His Ninth

Nine years old. Oh this boy. The boy that made me a mom. Hard to believe we've been playing this out for nine years now. This kid. He is my sun and my moon. A constant source of light in my life. It has been an honor and a privledge raising him these past 9 years. Grateful, so grateful he is mine.

Obligatory birthday pics on my front porch. My boys just know....all big events start with mom demanding pictures. Usually on our front porch. Can't help it, some good lighting right there. Enough natural light, yet shaded so I don't get squinty smiles. Perfect.

Best I could get of the three monsters together. Birthday parties get them a little hyped up and they were acting kinda nutso!

Whats the matter with me. I just truly love hosting a good party. I get the biggest charge out of it. Every year I tell myself I spend too much, I need to tone it down. But I don't. At all. Carson chose baseball as his theme, and it has been my favorite to date. My boy, born just 2 weeks before Independce Day. Baseball and America. Doesn't get much better than that. Had so much fun putting it all together.

Menu was hotdogs. Cause duh. Baseball....hotdogs. Chips, potato salad and a layered salad. Fresh fruit and lime rickies.

Could never do it all without the help of our families. So appreciate their willingness to help with the food and to all come. Makes it such a special night for my birthday boy. Every year I ask them if they would rather a big family party or a friend party. They always choose the family. I think cause they have so many cousins, and honestly their cousins are their best friends. So they get the best of both worlds!

Once again my sister and I outdid ourselves on the cake. When I say my sister and I, I really just mean my sister. I stand there and chit chat with her but she honestly does all the work. I think I sifted the flour and sugar and rinsed off all the dishes and thats about it. She did the rest. Haha. Love my Ash!! I'd be lost without her.

I do have to take credit for the ideas though. And the money. That was all me. The cake I was worried wouldn't make quite enough so I thought we could do some baseball cupcakes too. He wanted chocolate cupcakes, and then we just frosted them to look like baseballs. Then found those cute little patriotic stars to throw on the top. I thought they turned out adorable. And notice the cute little platter I bought for them. Its all in the details....

And the cake...oh the cake. About 6 months ago, my nerdy little boy who absolutely loves to watch "Pioneer Woman" with me, watched her make this cake on one of her episodes. It is called strawberry sparkle cake. Basically a homemade angel food cake with a fun strawberry surprise. Right then and there he demanded that cake for his birthday and he never forgot about it. And it just so happened to fit in perfectly with our red, white and blue baseball theme.

Isn't it darling. Thought the candles were such a cute touch and the big red 9. But wait til you see the inside, that is the fun part!

Our boy. Something about your firstborn. The one who made you parents.

We love him so.

He got lots of fun presents. Everything he was hoping for. Disney Infinity from me and his dad. Plus a few extra characthers from Linc and Drake. An extra controller so that he and Linc can play against each other on play station. A new Batman game. His precious Rainbow Loom from Ash and Jen. A cute storage box and a ton of rubber bands. And a new Cargo truck Lego from my mom.

Ta-da!!! Check out that cake. See where it gets the "strawberry sparkle" from. And oh my goodness it was so yummy. So light and airy and just wonderful. The frosting is nothing but whipping cream and sugar. So its basically just like all homemade strawberry shortcake. One of the best cakes I've ever had. We gobbled it up. Seriously licked that cake stand clean!

It was a great party celebrating our incredible little nine year old. I get really emotional when I think of this boy and his impact on my life. You wonder if these kids know, if they really know how much you as their parents treasure them. Do they know how they have changed your life, how they are your life. How they hold your whole dang heart in their little hands. Do they know they have changed you, bettered you, shaped you into the person you are. They, in their tiny little form, all 6 pounds 6 ounces of him, had the power to change my entire life. Such a tiny little being with such a huge impact. You know they say we were sent to this earth to be tested and tried, to learn, to be humbled. I believe that to be true. I believe most of us came here as little students, waiting to be taught. However, I feel as if there are certain individuals who came here as teachers. Here to show the rest of us the way. That is my Carson. No doubt in my mind, he was sent here to fulfill a powerful purpose. He was saved for these latter days to truly be a shining star to others. To help light the way. He lights my path every single day. He was blessed with innate ability to love. His heart. Oh his heart. Pure goodness. Pure strength. Pure true love of Christ. His spirit shines through. He is a far better person than I fear I will ever become. He truly is one of God's instruments saved for these last days. I am so proud of the little man I am watching him become. He soothes my soul and lightens my life. Grateful every day for that June 21, summer solstice, has always belonged to my golden boy. Happy birthday my love, another trip around the sun. May you have a lifetime of more. How I love you. Thanks for being mine.