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As this year is the 75th year of the release of the Hobbit book and the fact that the movie is released in December there seems to be a great many opportunities available to celebrate this day.

In the past years we have concentrated on the fact that 22nd of September was the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo. This year I think it will be a more Hobbit themed idea, well mostly.
This was our first impromptu Hobbit theme birthday
The year we made a quest (treasure hunt with items to collect)

Last year we went on a trip interstate and tried to keep journals of our adventure

In preparation for our day on Friday we came up with these ideas~
First off you need invitations to the party, we are making ours in old style with a little bit of elvish writing or old dwarven runes on part of them. Or here is a runic translator for you
Of course you need to have a Hobbit name and this name generator will set you up
Decorations are a must and consist of streamers, balloons, a birthday sign, a party tree (if you can), bunting around your celebration area.
Glow Stick Lanterns these are going to be such fun to have and to make. Simply find a jar, some glow sticks and then cut the glow sticks into the jar (add glitter if you like) put the lid on and shake.
Do not make too far in advance though as they don't last that long

For fireworks we have sparklers and party poppers (sadly no fireworks permit for us)

Music for dancing or listening, my preference is good Celtic music or some old English folk melodies

Watching this old movie and the new trailer also the party scene from The Lord of the Rings
Games are lots of fun. our list includes charades, blind man's bluff, musical chairs, quoits, riddles, poem memorization, murder in the dark (cause of the cave scene), scavenger hunt here is a trivia question game
charades
Food is very important and we have made up this list of essential foods for us to consume over the day~
First Breakfast -Of course there will be mushrooms, with sourdough fried bread, eggs, bacon and tomatoes
Second Breakfast - strawberries with cream,
Elevenses -scones with jam and cream
Luncheon -potatoes , onions and apples
Afternoon Tea - Apple pie and custard
Dinner -meat pies, cold cuts, pickles and eggs
Supper -cheese, crackers, tea and coffee
Drinks -Ginger beer, honey and lemon drinks

Here are some fantastic recipes if you have the time or inclination to try them
An invitation below with other great ideas
Hobbit second breakfast ideas- word search, bunting and food ideas
Here  is an amazing menu for meals for Hobbit day as well as this one and another menu
Other information-
Reference Guide
Readers guide
Educators guide
Party Ideas
Miniature  Bag End

May you have a great celebration of Hobbit Day or Bilbo and Frodo's Birthday this year.
Why not check back later for how we celebrated this year, we would love to see you!

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

The years we have nurtured your body and soul  in our hearts are growing longer, but the years that will continue to abide  in our hearts will be forever!

How can one describe the love I have for you as a child of my heart?
Our first born child, the first to start the blessing of being a mother and father!
The first to hear the words mummy, daddy and love you from!

The first to share our faith with, our love of family, our mistakes in some things and our successes in others.

Of course you are the one whom I have taken to the hospital most too with your injuries from one accident or another.
The one whom as a mother of sons I loved learning about trucks, cars, motorbikes and all that fun guy stuff.
And I in turn hopefully taught you the delight in cherishing the women in your life.
Giving you guidance on the privileged of being a God fearing man who will stand up for what he believes in..... no matter what the obstacles.
All those late night talks we had as we prepared you to leave our home and make your way in the world, as you follow your heart and pursue the life you were created to live

Hold tight to your dreams my son, hold tight to your family (both now and future), hold tight to your beliefs and faith in God and your path will remain clear and true.

How proud we are of you and the young man you are.
We love you and miss you so much
Happy, Happy Birthday..........

All our love always
Dad, Mummy and all your younger brothers and sisters
xxxx oooo

It seems to be quite a while since I was able to keep up with our birthday posts and once again poor Eden had her birthday last week has had to wait.

It really was a beautiful day and honestly Eden is such a patient and unassuming young lady. She is often not wanting to make too much trouble and is keen to help with many things.

Eden's birthday was quite simple and so very 'Eden like' !
As she wanted a Kindle for her present it really did not leave me much to organise for her. However I can never just do one present and so I found some little extras to add to her birthday bag that I knew would make  her happy.

The main addition to Eden's birthday was in my wanting to add a new tradition to the birthday table. Thus the Arrival of our Birthday Fairy was in evidence for the very first time.

