Lion Cubs Explore Gadgets & Gizmos

Hey, did you know that Elijah is now a Cub Scout? Also, David is a leader. Their first outing together was to the Betty Brinn Museum in Milwaukee to learn about gadgets and gizmos.

David brought a collection of gadgets for the kids to guess what they are and what they do, that was the educational part. The rest was supposed to be educational but was mostly just exploring. They all had fun, I think - once we got upstairs the kids all scattered and we didn't see most of them until lunch time.

Thanks For Everything Day

I ran. I am so thankful that I can run - that I'm healthy enough to go out and run 3.1 miles. I'm super slow but I can run. And I'm thankful for that. And bonus - my phone app said I ran the race in 37 minutes. Official results say 30 minutes. I'll take it!

I came home and cooked only a little, saw some friends and family. I feel so blessed that I have people in my life who will accept soup, salad, cheese and crackers as a Thanksgiving Day meal. Because I'm just not up to the big Turkey Feast. Rachel and her boys, along with Bampa and Mamma joined us for a nice afternoon gathering.

Once everyone left, we all packed up and went to Uncle Todd's for the final event of the day. All the cousins were there and we were able to enjoy how old all the kids are getting - the holidays are getting quieter as the years go by and the kids get older and learn to stop screaming quite so much. It's a slow process, but we're making progress.  :)  I'm very fortunate to be a part of TWO wonderful families who are welcoming and caring. What an incredible thing to have.

A couple of the kids traded places and we ended up bringing home one of the boys and leaving our girl behind. I guess the cousins needed some more bonding time together...

I don't have many pics, I'm not sharing funny stories about the latest thing the kids did, I just have such a sense of peace and love over the last two days. This morning I sat on the couch while the kids played and I read a book for a couple of hours. I haven't read a book in way too long. And it was the perfect way to spend time with the kids on our day off. Thanks kids, thanks families, the last two days were just about as perfect as they could possibly be.

Hey World, Look Who's Six!

We spent the entire day listening to someone say, "it's my birthday, I can do WHATEVER I want!" with a big innocent smile on his face. When I told E that six years ago I got to hold him for the first time, he sounded shocked. He started asking me all about his skills. "Could I talk? Could I walk? Crawl? Could I say Dada? Mama?" Nope. All you could do was cry. No talking, no crawling, just crying. Nope, you could cry. And you had hair on your ears like a little elf. I thought you were a hobbit. I'll read you that book sometime. How did we get you? Well.... I'll tell you that story sometime.

We had the traditional birthday dinner, Chinese takeout as usual. Gift opening, cake, and then a battle against the T Rex at the end of the hall, putting the new defense to the test. They had enough ammo and only a couple of small equipment troubles but nothing that the older brother couldn't fix. Before long the T Rex wasn't challenge enough, and E's attention turned to more challenging targets. Archer fended off darts with only a couple shouts of pain, way to tough it out Brother!

Anyway, here's the thing. Elijah Graham is an incredible person, his wonderful big heart cares so much for all of us. Tonight he told me that he wants to marry me when he grows up, what a sweetheart! He's learning so much in school and from his brother and sister (most of it good!) and I am so excited to see where he goes in the next year or six or many more. Just whatever you do, E, keep that big smile of yours, the one that's almost bigger than your face and lights up the room. Keep smiling!