HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY, NOLAN!
Oh! Where does the time go? It seems that I blinked and you just suddenly grew up overnight. You are a very smart young man who is wise well beyond your years and you definitely keep us laughing. But you are also very kind and you care so well for others. I love watching you grow up and become more and more responsible as you also grow in your love for Jesus and for your family. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for you. Dream big and always chase after Jesus. I love you!!
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Since Noel and I were in Michigan on Saturday and wouldn't get home until 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning on Nolan's birthday, I had asked Morgan and Melayna to help me by decorating the house before they went to bed so that Nolan could wake up to the traditional balloons and decorations on Sunday morning. Morgan said that everything was going alright until Nolan surprised them both by getting out of bed and coming back upstairs. He just smiled and asked them what they were doing and then he turned around and went back to bed.
When we woke up on Sunday morning, the house was decorated and Nolan was already 13!!
As soon as Melayna came back home from church, we ate Nolan's requested dinner of chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese and then he would open his presents early in the day so that Morgan could head back to her college campus before it got too late. (Her classes started on Monday morning and she wanted to have a chance to get settled back in).
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Nolan joked that now that he's an "angsty teen", he had a few birthday requests.
1. No singing the Happy Birthday song because it's boring and repetitive
2. No candles dripping wax on his cake - although we could put them other places around the kitchen
3. No pictures taken of him during the day. We already know what he looks like. :-)
I really tried to abide by his wishes and just be present in the moment, so that means that I don't have any pictures of him opening his gifts or of him eating his ice cream cake. We did eat Oreo ice cream cake together and then for his gifts, he received some money and gift cards from his grandparents, and then several books, some more supplies for his 3D printer, and this LED wolf light that he wanted.
I did sneak this picture later on in the evening when he was playing Mario Kart with Melayna and he was busy trying to teach her how to drift better so that she could score higher points when they play together.
Since the day was busy with church and Morgan heading back to school in the afternoon, I told Nolan that we would just spend his actual birthday as a family but he can invite a couple of his friends over to hang out next weekend. I think he was more than happy to enjoy one last quiet day at home before school starts back up on Tuesday.
Happy Birthday Nolan! We hope that you had a great day!!