Eden spent most  most of her day playing with her Kindle quite contentedly and I admit  I was happy to have her join the ranks of Kindle users in our home!

Food for the day~
Breakfast: Buckwheat pancakes with peaces, jam and cream
Lunch: Tuna Salad
Dinner: Shepard's Pie, corn on the cob, snow peas, pumpkin,
Cake: Hmmmm, this was my first disaster in so very, very long. I was trying to make her a giant cupcake from the cake pan we have BUT the cake stuck to the sides and would not come out.
Seriously I find the gluten free cakes hard to mound!


Anyway we used the cake and make three giant mounds that look something like cupcakes.
How thankful I am that she was happy with this compromise. A blessing like our Eden is one I am thankful for everyday.


Well,  that was our very peaceful and charming day with one of the most beautiful girls I know. A beauty that comes form the inside and spills out into all she does.

Next birthday to come up is that of my dear  husband!

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Dear Eden,
Happy Birthday to a most beautiful and creative girl.
It certainly has been a joy to watch you blossom into this beautiful, caring, gentle and creative young lady.

You have always been a quiet and unassuming girl and I admit I need to be constantly on my toes to keep in contact with you as you can be in your own creative environment

However I love seeing you in your element: drawing and writing, sculpting and sewing or crafting. These truly are activities that I love to share with you and yet still you love to be in among the rest of the family.

May this year be a great adventure for you as you continue to use these gifts to bring much joy and love to others in your life.

Enjoy your special day my sweet. I know you will have the most special time, especially the no chores part as well as the good food you have planned.

All our love always,

 For my birthday this year I was given a fairly substantial book voucher by my older sons.

I worked out a wish list and then finally after much deliberation placed an order for the books.

Guess what? Today they arrived, well all except one that I am still waiting for. I can tell you there is much joy in opening a box full of books in our family. The children were all vying for their favorite new picture books and I was keen to look at my 'boring mother books' as the children call them.
I am really excited about reading them, some for myself and some to the children.
In fact I really should link to the books for you but I just am going to read them instead, sorry.

However you will certainly be able to find them on line from the title in the pictures if you are interested.

Any way have a lovely day what ever you do, and  me what will I be doing? I will be reading to my hearts content to our children and then a little for me too!

Blessings to you and your homes
,

As it happens Autumn's birthday was a very easy one to celebrate.
She certainly tries to keep things simple for me in preparation of her meal and who can say no to that!

There is something sweet about a child who knows what they are getting for their birthday as a major present but still pretends not to know and then act surprised when they open the birthday bag.

It was a big week for us technology wise and as part of that Autumn's present was a laptop that her two big brothers, us and Autumn herself are contributing to.

I did get her a couple or more items that she didn't know about that were little fillers that made her feel extra special I am sure.

A very uneventful day for this birthday with Autumn just enjoying the day at home and getting to know her laptop and the i-phone that was part of our technology update.

As for me I was very happy with the food choices for the day~
Breakfast : Bacon and Eggs prepared by our lovely Vellvin
Lunch: Tuna Salad which is a current favorite
Dinner: KFC chicken with home cooked chips and peas
Cake: A junk yard cake made from a gluten free packet mix and whipped coffee cream on top with wrapped chocolate cars, maltessers, honeycombs, mint chocolate, flake and I forget what else now. A beautifully easy cake for me to prepare.
Party Bags: freckles, chocolate babies, jelly babies, mini M&M's and gummi bears.

Autumn's birthday saint I painted her this year is St Catherine of Alexandria. I really must update that post with all the latest painted saints.

All in all a very pleasant and simple birthday to celebrate our beautiful girl with.

Oh and if you look at my new blog header above you will see the new Birthday Fairy I have made but did not get set up for Autumn's birthday as I was still making the extras for her. So I guess Eden will be first to get this new addition to the items we have that make our birthdays  extra special!

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Dear Autumn,
As I was talking to you yesterday about your birthday and I said how was I going to write something about your birthday and how that I sometimes find it difficult to express the way I love all you childrenl in these posts, as it is something that 'just is'
You said to me but you love us all diffidently and I said 'No, I love you all with unconditional love!'

