Thursday after work was the scheduled time to prepare things for Wil's surprise birthday party. JoBea was so excited to be able to pull this off, at least she was hoping. See, his birthday isn't until July 37th, as he says, but in our normal lives it's the 26. To get him she knew she had to be early & something of the normal, but yet not normal...make since?

JoBea told Wil her grandmother, Bea, was cooking and wanted us to come out and eat. She said Madge and I would be going early to help cook then I would call when it was almost ready. He fell for it.

After work, I grab everything, had Madge throw it in the van and off we rode to meet Haley, Justin & Corbin. They jump in with us, to my moms we go.

Everyone bailed out, carrying things to decorate with & a few gifts.

The kids decorated as I hid the gifts and tended to some other things, like playing with my parents dog.
Madge, Haley, Justin & Corbin get into action quickly...hanging streamers,

eating paper...WAIT, WHAT?! Oh yes, these 2 guys thought it was cute to help hold the streamers in that fashion until...

they actually put it in their mouth and tasted it! They decided quickly to do it the correct way and leave the toxic paper stuff alone :)

The "toxic stuff" must have went to their brains because they began to show signs of weirdness, ok, I know they are weird anyway....

Actually they were just having fun decorating.

The theme of Wil's party was "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". A favorite of his for most of his life. Wil dreams of one day becoming a Ninja turtle.

Justin & Corbin decided to come out of the closet and show that they ARE the REAL (pretend) Ninjas!Not to many people know, but Ninjas also have a ninja jester...


even my parents dog decided to dress for the part..


as Ninja turtle disguised as a Ninja dog. How cleaver, don't ya think ;)

Justin & Corbin also made a Ninja head wrap for Wil...they had yet another surprise for him :)

Time to think gifts. Can't just do normal "here it is" gifts..it's Wil Rouse we're talking about here.

We wrapped Wil's gifts with mamas Christmas boxes and old papers, and hung 1 out to dry in the sunshine (see the ball cap)...

1 to dry in the modern times...

and another was just chillin' on the porch making new friends...

JoBea finally calls my mom to tell her she picked up some ice cream...what she was really saying was, We are on the new road coming your way now!

Everyone took their positions...Justin, Corbin & Haley in the dining room beings Wil didn't know they were there. Madge, my parents & I gathered in the kitchen. Wil brought in the ice cream, said hello and in passing the dining room (the lights were off but he saw the streamers hanging from the door) says, "So who had the party?" At that moment the lights came on and they jumped out. Wil was one shocked fellow. The 3 guys armed each other up for a big group hug!

Before the party could begin, a ceremonial service of Knighting a new Ninja had to take place. Wil was beyond words....his dream was about to come true.

and it did, Wil received his Ninja head piece. The smile tells it all.

When Wil settled down from his shock, we all sat down to share some pizza. That's when my parents learned more than they wanted to about him : ) After eating like we hadn't eaten in weeks, JoBea brought out the cake. With the candle lit everyone began to sing as she sat the cake in front of him. We sounded so bad that it brought a tear to his eyes...

more than one tear I'm sure.

Getting himself together once again, Wil closes his eyes and makes his wish...

I was sure hoping his wish was he would not hang around with us anymore, but instead he wished JoBea didn't love him so much so he could make a better life for himself & date the other 11 girls on his list ;)

JoBea promised to hate him forever and the smile appeared...his wish had come true.

My parents, Haley & Justin handed him cards with 'oh so special' meanings, but nothing compared to the one Justin had given him. It wasn't the card itself, it was the sincere note that was written inside. I've been light hearted about this, but in all seriousness, it was sweet and touched Wils heart deeply.

This time my mom holds a napkin to wipe the tears and the card is read then the man hug.

What usually follows eating of the cake? PRESENTS!!! Yes, and Wil had to find them on his own. We just gave a little direction. With the first one, I could tell right off GOD DOES HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR. We walk out the door, after telling him it is somewhere out back..didn't tell him what it was. I look & what do I see?

You see it too, don't you...a beam of light shining right down to where it was, hanging on the clothes line! If it were someone else I would say they were cheating but this is GOD we are talking about :)

He searches for the other 2, and finds them...

He finally found the box which contained the

2 hats, the one on his head, below, with another in the box.

Wil LOVED the hat Corbin gave him & the ones from JoBea, his cards & shoes, ninja cake & pizza...he loved it all!

JoBea, Haley & Madge were so glad this went off without a hitch!

Gotta love this group of youngins'...

They could have chosen anywhere to have a party for Wil, they chose my parents home, their grandparents.

Lord I pray that whatever it is you are doing in my children's lives, you will continue. We LOVE them and enjoy the time they give to us. THANK YOU!

As I write this & am thanking Him it hits hard that HE desires US as HIS children to spend time with HIM but I never give Him anywhere near the time He allows me to have with my children...somethings wrong here. Think about it.....

Have a RE-BIRTHDAY by spending time with your heavenly Father!

God bless you & yours