Grateful 2012:February Edition

Meetings that bring change. Time to reflect. Productive work meetings. Working out. Restful nights of sleep. Opportunities. Toilets. Lazy days. Gifts from Mike and Melissa. Brother Ben. Shelly. Napping pants. Snowman. Fluffy flakes. Jon. Water. Dreaming about our future. Coulter family. Radio stations. Resting. Moscato wine. Gift basket from Koda/Becky. House projects. Article from Melissa with unexpected advice. Ahmed. Jon. Beth and Zach. Gift from Steinken's. Red velvet cake. Cuddles with M. Help. A special journal. Jon. The family we create. M's truthfulness. Jon. Wine and conversations that bring truth. Sherri-lyn and Sandy. French toast with strawberries. Sundance. M's beautiful heart. Speaking truth. Sledding. Sherri-lyn. Dave's help. Soccer goal laughter. Beautiful snowfall. Love letters. Growth. Lent and opportunities for renewal. Power of stories. Friendship with Melissa (and missing this because it helps me remember how amazing it is). Handwriting. Celebrating M. Naps. Aunties and Uncles. Warm homes. Headache medicine. Birth of M. Those who belong in this village that is raising him into a beautiful strong adult. Thai food. Friendship with Colleen (seriously don't know what I would do without her some days). Video of M. Chatting with Mark. Hearing some truths and challenges to conquer.

Happy Leap Year!

Woke up to this wonderful video in our inbox.

So thankful they recorded some of these silly memories. We can't believe how little he is (and what his cute little voice sounded like). Feeling more eager for these special people to close by again, creating even more special memories.

A Multi-tasking Man After My Own Heart!

Birthday Celebrations!

We started celebrating M's 5th birthday bright and early on Saturday morning. He was told that we could have a birthday breakfast of his choice and without hesitation he chose bagels and coffee. Don't worry - we didn't follow through on the coffee bit.

After we walked downtown for breakfast, we headed back home to get ready for his birthday party with friends. This year we held his birthday at House of Pounce (a great place to take the kids on one of the many cold winter days we get here in Laramie). Some of his friends met us at House of Pounce and we spent the next several hours bouncing, singing, bouncing, eating, bouncing, playing, bouncing ..... you get the idea.

We couldn't let the day of his actual birthday go without celebration, so after a LONG day of work we headed home to have special birthday dinner (his choice of spaghetti) with Aba and Uncle Jon.

Another Dog

Sledding

We headed up to Happy Jack today, taking M. for his first sledding experience. We had a great time and discovered that our little man has quite the brave spirit.

An Early Birthday Present

We surprised the little man with an early birthday present today....

Not a week goes by where he doesn't express his desire for a brother or sister to come home and live with him. There isn't much that we can do to make that happen, so we started looking for a dog to adopt instead. Sundance was found through a local animal rescue and the first thing M said when he saw her picture was in regards to her "cute bendy ears". We completed all of the necessary paperwork and passed with flying colors from our references, so we made the drive over to Cheyenne this morning to pick her up.

We dropped M off with Auntie Beth and Uncle Zach so we could go check things out before making the final decision.

It's been a pretty fun day and we have especially loved hearing all of the conversations M is having with Sundance like:

"I know your a little nervous but it will be okay because I am going to keep you forever."

"You can sit and watch movies with me if you want to.... well when mama and daddy say I can watch a movie. Sometimes you just have to be patient."

"This is our house Sundance and now it is your house too. Just don't eat my toys."

Another :(

The little man is on round two of not feeling so well and slept until 8:15 this morning. After doing a little bit of morning gymnastics/stretching (?) he crawled back in bed and stayed there for the majority of the day. So thankful for Uncle Jon, who came and helped out while we had work obligations.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We made homemade crayons for M's valentines. He really enjoyed the crayon making part, not the signing his name 24 times part... :)

The Making of Frosty