As I write, the children are in the next room watching a movie with friends. It is #1's TENTH BIRTHDAY!!!! He chose to have a sleepover. We opened presents this morning while the grandparents were still here, and then took him out to lunch at Red Lobster. The kids have played and had pizza and soda, and now it is movie time. Afterward we will have cake and ice cream, and then light sparklers outside. At 9:39, he will run through a doorway covered in paper. This is to symbolize entering the world of a young man. (He was born at 9:39 p.m.) There are things that he will now be allowed to do. He will no longer have a bedtime. He can watch most PG movies. He can sit where he likes at church. He can visit friends or talk on the phone. It also means that more will be required of him around the house and farm. He will be more accountable for his actions. I think we have prepared him well for this next step in his life. Even now, he has been "man enough" to admit the movie scares him, even though his friends teased. He is loving with the two year-old that I watch. He obeys his parents and wants to please us. He is creative, introspective, pleasant to be with, and a loyal friend-from what I hear.