What a great weekend.

Saturday was a flurry of pizza crust making and house cleaning because I decided to spend my free Friday enjoying some of life's most relaxing things, like reading and blogging and watching Josh play video games. I managed to have the house in order and plenty of food ready in time for the party to begin at 4.

My sons are blessed with a wonderful group of friends. We had 13 boys here between the ages of 5 and 13. They stayed for 6 hours in our 1500 sq ft. manufactured home and managed to be kind to each other, to look out for our Grandma and to take turns without hurting each others feelings. They didn't swear or spit or call names. They were a real joy to have here and I am proud that they are my sons' friends. Proud that my sons chose such wonderful kids to hang around with, and proud that these boys have chosen to give my sons a chance to be their friends. As usual, the boys got way too many gifts from their friends.

We spent this morning cleaning up and playing with the new video games that came as birthday gifts. It was a relaxed family time and one that we all enjoyed. I stink at video games, but enjoy watching the guys play.

Max and I spent this afternoon working on a project for his Odyssey of the Mind competition. He is in charge of building a frame which his team will use to support their cardboard set. It involved marking and measuring and cutting 1x3s and 2x4s. He loves to build and really does a great job working with projects like these. I am fortunate to have a sister-in-law who owns power tools and is more than generous with her time and knowledge. Max and I spent a really cold two hours in her garage where he learned to use a power mitre box. It was really great to watch him just shine as he became familiar with the tool and then mastered its use with ease. He amazes me daily, still.

I am feeling truly blessed tonight. I have a wonderful family, kind and generous friends, time to spend watching my sons grow into men, and the best part is that it all begins again in the morning.