Wednesday, June 10, 2015

How Do You Show Love A Thousand Ways?

Today is a special day in our house.....Jay's Birthday!  Last year was a BIG birthday with lots of fanfare!  This year, Jay's birthday is much more low-key with only some of our immediate family coming over for a cook-out tonight!  This year, I had no great ideas for a special gift.  I was a pretty boring gift giver!  Jay has mentioned in the past few weeks about buying some new three button polo shirts and socks.  So I got him those.....Exciting, huh!?! The only thing he really wanted was a particular book..so I got that for him.  There just wasn't a whole lot of inspiration for me this year!

So....I'm trying to make him feel special today!  While tonight's food will include the usual hamburger, hot dog, and linguica cook-out fare, I also plan on making ribs that have a homemade rub! Our sides will be loaded mashed potatoes and my sil is bringing a salad. My mother-in-law is making the cake(her specialty) and I bought Jay his favorite homemade ice cream, coconut almond joy!  Hopefully, it all comes out ok!!! You know what they say...."The way to a man's heart is through his stomach"!

I am so blessed to have Jay as my husband!  He is incredibly loving, selfless, hard-working, and faithful! He is an amazing father to all of our crew....and constantly gives his all to meet all of their needs andto be physically and emotionally present when they need him.  Whether it's playing princesses with Kate, building Star Wars Lego creations with Luke, and doing any myriad of activities with the older kids...basketball, throwing a baseball around, scooter rides, running, or bringing them out for wings, or a pizza, or a beer(!) bc one of the boys wants to talk....Jay is always there for them.  (Even when he would rather be working on one of his woodworking projects or just relaxing on the couch!)

"A picture is worth a thousand words"....so here's several thousand words worth of why Jay is so loved around here!
1/1 time with Andrew

Daddy and his girls

1/1 time with a shared favorite sports activity!  Go Sox!

One of the countless date nights we have shared with nursing little ones that included grocery shopping!

Luke's favorite past time!  Lego building with Daddy!

Jay loves babies!

Loves time with his girls...

...and his boys!

Keeping it goofy!

Jay just loves spending time with his family!



Eating + family time is even better! ;)

So strange to have a beer with your child who is old enough to drink!

Daddy snuggles are the best!

Daddy with a very little Sarah!

Jay loves us all so much....It's nice to be loved back!

And he certainly is loved!

Happy Birthday, Jay!  I hope today will be a day where you feel as loved as you are!


 

Friday, June 5, 2015

Weekly Happenings!

I had other blog posts in my head this week but never got around to getting them in the computer!  So here's a little glimpse into our busy week!

1. Growing!

Ellie and Kate had physicals on Monday morning!  Both are doing just fine and have grown a lot!  Kate is up to 33.5 inches and Ellie is 5'6 3/4"!!! I swear she grew overnight last week!!! She is now the exact same height as Sarah and about an inch shorter than me! Sarah was not happy.....she kept repeating "Ellie is supposed to be my 'little sister' "all night! Plus, the doctor said Ellie still has about 2 more years of growing and one major growth spurt! Being tall is good....especially for playing basketball, which is Ellie's favorite sport!  

2. Coin Free
About a month ago Kate swallowed a penny.  I noticed her gag on something then swallow.  I asked her what it was and she said,  "It was money.  The one with the people on it.", very cheerfully in her cute, squeaky voice!  Well, I spent the next several weeks checking her diaper for that penny. (No, she still isn't potty trained! We're working on it!) I never found it...but I can't guarantee that any one else that changed her diaper occasionally diligently "dug for gold"...or copper alloy, really! Or whatever the heck pennies are made of now!

I brought it up to the doctor and she sent us for an x-ray.  Kate was such a good girl and laid super still!  Thankfully, there the x-ray was clear!  Phew!

Luke had heard me talking to Jay the day before the appointment that I thought the doctor would send Kate for an x-ray.  When I picked him up after school, this was our conversation:

Me:  Kate had an x-ray today.
Luke: Oh, cool!  Did you take a picture of it!
Me:  No, I forgot.  I was just happy there was no penny in her tummy.
Luke: Hooray!! (brief pause)  Oh, no, Mommy, that means that the penny got thrown in the garbage! We missed it!
Me: Umm, yeah, I don't think we would have wanted that penny back!


#3 Field Trip
As the school year speedily comes to a close, the kids have some special days to look forward to. I was able to go on a field trip with Luke's class to Save the Bay...it's a small aquarium and they look for marine life on the beach and then identify what they found.  The building they are in also houses a carousel!  Here's a few pics...

Love that face!

Holding a Sea Urchin

Luke and his cousin, Brayden, on the carousel!
During one of the touch tank sessions, the volunteer was talking about Decorator Crabs:
Woman:  Why do you think Decorator Crabs put moss all over their shells?
Luke:  Because they're gross!!!



#4: California
Mike, Andrew, and Jon are off to California with my parents for 6 days!  My parents have done smaller weekend getaways with the older kids for the last few years on the East Coast.  This trip is a little farther away and longer because of Mike's graduation!  They are landing in LA to go to a Dodgers game....because every trip they do includes a baseball game.  (Toronto, Baltimore, and Washington were former game stops!)  Then they are driving north tomorrow to spend the day in Disneyland.  After that, they spend the rest of their trip in San Diego.  They are super excited and hopefully will not drive each other (too) crazy while they're away together!

#5:  Left Behind
Those of us left behind have a busy weekend ahead, too! Tomorrow, Jay and Ellie are off to the Red Sox Game.  The tickets were Ellie's birthday gift and she is super excited to watch the game and have her Dad all.to.herself for most of the day!

On Sunday, Sarah is being inducted into the National Honor Society at her high school and then right when we get home, Jay will head to the Father/Daughter dance at Ellie's school!  (More 1:1 time! Ellie's Emotional Love Tank should be full after this weekend!)

Guess I have to make an appointment to spend time with Jay! Because I can guarantee that the moments he IS home during the weekend will be taken up by Luke's, "Daddy can you play with me?" and lots of Lego building!

#6: Birthdays
June is a crazy month with birthdays in our family....with a few other celebrations thrown in for good measure!  My parent's wedding anniversary is tomorrow, Jay's birthday is Wednesday, and my Mom's birthday is Thursday!  My birthday is next week followed by Father's Day, Jay's parent's wedding anniversary, and ending with my sister's birthday at the end of the month!  Crazy, crazy, crazy!

#7:  Therese
Today is the day Therese was called home to God 17 years ago. 17 years!  It's funny how you can close your eyes and remember some moments as if they were yesterday.  While the pain has faded over the years, the memories of her short life certainly haven't.

My very good friend, Kim, sent me two verses this morning....

Romans 8:26
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

1 Cor 10:13
13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

When I went to Biblegateway to look up the verses online, this was the verse of the day...
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

We are certainly blessed with friends and family!
Have a great weekend!