Random thoughts on a Tuesday morning

--So thankful for news about my Aunt Pat...she was supposed to have surgery today, but the surgeon called off her surgery when the problem he was going to fix was not a problem anymore! Prayers were answered, that's for sure!
--I'm very proud of my oldest boys, Henry and Seth. We all did a 5K on Sunday, which was their very first one! They said they wanted to do another one, so I'm going to sign them up for the 5K in our town this summer. Henry said that this next time he wants to beat me. I wouldn't be surprised if he did with all of the exercise he'll be getting through swim team this summer!
Here they are enjoying some snacks after the race.
--It was a big day physically for Henry. He ran the 5K in the morning and swam with his team for an hour and a half that evening! (He slept in late the next morning!) There was a meeting for parents of swimmers at that practice, and there I was so surprised that Henry's fourth grade teacher was the team's board president! Henry was so happy because she was one of his favorite teachers, and he'll be able to see her a lot this summer. :) He is very excited to be a part of this team, loves his coaches, and is already making some good friends.
--The 5K went OK for me. A couple of weeks ago, one of the kids was supposed to put a bucket of chalk away in the garage, and instead of doing what they were supposed to, they put the bucket on the stairs in the garage. I tripped on it on the way to get some milk from the outside fridge, and hurt my knee. It bothered me when I was going down stair or running, so I was doing some fast walking and swimming for my workouts. The night before the race I tried running on it again, and I could still feel the injury. I was disappointed because prior to the injury, my training had been going so well, and I was really looking forward to improving my time. I convinced myself that I would only walk the race because I was scared that I would undo any healing my knee had done. At the beginning of the race, I walked. After about the first 200 yards, I couldn't resist it anymore, and decided I would run slowly. I felt the injury a little, but it wasn't bad. So I ran a little faster. It still felt pretty good, so I caught up to the boys. I ran with them for a little bit, and then they decided to walk. It was a challenge to run a race at a slower pace than I would have liked to, but I think that doing that, and feeling like my injury is healing, gives me motivation to do better in my next race. I think that I've caught the "running bug", and am looking in to joining a running group this summer.
--Seth was putting a puzzle together this morning as a part of a homework assignment about the United States. I heard him excitedly showing Evan the state of Tennessee, telling him that we were going there with our cousins and family in just a few short weeks!! We're counting down the days, family, and are SOOOOOOOO thankful to have family to enjoy and love.
--So...is there any doubt that this boy has a big case of puppy love too? These two are constantly playing, wrestling, chasing, and snuggling together. She is VERY sweet and funny with him, and INCREDIBLY tolerant.
Moxie was watching her best dog friend, Charlie, out of our window this morning. Evan seized the opportunity for a little squeeze.
I am so glad that he and all of our kids have this dog to love. :)

Our Daisy is a Brownie!

Caroline became a Daisy Scout when she was in Kindergarten. She wanted to be a scout, just like her big brothers! And just like her big brothers, she was fortunate enough to be in a group with some of her best friends.

Today this sweet group of Daisies had their Bridging Ceremony and became full-fledged Brownie Scouts! Families were invited to watch the girls perform songs,

summarize their scouting years,

and be escorted by older scouts across a bridge to become a Brownie!

Here she is... my freshly-minted Brownie!

Proud mom and proud daughter!

Caroline loves her friend, Audrey!

They are like two peas in a pod!

and share the same silly sense of humor!

See? Soooo silly! Audra, Elyse, Caroline and Audrey!

Happy girls!

Best of friends since preschool! :)

And here's the whole troop!
Sorry these pictures are a little out of order...Blogger is having trouble publishing my pictures tonight and I've had a crazy time getting this somewhat in order.

A final Daisy/Brownie circle for the year!

Congratulations, girls!

Our Baseball Boy

Last summer, Evan idolized a boy in our neighborhood who is really good at playing baseball. He threw well, caught everything, and hit the ball out of our yard EVERY time. Evan thought that he was the absolute coolest. When the time came to sign up for spring baseball, Evan was thrilled to be old enough to be on a little sluggers team.

He's been practicing with his team, and practicing in our yard. Today was FINALLY the day for his first game, and he was pretty happy about that!
I bundled him up because the weather was FREEZING. But that didn't bother him in the slightest. This boy was in to his game. He watched that ball and went after every one that he could. Look at that stance...the coaches told him that was the way that he should wait for the ball, and that's what he did every time. :)
He played pitcher for a while. Although in t-ball the pitcher doesn't actually pitch the ball, they do get to be a little closer to the action, and Evan was happy about that.


