We Came Home with Three Ribbons...

...and not one of them was green*!

At our county fair, if a child enters one or more item and doesn't win a prize in at least one of the categories he entered, he is given a green ribbon for participation.  I think that's a great way to encourage children to enter, but it didn't take long for my kids (two of whom have gotten those green ribbons before) to figure out that a green ribbon wasn't AT ALL what they were hoping for.  ;-)  But several times during the day today, we had the conversation that it really would be OK if all they got was a green ribbon, and we were happy to have the yummy desserts anyway, and next year we could enter more items, and so forth--trying to prepare their hearts to be happy and content, no matter what, you know?

When we got to the fair this evening, the first place they wanted to go was the exhibit hall to see if they placed.  Of course.  So we walked there...

And lo and behold...

Josiah won a 3rd place ribbon for his chocolate fudge with white chocolate chips!  (Not to change the subject, but I'm sort of entranced by his eyes in that photo.)  :)

 Tobin won a 3rd place ribbon for his mint brownies - maybe the heart shape helped?  :)  You can imagine how excited he was, to win the very first time he ever entered anything!

 And David won a 1st place ribbon for his maple fudge (which doesn't surprise me because I'm telling you, that stuff is GOOD)!!

Great was the rejoicing in the Fisher family!!!  :)

The lighting is a little funny in these photos, because the display cases are actually dark; and if it weren't for Jeff coming up with the brilliant idea to illuminate the boys' items with the flashlight he never leaves home without, you wouldn't be able to see much of anything in the cases.  But regardless of the less-than-ideal light, I'm sure you can see the joy and satisfaction in these faces.  :)

I'd say it was definitely worth staying up late last night--and making a huge mess in the kitchen--in order to give these treasured sons such a worthwhile sense of accomplishment.  They're already talking about what they want to enter next year...  ;-)

* Actually, my title is misleading, since we didn't truly bring the ribbons home with us tonight.  They'll stay in the display cases until the fair ends, and we'll pick them up later.  But in a figurative sense, we brought them home.  ;-)