Thirteen Years

Yesterday our house officially entered the era of the teenager with Ben turning 13.  We had a picnic in the park after church with grandparents and cousins and lots of glorious sunshine, just like the day he first came to us.  It was also the day I realised that my 13 year old is nearly the same height as me, and I'm not exactly short at 5'7''!

Perhaps the sweetest thing I have ever seen Rosie and Ethan do is this:

I had spent Saturday afternoon and evening baking in the kitchen and then put the children to bed.  When I eventually went into the living room I found that Rosie and Ethan had made lots of paper swans and laid out Rosie's party place mats so that when Ben came down in the morning he would have a beautifully decorated table for his birthday breakfast.  It just about melted my heart!