He did great when he was up to bat...look at that smile!
And although he sometimes had to be pointed in the right direction :), he did run the bases twice!
Here he is taking a little rest and enjoying the view from the dugout.
Then he got a turn to play first base. Here he is listening to his coach's advice.
Toward the end of the game, he decided that he needed to wear his baseball cap backwards because, "It looks cooler that way." Hmmm...
This boy has a pretty good arm.

Here he is in his ready position again.
Here's the teams congratulating each other after the game. They did great!
Good job, Evan!!!

Puppy Love

Why is it that just seeing my dog sleep like this swells my heart? I am in love with this dog.

Ohhhh, Evan...

What did you do?
It was a banner day for Evan. He broke a lamp and he gave himself a haircut today. Apparently, he felt a compelling need to show off his "four-ness".

Earlier today, I brought him to Great Clips. His hair was looking a little long. Although I sometimes cut the boys' hair, I decided to let a professional do it this time because we have a family reunion coming up in June. The stylist did a great job. Evan's hair looked just the way I like it, which is a little longer on top and shorter on the sides. As a finishing touch, she asked Evan if he would like her to spike his hair in front with some gel. At first he said no, I think because he was a little uncertain of what she was going to do. In the end, she convinced him that it would look cool, so he went along with it.

When he looked at himself in the mirror, I could tell that he wasn't so sure about this new look. Five minutes into the car ride home, Evan had flattened the spikiness out of his hair. I asked him why he did that. He said, "That spiky hair looks like a hairstyle. Hairstyles are for girls."

Apparently, the spiky hair look was not manly enough for him.

For the rest of the day, I didn't give it another thought until after dinner. Then I thought that during Evan's bath tonight we would have to really scrub his head to get all of the hardened gel out of his hair. That's when I heard...

"Mooooom...My hair is not getting any longer..."

What? What in the world does that mean?

I was just about to go see what he was talking about, but Henry beat me to it. And then I heard from Henry, "Mom, Evan's cutting his hair!"

I ran upstairs to assess the damage. It wasn't too bad, but I did need to use my clippers again to even it out. So glad I paid for that haircut. ;) I asked him why he did it. He replied, "I just didn't like those spiky things in my hair." So the game plan was just to cut those offending girly spikes off.

Then we discussed the benefits of soap vs. scissors, and how only mommy and stylists cut hair. I don't have any pictures of Evan after his haircut, so you'll have to trust me that he looks very handsome. :)
Shortly after this picture was taken, he was chasing Moxie around, tripped over a lamp's cord, and sent it crashing to the floor. It was broken beyond repair.

It's a good thing he's cute, lol. And fortunately I never loved that lamp anyway! Oh well, I guess I now have an excuse to buy one I do like. ;)

Happy birthday, Henry!

Henry is now the big "1-2"!

We had a little birthday party for him in the morning. He was a pretty happy boy. He had his favorite breakfast, everyone doted on him, and he got cool presents like a swivel scooter, Lego Minifigs, Risk, and Hex Bugs and tracks.

After school, the birthday boy was very busy with swim practice, homework, and boy scouts. His brothers and sister were at various sports practices too, but we did manage to have pizza together for dinner. Unfortunately, there was no time for cake, so that's what we're doing tonight. We're just extending the Henry celebration a little bit. :) Next weekend he's having his best buddies spend the night, and he is definitely counting down the days.

We decided not to host an extended family party this year, although now I am questioning that decision. Dave and I thought that because we had so many house projects going on, that adding hosting a party to the mix might push me over the edge. ;) We've been painting, deep cleaning, installing a dishwasher, installing the basement ceiling, decluttering and boxing things up for Good Will, etc. That, in addition to end of school activities, field trips, sports practices, and working out has left me feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of entertaining. I talked to Henry about it, telling him that we would be seeing both sides of the family soon, and that we'll celebrate then. He seemed ok with it, but I can't help but feel guilty. I do love to have family over. We are richly blessed in that way.

Hopefully we'll be more on our feet next year.

Tomorrow is Henry's 12th birthday! As I wrapped his presents and decorated tonight, I reflected on my young man, many happy memories with him, and the blessings of being a mom.
I celebrated my first Mother's Day in labor with Henry, who also is my first child. He made me a mother, and I am so grateful to God for that blessing.

I am also so grateful to my own mom for all of the happy memories we've shared, and the love, support and guidance that she has given me in my childhood as well as now that I am a mother too.
I am so glad that I get to share my motherhood with my mom!
Happy Mother's Day, Mom, and happy birthday, Henry!