COSI (few words, many photos)

For President's Day, Joe and I took the kids up to Columbus for an overnight getaway.  We spent the day at the local children's science museum, COSI, then stayed at a hotel and ate and swam and ate and swam some more (Gabe was in heaven!)

Having looked through these pictures, I realize there isn't a single one of me.  (I need to make an effort to get in front of the camera...jeez).

Some favorites: 

The old-fashioned towns of Progress.

Sending a telegraph.

A real-working pinball machine!

You should have seen Joe go with those hula hoops!

Refracting light with mirrors and laser beams.

Constructing roads/bridges and building imaginations!

Pulling her own weight (I could NOT do this one).

The safe way to feel tornado-like winds.

Strong enough to lift a car?

Gabe's favorite display:  100 years worth of Cracker Jack toys!

Having been so busy with work, school, baseball and friends, it was great to get away and just be the five of us for the weekend.  I love to see my kids have fun with each other, and COSI was a place where a teenager, a pre-teen and a first-grader (along with their parents) could learn something new and have a good time.  How often can you say that?

Boring?

Maybe.

Drama-free?

Definitely.

Today I woke up.  Twice.  Once to pack Elijah's lunch and send him off to school.  Again, to pack Isabel and Gabe's lunches and get them off to school.  I ate breakfast, checked my emails, went to the dentist, went to the library, ate lunch and read my new library magazines, did laundry, ran a few miles at the Y, came home, made dinner, helped Gabe with his homework, and typed this blog post.  Tonight, I will read a book, watch some TV, love on my husband, then go to sleep at a reasonable hour.

Sounds perfectly boring.

But I don't see it that way.  I see it as peaceful.  Blessed.  Having the opportunity to be home five days out of the week is perfect for me.  I may not be climbing Mt. Everest or visiting the exotic beaches of Bora Bora, but I am fulfilling my dream of being a mom, a wife, a home-maker.

And I love it.

Which isn't to say that I don't ever want to visit Bora Bora.  I do.  It's on my Life List, Jenny!

Melt my heart

There is nothing like having a teenager and a pre-teen to make you appreciate the love of your first-grader, who doesn't care if it isn't cool to show affection to his mom.

There are so many things about Gabe that make me smile on a daily basis.  The way he remembers to feed his fish each morning.  The way he RUNS home from the bus stop every single day, bursting through the door with news of his day and a big hug for me.  His enthusiasm is contagious, and I love it.

His talent for being creative with his Legos is unmatched.  Joe was ready to pitch these styrofoam cubes, but Gabe begged to play with them for a while.  We had visions of tiny white pieces all over the living room, but instead he built this...

and played with it for days.  Awesome.

For Valentine's day, his first grade teacher had the students write a love letter to a friend or family member.  This is what Gabe wrote:

To Mom with love,

I will show my love for you by:

1.  Feeding the dog.

2.  Give-ing hugs.

3.  Loading the towels (into the washer).

4.  Watching shows together.

5.  Love-ing.

Love, Gabe

My heart melted reading this.  I promptly hung it on the fridge, and you know I will be keeping it forever.  I thank God for this boy of mine.

The Love Factor

We love because God first loved us.

1 John 4:19

We were twenty-one when we met.

After two months of being together nearly every day, we thought we knew what love was...

A year later, we said our vows, and we really thought we knew what love was...

Fifteen years after that, we knew we knew what love was...

But you know the greatest thing of all?  Each time we know love, it grows.  Our love at the beginning wasn't ignorant, it was just new...the bud of a flower that had just begun to bloom.  With each new experience as a couple, that flower bloomed a bit more.  And even on this day, our sixteenth Valentine's Day as a couple, that flower still isn't finished blooming.  Our love has weathered many storms, and has only gotten stronger.  That flower stands tall, growing more beautiful with each passing year.

Happy Valentine's Day.  May this day fill your heart with God's love.

Counting

Warm sunshine on a winter day in February.

Hot running water and good smelling soap.

A table laden with delicious snacks for Superbowl Sunday.

Health.  My own, my kids', my husband's.

A house that we have made a home.  A home where our children and their friends love to hang out.

A solid marriage.

One more month until I am finished with school.

More good friends than a girl could ask for.

Sisters.  Amazing, smart, talented and loving sisters.

A challenging job that pays well and still allows me to be what I most want to be:  a mom.

The internet.  The connections that it allows, between friends and family and even complete strangers who become friends.  Love that.

Some days are easier than others to count your blessings.  Today was an easy day...I could probably add another hundred things that I am thankful for.  I want to save this list for those hard days, when what I don't have tries to beat down what I do have while in an ungrateful state of mind.  (Luckily, those days don't come very often.)

What are you most thankful for today?  What do you do when those ungrateful days come along?  Does sunshine in February make you smile?

Run, Forrest, run!

I (finally) got a pedometer this week.

My hospital is sponsoring an incentive to earn money for the amount of activity you log by the end of 2012.  The goal is 7000 steps per day.  I can earn up to $500 if I consistently log my steps and other exercising onto their website.

Today, I proudly posted my goal on Facebook, to hold myself more accountable.

When I received a bunch of comments almost immediately, I felt so encouraged.

Til I read them a bit closer...

"7000 miles per day! Are you an airplane???"

and

" Is that Heather Kelsey or Forrest Gump?"

Rather than type 7000 steps as my daily goal, I typed 7000 "miles".

I am still laughing to myself!

Do you own a pedometer?  Could you walk 7000 steps a day?  What about 7000 miles?

Fairy garden

A friend of mine had a fairy garden on her patio last year, and Isabel and I fell in love with the idea.

On this sunny and almost-warm January day, we browsed through Pinterest and Google looking for accessories and examples to whet our appetite for a fun spring project.  Aren't these just adorable?

Have you ever planted a fairy garden?  Any tips?  I'd love to hear your suggestions!

(ps.  I can't wait for spring!)