graduation

Congratulations, Jane, for graduating from preschool! Jane recited Humpty Dumpty and received her Diploma and Certificate of Excellence. Miss Tiffany is top notch and we love her! Kindergarten, here we come!

pirates

These are some of the nicest pirates I've ever encountered. I couldn't resist posting these pictures. :)

Griffin

My Griffin is 7 years old! He had a fun birthday with calls, cards, and gifts from lots of people, took treats to school, and had lasagna for dinner. His soccer team sang to him after his game, and we finished off the day with ice cream sundaes.

Griffin had a pirate party with his friends the next day. The treasure hunt took the boys to various parts of the house and yard, and to the neighbors' yards; the buried treasure was found in a chest under a pile of dirt. Aargh!

Griffin is a kind, thoughtful boy who loves to play soccer, run, play the piano, be creative, use his imagination, and build things. He enjoys reading and excels at math. Griffin is a peacemaker, has an infectious laugh, and sneaks in some tricks. He is such an important part of our family.

thanks

Thanks for the nice notes, the service coupons, and the gifts you gave me on Sunday. Thanks for introducing me to the Septimus Heap series, teaching me about biographical characters, and reminding me that a+b=c. Thanks for reminding me that long necks (dinosaurs) ate the tops of the trees and that mammals have babies like our baby. Thanks for reminding me to keep the speed limit and helping me to be okay when you want to A-Team it into the car. Thanks for reminding me that if I'm nice to people then I'll have friends and that if I send someone stickers in the mail that they might send me a letter back. Thanks for helping me to be creative with meals and being okay when it doesn't taste super great. Thanks for making me relearn facts from U.S. history and for reading out loud to me when I ask you to. Thanks for teaching me that anything worth knowing can be found on ask.com and thanks for teaching me about the google bar. Thanks for being enthusiastic about life and for teaching me things I never thought I'd learn. Thanks for reminding me that oftentimes creativity requires making a mess, but that most things clean up pretty well. Thanks for teaching me to be patient and for being patient with me. Thanks for making me stretch. Thanks for all you do to make my life busy and happy and full.

chubby ankles

We have a very cute, chubby baby. He has chubby cheeks and legs and fingers. He has a chubby body and a little chubby belly.

We recently learned that Jane told her Primary teacher that her ankles are chubby. When I questioned her about it she said "well, her ankles ARE chubby."

are all of you related?

We enjoyed Saturday evening at the Real soccer game season opener! We had good seats and enjoyed the game (it was fun that they won, too!). After the game we hung around for a few minutes and ate a churro while we looked at the stadium. I thought it was a cool picture so just as I was ready to take the photo, Leo the Lion, the Real mascot, jumped into the picture, gave all the kids high 5's, and then headed off to the other side. It was a pretty cool ending to a fun night!

When we first sat down in our seats the man sitting behind us asked "are all of you related?" I looked at him and responded, "yes, we are all related." "Wow, how many kids do you have?" With a smile, I responded "We have five."

As I've thought about his question off and on over the last couple of days I've thought about how important each of my children, individually, are to me. I've thought about the impact they have on people around them. We planned for each of them and wanted each of them. I am grateful for them, for the ups and downs that we have together and individually. Once again, I feel overwhelmed at how blessed I am.

can you do this?

It's evening, the kids are getting ready for bed, I'm sitting at the table finishing up some paperwork, Zachary comes in and sits down next to me and we start visiting about his day. He asks "Mom, can you do this?" I look up and smile. He looks funny! I can't do it. He tries to teach me, and I still can't do it. We're laughing. Griffin and Anna come in. Griffin gets it pretty quickly, Anna doesn't. Apparently Anna has my genes. We're laughing. Jane comes in and can instantly do it. With some more work Anna can do it. It was funny. I enjoy laughing with my kids.