Happy 8th Birthday Henry!

Henry had been asking to go bowling for months (okay, maybe it had been years) so his birthday was the perfect opportunity to do it.  Our local Irvine Bowl had a weekday lunch time special- two games with shoes, two hot dogs and soda for $10.  

So on a Thursday, enjoying the homeschool advantage, we went bowling. And Henry is proud to say he even ate 3 of those hot dogs.  Two games were a lot for this crew, so I'm hoping it got the bowling requests out of the system.  Also, grateful that no one got hurt and nothing was broken. 

That evening we had pizza and cake with our good friends, the Blackmans.  Always fun to celebrate!  Favorite gifts were a nerf gun and portable art easel.

Henry wants to be an inventor when he grows up- in fact sometimes he worries he may lose all the good ideas he has now before he is able to put them all into action.  We studied Leonardo da Vinci recently, so he began keeping a journal with drawings of his ideas and plans.  

Henry is a leader at pretend play with Natalie and Peter.  It usually has to do with some sort of animal, often pets, especially cats.  Dad got him a huge cat book for his birthday and now he puts on shows where he poses like the cats in the books.  

Henry is a adventurer.  He does need to have more explicit instructions though- like the time he was on the roof and insisted that no one said he couldn't go out on the roof.  Often his defense is airtight even if wisdom hasn't caught up with him yet. 

Henry is an observer who sees the world differently.  One of his most difficult chores is emptying the dishwasher because he finds out new things about each dish and utensil as he pulls it out- which ones balance on the others, what sounds they make banging together, how much water they can hold, whether or not he can lift them with tongs, etc etc.  Well, I guess it's only difficult for me because the job takes so long!

Henry makes us laugh.  He is also interested in all things 'spy' so I will often have him sneaking up behind me in stealth mode- and he's pretty good at it!  We love you Henry!!

Happy Art

After returning from playing at the park, I noticed Henry working feverishing on something at the school table. A bit later he came up to me, showed me this picture and asked if it made me feel happy. I wasn't quite sure how to respond, but said yeah and asked if it made him feel happy.

He said he was happy and he wanted to draw his happiness on paper so he could remember it. He said when he looks at this it makes his stomach feel funny, but in a good way. He found himself a notebook to store it with plans to pull it out when he is not happy to see if it makes him happy. That makes him an artist with a scientific experiment, I suppose.

Now, personally, I don't get this at all. There's not much artist in me and feelings don't come in colors in my world, but I have a guess that Henry will be exposing me to all sorts of new things in the coming years. Sounds like the Lord knows just what I need.

2010 Recap from the Six Turbos

Sorry for the long delay in posts, but before I start with fresh resolve for the coming year, I'd love to record a bit of 2010 first. It was a wonderful year, full of adventure and joy in the midst of regular old life. Many days ran together, but themes did emerge...

Beach Days! We all love the beach, whether it is boogie boarding, playing in the sand, exploring the tidepools, making new friends, or even just sleeping in the sun. We camped at El Capitan beach near Santa Barbara for a week in June and loved it! I expect it may become an annual tradition. Carson is always in the water. He even tried a surf camp this summer- not quite successful yet but he did learn the basics. Henry is the engineer of sand castles while Natalie and Peter love to dig and collect sea life. We spent many Mondays (Eric's day off) as well as summer Fridays (with our homeschool group) at Corona Del Mar in Newport.

Rainy Days. Yes, it does rain in California and our roof leaked, but the kids love rain and run outside as soon as it starts for fear it will be over too fast. They play in streams on our culdesac and ride bikes in the rain. While camping in Flagstaff, AZ (Lake Mary) this summer with my brothers family, we had lots of rain and the kids were quite creative with their mudpies and mud houses. No, it's not snow; but it does get us excited around here.

School Days. There have been plenty of school days this past year. Carson (4th), Henry (2nd), Natalie (1st) and Peter (preschool) have each been excellent students in our homeschool here known as "Eagle Eye Academy". We studied the Roman Empire last spring and are finishing up the Middle Ages now. There have been lots of fun projects and field trips- the Getty Villa (a full scale reproduction of a Roman villa in Malibu) was a highlight. And of course the Middle Ages have been a blast learning about castles and knights and vikings. We've read lots of good books this year including Alice in Wonderland, Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Tales of King Arthur and the Secret Garden. We are also part of a home school co-op (Irvine Christian Academy) where the kids got to be part of their first drama production.

Saturday Sports. Carson and Henry were just the right ages to be able to play on the same baseball team this spring (Irvine Pony machine pitch). It was the first season for both of them and they did an awesome job as they improved. Natalie also had her first chance at a sport this year and played on a girls under 6 soccer team. Turns out she's a pretty intense competitor!

