themolens.com

We couldn’t have picked a more beautiful day for Will’s 5th birthday.  Friday morning we woke up to blue skies & sunshine, with the promise of highs in the 60’s. 

The morning started a little rocky, when I made Will’s choice of blueberry pancakes – which he did  not like at all!!!  The big kids had to settle for a bowl of cereal (or in Margaret’s case, a granola bar in the car on the way to school), and Will was more than happy when I pulled the box of waffles out of the freezer.

Will, Sam, and I were in the car by 9:15 and on the road to A Day Out With Thomas.  In the past we’ve been to visit Thomas, and it is always so busy – but it was so nice to go during the week.  It wasn’t crowded, there were no lines, and we got to do everything see everything Will wanted to see with almost no stress.  Almost, haha. 

Tons of trains to play with ……………… Waiting for Thomas to arrive

All aboard! …… Uh oh, Will was a little over stimulated by the end of our day.

We were at the train station all day, making it back in town to grab a quick snack & pick up the kids from school.  The rest of the day we just did exactly what Will wanted to do – play in the sandbox, swing, mac & cheese for dinner, chocolate cake, and presents! 

Share on Facebook

In general, I’m a pretty peaceful person.  You know the song …

“ I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart

Where?

Down in my heart!

Oh, I’ve got joy, joy, joy down in my heart.

Down in my heart to stay .

And I’m so happy, so very happy, I have the love of Jesus in my heart . . . “

Today I can’t help but reflect on some of the wonderful things that are happening in our lives right now.  These are in no special order – just as they come into my head.

1.  Brad is absolutely the best husband and daddy ever.  How am I so blessed to have him as my partner in this life?

2.  Will is making so much progress in speech.  He is really getting his D’s and his T’s, and the speech therapist told me yesterday that his TH and F sound are really, really close.  This, from a child who just began putting 3 word sentences together barely more than a year ago. 

3.  Spring is finally here!  We have been able to play outside after school every day this week!

4.  After back-to-back trips to the pharmacy for Tamiflu and Omnicef, not to mention the entire bottle of Motrin we just drained, it appears that we finally have 4 healthy children.  It’s been a rough 4 months!!!

5.  I got a really, really good deal at the store the other day.  I made sure to include the name of the store on the receipt, so you can go get yourself a good deal, too.  And on top of the money I saved, I still have $14.18 on the gift card my mom bought me for my birthday.  Thank you mom!

Oh, and on top of that, Brad’s mom had the baby for some “Mimi time”, so I was able to browse and try on clothes all by myself for just a little while.

6.  Sam is finally back to a more normal sleep routine.   So instead of waking up every 2 1/2 hours, he’s getting up once to nurse, then sleeping until 6 or 7. His naps are back on track, too.  Oh sweet baby, I like it when you sleep. 

Share on Facebook

Ridiculously cute, that is!

Share on Facebook

Was playtime too exciting, or not exciting enough?  It’s hard to tell. 

Share on Facebook

Last weekend we had big plans to celebrate Chinese New Year.  With 3/4 of the kids just getting over tummy bugs, we just weren’t up to going downtown for the dragon/lion parade.  Bummer.  We’ll make it one of these days.  Will was a little scared of the idea of a dancing dragon anyway, even though he knows it’s just people inside a big puppet. 

We did make it to our playgroup’s little celebration at a local Chinese restaurant, though.  Will helped me pick out some chocolate coins from the store, and Jack helped me stuff them in the “lucky money envelopes” – 6 coins each.  (It has to be an even number – but not 4, because that means death!)  We exchanged envelopes with all of the kids in playgroup and had a great time sorting through all of the loot in the car on the way home.  Then Margaret & Will walked around the cul-de-sac and passed our lucky money envelopes to the kids in our neighborhood. 

Margaret and Willl dressed in matching silk outfits that we bought in China, and Margaret even dressed her doll and Will’s puppy for the occasion.  They looked so cute!  This is the last year for these outfits, though – the kids are just growing too fast!  Mama will have to find somewhere local to get outfits for next Chinese New Year!

Share on Facebook