However you reminded me that it is your individual qualities that I love about each of you. It is the fact that I can look at each of you and KNOW that you are a person unlike any other and I value those qualities in you.

As you know I adore your ability to make me laugh about the everyday, those instances when you respond in a conversation and it just lightens my day. Your ability to share your thoughts, dreams and even your struggles and hardships with me is a blessing for which I am forever grateful

If there is one thing  as a mummy I am truly thankful is the fact that as you have matured into a young adult I can truly say our relationship has grown as well. How blessed I am to be able to call you a friend as well as child.

I pray you have a most happy and memorable day as we celebrate your special day.

May the coming year be filled with so many adventures and opportunities for you to grow in love for Our Lord and service to His Kingdom as you use your many gifts in everyday life

All our love always,

Three days past I was awakened from a dreamless sleep by my beautiful sister Autumn. She had roused me at the insane hour of around 8am so that we could make a "delishus" breakfast before our Mother, who's birthday it happened to be, woke up.
By the time we had finished making an interesting breakfast of 2 different types of gluten free sausages, fried tomato and cheese, eggs, and onions and mushrooms, almost everyone was awake and downstairs.

After a short while, the entire family (minus two handsome young lads who were away studying at college) sat down at the table to enjoy a truly scrumptious breakfast.
"Where does the time go" some say. And though I have not yet found the answer I too feel obliged to ask the question.  For after having cleaned up breakfast and the like it was much later then any of us had expected.
Anyhow, eventually we got around to opening the presents. Among the presents presented by the presenters were teacups, a butter-dish, and saucers. And as usual she received several books, something she almost always asks for.
Eventually Mummy reached the bottom of the bag and after tens of thousands o' photo's had been taken it was time for the great lolly trading to begin!

Rumours had circulated a few days prior that Mummy didn't want party bags for her birthday but eventually to every one's relief the rumours were put to rest and announced to be false.
Happy with our lot we began trading one type of sweet for another depending on what your preference was.
Before too long it was lunchtime which was  croissants with butter, cream and jam. Someone left the stove a little bit too high so that lunch was slightly overdone though luckily did not resemble coal.
Following that the afternoon was very relaxing, everyone not doing much, just enjoying what they were doing.

And as I said before, time travels fast and before too long it was time for the end of the day meal known as...DINNER! Dinner was some sort of curry prawns and soaked rice. Me, being not very fond of prawns lived mostly off rice that night, though it was,(and I'm sure everyone else agrees with me) an excellent dinner.
One must always be careful on birthdays though, to not stuff themselves too much so as to leave room for the cake!
So after everyone had nearly stuffed themselves it was cake time. We lit the candles, turned out the lights and sang "Happy Birthday". Mummy then blew out all the candles with one blow and then we all dug in. The cake was delicious what with it being multi-layered and having cream and some sort of cherries in it. AKA her usual Black Forest Cake
Then it was bedtime for the little kids and make-coffee time for me. And thus ended another great birthday.
by Saxon

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Dear Mummy,
On most 21st birthday's the parents supply alcohol  to celebrate their child's  coming of age etc.  However in the case that the  kids are organising the 21st for their parent chocolate will have to do. :]
We just wanna say that no matter how rotten we can be some days, we really think that with you as our guide and angel we'll all be alright.

We realise that God sent you to earth just to be ours. Even if we would all come later.
Happy Birthday!!!!


Love
Stephen, Kynan, Braedon, Autumn, Eden, Saxon, Vellvin, Rogan , Moran , Myffwyn, Corbyn, Arwen, Trahaearn.
xoxoxoxo

P.s. Thank you Mummy for keeping your blogger account open so I could write this for you. <3
Autumn

Another birthday down!
Another birthday with much fun and excitement.

Myffwyn was so happy to have her birthday and had waited a whole 7 days to actually celebrate her birthday.
Once again I am so thankful that our children are more interested in the actual celebration together than having the 'presents' on the day as the main focus of their celebration.

Myffy was very excited that on her actual birthday her special buddy, Braedon gave her an MP3 player like Moran got. I do like these for our children and we have a very wide variety of audio books for them to listen too. The current favourite is the Rangers Apprentice books read by William Zappa. These are from audible.com and we are truly enjoying them as the new ones have been released. We have listened to the first  books for over 5 years and then in the last 3 months the last 5 books have been released. A HUGE listening project in our home.

