Happy Birthday E!

Hey Mr. 7! You asked for a birthday party, I felt like I had about two minutes to put it together but we all pulled together and had a great time. Mr. First Grader, Mr. Cub Scout, Mr. How Did You Grow Up So Fast?

Love you Eli!!

Piano Recital / Birthday Bash / Fantastic Fun!

May 6 was a day that will go down in history... It was the day that my firstborn, Archer of many names (I won't list them all here, to preserve his integrity and avoid embarrassing him to death) came into this world and I proclaimed to everyone who would listen, "Isn't he the most perfect thing you've ever seen?"

May 6 will ALSO go down in history because it was the day that great Piano Concertist (is that a word?) Shelly debuted on stage (actually the front of the church)... Shelly performed beautifully in her first Piano Recital.

These kids never cease to amaze and impress me.

Archer. Yes, I gave up pretending that you haven't outgrown me. You're taller than me, you weigh more than I did when I graduated high school, you're wearing Grandpa's running shoes. I say you have Ski Feet. Eli calls you Big Foot. Sometimes you look like you have jelly legs, how are you so floppy and scrawny and tall? Hey Mr. Tall Guy, you're growing up into someone I'm proud to call my son. Normally I don't like to brag about this stuff publicly, except for this blog is pretty private now so mostly I'm just bragging to myself. You were on the High Honor roll last quarter! Not just the regular one, the HIGH one! With your name in the paper! Also you were the champion of the school Geography Bee! Also you're a track star!! Ok, I know you say you're only doing track because I'm making you, and I know you pretend to not like it, but you look like you're having a great time with the other kids on your team. And I see you out there, running HARD and taking pride in your finishes and I'm so proud of you. Keep it up, keep up all the hard work, keep up the antics, keep being you. I'm proud of you, Kid!

Shelly Anna, my love. You decided to try something new this year and WOW have you ever flourished! Every week we go to piano lessons and you speak with Ms. Heather in some other language that I don't understand. From the very first week you seemed to know exactly what she was saying to you, and I sat there having no clue what the two of you were talking about. Every week it gets a little more foreign to me, and you settle further into the music and the notes flow from your fingers. I love when you practice and our house is filled with your music. Beautiful.

We invited family and friends over to celebrate Archer's birthday after Shelly's recital and we had a crowd in the house from early afternoon to late into the night. If 9:00 is considered late. I guess it is for me, I'm getting too old to stay out too late. ;) Anyway it was a wonderful day. Moments of kids chasing each other with weapons, lots of shouting and laughing, some games and accusations of cheating, etc. etc. etc. The perfect kind of fun.

Hey Beautiful Ladies! Happy Birthday!

Shelly turned TEN! My babies are getting so grown up. Sometimes I forget she's just in fourth grade, she seems so grown up. She knows what she wants in life and doesn't waver from it. She doesn't shy away from a challenge - Battle of the Books coming up, joining Chess Club, what  more fun stuff are you going to find, Shelly Anna?

A couple of days after Shelly's birthday, we surprised Grandma with a little pizza party after school. It was wonderful to just show up and see Grandma's smiling face and everyone enjoyed the little break from the routine. Thanks for letting us barge in and interrupt your quiet evening Mamma and Bampa!

Happy Birthday to all!

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!

Birthday Weekend

Happy Birthday Husband!
To a wonderful guy, from the family, we're glad we could spend it with you. For better or for worse.

David took Eli to Scout Camp for the afternoon, an event designed to give new scouts of all ages an idea of what Scouting is all about. And boy did they EVER give the kids an idea. The Scouts are now allowing boys as young as 5 to join so Eli's getting a head start on the fun. Kindergartners are Lions. So. Introducing you to our little Lion Cub, Elijah Graham!

They let everyone try archery. And BB guns. Seriously???? Once again, what kind of mom sends her kid.... (See the January Archives for a previous moment with this same thought.)

