Day #12...

Today is a very easy day to think of something (or rather, I should say, someone) to be grateful for, as this guy:


...turned 21 years old! :)

My dad's cousin, Jerome, joined us for the celebration of Andrew's life. Jerome actually fed his sheep plenty this morning, so is spending the night with us tonight. We had a pleasant afternoon, playing games; visiting; eating; and we watched a movie (about pioneers and Native Americans) this evening....

Mother, cutting the boys' cake. (Sadly, I must admit that, NO, I did not make the cake. Mother knew that I'd be too busy with babysitting and all, so she bought one in Bismarck.)

Jacob's birthday was actually last Saturday, as you probably remember, but seeing as Mother and Andrew were gone all that day in Fargo (learning what must be done to become delegates, and listening to Ron Pauls' speech), we had both the boys' party today. :)

Mom bought this nice collection of hot-chocolate varieties for Jacob, as he'd asked her to buy it a few months ago already, and now that it's getting cold-er outside, hot chocolate seemed like the perfect gift!

Jacob decided to make Andrew search a bit for his present! The gift was inside one of those little boxes, but Andrew had to open up several of them (and dig through packing peanuts) before he actually found what he was looking for. When filling the large box with small boxes, we couldn't find one that would fit in the one open spot, so Jacob thought of the perfect filler: a SQUASH! :)

"Thee" gift ended up being a lit hockey puck. :)

Our parents bought the boys each a very nice, new Bible, as they've had their other Bibles for many, many years and they were falling apart badly. Part of my gift to my brothers was a new case for their Bibles...

And then, we bought Andrew the expansion to the farming board-game, "Agricola", which he received as a birthday gift last year. He was pretty happy!

Mother started a new family tradition too. She said that, when her sons turn 21, she wants to buy them a new tie as they are now "MEN" in everybody's eyes. She got Andrew this eagle tie, and he was having fun trying to tie it properly. Google came in handy!

It was a special day for all.

I'm so thankful for my "Little" brother! He has grown into a fine man of God...

"May the Lord bless you indeed, Andrew! Once again, HaPpY bIrThDaY!"