Sunday Church. We love Sovereign Grace Church of Orange County! It's exciting to have Sunday morning services at the OC Plaza since Easter and to keep building friendships with people here, including some brand new families. Eric is doing an awesome job preaching and leading. The kids and I love helping him out any way we can. We get to host guest receptions and home groups at the house and the kids are growing in their love and care for all the people around them. We get to send Dad off to meetings like the Preaching Practicum, T4G, and Leadership Conferences. And everyone loved going to the Sovereign Grace Together conference in San Diego (especially since we got to hang out with some old friends!)

Date Nights. I love date nights! And so do the kids. Eric and I get to go out alone together almost every week. We have some great babysitters. Since August, our friend Kipsy has been living with us while finding a new job. She is a dear sister who loves our kids and is quick to help around the house and send us out. Eric and I like to walk to the local coffee shop or go to the beach. We went away for a weekend in Beverly Hills in the spring and to a concert this fall. We are still in the stage of exploring Orange County and LA any chance we get.

Family Visitors. We love having extended family come to visit! It's always a sweet bonding time with cousins, siblings, and grandparents, And it's an excuse to do more fun things like the beach, whale watching trips, Sawdust festival, OC Great Park, bike rides, etc. I flew back to PA with Natalie and Peter to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday and got to be with all my siblings in one place. Eric's parents and sister Heather came to join us for Christmas and we celebrated in high style.

Vacation Days. It was a great year for vacations. We try to get away as a family regularly even for a short time. We spent some time at a friend's home in Fallbrook, camping at El Capitan with a side trip to Six Flags, camping with my brother and family near Flagstaff AZ (with his boat!), then some time in the mountains dog sitting and four wheeling in the desert. What memories!

All the other days. too many to describe: sick days (gratefully few), holidays(with new friends and old), losing teeth days (many!), lazy days, grumpy days, lego days, birthdays, cleaning days, even a few video game days in there. I'm grateful for this past year, grateful for this particular season of life that the Lord has us in. He is always good, but He is choosing to show His goodness to us through a season of blessing and prosperity right now and I give Him all the glory for it!

Henry's Haircut

It was time....
Still looking good!

Baseball Season!

We've been busy with baseball for the last few months. Since Henry and Carson are age 7 and 8 right now we were able to get them together on the same team (yeah!!). They are playing in the Irvine Pony machine pitch league on the Giants team.

This was the first season for either of the boys to play baseball so they have definitely learned so much and improved week to week. The coaches have been great and taught the boys all they need to know (like where is right field). Carson has been a strong hitter and was chosen as one of three boys on the team to be in the home run derby next week. Henry shown great perseverance and has never given up even when he has trouble hitting. He's also very attentive to the score during the game (just ask the scorekeeper!).

I'm surprised how much both of the boys love the game. They are always talking about it, wanting to practice more and looking forward to the next game. When I told them the season was almost over, they were heartbroken.

But the season is not over yet! They finished regular play in third place so now we are getting ready for playoffs to begin. If they make it to the championship game, it will be on May 22.

The boys have loved their teammates and coaches. After every game all the boys run over to an empty field and play their own pickup game together. Well, that is after they get their snack which I think they love almost as much as all other aspects of the game.

And don't you love the photos? Claire is the mom of one of the players and takes some great shots! Thanks Claire!

Happy 7th Birthday Henry!

Henry turned 7 years old Wednesday Jan 27th. We went out to Denny's for his grand slam breakfast, had cake with some neighborhood friends, and pizza (with rootbeer!) for dinner. He was very disappointed to have to do school on his birthday (he was quick to remember that we didn't for any of the other kids last year), but he survived and was excited to open presents.
His favorite gift this year was his very own baby Taylor guitar. He is already writing his own songs and playing by himself in his bedroom. We look forward to seeing how he progresses with a few lessons from Dad!Henry makes us happy! He is easy going and fun to be around. He can be very creative and gets wrapped up in imaginative play or building tree forts. He likes to play nerf gun battles and tag with the older kids, but he usually takes on the role of a spy and can be found sneaking around the edges of a room- especially in his night vision googles. We love you Henry!

Tomatoes for Breakfast

After Henry finished his breakfast burrito this morning he said he was still hungry so I told him to eat something out of the fruit basket. I suggested a banana or orange, but he insisted that he wanted a whole tomato (since I do keep them in the fruit basket). Natalie had to have one too. They seemed to enjoy them even though they were the Costco variety and not the yummy ones from Gram's garden.

And yes, that is Henry wearing his 'fuzzy bear' shirt at 7:30 in the morning. He was trying it on to get ready for a Star Wars dress up party tomorrow where he will be an ewok.

Henry at Work

Henry has found a favorite place to hang out. My Dad (Gramps) has a woodworking shop set up in the basement. He is currently building cabinets for their kitchen so Henry has been watching and helping in all his safety gear.

Vacuuming the sawdust was one of Henry's preferred jobs. They are finishing the last base cabinet in order for the granite countertops to be measured and installed.
One of Eric's ideas is to do a wood project with the boys this summer- so watch for more to come!