Bows and arrows and guns. I think they did other stuff too, but that was pretty much all I heard about. Oh yeah, and the rockets. Good thing there were lots of dads there to help every step of the way. Go dads! Go David!

But that was just the start of the fun, once the boys got home, the Fortier Five plus Two Grandparents trekked to the China Lights show at the same garden where David and I were married. When we were able to make our way to the Exact Spot where we stood to get married, there was a 1,000 foot long dragon facing us. I told E that the dragon was there when we got married. And I spent the entire ceremony worried that the dragon was going to CHOMP me! Do you believe me? He nodded, he looked a little scared. Sorry, E, I was just kidding. Anyway, beautiful show.

When we had seen almost everything and taken almost a million pictures we braved the crowds again and tried to swim against the stream to get out. Whew. Poor Dad, his birthday fun light show turned into a bit of a struggle as he tried to corral E and find the van. Eli had way too much energy. The grandparents and mom were way behind and weren't offering any help with the rambunctious Lion Cub. Happy Birthday Dad, you get to spend time with your family. Nothing but sunshine and rainbows, right? ;-)

Now for the little surprise - we took Mamaw and Bampa home and all the kids jumped out of the van to stay in HC for the night. Happy Night!

David and I enjoyed a dinner that didn't include kids menus. We didn't have to tuck anyone in, remind them to stay in bed, tell them to quit talking, etc. Nice evening, thanks to Mamaw and Bampa. I hear they had their own fun movie marathon and such.

Next morning, time to get the kids home in time to finish school projects and get to ballet rehearsal on time. And funny thing, for the first time ever, E insisted on driving. How kind! He asked me about 30 times if he could drive, then he quit asking and just told me, "I'm driving!" There wasn't much arguing with him. Thanks for being the chauffeur for the day Graham.

Ok, outa time, gotta move on to the next activity. Keep moving, everybody!

Birthdays Galore

For the first time ever I baked my husband a cake on his birthday. Yes, last year I tried, messed it up despite the fact that it was JUST A MIX IN A BOX, and he ended up baking it himself. (Sorry Honey!) This year I made a Boston Cream Pie cake and it doesn't look so pretty but it did taste pretty good, and after 11 years of marriage I can finally say that I did it once - baked him a cake. Thank you for your everlasting patience, David, and Happy Birthday to the most wonderful husband and father I could ever imagine!

Just a short two weeks later, E celebrated his FOURTH birthday!! What!! No longer baby, toddler, preschooler, now this grown up kid is in school, learning everything and telling us all he already knows. This beautiful boy is so precious, with his huge smile that lights up his face, and lights up everyone else around him. He was very specific about the cake he wanted, but the most important element was the "pintles." It MUST have sprinkles or it just wouldn't be good enough. David baked and decorated that one, my skills are clearly not up to par to deliver on Eli's high demands.

Happy birthday to you both!

Shelly's Seven!

We did something this year that we’ve never attempted before. Its surprising, considering we’ve been parents for almost ten years, and this is an American cultural standard that our kids have been exposed to beginning way back at four and five years old. The Birthday Party with Friends. We’ve avoided it, passed it up, and this year we’ve finally succumbed.

 We held a birthday party for Shelly’s big Seven. Two cousins, ten friends, and lots of screeching girls… One dad said to me, “I feel sorry for you” as he closed the door behind him. I just smiled and let him know we were going to have lots of fun. And secretly inside I was completely intimidated by the mob of little girls circling around me. Are we going to have fun? Will they tell their parents it was a good time? Grandma Sue and Aunt Niecy came to help and I kept asking Denise, is it going ok? I guess it went ok.

We were inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder and came up with crafts and games in the spirit of Laura in her Little House. The girls made rag dolls, lavender sachets, button necklaces, wooden tops, butter, and shopped at the General Store. The boys were in charge of the store, taking pennies from the girls and dishing out giant pickles, marbles, paper dolls and countless pounds of candy.

