Star Wars Party

Posted on May 6, 2013 by bakersdozenandapolloxiv

It just so happens that Hezekiah was born on May the Fourth 2004…given my boys’ penchant for Star Wars these days combined with a May the Fourth that fell on a Saturday…well, lets just say it was easy to come up with theme for Hezekiah’s ninth birthday.

We had Jar Jar Drinks (Ginger Ale and lime sherbert).

Han Rolos

Peppermint Padawans

Dark Side M&Ms

Princess Leia’s Buns

Mini Light Sabers and

Qui Gong Jinn (ger snaps)

Storm Trooper Helmets.

Tilly was kind enough to make a Pinata so the boys could destroy the Death Star…

Some of you long time readers might recognize Hilary’s son, Sam.

Enoch made Hezekiah this Cad Bane mask. An amazing piece of artwork made from cardboard, paint and metal tubing.

Chuck and I got him this Bazinga! shirt…a nod to his academic side.

Hezekiah invited three friends from school and his long time buddy, Sam. The boys played Sith and Jedi (AKA Sharks and Minnows), Follow the Clone Trooper and Destroy the Death Star.

We had he perfect weather for the perfect day. Happy Birthday, Hezekiah!

First Day of Spring!

Posted on March 20, 2013 by bakersdozenandapolloxiv

Who cares that it is pouring down rain? Who cares that its not even 50 degrees out (and my phone tells me it’s 73 and sunny in Houston, TX)? Who cares that we are trying to warm our house with a blazing fire in the woodstove? My calendar tells me it’s spring!

I have survived another winter.

In keeping with tradition, we planned a little surprise for the children.

Tilly supplied us with Kool-Aid dyed eggs and Chuck provided us with Cadbury Chocolate Eggs.

Enoch braved the rain to hide the eggs. Tilly helped Apollo hunt.

Apollo immediately ripped the wrapper off of his Cadbury Egg and started eating it!

Apollo was delighted to discover that the colored eggs were real!

Is anyone else celebrating today?

Ear Piercing {The Jubliee Edition}

Posted on January 3, 2013 by bakersdozenandapolloxiv

The tradition around these parts (the Baker’s Dozen parts, that is) is for girls to get their ears pierced when they turn ten. Jubilee’s was a bit late due to me arriving home from Houston just five days before her birthday. I did manage to pull off a party (with new friends from school even!) and gifts, but no ear-piercing. We took advantage of her break from school and finally got it done the day before she returned.

And, for those of you who don’t follow on Facebook or Instagram (littleearthling) Apollo had a perfectly normal swallow study yesterday! He has absolutely no compression on his esophagus. The swallow study was done because of his recent increase in choking. Since everything looks good structurally, it appears the he just needs to learn to eat food (much like a baby would) and be watched closely. I am so excited…This means, he no longer has a physical need for the g-tube! Now, don’t get me wrong, he needs the g-tube still because he can’t eat enough yet to maintain his weight and grow, but there is every reason to believe he will, eventually, be g-tube free.

His swallow study appointment was at 8 am and he had a second appointment (with a nutritionist) at 1:30 so we had a huge chunk of time to kill. When we left the hospital in the morning we told Apollo that we were going to head back later, but just to talk (he is always worried about getting x-rays).

Later, while heading back to the hospital, Apollo threw his arms up in the air in a gesture of explanation and said, “I’m not going to have heart surgery today. I am just going to talk to them and the people are just going to talk to me!”

That’s right, Buddy. No heart surgery today.

Christmas 2012

Posted on December 25, 2012 by bakersdozenandapolloxiv

We had a fabulous Christmas over here at A Baker’s Dozen. Following is a mixture of photos of Christmas Eve and Christmas day. If you’re wondering about the mismatched attire…I chose to let my children wear whatever they wanted to our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. Some chose to dress up…some not so much. I also didn’t force anyone to pose for photos. The girls asked me to get the camera out and whoever felt like it hopped in the photos.

Jubilee, Apollo, Tilly, Hezekiah, Adalia, Avi, Kalina and Tucker. Eight of my favorite children! My children are strange…very strange. Don’t blame them, they’re homeschooled. Or formerly homeschooled. Or something…

Adalia’s not really taller than Tilly. Not by a long shot. She just happens to be wearing ridiculously high heels.

Apollo was so excited to go to church (we keep him home to minimize his exposure to germs). Trying to prepare him, I told him we would be singing some songs…to which he responded, “Songs like Hey Jude?” Two and a half and already a Beatles fan!

My first (but not oldest) and last born sons.

Chuck reading our Advent story, Bartholomew’s Passage.

Kalina has been wanting to make these cake pops for months. They turned out beautifully!

I love, love, LOVE these adorable little boys! Same size, completely opposite personalities.

A game of Rook and homemade marshmallows, thank to Tilly.

I’ve written about our Christmas traditions plenty in the past…but since someone will ask, we don’t put up a Christmas tree or exchange gifts. We work really, really hard to keep Christ the focus of our holiday. We do, however, love to celebrate. Part of that includes stockings for the kids, with small gifts. Candy, and orange and a few trinkets to make the day special. Nothing big or expensive. We save that for birthdays.

And this afternoon flowers were delivered to Adalia from a certain young man who lives in New Zealand.

{Our grown children chose to celebrate Christmas in the nearby city where they live. All three at attending Job Corps are putting down roots and seeking a healthy independence for themselves.}

Christmas Movie and Hot Chocolate Bar!

Posted on December 24, 2012 by bakersdozenandapolloxiv

This was a first for us. Both the hot chocolate bar and the Christmas movie. We haven’t had a TV for most of our marriage and now we have one (hooked up and used primarily as a computer screen) in our basement. We don’t have cable or any TV reception, so we can only watch movies on it. Somehow, all this means we’ve never actually watched a Christmas movie. Obviously, Chuck and I have seen plenty, but most of our children haven’t. Therefore, I though this would be perfect combined with hot chocolate and all the fixings.

For the movie I wanted something fun and not to sappy. Something with a plot, but not so complicated that the little ones wouldn’t enjoy it.

We chose Jingle All the Way, which ended up being a great choice. Cute, not too serious, happy ending. The three little boys (Mordecai, Hezekiah and Tucker) were rolling on the floor laughing…