Having big brothers working has been a real plus for our younger children this year and Myffy also received a complete outfit from Kynan and his special girl which she loved.

As Braedon had given her the main present we would had I had to think of other special gifts for her. So when she asked for a tea cup like the big girls I was pleased we could get this for her.
Mind you our tea cup collection is truly growing and I think we will need another place to house them.
Of course for our little girls what has become known as 'bling' in our family is always a welcome gift and so Myffy received a nice lot of this as well.

For the birthday food we had~
Breakfast:  buckwheat pancakes with jam and cream
Lunch: the party bags she choose and odds and ends as per birthday tradition.
Dinner: Hmmm well I am not sure this was a wise choice as we had both Myffwyn and Vellvin sick during  the night after her meal of......
McDonald's Chicken and Cheese burgers with home cooked potato chips, soft drink.
We definitely  have reactions now we are Grain 'n' Sugar Free
Birthday Cake: I made a Castle Cake from my own ideas and loved how it turned out.
I used a Macro Cake Mix Chocolate Cake Gluten Free as I am looking for a more 'shapable cake for these special cakes we make and not so expensive either.
However this one was not as nice as the one we had used before and so not really worth it.

Once again it was a big day here and one we really enjoyed as we celebrate the special days of each of our precious children.

Next birthday is mine!! Oh I can't wait to see what is planned for me............

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Dearest Myffwyn,
Eight years old today!
Eight years old today!

How wonderful that we can share this birthday with you, a very 'girly' birthday today.
I am sure you are overwhelmed with your 'bling' and 'girly' gifts today.

I must admit I enjoy having another 'girly' girl to play with   buy gifts for. I especially loved getting your tea cup and saucer and look forward to having a big girl tea party with you.

It is a joy to see you are growing and loving to learn all that you can this year.
You are such a creative and inspiring little girl who loves to share with others the joy of play.
I know your little brothers and sister love having you teach and be with them.

I think you will have a most happy day enjoying the day off from jobs and dressing up and playing with your gifts.

May this year be a year of great growth and joy for you as you continue to share your smile and laugh with those who love you most.

All our love always

The day had come.
Our baby has had his first birthday.

This is always a big step for me as a mama.
The baby is slowly becoming ......well, not a baby but a small child with his own little idiosyncrasies.

I just don't know what has happened to this year. Already we are well into our birthday seasons and how on earth did it get to be our little dumpling's birthday already.

Really a first birthday is for the family I think. We enjoy getting little gifts, making the baby special things (I admit Trahaearn's are still in the making stage) and planning all the special food and plans for him.
The baby just has to turn up and be cute.

I mean how hard can that be right.

Traditionally we give a 'Bunnykins' set for the first birthday as the main present. This year I was lucky enough to find three different and new patterns for Trahaearn's set. After all these years we have had 2 bowls with the same pattern on them so I was pleased  to find these new ones.

As the twelfth baby in a family really does not need many toys we got him a couple of his own books, it is never too early to buy books for a child,  a dump truck to push, cause you know all our boys have loved machinery.
What else can you get a baby but clothes and as he is number 6 in the line of boys a lot of our hand me downs have been worn to death. So new clothes for a birthday present. Of course he is too young to protest  'how boring is that'.

Birthday food:
Breakfast~ Bacon and Eggs
Lunch ~ party bags for others and porridge for Trahaearn.
Dinner ~ Great meatball and sauce recipe that Autumn made up (posting recipe soon) with soaked rice (from Nourishing Traditions)
Birthday Cake~ a turtle with broken up freckles for the shell. Oh so very simple and so very cute

I was so pleased that we were able to celebrate this special day with our special little man.

 Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Moran's birthday was a special one for her, as it seems for all our children and I am so thankful that they have such a specialness for each child. That for this day it is all about how much we love them and are thankful to have them in our lives.

She had been counting down for a few weeks and then due to circumstances we had to put it back a few days.
One of the most wonderful things about Moran this year is her ability to now be able to deal with this, if you give her enough time (no last minute telling) and a reason why. As little as last year this would have been to much for her to be able to deal with.

