Gabey turns 5!

Gabey-goo.

sweet thumb-sucking cuddler

Makes mom melt.

I can't believe that he is 5!

Of all my children, he is the one that I would just like to keep in compact form, so I can always have him near me:

-asking to come to the grocery store, when everyone else wants to stay home with Dad.

-telling me I am pretty and he loves me

-ready at any moment to have a story read to him

-climbing into my bed in the morning for some snuggles before starting the day

-making up poetry like:

Once there was a Raccoon and he met a

Ibex and then they met a

Iguanadon and then they met a

Allasaurus and then they met a

Amabeledon and then they met a

Diplodocus and then they met a

Liopleridon and that was the end.
(all real creatures, mostly prehistoric)

The day before his birthday I told him that he just needed to stay 4 because it fits him so well. He let me know that he was going to be 5 (there is something so magical about that whole-hand-age), but he said, "Don't worry, Mom. I will still cuddle you up!"

Gabe's jungle-themed party

Gabe says, "The best thing I got for my birthday was my Ibex, and my favorite thing we did is adventuring to find animals . . .but not real ones, toy ones!"

Beauty through Eli's eyes

The other day Eli runs into the house exclaiming, "Mom! Mom! You have to see this bird that Gatto killed!"

Now, Gatto (the cat who has adopted us) kills numerous birds, lizards, mice, moles, etc., and loves to leave them on the porch as little gifts. I have seen many, and was in the middle of something, so I was going to decline the new opportunity.

Then Eli went on, "It is the prettiest bird you've ever seen. It is all red with a blue belly."

We don't have birds like that here, so I got up and went outside to see it.

This is what I saw:

It is a pretty ordinary bird--the kind that are always lying dead on the front porch. It is sweet and so I would have felt sad that it was killed, but I wouldn't have thought much more of it, since it is just one of the many little brown birds in the yard.

Eli is color-blind. He wasn't trying to trick me into coming out. He truly saw something beautiful in this simple little bird.

I often wonder what Eli sees and feel sad for lack of color in his world. I am such a color nut--it makes me so happy to see bright, happy colors. But this day I learned a sweet, touching lesson--Eli doesn't see what I see, but maybe sometimes what he sees is better.

That little bird was acknowledged and appreciated by Eli in a way that, perhaps, no one else could appreciate him.

Maybe we should all be a bit more "color-blind" at times.

Thanks, Eli.

Christmas in July

Yes, it is now officially August--wow.

This last week--in honor of the end of July, we decided to have Christmas in July. I did this for the women in Relief Society and then for my boys on friday morning.

The boys and I got out our Christmas quilt to sit on while we sang Christmas songs and read our favorite Christmas stories. We made fun snowflakes while the fan blew on us to keep us from sweating. So fun.

There is just something so magical about Christmas time. So just one time a year? I think not.

We listen to Christmas music all year and my favorite lullabies are definitely Away in a Manger and Silent Night (they are so sweet).

I get all happy inside when Gabe picks How the Grinch Stole Christmas for an afternoon movie, or when one of the boys pulls out The First Christmas Tree, or Christmas Oranges, or The Light Of Christmas (love this one), etc. to read on just a normal day of the year. The warm, wonderful feelings that come from these stories are exactly what we need in our everyday lives.

Today we were all home from church (except for David) due to bowel issues 3/5 of us were experiencing. We did church at home--each boy gave a talk in "primary", and we each bore our testimony in "Sacrament meeting". Later we watched The Lamb of God, and The Testaments.

It was so wonderful to ponder Christ's life and the atonement, after talking about the joy of His birth this week.

I am touched each time I watch these films and remember just what He did for each of us. I reminded my children that He truly knows them and loves them--they let me know that they already knew that (what a great gift for them!).

So, no matter what day of the year it is--to each of you a Merry Day-to-remember-Christ-and-to-feel-His-spirit!"

on a side note:

Gabey loves to create crazy creations with our pictures on picnik.com. This is one of his latest--it is actually David, Isaac, and Gabe in the pool behind our house, but Gabe made them into crazy aliens, with a little help from mom (I just followed the instructions given me by him).

He wanted me to share this up-lifting image--maybe not real fitting with today's theme, but . . .