It is funny how much of our lives are predicated on a factor of five. We always break down the passage of time, especially anniversaries on those terms. Five years. Ten Years, etc. The same was true for Heather and I. We marked our tenth anniversary last year with a big trip sans the kids. So this year being eleven really did not strike either of us as a huge deal. Partly because we are conditioned to celebrate these things every five or ten years. The other part for us is life being the rushing river we happen to be riding carries us on a breakneck current where we only have a fleeting moment for one of us to yell "Hey! Look! We've been married eleven years!" in the same way we might point out a bear in the woods while white water rafting.
And that's perfectly fine because the reason we only have a fleeting moment to celebrate another anniversary is because we are too busy having a fulfilled marriage. Being with each other, taking care of the house, taking care of four kids, a dog. The level of busy here is about two ticks past sanity on the scale so making it all work means we are perfectly happy to point at the non five year anniversaries as we go by.
As far as this year is concerned, the arrival of Ephram has been our greatest cause of celebration. In many ways it has been a four month long celebration of his entrance into our family. Our trip to Korea, which strikes us both as still somewhat surreal to us that we actually went there, was a little like a second honeymoon for us. More than that, when Heather and I got married, having kids was an important piece to making our family complete. In that respect while we may not have enjoyed a night out or "done something special" in the traditional sense, adopting Ephram and on the day of anniversary having a birthday party for him is as much a celebration of our life together as anything else.
Our love for each other has endured now eleven years in marriage and almost fourteen altogether. It has been expressed in various ways over the years from silly inside jokes to four kids. On our anniversary amid friends and family watching a one year old delicately play with chocolate cake was the ultimate expression of our love for each other and how wonderful this life we have built together is.
ONE YEAR OLD TODAY!! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!
We are so thankful that God gave Ephram to us and handpicked him for our family. Today we celebrate the day he was born and rejoice that his birth mom chose life in a very difficult circumstance...for that we are beyond thankful.
Four months have just flown by as I'm sure the summer will as well. Ephram was sick a few times this month with teething issues and just lots of colds. Whenever he's sick he becomes a different baby and my happy boy disappears until he feels better (understandably). On the flip side, when he's sick he turns into a super snuggle boy which I just LOVE! He'll curl into our chests and suck his thumb...priceless. (Note to self: take a picture of that)
Sleeping:
Nothing has changed. He's a champion sleeper at night and during the day. When he misses a nap he sleeps super long for his next one.
Communication:
5/13 Ephram can say: hi, no (he says this most often other than mama and dada), bye, mama, dada, more, and dog (braden says that he's heard him say braden when he's in his crib but we haven't heard it:) He can wave, blow a kiss, give high five, and sign more, all done, and please. He amazes us more everyday. He had little interest in books this month and won't sit in our laps long enough to get through one. I'm hoping this will change:).
May 1- watched my big girl play soccer, got a shot in my hiney, snuggled with my sick baby boy, had a great talk with my big boy, and tried to explain 'gotcha day' to my little girl
May 2- stayed home from church and snuggled a sick baby, played a game with the oldest two, and went to watch my three big kids perform at their choir program
May 3- went on my first HOT run of the season, celebrated kinsey's gotcha day and sang LOTS of times, saw the lightbulb go on during math, taught braden how to draw 12 triangles in one bigger triangle, read lots of books to kinsey, went to swimming lessons where they attempted to learn breast stroke, hung out and talked to cailey about life and babies, made circle pizza and mac and cheese from a box, heard a LOT of screaming from a sick baby who didn't want to nap or go to bed, and gave tons of hugs.
May 4- did level 3 of the shred finally..it was hard after my hot run, talked a lot about not stealing with a certain barbour family member, had a happy not sick anymore boy, watched him learn how to climb on the trampoline, did triples shopping for a friend, watched the girls make vanilla pudding for the same friend, delivered it and visited with tricia, and played princess memory with the girls
May 5- did school for the third time this week:), went to the Y with a couple of great friends and did our first speed training on the treadmill, went to Chick fil A for lunch where Ephram ate chicken nuggets for the first time, enjoyed watching the kiddos eat ice cream, taught Braden how to vacuum with the big vacuum (he wanted to learn), played a math game with the girls (Kinsey's first one), went to the park for a picnic dinner with the Papa's, served at AWANAS, and kissed a boo boo.
