Nate's 6th Birthday

My sweet Nate is the kind of kid you just can't help but love! And, it is hard to believe that this charming boy is already six years old. We celebrated his birthday last month, but I am just now getting a chance to blog about it.

If you have been following this blog for any length of time, you will most likely notice that there is a trend to our birthday celebrations. In comparison to America, there are very few things to do here for a child's birthday. However, we make the most of it and only go to these places for special days (and, shhh... don't tell my kids because they don't know they are "missing out" on anything.)

The following pictures, as well as a few comments by yours truly, show you how we were able to celebrate our darling's 6th birthday:

In Ukrainian culture, the birthday person always "hosts" his friends.... at school, Sunday School, etc... So, we bought a cake and took it to church for Nate to share with his Sunday School friends.
Nate is Mr. Artistic, hands down, in this family. Here you can see him painting a ceramic piggy bank that was given to him by some members of our church (Mommy did help with the designing and outlining, but he did all of the painting.) He is super excited about the thought of one day being able to use his artistic abilities to be a web/sign designer in a church one day (but, of course, that will have to wait until after he has been to the moon a couple of times, been bungee jumping, and fought a couple of battles first... yes, he is also an extreme thrill seeker!).

Daddy set up a treasure hunt, and Nate was running and giggling from clue to clue to find his birthday gift

There it is! (And, yes, it's true... Mommy did not get it put into a gift bag before the treasure hunt began).

He absolutely LOVES this game! It practically stays out of the game closet since it gets played with every day.

First stop of the day: Alina's house. We are so grateful the Lord arranged it so that our Nate could be born on her birthday, even before we knew her!

Here the kids are, at Alina's house, enjoying cake, candies and juice that they so sweetly insisted on sharing.

We gave a bag full of beautiful hair pieces to Alina, and her family, in turn, had surprises waiting for Nate!

Then, with the money Mimi and our special friends in New Mexico sent, we were able to go to the "zoo park" and ride on many of the rides! Here, the kids are high in the sky, on a ferris wheel

Daddy and Nate, Dallas Mavericks fans

I hope he never outgrows loving his Mommy's kisses! (I know he will, since his 8-year-old brother already has, but let me keep on hoping...)

Bumper cars

Bumper boats

Bouncy house

Then, McDonald's Happy Meals for lunch!
Talking to Mimi through Skype
Eating his requested dinner meal... grilled hot dogs with chili and cheese toppings
Blowing out his silly birthday candles (the kind that you can't blow out!)
Gift from Igor and Lena, members of our church

Thank you, Jesus, for this amazing little boy You have given us to rear for You! He shows an incredible amount of energy and talent, and I want to give it all back to YOU...