Elijah had a birthday last week. Most of us went in on a high-lift jack to go along with his truck, and when it was delivered here, on his birthday, I decided to hide it in the truck. It has tinted windows, and we knew he wouldn’t be using it that evening. That gave us the idea to make him a treasure hunt to find it, so the other children all put their heads together and wrote up a trail of clues. It took them about five minutes to write and distribute all the clues! I got a video of the last two stops so that Simon could share in a little of the fun, since he couldn’t be here. The first clip shows him finding the clue for which he was given “Words in Red.” He found the last one there, which was, “Red Monster,” meaning his truck. Then, though it’s dark, you can see him finding the gift. After that, everyone came back inside and he was given a few other things. First, James challenged him to an arm wrestle–the winner could have the gifts! Unfortunately for James, Elijah is quite a lot stronger still! After that, James started a newspaper-ball fight with the gift wrapping. (Do you get the idea that James keeps things lively here?)
Elijah
Helicopter Flight
Last year, Elijah signed on to Land Search and Rescue. Since then, he has been doing training for searching for people, mostly in the wilderness but occasionally in urban settings. He has only had the opportunity to go on two searches so far, both in the last two months. The second of them turned out to be a false alarm, but he got a helicopter ride over beautiful terrain on a bright, sunny day, and got to spend time in the bush on that same bright, sunny day. I can’t identify the location or give any details about the incident, but I am allowed to share these scenery photos. Suffice it to say, the location is not too far from us, and the helicopter he rode in is one operated by a company based near us, which we see flying over frequently.
This is Elijah all decked out in his searching gear. He had just walked home after the helicopter ride back from the search and hadn’t taken it off yet. He was explaining here how they measure footprints and stride lengths with that stick to make sure they are still following the trail they think they are.
Here is a quick video of a little of what he saw from the helicopter. Wow!
Pinata and Sleepout
Mr. Intellectual wanted a pinata for his birthday, so he made one. I think this is when he filled it with candy, just before finishing it. In the background is Seth; this is the last picture ever taken of him, the day before he died.
A neighbor gave this building to the boys about six months ago. It was an old chicken coop, not in the best shape. He had a digger (excavator) in to do some work, and lifted this across the fence. The boys loaded it on a bike trailer and moved it here, then gutted it, insulated it, put up gib board (drywall) and finished it, then painted it. They learned how to install the window and door, too, and built a small bed in it. Mr. Intellectual moved in on his birthday, although now he’s moved back into the house.
The finished pinata—it was supposed to be an apple. We had church here at our house the Sunday after Seth’s death, and the children broke the pinata after lunch.
Baptism
Our third boy, Elijah, was baptised the Saturday after Christmas, after realizing his sinfulness and need of a Saviour. What a joy to see your children taking that step! We gathered near the mouth of the Hurunui River, and after a short meditation on baptism and salvation, Gayle had the joy of baptizing one of his children (the third time he has had this privilege!). A number of our friends gathered for the occasion, and then came to our house for a shared lunch. It was a very special day, and God gave us the gift of a dry hour or so in the middle of several days of rain, just while we were at the river!
Playing on the cliff afterward!
Birthday Party
We had a birthday party last week for the boy who turned nine. I am not one to plan an elaborate party, so I just invited a few families with boys that my boys like to play with, and they had a fun afternoon together the day after his birthday. The game of choice was apparently Red Rover–I think they played it nearly all afternoon!
They took a break when two boys banged heads.
This boy actually had two parties–we had a friend over the night of his actual birthday, and had pavlova.