Moran wanted to have a Maypole party with dancing and picnicking around the maypole. Sadly this wasn't to be as it absolutely poured down with rain on her birthday. So we had to put up the Maypole the next day.
Needless  to say she was 'hanging out ' for this to happen but as is her nature once it was up and she had 'done the maypole thing' she very quickly lost interest.

Moran has a huge music love and has been borrowing her siblings MP3 players for a couple of years now, as well as our family I-pod. If you can't find yours - simply find Moran and ask her if she knows where it is.
So for this her 10th birthday we finally got her her own to have. Now it is up to Saxon to add all the music (she is allowed to listen too) and the audio stories we have that she can listen too as well.

It was also interesting that Moran when making her birthday list was most insistent that she did not want toys 'as they just break.' The other most important items were a crochet hook and wool as well as big girl books that she could read.

For  birthday food she wanted:
Breakfast- buckwheat pancakes with whipped cream and peaches (my favourite)
Lunch- egg and bacon grain free muffins ( this didn't happen as we reverted back to a small party bag which is generally eaten at lunch time)
Dinner - Pizza made with a gluten free base (packet mix) I was going to do a yogurt soaked base but did not start this early enough. The toppings for this were bacon, ham, salami, anchovies, prawns, pineapple, olives, dried tomato, feta cheese and mozzarella.
Birthday Cake- Sweet Shop. This has been a tradition for all our older girls so  far with Autumn, Eden and Vellvin having had it before.

All in all it was a very busy day with a very busy one to follow as Trahaearn's 1st birthday was the very next day.
Our first ever back to back birthdays! I can see this a challenge in the years to come.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

A year ago we were so anxiously awaiting your arrival.
How we were excited about the day of your birth.
We had been ready for some time and yet still it was two weeks after your due date before you were in our arms.
The wait was worth it though.
Since your arrival you have been a complete gift to treasure.

The smiles you give to us each day.
The way you hold out your arms to each of us to pick you up because you want us to hold you.
The great big kisses you give and the way you snuggle into our faces so we can give you kisses, over and over and then you smile and giggle.

Happy Birthday to a little boy who is so precious to us.
Life would not be the same without your generous and happy nature to share it with.

I look forward to seeing what the year ahead bring to us with you and how you continue to grow.

All our love always ,

Dearest Moran,
At last it is your birthday and one you have been so patient waiting for.
This last year has truly been one of great change for you.
I have watched as you have developed and slowly become a far more reliant and helpful girl.
You have finally become a big girl now and this has been a big step for you.
I have seen how much you love to care for you littlest baby brother, with such compassion and devotion.
You have a heart for helping others and can always be relied on for playing with the younger children.

How I have watched your heart mature and grow. Learning and loving to learn all you can.
You are always open to new ideas and enjoy trying new things. How my heart loves to see you smile as you master another milestone that seemed so far for you. You are a determined girl and one who will keep going until you have completed what you set your heart upon. This is a wonderful gift you have.

Sweet and caring daughter I hope you enjoy your "Maypole Birthday" and I look forward to dancing and picnicking around the maypole with you.
Have a most blessed day, our precious and most special gift.
How we treasure you and all the 'specialness' you have brought into our lives

All our love ,

The birthday season is certainly upon us and Rogan has been planning his birthday for some weeks now.

He decided on a Zoo theme for his birthday and prepared some activities and party games for us to do during the day.

It was a very busy day for all of us as we had decided to try a change from our 'Party Bags' we have had as standard for our birthdays for many years in accordance with our  Grain 'n' Sugar FREE lifestyle we have been living. I  will post the recipes separately.
Currently I am not sure this will work long tern but am still pondering the effort v's results!

This meant replacing the party bags with some other special food. So our day was quite busy with preparing three different items along with the regular birthday food. Thus it was quite late when we had our tickets ready to present to the 'zoo owner' aka Rogan for admittance  to the wonders he had prepared.

However Rogan had requested as his main present a kitten of his own which he had fallen in love with and so this was given to him. A happier boy you could not imagine, and his surprise when we gave him an MP3 player as well.

