{1 birthday boy and 3 sick kids}

February 25th is a wonderful day at our house!  

It is the day we celebrate Keaton!  

This February 25th allowed him to "become" 17.  I think keeping our traditions alive is important . . . he was really great to pose with THE birthday cake.  He probably outgrew the excitement of this picture long ago but he's a sweetie and kept with tradition.

Friends are wonderful!  Some of HIS wonderful friends arrived EARLY - as in before 6:30 a.m. early - to decorate his room.  We had already left for seminary and they did a great job.  

As a mother, good friends for my children are priceless!  Thankfully, Keaton has the BEST.

His expression says, "You've GOT to be KIDDING me!  Toilet Paper!"

 Just joking! Actually, he LOVED it and was all smiles.

HUGE thank you to Keaton's friends!  The entire day was FUN!

Rachelle is his darling cousin.  She brought green milk and cookies to seminary for him!  

I'm SO thankful they are close friends.

We LOVE these guys!  They really made Keaton's birthday special.

Mark, Michael, and Jay - along with Amy, Britten, and Rachelle made fun plans!  They invited him to IHOP and a movie.  (I really wish we had pictures of their outing.)

These guys had plans that continued all the way through Saturday night!  A BIG thank you to the Crossley's for hosting a good deal of their impromptu planning.  

Jay was the MOST excited about Keaton's choice of "cake" - homemade ice cream cake!  He decided to enact blowing out the candles before we even lit them! FUN!

The birthday boy did get his chance!

I really hope his WISH comes true!

Life has a way of taking the fun out of things at times.  Poor Landon.  He didn't get to go and do all the fun things to celebrate Keaton's birthday.  He had the flu.

He tends to run really high fever when he is sick and we battled 105 and 106 degrees frequently over the past week.  He is such a great patient.  He listened to audiobooks on his ipod when he was feeling decent.

He became close allies with that thermometer! 

How grateful I am for Sir Thomas.  He's a wonderful dad!  His help with these sick children is another priceless gift in my life.  I should mention how much I love him . . . A LOT!!!

Of course, when I show up with the camera they start cracking jokes about "making the blog."

Yep, he might have been sick but he was still making wisecracks.

Congratulations guys . . . YOU made it!

 Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE being a mother?  I'm especially grateful I'm his mother.

My teenagers are sweet . . . even when they're sick.

Landon finally decided that he'd had enough.  He was weak.  He was aching.  He might have even been delusional and he was definitely tired of being sick.  He was lying on the couch for a change of scenery when he stood up and announced, "I QUIT!  I'm tired of being sick so I just quit."

I LOVE that attitude . . . and it's working.

Happily, Landon is recovering from his week long illness.

Apparently misery really does love company.  Landon was still a bit sick when Sunday morning arrived and India awoke with fever and felt terrible.  Poor little girl.  

"Lucky" girl managed to get some sleep and then enjoy some computer time.  Being sick really isn't ever lucky but she has a way of making it appear better than it is.  India is the kind of girl that can do that.

Keaton's birthday weekend was officially and completely over on Sunday morning.  Like India, he also awoke with fever and felt terrible.

He never lost his sense of humor!  He had me laughing when he said, "Well, I guess I'm glad I got sick too so I could make the blog."  

Being a mother is the best decision I've ever made . . . of course that is AFTER saying, "YES!" to Sir Thomas so I could have a chance at HAPPILY EVER AFTER.  

It isn't always happily ever after but then again . . . it isn't THE END.