In the end, when it was all over, I felt like I had planned a wedding, all timed out and choreographed. I knew that David and I couldn’t have done it without all the help we got from Grandma and Aunt Niecy. There were no major injuries, no home-wrecking catastrophes (only bits of rock candy everywhere that we had to pick up for days afterwards), and the girls left with their goodies and smiles on their faces. Best of all, Shelly said she had a good time. She thanked us a thousand times. And hopefully she’ll remember the BEST BIRTHDAY PARTY EVER for a few years to come.

Vacation, and More

The kids had an unusually long Christmas vacation from school, two full weeks. Add the weekends on either end, and that's 16 days at home. We had a great time together, David also had almost two full weeks off from work. We played games, put up the Christmas tree, took it down again, celebrated the holidays. Then... The arctic freeze set in. The jet stream of cold air from the far northern parts of Canada, or something. They predicted it for a week and then it came, the cold. On Friday, they cancelled school for Monday. The kids were happy, an extra day! Except, we talked about the people who don't have homes, who will be seriously at risk over the coming cold days and even colder nights. We prayed. We took a spur of the moment trip to the store to buy blankets and then dropped them off at the homeless shelter. We prayed some more. Last night the cold really set in, the kids and I haven't been outside for days. This afternoon I got another call from the school, its cancelled again, no school tomorrow. I'm so thankful for this warm, safe home we have, and the furnace that just keeps running and keeping us warm.
 

We'd be going a bit crazy, but we're all in project mode, and we've got lots of work to do! We'll be throwing a birthday party for Shelly, there are LOTS of girls on the invite list, and we need to get planning! Its amazing how there's no fighting when there's a common cause. Making invitations, working on making yarn dolls, brainstorming ideas for games, crafts, food, decorations.... I've got a shopping list two pages long, but can't leave the house to buy the stuff. In the mean time, we'll use what we have and listen to some fun music while we party away the day!

I got a CD from the library and we discovered this fun little song, we listened to it over and over, laughing every time!

33

Today another year counts off on the calendar, my number grows a little bigger, and I'm caught again wondering what that means. Have I accomplished much in this last year? Well, we all survived it, so that's a start...

Today David surprised me by taking the day off work and we just hung out together. The very best birthday gift.

And tonight, when I talked to my mom, I told her that kids' birthdays should celebrate the moms, not the kids. The moms who put up with us for so long and even kept a smile on their faces.

Thanks Mom, even now, all grown up, I need you, I count on you and miss you when we haven't talked in awhile. I come to you for advice and encouragement and you're always ready to hear the latest thing that's going on in my life. Thanks for being my mom for the last 33 years, as you said, its been good. I love you!

Birthday Card

Designed by Shelly for "The best brother I ever had!"

To Archer
From Shelly Dad Mom last but not least is Elijah

Happy Birthday to you yes you Archer
You're the best brother I ever had!

Birthday Goodies

Ok, so Archer had a birthday, there was a big build up until finally we celebrated on Sunday night. He so badly wanted a bow and arrows. We said no. And in the end, I think he was happy with what we gave him instead, which included eight weeks of archery lessons this summer. He's said thank you to David and I a dozen times since he received his gifts, completely unprompted, and that's a good sign that he's happy. :)

Today I took him out for lunch, our little tradition. I picked him up and took him to McDonald's. This is the one day of the year when he's allowed to order a Happy Meal. And we went to the park.

When I got him from school, and we walked out, Elijah kept saying "Yeh-ee, Yeh-ee" (his version of Shelly). But I was pretty much ignoring him, trying to listen to Archer. As we walked away from the school towards the car, E stood in front of me and grabbed my leg. "Top! Top! Yeh-ee!" To translate, that's, "Stop! You forgot Shelly!" That kid amazes me. I was so touched by his concern that we were leaving Shelly behind! I stopped, knelt down and tried to explain. We're coming back, we didn't forget her, she'll come later. He seemed satisfied and we moved on. McDonald's, then park.

