Calvin turns 7

Yowzers, seven, already!  Calvin requested that we celebrate his birthday at Grampy and Grammy's house with his Henry cousins.  So, that is what we did.  We had to postpone his party once because he was sick (along with his brother and sister). We ended up celebrating on his actual birthday, January 31st.  He was super happy.  And just as contented as always.  Paul and I always remark at how nothing seems to phase Calvin. He's very laid back.  As you can see below we got him a big LEGO set, Helm's Deep, to be exact, but we didn't bring the big box out right away. Paul wrapped up a small pocket knife for him and he acted as if that is all we got Calvin.  He was genuinely delighted and never asked about another gift!  Of course, we pulled it out and he was THRILLED!  

                                          

 He requested cupcakes for his cake...and he wanted rings on them and he wanted the icing yellow, orange and blue.  I did my best.  We found these Angry Bird rings on yellow frosted cupcakes, and I also found some blue frosted ones.  =)

 Above is Calvin with Adele to the left and Erin beside her and PJ and Sean on the right.  Ian was home sick...we missed him!  We had a meal of roast beef, mac and cheese (his favorite), mashed potatoes, oriental slaw and fruit salad.

 Erin made Calvin this really cool box to put all his treasures in!  He LOVES this gift.  He keeps all his birthday gifts in it!

 Grammy and Grampy gave Calvin these action figures from The Hobbit.  Again, pleased as pie!

 Nanny and Pappy gave Calvin a LEGO watch, sunglasses (see below) and a LEGO t-shirt...it's hard to get the t-shirt off of him!

 Well, I had to put this picture in of Elizabeth admiring the new toys.  Isn't she cute?!

 Seanie made a light saber for Calvin.  Again, a very creative gift and Calvin was thrilled.

 Loving the shades...with the tag!

 Excited about Helm's Deep above and below, the finished product combined with a castle that Paul and the boys made over Christmas...so it is quite a set up!

It goes without saying, but I am proud of my little man.  I still call him my baby boy, because he still is my baby boy!  As I mentioned earlier, Calvin is so laid back and I pray that the Lord will use that in Calvin's life to bring much glory to Christ.

Elizabeth turns 1!

 Saturday evening we celebrated the first year of Elizabeth's life.  I say it every year for each child, but honestly, this time I mean it, Where did the year go?  It seems she was just an infant and now she's a toothy, spunky little explorer, soaking up information and a quick learner.  We are so blessed by Elizabeth's life...and I can't imagine life without her.  Yeah, I know that is cliche as well, but it's true!

 We had an intimate party for Elizabeth.  Grammy and Grampy, who have never been around for a first birthday of any of our children, came over to help us celebrate.  I made some carrot cake with cream cheese icing...and this kid LOVED the icing.  There was a good bit of the actual cake all over the floor near her chair...but the icing was devoured!

 Paul gave her a pretty good sized piece and when that piece was all gone, she asked for more...so of course, we indulged her!

 We then moved onto the gift giving/opening time.  Of course, the older kids had just as much fun as Elizabeth did helping her open her gifts!

 She LOVES her ball.

 And her duck!

 PJ made her this sweet card, it says, "faith, hope and love but the greatist of these is love." amen, PJ.

 Opening her gift...I apologize for the Christmas wrapping paper...but hey, she doesn't know the difference and it was all I had! Inside the box is a baby swing for her. This child loves to swing!

And, Grammy and Grampy gave her this adorable back pack along with a beautiful dress and some new big girl sippy cups.  The backpack is for all our upcoming travels...what a great gift! Thank you!
It was a fabulous ending to a fabulous day.  I will post more about what we did earlier on Elizabeth's birthday.  She was well celebrated and loved.  We are so thankful for this little girl.  I can't wait to see her personality blossom more in this next year.

Birthday happenings

I had a great birthday. To start, my birthday fell on our day off so Paul gave me a morning to sleep in! That is always nice! And, then we did some celebrating at lunch time. Paul got me this book, which I have been hinting at for some weeks now. =) And, he got me a beautiful painting of a Thai village (but also looks like it could be in Africa) and a Thai tissue box holder and a really, really, really cute pencil with a frog on it. I must get pics of these things on this blog. I often feel badly for Paul because he married me...because I am just not a great gift giver. But, Paul, on the other hand always seems to know what a person will enjoy. I often go to him for ideas for friends, family, etc. He just knows what people like and his ideas are always so unique. Anyway, the book is about having a "greener" Christmas. The author lives in Britain so some of the recipes are truly British but much of the book is simple crafty ideas using reused, recycled objects. I've been pouring over it the past few days thinking of what I have here in our house that I could "whip" up.



The rest of my birthday we decorated our Christmas tree, listened to Christmas music and then our friend Catherine took me out for dinner and a show! It was great. One of the international schools was having their fall musical and they were doing "The Wizard of Oz." So, we went and enjoyed this timeless story. I need to say that these high schoolers had beautiful voices and good acting too. It is always interesting to me to watch a "western" play or movie with Asian actors and in an Asian setting. For example, when the tornado came ripping thru Kansas, instead of Dorothy's uncle yelling, "a twister is coming" he says, "a cyclone is coming!!!" It made me chuckle...your average Asian wouldn't know what a tornado or twister is...thus the change. =)

I also want to say "thank you" to all who sent e-cards and well wishes for my big 3-0. Yikes! I might as well get used to it, huh?! It was a great day.