Birthday Boy!

I started this blog two years ago as a way for family and friends to accompany us on an incredible journey. Another year has flown by, and Logan's birthday gives us a day to celebrate the huge blessing he's been to us. So its that time again. . . time for me to scroll back to the very early posts, reading words of hope and uncertainty while tears roll down my face. I'd like to start out by thanking each of you for taking interest in our little family. We have been so richly blessed.

Logan turned two on Sunday! He loves to sing, sometimes he'll resemble a familiar tune, but often crafting his own words and custom jingles. He loves the heck out of his little sister, and he loves to make us laugh. We've also reached a HUGE milestone. Although he started off small, the expectation from the beginning was that he would be caught up (in both growth and development) by age 2. So here we are. He hasn't had his 2 week check, but he's got to land himself a solid spot on the growth chart. We have a checkup pending with ophthalmology, and after that I think it will be official that we have a healthy, normal kid!

Happy Birthday Logan. You bring true joy to each of my days, I've learned so so much from you about you and about me and about life in general. I can't wait to see what life has in store for you this coming year.

Staycation

A few photos borrowed from my awesome sister-in-law:

My staycation is over, and I have returned to work. I know you're supposed to feel refreshed and ready to go, but does anyone reeeeally feel rested and refreshed? I did everything I could last week to prove to myself not to quit my day job. For instance:

-I tried my hand at carpentry and built Logan a sandbox for his birthday. While this started out to be a seemingly simple task, as with most things, it turned into a comedy of errors. Long story short--we have a 6x6 square-(ish) structure in the backyard that surrounds a small quantity of sand, we have an assortment of 1/4 inch drill bits, and are proud owners of a new right angle!

-I made a run at the next Cake Wars competiton and with the help of my niece and sister, created a cake for Logan's birthday. We decided it was probably worthy of a blue ribbon. . . (in the beginning cake decorator's class)

-I pretended I was a landscaper and added a(nother) row of pavers to the patio. While I can't promise we won't have to balance the patio table with a matchbook, I'm pretty sure the patio will serve its purpose of holding my chair, which will hold me, which will hold my cold beverage of choice.

-We stayed fairly busy but it was such fun! I loved loved spending awesome time with Dale and the kids. It helps to put everything into perspective, and I loved being able to pour myself into my family for a few days. Ordinarily, I would probably hate every minute of the aforementioned activities, but I'll do anything for my kids and it feels good to look out and see things, knowing we did it ourselves. (I don't care to make a habit of it, however. . . so hi ho hi ho, its off to work I go again tomorrow)

This week

I took a few vacation days. I guess you could say we're taking a staycation. We're loving sleeping in, (the kids are even on board!) eating lunch late, and playing in the yard. We're trying to be productive; we're still working on the yard and patio and hoping that some day soon the fence around the back yard will be completed.

We had a wonderful holiday weekend (made even more wonderful by the fact that I didn't go to work today. . . did I already mention that?) We had several highlights, and got to spend time with a number of family members that we don't get to see often enough. I would like to share a few with you:

-I asked a 90+ year old aunt how she was getting along. She said, "I have a lot of aches and pains and am still waiting for the golden years." Then, with a wink and a smile, "but I suppose they're a-waitin for me in heaven." Amen sister. Thank you for renewing my hope in heaven, where there's no hurt, struggle, or disappointment.

-Logan (my timid child) shouted (yes, shouted) "Yay, yay" because he was having so much fun playing.

-I got to try out a few new eats on the grill, which means I didn't have to heat up the kitchen. We tried pizzas, roast and veggies, and biscuits. I think I'll keep tinkering with it because things cook so quickly.

-We watched an amazing fireworks show, put on by a relative. It was fun to be surrounded by family and so close to the action. Logan settled down and enjoyed them, and Kate fell fast asleep (she was so wiped out I checked her pulse)

-I got to go the library here in town for the first time today. We have a beautiful library, I just haven't had occasion to head over there. It was so much fun. Logan loved playing with the puppets and lounging in the chair. We also shopped a couple of businesses here in town that I don't get to frequent.

My little firecrackers

I thought I'd throw in a picture of the house and yard, since it consumes most of our free time (and will look much different post fence).

Thanks to everyone who was a part of our awesome weekend! We're looking forward to heading home for the county fair later this week (brings back such great memories!)