May 6- woke up to the sound of screaming and barking (which meant snuggling with a baby), read lots of spring books, heard Kinsey say, "i'm going to ask Jesus in my heart in bed", gave out popsicles, got lots of mother's day paintings from the kids, played an abc, listening, and old maid game, fed Braden LOTS of food, watched the oldest three run through the sprinkler, enjoyed Cailey's dinner that she made, and gave 100's of hugs and snugs:).
May 7- got to spend ALL friday with Brian and the kiddos, went to lazy 5 ranch and fed strange animals from my hand, saw a baby giraffe get fed with a bottle, watched the kids squeal in joy, pushed them on tree swings, saw Braden's eyes light up at a transportation museum, took a walk down memory lane at UNCG, and ate at Ham's (yummy)
May 8- went for a morning run with Beth, watched Cailey's last soccer game, went strawberry picking as a family, prepared bags upon bags of frozen berries, tried to teach ephram to blow kisses, ate chinese food, listened to Brian and Braden play transformers for hours, and cried while Cailey read me, "Love You Forever" on Mother's Day Eve
May 9- woke up to precious handwritten notes on Mother's Day, dressed Ephram in 'authentic korean garb' for his baby dedication, smelled baked ziti, meatballs, and garlic bread prepared by Brian all afternoon, listened to Cailey play piano, got numerous notes, flowers, and pictures from the kiddos, cried when Kinsey brought me a 'note' for Mother's Day that she wrote her name on...by herself...for the first time EVER...without dots, went on a family walk, took my last prednisone, and enjoyed a delicious dinner.
May 10- took cailey and braden for testing (Woodcock Johnson) and was shocked by the results, picked up two younger smiling faces from a friend's house, celebrated all day, went to swimming lessons, went for a run, ate leftovers from Mother's Day, took a bubble bath with Kinsey, and read the bible with Cailey.
May 11- early morning run with awesome weather, organized our bazillion of toiletries under the cabinet with Kinsey, decided I need to stop getting free toiletries, washed the porch with Cailey and Braden, tried to teach Ephram how to do a wooden puzzle, planned school and got curriculum ideas for 2 hours with Janet (thanks!), and cashed in on ECB's hours before they expired.
May 12- got school done fast, did speed training with Kelly, ate lunch out, came home put kids to bed or play while preparing for being out the next 6 hours, took Kinsey to her consult for a mole she needs to get removed (felt emotional and scared), went to hang out at Kelly's house for dinner, went to the AWANA for awards nights, had some proud mommy moments at the awards, fed the kids lots of sugar to celebrate (at 8:00 pm), stopped at Walgreen's and got 4 Soft Scrubs for .68:)!
May 13- got some great deals at HT, listened to lots of reading, got my niece and nephew for the next 4 days, went on a walk with them, watched sweet helpers, got lots of hugs, almost ripped out my hair during naptime (and had toddler Kinsey flashbacks), was never so happy to see Brian come home from work, crashed in bed.
May 14- woke up to the smell of cinnamon rolls, cleaned the downstairs to the sound of kids playing in the backyard, ran 4 miles (3 on a treadmill and one on the track) with Kelly, took 6 kids 7 and under out to lunch, had a new plan that WORKED at naptime, set up the easel and paint for the kids, cleaned yellow paint off of ephram (sweet kinsey gave him a paintbrush covered in yellow paint), did numerous crafts, went on a walk, watched the 6 kiddos make pizza, gave lots of baths, crashed in bed.
May 15- slept in, ate a yummy FREE Fat Daddy's cheeseburger, watched the kids faces turn into butterflies and dinosaurs, watched two angels fall asleep at naptime, counted to 16 many times while the 6 kiddos took turns jumping on the trampoline, took 627 pictures, went on a date with Cailey to the mall, crashed in bed.
May 16- woke up for an early run (VERY humid), came home to six shining faces, played, packed for two of them then said goodbye:(, organized bathroom cabinets, the pantry, and the front hall closet, clipped coupons, got over 14 inches of hair cut off, felt terrible when my computer hard drive crashed...went hours without it at bedtime (so weird), watched the Survivor finale and was sad at the outcome, sweet brian lent me his computer while we wait FIVE days for a new hard drive.
May 17- didn't sleep well last night from worrying about Kinsey, sent Kinsey with Daddy for her mole removal, found out it's not as bad as we were first told, did stickers and old maid with kinsey (and Cailey), played connect four with cailey, did grammar and math with braden, answered lots of questions, was scared to death when i found ephram HALFWAY up our stairs, watched the last swimming lesson of the season, ate "jappa pohn's" (according to kinsey), blogged, found poison ivy ALL OVER my legs and arms, bought the expensive soap to hopefully beat it before it gets bad, itched a lot, got coupons ready for super doubles.
