I Almost Had to Use It

Some things just last a lot longer than you anticipate. In fact, most of the time you forget about said things. And, suddenly, they reappear. They reappear when you'd least expect it. Such as, say, when you are coming back to your home after dropping ALL the kids at school and you realize that you accidentally left the garage door open. Feeling fairly sure that no one actually used this opportunity to let themselves in you walk nonchalantly into your kitchen, walk past the opening to the dining room.........and see this: You must realize that this balloon that just fails to die (not unlike the real Darth Vader) is the exact same height as me and when you see it in your periphery it nearly causes a coronary. After I collected myself and realized that it was a stinkin' balloon and not a crazed maniac trying to get me I laughed and vowed that it would NOT startle me like that again. Until it showed up a couple days later behind the door of my laundry room...

I NEARLY had to pull out my karate skills. What? You didn't know that I know Kung Fu? Well, some I learned from a panda but back in the 90's I made it all.the.way. to yellow belt in Wado Ryu.

I'm just sayin'. I've got some serious hidden skillz. So, if you're planning on attacking me any time soon you'd better give it a second thought. There is no telling when all these suppressed roundhouse kicks and gut punches will resurface.

The Mandatory Snow Post

I love snow like the one we experienced today. It comes in while you're sleeping (so as not to interfere with the day's plans), gives you lots of fun the next morning, and then quickly disappears so you're not stranded at the house for days on end. And, you don't have to fight the crowds at the store in order to get milk and bread. The boys were excited to see the whiteness that covered our yard. So excited that Grant woke me at about 1:35am to ask me if I knew that there was snow everywhere. "Well, son, not really......being that I'm SLEEPING!" I think his original reason for getting up was a bad dream but who knows. Cade was siked because we had bought a new sled about a month ago. I thought for sure that it would be Murphy's Law that since we now actually OWNED a sled, we wouldn't get any more snowfall for the year. If you remember, last year our redneck family attempted to sled down our hill on a piece of box that I had torn. Totally embarrassing.




Bobby tried his hand at a triple decker sled down the hill. It didn't go over too well but that didn't stop the smiles.

You can't hang around this crowd too long without hearing "OHHHH, my TENDERS!!!" which is exactly what Rhett is yelling after receiving a swift moving snowball to the "area" in this pic. Thank you Kung Tu Fanda (Rhett language) for instilling this ever so useful statement into our everyday vocabulary.

I got my turn to try out the new sled before the snow melted away. By the way, I love snow outfits. This jacket of Bobby's really just hugs my curves in all the right places. Makes me feel like a woman.

A great big woman.

Rhett braved the sled alone but then decided to ride piggyback with Bobby. Previously, I would wait for him at the bottom and then stop him before he slid into the creek at the bottom of the hill. This time Bobby was doing the stopping but Rhett didn't get it. I took this pic just as the concern crept upon his face. Seconds later he screamed, "OH NO" and bailed.

He had a lot of fun just surveying the snow and making snowballs.

And, this post wouldn't be complete if I didn't add a little bit of this.

Frigid temps and snowballs can't even keep this crack from surfacing!

Even Little Minds Dream About It

This is the art work that I pulled from Grant's folder this week. He dictated to his teacher that it was a picture of him flying to El Salvador to pick up his baby sister (which she wrote at the top). He told me the same thing when I asked him to tell me about his drawing. I noticed some other things about the picture that I was curious about. Such as the three red crosses on the left hand side. I thought, "Hmmmm. Jesus and the two thieves? shoulder shrug. Maybe symbolism of God's hand in our adoption?"..........Uhh. No. According to the original artist, that would be "three battle droids attempting to shoot down the plane". Didn't I see all the droid bullets showering through the air? Yeah. Didn't catch that. Even the sweet moments somehow get tangled up with Star Wars make believe. He didn't elaborate on the person with big hair and a blue stick body drowning in the gray abyss. I didn't ask. Some things are better left to my own interpretation.

In case you're wondering, we haven't received any new news on the adoption front. We have reason to believe that good news is on the horizon but waiting has been the central theme in this adoption so we'll just keep on keepin' on! We'll keep you posted.

Wrapping Up the Birssday

So, seriously.....this is the last post about Grant's birthday. He's milked it for all it's worth this year. I thought my cake lady was going to be a no show this year but she came through for me and crafted a storm trooper cake at Grant's request. Once again she did a pretty good job. Grant suggested that he get "just the piece with the storm trooper head" and I suggested that he "guess again" and gave him just the eye instead.This little hoorah was just for the fam. My parents and Bobby's parents came bearing gifts and unfortunately, due to illness, the cousins didn't get to make it.

This is my dad and Rhett.
Bobby's dad got a shot with the birthday boy.

As Grant was opening his presents he got to the bottom of the bag that Bobby's mother had given him and found these:

I have never in my life seen a 5 year old get so excited about All Bran crackers. He squealed and hugged the box and thanked Nana over and over for getting them for him. All the while the Star Wars ship and Indiana Jones figurines he had also gotten were laying by the wayside. If I had known that all it took to get him jazzed up were some high fiber crackers I could've saved some time and money during the planning stages. Kids........when am I ever going to figure them out??