So beautiful out today! Archer challenged me to a game of tag and revelled in outrunning me as he weaved in and out around the playground. For the record, I think I could catch him on a straight path, but not with all the slides and obstacles. Just sayin'. Anyway, it was a great lunch, Archer was returned to school, and E and I went about the rest of our day.

Nine

Dear Precious Boy, this is your last year of a single digit age. After this year, for the rest of your life, you'll be a double digit. I almost can't believe you're still ONLY nine, you're ready to be older. But for now, you linger... Today you're Nine. And I tell you the story again, the story of seeing your face for the first time and announcing to the whole world, "he's perfect!" I went around like that for weeks. Friends would say "he's so cute!" and I would say, "isn't he perfect?" It was nice of them to humor me. Or maybe they knew. Your precious little face, the most perfect face that God had ever created.

Dear Archer, my precious first born, you're nine and I don't know where nine years went. In my memory its a flash. And yet, it feels like maybe we're finally settled into this family thing. I've been your mom long enough that it doesn't surprise me anymore that I have a son. Did I ever tell you about the first doctor appointment I had to make for you? I called them up, they answered, and then I suddenly got stuck. I had to say some words that I had never said before in my life and they got caught in my throat, the wonder of this miracle of a newborn in my arms. "I need to make an appointment for my son." My son. My beautiful, perfectly formed son. It was a new, marvelous thing to say, This Is My Son.

You know, sometimes this road we're on together, the road of family travelling life with each other, its bumpy. Sometimes we bump into each other with words and feelings and it feels a little rough around the edges. But always we come back together. Today when I picked you up from school for your special birthday lunch, you wouldn't believe how it warmed my heart when you saw me and ran to me, took my hand and walked by my side.

I want you to know that even though things get rocky, whether between us family or with anyone else out there in the world, God created you so perfectly and you are special. One of a kind, and we're all watching to see what he does with you, in your life, where you go. We can tell already that you're headed somewhere great. You might not feel it, but we know it. Dad and I, and all the rest of your family, we know it. And we just can't wait to see where you go!

I love you dear Nine!

Shelly's Character

Shelly's Character
  by Archer

Forgiving
gentle
kind
friendly
a loveing sister
helpful
shy
pretty
generous
happy
nice
funny
cheerful
caring
a six year old sister

(Nice work Arch, all so true of our beloved Shelly!)

Hey Sweet Six!

We celebrated Shelly's sixth birthday a day early because we had some other plans for tomorrow and didn't want her to get lost in the shuffle.

First, the traditional streamers in front of the bedroom door...

Some day the kids will just think the streamers are cheesy. But for now, it makes them feel special. At least, that's what I tell myself as we're putting them up in the middle of the night!

I couldn't find the "Happy Birthday" banner so just put up more crepe paper streamers in the dining room. Swimming lessons in the morning. (Shelly seemed especially miserable but later said she had fun. We try to put a positive spin on it so hopefully she'll only remember the "fun" part and not the "I'm hating this" part.)

I've been promising the kids FOREVER that they can get their own library cards, so we went today.

(See how Shelly is wearing her princess hat? She wore it all day. Because she's the Birthday Princess, of course!)

Then a laid back afternoon, a traditional birthday supper, gifts and cake. (We always tell the kids they can pick whatever they want for supper on their birthdays. They always pick Chinese. Always.)

This was all followed by Wii games, with Shelly picking the games and playing every round, the rest of us taking turns. We're also all sick. Sniffling, coughing and sneezing.Tissues are scattered all over the floor. The kids are using their sleeves and the furniture because they don't like tissues for their runny noses. And the constant reminder, "cover your face when you cough!"

Shelly told us it was the best birthday ever. And that's the best a parent can hope for. That, and the kids getting along well together and going to bed early. Because I've got a pounding headache, and really, the happy birthday celebration is wearing me down...

