Thankful Thursday...

Today I am thankful for...

• God's timing that is always perfect and that I can never rush.
• the times when the things that I think I want/need to happen, don't happen...and then I'm blessed beyond measure by the things that do.
• 2nd graders...their sense of humor, their energy, their questions...everything about 2nd graders!
• the opportunity to play teacher for a while and to see how much I miss and love teaching.
• maps because, although I don't get them, they make Eli squeal with delight.
• Noah's joy.
• Grace's pretty little voice.
• STEVE! Happy (almost) Valentine's Day, Honey!

Catching up!

I have no excuse for myself. Blogging can be a bit like maintaining a long-distance friendship. You know...if you wait too long then you feel stupid calling (or blogging) or you think that you need to do it when you have enough time and energy to give it what it deserves and then it just continues the cycle until you've lost contact...or stopped blogging. Wow, my analogy doesn't make sense even to me anymore but there you have it!

I'm just going to jump back in here. Yesterday Steve took the afternoon off and we all went to the museum as a family. I don't know about the rest of you but my kids have a tendency to fixate on stuff and right now (and for a while now) Eli is fixated on space and Noah is fixated on sharks. Grace is taking some time off fixating for the moment, I guess. So as a result of our passions for science and nature, the museum was a perfect choice for an outing.

We started our time in the "zib-zibit" (as Eli called it). According to Eli, the space exhibit is the ONLY zib-zibit in the whole museum. We tried to park space shuttles, crashed meteors into the earth, checked out the relative weight of things on different planets, built a star and watched a star be born in the planetarium. It was pretty awesome!

Then we went upstairs and explored in the discovery zone. They had this great fan table that you could use to make things like scarves fly. And we built things out of logs. And we checked out a real human brain. And we took apart a human body and put it back together. It was pretty awesome, too.

Then we saw Wild Ocean (an IMAX movie). It had the perfect amount of predator attacks for Noah without making Grace need to get up and start cheering for the prey (as she likes to do). Noah says, "In the middle there was a lot of sharks. And it was very funny because the dolphins kept on making this screeching sound. And it was very beautiful!"

Then we went to BD's for mongolian barbeque which was very fun and delicious. It was the perfect day off for all of us!

Eli on the news...

Here's a link to a video of Eli on channel 4 news. The story is about how the Arvada Center is beating the recession but they play a video of one of the songs from Miss Saigon during the story. http://cbs4denver.com/video/?id=62091@kcnc.dayport.com

Miss Saigon Photos

The Birthday Celebrations...

The fifth birthday was well celebrated! Today, Eli had a Chinese birthday party with a few good friends. They tried moon cakes, ate yummy Chinese food, tried Eli's favorite cookies from China, jumped on the trampoline and played in the hot tub. What more could one five year old ask for?

And last night, on the actual birthday (after Eli did his first performance) the absolutely amazing cast and crew celebrated Eli's birthday by singing the most beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday you've ever heard and eating cupcakes with him. Then he hammed it up for everyone and they all took pictures with him. It was amazing and very sweet and we're pretty sure he'll never have Happy Birthday sung to him like that again! If we look like we were just about bursting with pride in the picture that's because...well...we were! He was awesome last night and the show is fantastic! Can't wait to see it again!

Noah's First Soccer Game

Noah got to play in his first soccer game today and he scored his first goal. He had so much fun that he giggled through most of the game!

Eli is 5!

Happy 5th birthday, Eli! You are a treasure and a joy! I'm thinking today about the day you were born and wishing that I could have known you on that day, held your tiny little body in my arms and kissed your perfect little face. I'm praying for the woman who got to be the first to love you and the first to do those things, praying that she knows how loved you are, how cherished you are and what a healthy, happy, wonderful little boy you are. I'm praying for the women who snuggled you on that night and the next night and many, many more after that. The women who gave you your bottle and tucked you in your crib, who comforted you when you were afraid and taught you your first words. I thank God for their love for you. I'm praying for the woman who taught you to walk, who picked you up and kissed your boo-boos when you fell down, who loved you so obviously and so well. I thank God for the many mothers you've had. And I thank God that I get to be the last one, the one that gets to be yours forever. You are such a light in any group...quick to smile and quick to laugh. You are a friend to all and get so much joy out of everything you do. You are so smart and so interested in learning. I can't wait to see what God has in store for you, boy who is loved by so many across the world. We love you!