Please allow me to explain (or a birthday and a hair cut)

Photo for Mackenzie (see - I am still slowly working on my Multnomah Falls!)

My birthday was last week. K made sure no one forgot about it in the midst of moving madness (which I am thankful for). I woke up and went running (my favorite way to start the day) and then came home to the scene you see in the first five photos. I swear the girls get even more excited for other people's birthday than they do their own. They all decorated a box that held a new knitting sheep mug for me (I missed the one that Kevin accidentally broke). We are not big on presents so I was quite surprised about that! We even enjoyed a vegan cake (picked up from Whole Foods).
The girls asked me if I liked my gifts. I told them that I did, indeed, but that the best gift of all is my children. There is truly no greater gift or blessing.

We also celebrated a sweet friend's birthday and had the pleasure of wonderful company, along with some lovable chickens. We noticed that K is truly a farm girl at heart and needs some chickens of her own, even if we don't eat eggs. Maybe some rescued chickens? Much to think about for Idaho!

Did you notice something different about Little L in the photos above? Please allow me to explain my actions. Little L's hair was getting in his eyes all the time. I figured it would grow past that stage soon enough and then no longer be an issue. But then his yearly specialist appointment came (for his Horner's Syndrome) and Kevin mentioned that we should figure out a way to keep the hair out of his eyes because it was probably interfering with strengthening his eyelid affected by the Horner's Syndrome. I hadn't thought of that before. My instant reaction was to cut his hair in the front. Of course, my little guy wiggled like crazy resulting in one really short section. That lead me to try and even it out and before I knew it, he had (uneven) bangs. It's not so bad when they are pushed to the side but oh so obvious when just hanging in his face. I have always trimmed my girls hair without any issues but boy hair is quite different!

Oh and by the way, his appointment went really well! The doctor said Little L's eye is doing wonderfully and that he thinks he might not even need surgery when he is older (more prayers to St. Lucia). He also gave us the info for the specialist in Idaho so we can continue his appointments and treatment, if need be, once we have moved.

p.s -  I encourage you to go check out Cythia's recent post at Cottage 1945. She could really use each and every one of us to help out a young mom recently diagnosed with a life threatening illness. Cynthia created two handmade afghans to auction off and all of the proceeds from the sale of these blankets will go directly to the young mom to help with her medical expenses. Helping those in need is one of the most amazing things about the blogging community.  We can each do one small thing to make a huge impact.

p.p.s -  I posted the winner to the Mamma4earth giveaway. Go check it out!

Please allow me to explain (or a birthday and a hair cut)