The children have left the building....

My Doodle :)

It's true...all of the babies are gone.

My youngest just turned 13! Oh.my.goodness! What happened? Yesterday he still liked to snuggle in my lap - now he wouldn't even FIT in my lap!

We surprised Doodle at home group with the help of many friends.  We ate wonderful food, had great fellowship and a mini "bar mitzvah ceremony".  Elijah was "called out" as a man by the men in our home group.  He was encouraged to put away childish things and to continue to develop a servant's heart. There is a wonderful study on godly manhood that my boys have gone through with the men of our church. I highly recommend it!

The men prayed over Elijah and then all of these very special friends had an opportunity to speak into his life.  They shared memories of him growing up, they encouraged him and spoke of the things they see in his life that honor Yahweh! It was the most amazing evening!

We also planned a special time on his actual birthday! All of our family came for a special lunch with a decadent ice cream cake for dessert.

We played games together that afternoon and had such fun!  Just a few hours later, friends began to arrive for an evening of fellowship.  Wonderful food, amazing fellowship and one happy, very new, teenager! How blessed we are to be in this body of believers!

Doodle as a Civil War re-enactor singing with others in the lobby of a local inn.

Happy Birthday Doodle - your mama loves you!