing deeply.  The two can definitely go hand in hand, and often do.)  We had invited the other missionary families to join us because our dear friends the Webbers had been gone in the States for a while and hadn't been to the mountain in a long time, and the Loftus family is new to Chogoria and had never been.  We really wanted to show them our favorite place!

After a lovely time at the mountain, we headed back down to Chogoria so I could decorate a cake.  Asa wanted a Lord of the Rings cake and told me, "It can be anything you want, Mom.  Just Lord of the Rings somehow."  That left room for a lot of freedom and I had too many ideas.  In the end, I couldn't narrow it down, so I went with a multi-layered approach by creating a picture with a variety of scenes from Frodo's journey toward Mordor: The Shire, the Mines of Moria, Lothlórien, Fangorn Forest, and Mount Doom in Mordor.

This cake took me a while to make, but it turned out great and the birthday boy was extremely happy!

Some close-ups:

A hobbit hole in The Shire with Asa's name on the mailbox and 8 on the hobbit door.

Lego Frodo, which the boys put together using the legs of Yoda, cape of Batman, and torso and head/hair of Owen Grady from Jurassic World.  Pretty clever, right?

Treebeard, the Ent.

A happy Asa! 

We put the candles in the corner with Mount Doom (naturally), and once the fires of Mordor were snuffed out, the cake was promptly devoured.  Asa wanted the piece with Treebeard, an excellent choice!

A few days later, the final part of the birthday bash commenced: Mohawk Day!  Asa has witnessed his buddy Jack get mohawks over the years but was never quite ready to join him in the fun.  But he decided this was the year!  He grew his hair out for months and patiently waited for Jack to get back from America so they could get mohawks together.  I suggested they wait until Asa's birthday, which they were amenable to, and it became a much-anticipated event.

Here are the munchkins before...

And the haircutting session in the Webbers' backyard...

And the munchkins with mohawks!

Proud boys and dads!

It was a wonderful birthday celebration and we enjoyed lavishing our Asa Bubba with extra attention and love.

We are blessed beyond measure with this precious son.  Asa is our most energetic child, most social, most adventurous, most brave.  He's also our most expressive child, speaking in silly voices and accents just to entertain himself, and I don't think there's a facial expression in the world that he doesn't know and use.  Asa is also our most musical child.  He has learned the piano at a fast rate, and he loves to sing.  He sings to himself a lot - basically whenever he's alone so he doesn't need to sit in silence - and he has a lovely voice that's on key and which serenades us with original songs by none other than himself.  He's always asking for special treats, such as literally asking every day if he can have chocolate milk even though he knows we'll say no, because he takes such delight in the simple pleasures in life.  Asa is just a live-life-to-the-fullest kind of kid.  He's creative and talented, smart as a whip (and finally growing in self-motivation when it comes to his school work), and likes nothing better than a snuggle with his Mama or a tickle fest with his Daddy.  He loves the Lord and is growing in knowledge and wisdom as we study Scripture together and talk about Jesus.  This boy is a precious gift and we are insanely humbled and thankful to call him ours.

We love you, Asa!  Happy Birthday!