My Angel

The other day I went to  get Eli out of bed in the morning.  I grabbed him and squeezed him and kissed his cheeks.

"Good morning, my Eli!"  I said cheerfully.

He smiled back at me, but he was waiting for a different greeting.

He kept pointing to himself and said "Angel.  Angel."

I corrected my mistake.  "Good morning, my Angel!"  I said, with the same cheerful tone.

That made him happy.  He smiled and nodded and went happily on his way.  I guess I better not mess with that tradition!

The mile run

I got to go to Discovery Park and cheer for Jonah the day he ran the mile.

First you need some background:

Several weeks ago, Jonah's class ran a mile, and recorded their times.  Jonah came in third, with a time of 9:42.  Not bad!  

They knew they would be running it again, and were supposed to be working to improve their time.  I had heard him talk about it, but I didn't really stop to notice how seriously he was taking this training time.  

I did notice that he had asked to pack spinach in his lunch a few times.  Weird, but good.  He had also been making more of an effort not to gag and whine and cry when he saw what we were having for dinner.  Sometimes (certainly not every day) he would even have a positive attitude, and try to eat everything on his plate.  I didn't realize it at the time, but looking back I think this was all part of his training.  His dad has told him that if you want to get bigger and stronger, you have to eat healthy foods, and a good variety.  

A few days before the second run was going to take place, Jonah started doing exercises before school.  He was running laps around the hallway, jumping as high as he could, and using the pattern on the rug to practice his quick footwork.  He wanted me to measure him to see if he had gotten any taller.  Longer legs are better for running fast, you know!

So the big day finally arrived, and Simon, Eli and I went down to the park to cheer him on.  We brought him an ice cold water bottle (as requested), and he was off!

By this time, I had woken up to the fact that this race was really important to him, so I was a little bit nervous.  I watched him pace himself and slowly work his way to the front of the pack.  I cheered for him as he came around the halfway mark, and he looked like he was still going strong.  I (guiltily) got a little excited when the boy in first place started looking droopy, and Jonah slowly passed him.

There was a girl close on his heels, but she couldn't quite catch up to him.  Jonah won first place!! And he beat his time by more than a minute!  He was just beaming!

I was glad I had my sunglasses on so that none of the other moms could see the tears in my eyes.  The tears were mostly ones of joy for Jonah.  He gained some experience that tells him that his hard work will pay off.  He set his sights on a goal and he accomplished it.  I was so happy for him!

They were also tears of relief.  I'm so glad that I happened to tune in to what was going on.  It took me a while, but luckily I realized how important this race was in time to be there for him.  It was a great moment in his little life, and his mom was there to support him.  

I'm afraid that I miss out on way too many of those type of moments.  With so many kids, so many different ages, going so many different directions, I feel like I am constantly "letting some ball drop." In fact, part of my morning prayers nearly every day is "Please help me to choose the things that are the most important today."  I know I can't possibly do all of the good things that I would like to do each day, but I pray that I have the wisdom to know which ones to choose.

I'm so glad I chose the mile race.

Before I forget

There are a few things I want to record about Eli at this age before they slip into the black hole of my forgotten memories.

He is such a fun-loving, happy kid!  He can wander around all day, finding things to entertain himself.

He starts some of his words with a hard G sound.  He likes to "gump" on the trampoline.  My favorite is when he brings me an orange and wants me to "goose it" for him.

No matter how upset he is about having to stop what he is doing at nap time, he will be giddy with excitement as soon as I whisper "two binkies" into his ear.  He loves his bedtime routine: song, prayer, and two binkies.

When he gets really mad at me, he spits.

He likes to snack all day long.  My mom calls it "grazing."  He will ask for a yogurt, eat two bites of it, then ask for toast.  After a bite or two of that, he's ready to move on to an orange.  You get the idea.  If I let him, he would do that all day!

He loves to count things.  "One, two, twee, four!  One, two, twee, four!"  etc. etc.

I love the way he switches around his sentences.  "Read it, book!" or "goose it, orange!"  You notice that everything he says ends with an exclamation point.  And if I don't respond correctly, he will repeat it indefinitely.

He will repeat anything his siblings tell him to say.  One of their favorites right now is "Gomp-eye!"  No idea what that means or how to spell it, but its what the minions say on Despicable Me.  His brothers think it is hilarious!