Hey Sweet Six Shelly - Happy Birthday!! We love you beyond words. We're so blessed, beyond measure, beyond words, we love you. We can't wait to see where the next year or two or six takes us all!!

Guess Who

Just Turned Two??

This little guy has certainly changed our family and brought us many many smiles and laughs through the last two years.

Have I ever mentioned that I truly believe he is the SMARTEST two year old on the PLANET?? Today he said "paper." Seriously, isn't he so smart? I love how he shouts "BUS!!!" every time a bus passes through our neighborhood, except he doesn't put an "s" on the end of the word, he puts a "t." He says "BUT" and Archer and Shelly really get a kick out of it. He can say plane, more, eat and most importantly MINE! He recites the Declaration of Independence (just kidding) and follows around the older kids. Ocasionally (a LOT) he bosses them around, steals their toys, throws things at their faces and screams for no aparant reason. But he's so cute that none of us can ever get annoyed for even a second (well... maybe just one second).

This morning I caught Archer teaching E his colors. "This is orange. Which one is the orange one? Good job!" Tonight Archer was being a bad influence and making noises with his hand in his armpit. This morning Shelly told E to be nice, in her best grown-up mom voice. And tonight she wrapped his birthday presents and made him a birthday card. She also helped him unwrap his presents, whether or not he wanted the help.

Those two kids have learned so much and grown so much by learning to get along with the littlest member of our family. These two parents have learned so much too. I have to admit, I thought two kids had gotten us well on our way of learning how to be parents. But the third one brings challenges and blessings and love all his own. And we're so very thankful for God's blessing on our family, and for Elijah Graham's place in our family.

Archer's Eight

I figured out today that we will have children in elementary school until 2022. It seems like an eternity away - ten years from now? Ten years from now we'll be ending the school year with Elijah finishing up fifth grade, Shelly will be 15 and Archer will be 18. WHAT??

I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. It feels like forever, to think that E won't be out of elementary school till 2022, but it feels way too close when I think of Archer turning 18.

David and I spent some time today thinking back on what our lives were like eight years ago, when we brought Archer home from the hospital. David said he wishes the time hadn't passed so quickly. I think back on that time, the new-baby, young family time and it seems not quite right. We didn't know it then, but I can see it now, we weren't where we were supposed to be. We weren't finished yet. That time of working away from him, cherishing him but not knowing him yet (who will he BE?), it was good but not complete. Our family was still waiting on the rest of its members. His personality and character have blossomed and grown over the last eight years, while David and I have grown as people, learned lots of lessons on parenting and more lessons on relationships.

I am so proud of this boy who seems inexplicably taller each day, who loves school, scouts, and bike riding, who takes care of his brother without prompting and gets a little frustrated with his sister but loves teaching her whenever he can. We had NO IDEA what we were in for when we decided to embark on the parenting adventure. I'm so glad its turned out a million times better than I ever could have imagined! God is so good!

Sweet Shelly Anna



photo by Denise

 Sweet little Shelly Pie (yes I call her that, yes she hates it), today my little girl is five. I am continually amazed by her thoughtfulness, her generosity. Of course she argues with her brother over toys, of course she argues and wants to get her way, she sometimes is unbearably dramatic when things don't go the way she'd like. But there's this too sweet little side to her, a side that amazes me and makes me so profoundly grateful that I get to have her in my life.

Today we were grocery shopping and as we came to the end of an aisle, she turned to look at something hanging right at eye level. "What is that?" Pez. Two dozen different kinds of Pez Dispensers, all right there staring us in the face. I explained what it was, she seemed satisfied. She didn't ask, she didn't say, "I wish I could have that," nothing. I stood there a moment longer, and then said to her, "You know, you've been so good in the store. Its your birthday. Do you want one?" Her face lit up, she carefully considered the options, and chose a Princess Pez. "Ok great, let's go," but she stopped me. "Mom? Do you think maybe Archer would like one?" Of course we then had to pick out another, which Shelly clung to for the rest of the shopping trip, the entire way home, and though the door, until she could open up her package, load the candy, and test it out.

