Today, my sweet Bubba-la turned 13.

We celebrated as a family with dinner at Costa Vida, followed by presents and cake (which he didn't even eat because he was too full of Costa Vida nachos).  

It was all pretty low-key, but Adam thought it was awesome.  He kept spontaneously hugging me or Brad and thanking us for making his birthday so great.  All his hugging reminded me of when he was a baby--Adam was my only snuggler, and he would burrow his little face into anybody who'd pick him up.  I mentioned that to him, and he got all teary-eyed and hugged me again.  I'm so glad some character traits survive the Entrance Into Teenagerhood.

So, it was Fast Sunday today, and I knew my family would be hungry when dinner time came around. Thinking ahead, I made a TON of Chicken Roll-ups, believing they would all get gobbled up by my ravenous crew.  (Chicken Roll-ups at our house are crescent rolls wrapped around a chicken/mushroom/cream cheese filling--and they are a real favorite)

I may have over-Chicken-Roll-upped.  After we ate, there were fourteen beautiful, crispy, golden-brown roll-ups left over, but I wasn't too worried about it.  They make good left-overs.

Then, after the kids had done the dishes, I found this in the fridge:

Apparently, Lukie was in charge of putting the left-over food into containers.  As you can see, he is unparalleled in space conservation.

This weekend, we had a HUGE treat at our house!

Anthony, Mary, and Allie Mercado, some great friends of ours from Michigan, passed through here on their way to move to San Antonio.  They arrived late last night, after braving blizzard conditions through Michigan and Indiana, and we had a wonderful visit with them, catching up on all the happenings from our favorite corner of MI.

For the last few months, our ward has been doing Dessert Nights.  In an effort to help our HUGE ward bond and get to know each other better, every month those adults who want to are put into groups of three or four couples who get together on a designated evening, each bring a dessert, and just hang out.  Can I just say--it's awesome!  After a year and a half, I can finally say that I feel like a part of our ward.

Plus, it brought me together with this new delight:

That is a maple/bacon cupcake, one of the desserts from this month's Dessert Night. 

I am in love.

That, my friends, is what a perfect Sunday afternoon looks like.

 As you know from previous posts, Adam's heart was broken back in November when he didn't make his school basketball team.  Being the Good Dad that he is, Brad signed him up for a YMCA basketball league and volunteered to coach his team so he could work with Adam and hopefully help him be ready to make the school team next year.

I realize this is a really bad picture of Adam making a free throw.  That is him almost completely hidden by the ref.  Sorry.  I was more interested in whether he made the shot than in taking a great picture.  Sadly, he didn't make the basket, and I took a lousy picture of it, so everybody lost.

This little basketball team has turned out to be a highlight of our winter.  Adam is proving himself to be quite a star, and Brad loves working with these boys.  He stews and connives over every line-up, trying to find his best player combinations, and they have had some really great basketball moments.  I am proud of both of them: Adam, for pushing forward and working hard despite a significant disappointment, and Brad, both for helping his son and being an extremely fair coach to the whole team.

And me?  I get to sit in the stands with my beverage and cheer them on.  Delightful.

Hello all!

Well, it's 2014, and with very few exceptions, I've posted something for every day of three years.  I've enjoyed thinking, every single day, "What is worth remembering today?" and then figuring out some way to share it so it won't be as boring as it really is.  Somedays I've succeeded, others not so much.  But, it's been fun.

In case you haven't noticed, I've been missing days lately.  I think it's time to stop posting Every Dang Day so I can focus on some other projects.  I always told myself that I'd stop this when it stopped being fun, and that is starting to happen.  So, I'll see you when I see you, but it won't be every day.

Happy 2014!