Half-way to thirty

Yesterday we celebrated Samuel's 15th birthday. Can you believe he is half-way to thirty?! I just had to add a little level of dramatic flair to this post in honor of the birthday boy. Well, no longer boy, but rather young man. Being the oldest has its advantages and disadvantages and thankfully he has a very gracious spirit towards his parents. God is growing him and in his heart and it is such a honor to watch him transition and come into himself as a teenager.

Samuel is always making us laugh with his "what if" questions. His mind never stops whirling and his "what if" questions always come coated with imagination, wonder and often extreme absurdity. Last week on the drive home from the bus stop he says to me:

"Mamma, what would you think if I could make a living from home and go two straight weeks without changing my clothes?"

"Whaaa?" I respond. "Well, you can guarantee that if that happened you would NOT be living under my roof."

He runs the spectrum of absurdity to complete genius with the amount of knowledge he has about the world. I honestly have no idea where he gets all his information but his diverse interests and curiosity made him a learner topped with the ability to retain random and detailed facts. He plain just loves to learn. A quality that we can certainly applaud and appreciate.

He may not always initiate the conversation if he doesn't know you and comes across as very timid, but he comes out of his shell if you ask him questions. Just a note to readers who might meet him face to face this summer on our furlough. He loves questions and a good debate.

Photo editing by Samuel

Samuel is not one for huge parties and lots of people so we celebrated in a quiet manner over the course of the weekend. He requested spaghetti and meatballs and cheesecake for his birthday. After church, Beppe, Sara and Emma stayed for an American breakfast and then spent the remainder of the day with us.

Happy Birthday, Samuel!

We love you always and forever, no matter what! 

I made Samuel's cheesecake the day before his birthday and when he saw it sitting in the fridge he said, "I'm sure that cake tastes amazing, but I have to be honest, it is the ugliest cake you have ever made!" LOL! Much to his delight and surprise I did have intentions all along to add some homemade whipped cream right before serving to made it "pretty."

This Cookies 'N Cream Cheesecake was absolutely amazing and sure to be a repeat request!

Accessories for phone photography 

Books and music -- he is his father's son!