When we got home, Shelly couldn't help but continually tell me how excited she was to open her presents. She stood in front of the stack of gifts on the counter, touching the paper, telling me again and again that she just couldn't wait. I finally told her that its exciting that its her birthday, and we're happy for her, but no one else is getting any presents so its not nice to keep talking about her own presents. Well, the seed was planted. She took Archer's Pez Dispenser and wrapped it up as a gift. She took some extra Pez candy and put it in a little box, and asked me to put a bow on top, this is Dad's gift. She told me I could share Dad's gift, and wrapped up something else for E. On her birthday, giving.

When I asked her what she wanted for supper she said Chinese, and when I asked her what she wanted to order she said, "Two packs of crab rangoons." (Because one is never enough anymore.) "I know other people like egg rolls," she told me. But you don't like them, Shelly, you want me to order them?" "What, I know other people like egg rolls in this family." And there it is, she keeps thinking about what other people want. At the end of her food order she mentioned fortune cookies, and wanted to make sure there would be enough for all of us. Probably because she didn't want to share :)

My sweet sweet not-so-little Shelly Bell. I tried to forbid her from getting older, told her she wasn't allowed, she got so serious with me and said, "I can't stop it! Its just going to happen!" and I had to laugh and give her a big hug. I told her today that even though I didn't want her to get older, I was so proud of her, my Five Year Old big girl. And I thank God for her in our family, we wouldn't be complete without her.

Archer grandly presenting the cake to his sister

Elijah patienty waiting for his piece

Long Overdue

One Year Pics

Mmm doesn't it look yummy? Dive in already!

He dove into that cake, then had a bath, then no time for clothes, let's open some presents!

Ok, its kinda chilly in here. Let's get some jammies on.

What a happy One Year Old with his Daddy :)

Elijah: 1 Year

Can you believe it? Me neither. ONE WHOLE YEAR! Just in the last week he's started saying "Ma" and he's gotten much more confident with his walking. Still not completely stable, but he's making great strides. (Plus now he's climbing. Nothing's going to stop him!)

What an amazing journey this last year has been. A new person in our family, new routines, schedules, new teaching. Archer and Shelly are like little parents, sometimes I hear them saying things to E that I say to them and its a double edged sword. Good, yes. But I hear those things I wish I hadn't said also coming out of their mouths. Ugh. Be careful, little ears are listening and little mouths are repeating! Archer actually babysits for us now sometimes on Saturday mornings. He watches E while I sleep in or do other stuff. As long as I stay out of the living room and Elijah doesn't see me, this works pretty well. And as long as I pay the babysitter well, he's willing to do it again.

I feel like I'm always obsessing about time. "Time goes so fast!" I'm always writing it on the blog, always thinking it. And at the little moments during my day, obsessing about how many minutes before I tell Arch to get his shoes on and send him out the door, how many minutes to get Shell's coat on, buckle everyone in, and take the two minute trip to the bus stop. Three hours till they come home. Five minutes till I start supper. "Two minutes to bedtime!" I call out.

I've had this question on my mind lately. How does God experience time? He is eternal, so somehow time doesn't exist for him. Or time exists, it passes but never runs out. He exists outside the limits of time (as we experience it) but is eternal which means He has all of it, probably holds it in his hand or something. What does God think of my fixation on the clock? My fear that time is passing me by too quickly and I'll miss something, my obsession about being on time and yet always being late. God is in control, surely. Does He ever go back... change it?

I digress. Elijah's birthday, the first anniversary of his birth, is truly a celebration in our family and as we go back, in our memories, to that day when he joined us, we celebrate and look forward to the many years ahead, the many fun times we'll have, the smiles we'll share. I look forward to seeing where we'll end up, but I'm enjoying the journey along the way!

I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.
Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.
~ Eccl 3:14:15