And you can tell he has older brothers.  He loves anything that has to do with bodily functions.  Toot and poop are two of his favorite words.

Nothing is safe from him.  He will find candy no matter where it is hidden, or how high up it is placed.  He comes out of a siblings room many times a day with his mouth full of candy.

He loves to swing on the "red swing" on the back porch.

He is definitely a boy.  He loves trucks, balls, and destroying things.  But lately he also loves to carry around these cute little stuffed puppies and take care of them.  Or when he's at his friend Anna's house, he will carry a baby doll in one hand and a car in the other.

He likes to cuddle with me.  Thank goodness!  I'm really going to have to fight the urge to treat him like a baby forever.

I'm so happy to have my sweet little Eli!

Qualumby

It's a new word that Josh made up.  It looks a little something like this:

The other day Josh and I were on the hammock, eating pecans and oranges, enjoying the beautiful weather.

I commented that it was such a great feeling- being outdoors, soaking in the beauty of nature.  Josh put it in more technical terms.  "It's actually vitamin D that you are absorbing from the sunshine."

Somehow, that explanation didn't fit the beauty of the moment for me.  "No, no,"  I clarified.  "It's more than good for my body, it's nourishing to my soul."

"Ya, mom.  That's because vitamin D makes you feel happy."

I told him that such a medical description just didn't describe what I was feeling.

"Ok," he finally relented. "We will make up a special word for it.  How about QUALUMBY?"

So that is what we have been calling it.  When I need a little time outdoors enjoying the beautiful weather and scenery, I need a little qualumby.

Thanks, Josh, for keeping it magical for me!

Life

Here is a little glimpse of what has been going on around here lately:

The Gilbert temple is finished!!  We have been looking forward to this for years!
We all went together (minus Eil, that is) for a tour during the open house.
It was so beautiful.

Becca went to her first formal dance.  It was "mormon winter formal."
Kami came to help her get ready, since I was directing a choir that evening.
Such a good-looking couple!  (Her date was Scottie Brown)

Savannah had her first club volleyball tournament.  She played amazing!!  The girl can jump!

Caleb is a dedicated scouter, and I love it!  I really, really love the scouting program.
He earned his Life this month, and has a goal to get his Eagle before he turns 14.

Josh, as always, taking his basketball very seriously!  It's so fun to watch his games.
I swear he improves from week to week!

Jonah's first pinewood derby!  He designed it himself, and did most of the work on it!
It was a lightning bolt, inspired by his recent love of "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief."

Simon turned 5 years old!  He requested that we all wear costumes to the party.

Cute little Eli.  I don't think any of the boys have escaped this.
Getting dressed up is one of the "perks" of having olders sisters.

Savannah had her first family photo shoot.  She got some great shots!
I think it helps to have such a darling family as your subject.

Jonah's Christmas wish

When it was time for kids to make Christmas lists, I got some pretty interesting requests.  Everything from a "happy family" from Josh, to a "mini ferris wheel" from Becca, to a "small monkey" from Savannah.

Most of the lists were pretty long, and gave me lots of things to choose from.  Jonah's list, however, only had 3 items on it.

Translation: 1. Basketball pants

                    2. Money for the Door of Faith Orphanage in Mexico

                    3. Presents for the poor and sick

Side note:  I need a green Christmas tie for choir (complete with illustration)

In his stocking on Christmas morning, he found a special note from Santa.  It said that $100 had been donated to orphans in Mexico, as a gift to him.

I think that was the highlight of his Christmas.

What a sweet, tender-hearted boy.

Before I forget...

A few days before Christmas, Josh and I were trying to figure out which siblings he still had to get gifts for.  He was in the other room, so I yelled across the house, "Hey!  I have an idea what you could get Caleb."

From the bathroom, I heard Caleb's panicked voice shouting "I am here!  Hey!  I am here!"  It's a good thing he yelled, because I thought he was out with his friends.

For some reason, that just really struck my funny bone.  The mental picture of Caleb, sitting on the pot, shouting to make his presence known.   It makes me chuckle, even now.

A couple of years ago, he went on Amazon.com before Christmas and accidentally discovered what he was getting for Christmas.  Apparently, it was really disappointing to him, and he didn't want to repeat that.

That's all.  Just a funny moment that I didn't want to forget.