Sweet Sixteen

Last month we celebrated Eliot's sixteenth birthday. In honor of this momentous event, we decided decorate his room. Our intentions were to embarrass him as much as possible. Here is what he found when he came home from church that afternoon:







I would like to say that Eliot was overjoyed with his birthday surprise and proclaimed us the greatest siblings of all time, however, his reaction was quite opposite. The decorations were immediately destroyed, the pinata was brutally attacked, and the balloons were all punctured with an air soft gun.

I can't believe Eliot is 16!! I remember wondering what this age would be like for him, if he ever lived to be that old. I honestly never thought he would ever be able to drive and from what I hear he is the best driver of all the Gilberts-- that did come from his own mouth so who knows how true it is?? It is amazing to me that he has come so far and that the trials he went through have left no lasting effects. No one would have any idea that at one time he was so sick he couldn't even function. Our family learned a lot from his struggle and I'm grateful for the experiences and closeness we gained from it, even if it had to be at the expense of Eliot's health. There is no explanation for why he so miraculously recovered, so to me he is a miracle.