I loved making this beehive cake and it is one of my all time favourite cakes.
For dinner he requested: kebabs, cauliflower with cheese, broccoli and 'slater potatoes'.
Breakfast was buckwheat pancakes with cream and peaches (my current favourite breakfast) By thee way buckwheat is not a grain for those who do not know, I didn't until recently :)

So here ends the first of our May birthdays and we have two more to go.
I love being able to spend these happy birthdays with our children.

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

Dear Rogan,
Twelve years of today, twelve years old today.
It is an amazing sight for me to start to see you leave your 'little years' behind you and start to join in  the ranks of the bigger kids.

My sweet and gentle soul who has so much love for animals.

I have watched you over the is last year especially as you are growing and overcoming some of your own struggles as you grow in Faith and ability to respond in a more mature way to struggles and disappointments.

I am so glad though that you are not 'too old' to still be willing to give your mama those precious hugs and cuddles that you still bestow on me.

I hope you have such a very happy birthday and I can't wait to see the "Zoo theme' party you have prepared for so diligently.


All our love,
 

Yesterday was the biggest day, well outside of Christmas and Easter of course, for our sweet little Corbyn.

It was a day filled with much excitement from the time he went to bed the evening before right up till bedtime last night.

One of the joys I have with this little boy is his passion for everything he does.

First thing in the morning he asked if he could go down stairs and look at his  breakfast table and things.
Next thing I know he is racing back upstairs and leaning over me (yes I was still in bed) and telling me 'thank you so much for my St Nicholas, I love him,' well you can't wake up to a better greeting than that now can you.

His day was full of playing with all his new toys and we went from a Jedi Knight to a tool man to a fighting Nerf Gun warrior back to my sweet little boy again.

It was our first birthday since going Grain 'n' Sugar FREE and we will be revisiting the birthday way we do some to the things again before we have our next one.

In fact Corbyn requested a "Chipmunk Birthday." He has been planning it for many, many months!  Would you believe  the only grain free aspect of the day was surprisingly.... the CAKE,  minus the small amount of decorating on top. (I used this recipe with modifications)
The menu that Corbyn requested was:
Breakfast ~Toaster Waffles with maple syrup and 'chipmunk cream', ie whipped cream from a can
Lunch ~ Traditionally the party bags and whatever you want to eat.
Dinner ~ McDonald's cheese burgers and chips (fried at home)
           ~ 'Super Cool Energy Health Drinks' again like the Chipmunks have

Snacks ~ Chipmunk Cheese Balls ie, Cheetos (which did not get eaten until today though)

Birthday Cake ~ A six shape with chocolate cars on top,Yea like we needed more chocolate this close after Easter

At the end of the day we had a very happy little birthday boy, but sad and lets say hyperactive little guy too, due to the excess of wheat and sugar.

Did he enjoy his day?
You bet!
I just love it when year after year our little ones say
"this is my best birthday EVER, Mummy, thank you"

Blessings to you and your homes,
 

The day has finally come!!!
Arwen had been anticipating her birthday since before Christmas, in fact at the start of Advent when we told her Christmas was Jesus's birthday.
For many days she has been counting down the days and the build up for her and the other smaller children over the last three days has been amazing. They were all sooooo excited for Arwen and kept helping her count down the days until she was three.
So this morning she was up and wanted her brothers to 'get up' so she could open her presents. She waited so patiently and had the most wonderful time and delighted us all with her enthusiasm for each special gift.
The birthday girl really enjoyed licking the bowl ALL to herself and she is really our little princess.
A butterfly cake was an easy cake and she had planned this for some time too. Don't you love sweet little girl cakes for sweet little girls?
She finally put on the crown I made her when it was time for the cake but no way was she wearing it at any other time today. She is such a  sweetie!
Waitning, waiting for the cake to come to the table.
Oh the excitement as we sing to our little precious girl
I said to her today 'Happy Birthday' and she said as she is hugging and kissing me back "Happy Birthday  Mummy" and then quite unasked "thank you for my presents' in that sweet, soft little voice.My heart just melted.....again
Of course she had to cut the cake up herself, thank you very much.

After this very exciting bed we had a little girl all tucked up and asleep in no time.

Blessings to you and your homes,