Benjamin is 11

Our third born, our first blond haired blue eyed child, our only lefty (as far as we know), turned 11 yesterday. We are so blessed. Benjamin is a such a child of passion. He is so beautiful in that whatever he takes interest in he charges it with full Gusto! He doesn't back down and is an intrepid little boy. He loves baseball. He loves and is very attentive to his little sister Louisa. He plays outside for hours on end. He builds a campfire like the pros. He isn't afraid of spiders nor dogs that stray into our yard. If you remember last years March birthdays you'll remember that he was bit on the heel by a stray dog... So, yes, he is Benjamin the Bold.

We celebrated him in typical Reynolds fashion. There was a huge pot of homemade spaghetti sauce with a "double portion of sausage." There was homemade dinner rolls that melt in your mouth. We enjoyed Luscious Slush Punch throughout the afternoon as well. After dinner he opened presents and while he enjoyed his new treasures we scrubbed down the kitchen. Louisa organized a birthday game for us. It was a version of Sardines except that we were split into boy girl teams. Girls hid first and the boys found us. Salt went bananas.. what else is knew? While I was hiding behind the surfboard in the corner of the basement I could hear Silas saying, "Oh no daddy, I forgot my sword and shield!" and then Samuel kept repeating, "HIDE, HIDE." It was so sweet. It's hard to hide silently and laugh.

Okay on with the pictures. If you have some place to go now's a good time... Lots o' pics ahead!

Here's an old one for posterity's sake.  January 2003 Okuma, Okinawa, Japan.

Hazel during the midst of the afternoon punch fest.

Ben is super pleased his dad's home (you can see the Red Iron pulling up the driveway in the background)

Sweet Moment.

Libby labored a long time over her card for her big brother.

Oh yeah! Root Beer and Pringles from big brother.

Salt's very offended by all the trash on the floor.

Things started to get a little crazy.

A little crazier. (You're hurting my eyes, Lou.)

This house is split when it comes to baseball!

A moment of beauty and peace.

Ben, open your mouth bigger please.

There was full success after that breath.

Samuel signs, "EAT."

Benjamin, may you grow to have passions for the Lord that are far greater than any temporary worldy pleasure. May you continue to grow strong and beautiful. May you never withhold and always charge forward. We thank God that you get to be in our family. We love you son and Happy Birthday!