Our Baby is 14!

Ben turned 14 yesterday and we managed our first overnight birthday party with Mom and Dad in the house. He had 5 friends join him for pizza, pop, ice cream pie and lots of XBox :0). They were a nice group of boys and so it went really well. I took them to Safeway to gather food items to donate to Northwest Harvest and made a little competition out of it. They did a great job and had fun while doing it so I think it was a success (and Ben liked the idea). When we tried to donate the food at the nearest drop-off, things started to get a little funny. The store on Lake City Way was closed but I was able to call inside to ask if they'd still take our donation. The young man who opened the gate looked a bit spacey and there was a strange scent in the air which the boys seemed to figure out right away (it took me a little longer). The funny part was that they'd never heard of Northwest Harvest and had no idea they were listed as a drop-off location. The owner's son called his dad who was also clueless about NW Harvest so we took our goods and headed out. On the way home, I said to the boys "those guys looked a bit high." To which the boys all chimed in with comments about what they saw and heard. We all laughed it off and I decided that's probably enough of that store.

The next morning I left Hallack with the six boys, Mom & Dad and a freshly baked batch of cinnamon rolls (can you say "peace offering"?) while I headed out to speak at a women's Christmas brunch. They all seemed to survive my absence even though I didn't make it home until 1pm. It was stressful enough to prepare for and then be gone that I'll think long and hard before I do that again. However, I'm so encouraged that we could have a party like that in our new arrangement and everyone seemed to do well. And I can't believe that Ben is now 14! I am so proud of the young man he is and how well he's adjusted to having his grandparents living with us. Happy Birthday, Baby