May 18- set out to run 3 miles but ran 5 in BEAUTIFUL weather, put bleach and expensive soap on my ivy all day in hopes it'll go away, had a sick baby with a fever who i got to hold a lot, played the owl game with kinsey three times, read The Chocolate Touch to Cailey and Braden, took the sick baby to the dr., ate homemade pasta sauce, got awesome deals at HT, and watched my favorite show (The Biggest Loser).
May 19- went to HT for day 1 of super doubles and found out that raleigh LOVES bbq sauce, did speed work with Kelly and Beth and tried to run on 12.0 for 10 seconds...didn't work so i stayed at 8.0, played lots of games with the kiddos, washed with the expensive soap...a lot, went on a walk, blew bubbles, pulled weeds, went to an AWANAS leadership dinner, and crashed in bed.
May 20- added mileage and got to 15 1/2 for the week so far, got great deals at HT again, made bracelets with the kiddos, baked a carrot cake for Brian (just cuz), watched Braden do all these LEGO challenges, played games with Cailey, listened to Kinsey read "at" for the first time, chased a baby off the stairs over and over again, sat and talked with a neighbor, and chatted with my buffalo:).
May 21- woke up to bok bok moo, made yet another trip to HT and found bbq sauce finally:), listened to reading, took the kids to Lake Lynn with Kelly, played perfection with the big kids for almost an hour, played games with Kinsey, read many books to ephram, prayed with cailey...A LOT, sent her with brian for her swimteam tryouts, rejoiced with her when she made it, went to a farewell dinner for Sonja (who is moving:(, ate YUMMY chocolate cake, laughed A LOT, and caught up with sweet ladies who I don't see enough.
May 22- went with the whole family to HT and made my hubby proud, ran more errands, celebrated big girl's swimteam accomplishment with Chick fil A milkshakes, snuggled a sweet green snot grumpy baby, delivered groceries to a neighbor in need, bought the big boy a really NICE new bike and watched him break it in, and enjoyed a really nice homemade dinner together as a family.
May 23- woke to a squeaking door, got sick, matched up coupons, slept a lot, snuggled with my kiddos, and went to bed early.
May 24- went on a run, listened to reading, did more HT shopping, went to swimming lessons and swim team practice, ate a super yummy dinner (shrimp and pasta), chatted with my buffalo, cheered on the three big kids, crashed in bed early.
May 25- cleaned, barely made it through a 3 mile run (thanks to the humidity), helped a friend with coupons, met with our landscape designer:), went to HT three times, packed, stepped in human pee, cleaned up dog pee, researched plants, and watched my favorite show's season finale.
May 26- did speed work with Beth and Laura, watched 8 kiddos play together all day, gave lots of hugs, caught up with my buffalo, had 4 brown kids and one very white kid in the big tub, taught ephram how to drink from a straw, ate a yummy dessert with Laura, and had a sleepover!
May 27- went on a run before coming home to 8 kids eating breakfast, packed up the car for a road trip to the homeschool conference with Kelly and Gretchen, said bye to my sweet family, spent $, laughed, stayed up until 1:30 am talking to the girls, and said, "goodnight jim bob:)".
May 28- woke up early to bright sunshine, ran on a rickety 80's treadmill while watching Regis and Kelly with Kelly, ate hotel food, went to sessions, researched curriculum, missed a lot of calls, bought more things, saw lots of familiar faces, was saved from the rain at dinner, and talked to old friends.
May 29- bought more curriculum, went to sessions, had a nice chat with a friend, went to chick fil a w/o kids, was THRILLED to see the kiddos after two days and got lots of hugs, played games, gave presents, smelled cinnamon bread baking, watched the kiddos play outside, looked at our new flower beds put in by Brian, and slept well.
May 30- woke up to my sweet baby, chatted at Sunday school, served in the baby class, went to lunch with 20 friends (including kids), rested with the family, went to a party for two princesses turning 3, enjoyed our air conditioned house, and blogged.
May 31- was EXCITED to have hubby home all day, tried to run but only lasted a little b/c of my ankles, ran errands with the fam, cleaned the house, read lots to the baby, washed marker off the wall from a girl with pigtails, found cut up pieces of poster from the same girl, gave e pineapple juice (through a straw), had the eshleman's over for a yummy dinner, played games with them (and the fam), talked, and laughed (a lot!)