Star Wars Sleepover

Some very interesting characters showed up to my house to eat popcorn and pizza, watch a movie, and play until they almost exploded all in the name of celebration. Grant has definitely pulled off a true "birthday week". He has one more family party on Saturday! One of the first things he had to do was show off his prized Star Wars music card. I must say everyone was thoroughly impressed. There were lots of "coooooool"s and "saaaweeett"s during the presentation.

After a very informal, off key.......I guess you'd call it a "round" singing of the birthday song since no one was actually singing the same part at the same time, we moved straight to presents. Callan could hardly contain himself much longer being that he had brought a present that Grant would, quote "die for". He was right. These Lego's trumped my birthday cupcakes (no one ate ANY of them!! except me and Bobby.) Then, much to Bobby's chagrin he was coerced into building a Lego miner machine.

After that it was off to the basement to watch the new Clone Wars. What timing! It was an hour long special and for these 4 Star Wars livin' boys it was a small slice of heaven.

Little juice box, little popcorn, little stayin' up late.........little lovin' life.

I did make everyone brush their teeth before bedtime even though more than one insisted that their mom's don't make them brush. I'm choosing not to believe that. We had a tent set up in the playroom (thanks Brent and Ashley) and it was certainly one of the coolest things ever to get to sleep with your buddies in a tent in the house.Bobby gets "dad of the year" award because after spending so much time building the Lego set he then read a Star Wars book that just makes me want to slice my thigh. It's so long and has words I can't pronounce (nor care to learn to pronounce...... and if I get corrected by a 5 and 6 year old over reading them phonetically one more time.......). Anyway, he read. They loved it. More than once I heard "you're so funny Mr. Bobby!".........and "Owww!! My tenders!!" followed by giggling. Just for the record, Bobby wasn't it on that second one. It was totally unrelated to the first thing I overheard. Just wanted to clarify that :)
Finally it was time for real sleeping. We gave everyone the rules ( no getting up before it's daylight. No running around the house in the middle of the night. No waking up our friends while they are sleeping. And no, playing with Lego's in the middle of the night that you have hidden in a secret pocket in the tent is not a choice).

Bobby and I were impressed that we didn't hear them giggling or whispering past 10:30 and then the first footsteps and gunshot noises (you know all boys make that noise) weren't heard until 5:50am. You may gasp but for those of us that have lived through it...... We consider that a Victory!

It's A Birssday!!!

It's official. Grant has gone from sweet little baby........ To a big, bad FIVE year old! Today marks his official birthday (or birssday if you're speaking Grant language) and he was able to don the birthday crown that somehow has become tradition since I crafted one for Rhett on a whim on his bday back in October.

He blew out candles that were in his birthday pancakes this morning.

His brothers were pumped about the birthday too because they knew they were getting some pancakes. It's really no secret but I'm not really the best breakfast cooker so it's a real treat when I actually make any type of breakfast item!

Aunt Tracie surprised Grant by showing up today with a Star Wars balloon bunch in tow. He thought it was "so awesome"!

Then Gramma and Granpa popped in with a little Indiana Jones attire and just made Grant's day. He's been asking for this whip for forever. I'm just glad I don't have to hear, "well, Carter has one at his house....." anymore!!

One of the major highlights was the card that my parents gave him. When you open it it plays the Star Wars theme song. I was really glad that they got him that. I just can't get enough of that song, you know? I mean, I never really get to hear it and this way Grant can just carry it with him wherever he goes......like in the car, to his bed at night, outside the door when I'm trying to go to the bathroom in peace and quiet..... lots of places. It'll be great......

His party isn't actually until the weekend. Tonight he gets to pick wherever he wants to go for dinner. I have a feeling I'm going to be eating Cracker Barrell. I know some of you readers must love that place but for me, all I can do is pray about it. Maybe some divine intervention can change his mind.

Nothing But Blue Skies!

I LOVE days like today. After we were finished with our normal Monday routine we came home and went straight outside. The breeze was blowing just enough, nothing but blue skies everywhere I looked, and a temperature that just brings a smile to my face. I know this is short lived this time of year but I'm going to soak up every second of it. So were two of my boys. Poor Cade.....I'm always a little sad for him when it's so pretty outside and he's doing things like learning to read well, practicing addition and subtraction, and eating a cafeteria lunch (by his own choosing). That's life though. Grant and Rhett got in some much needed sunshine and played a little sandbox.

I spent my time outside trying to figure out my new camera. Here's my favorite picture of the day.
Rhett also perfected his superman swing.

It's been a low key kind of day at the Morgan's. This taste of unseasonably warm weather has me itching for spring! It will be here before I know it........then the unbearable hottness of summer will be upon us and I'll be wishing for fall. Then there goes another season and another year..........time passes too quickly these days.