Seven Years...Can It Be?

march always brings with it a wide range of emotions and memories for me...our firstborn arriving so very and unexpectedly early after 2 weeks of bed rest, a subsequent month long stay in the NICU, then easter weekend...when we brought home this tiny bundle not even 5 lbs yet. 

through that experience and the 7 years that have followed, our ben david has been a constant reminder to us of the lord's lovingkindness, faithfulness and great mercy. 

ben david is truly a "man after god's own heart." 

his sensitive spirit, loving demeanor, tender heart, patience, desire to please, kind and gentle nature are humbling to me as a mom. i believe with all of my heart he is destined to do great things for the kingdom of god. 

our sweet ben david...we love you so much!!

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY!!!

yummy chocolate donuts for breakfast...thank you daddy!!

of course we celebrated "cousin-style" over the weekend with a fun joint birthday party with drew who just turned 9!!! there was some "pin the tail on ben david and drew"

lots of fun illustrating the traced bodies of the boys!

angry birds cake this year...interesting choice

the grand finale was a guys vs. girls scavenger hunt!!!

M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!!!!!!!!!

in every family there comes that moment when you realize it is time to go to.....

DISNEY!!!!

the time for the wright family finally arrived. 

uncle evan and ben put their heads together and in true super dad fashion came up with a plan. 

our cousins paved the way by getting down there a few days earlier and exploring legoland and hollywood studios. they even made us a great video which we used to tell our unsuspecting kids about the fun ahead!:)

 we started off at magic kingdom!!!

 mad tea cup ride!! (warning: only for children...not for moms who can't handle circles)

 the next day was animal kingdom..my personal favorite! hippos, giraffes, zebras...super cool safari ride:

 no pictures of everest...but that was by far the coolest roller coaster ever!!

 and going back to our house was almost as fun with the heated pool!

 this mickey mouse hat soon became ben david's "uniform"

 2 princesses:)

 magic kingdom deserved 2 full days...so back we went for day 2!

 barnstormer...caroline's first roller coaster!

 buzz lightyear has nothing on her!

 and of course...lots of rides on the monorail

 a late night was in order to take in the electrical parade and fireworks at cinderella's castle

 caroline was a little small for some rides but she quickly learned that whoever sat out with her (aunt anna:) would provide a snack and a train ride!

 james' favorite.....thunder road mountain!!

 watching the parade

epcot was our grand finale! 

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to say we had fun...well, that would just not do the trip justice. 

as they say in disney....it was MAGICAL!!!!!

and in the words of mickey....HOPE WE SEE YA REAL SOON!

A Dusting!

after daily questions all winter about if/when we would get snow, these kiddos were THRILLED to find 1/8 of an inch in their yard one morning a month or so ago!! sledding was in full swing by 7am...we were NOT going to let this opportunity pass by! little did we know several inches were headed our way a few weeks later, but at the time...this was our winter wonderland!!

road trip!!!

ben has been known to pack up the kids for a saturday-day trip and take off on an exciting adventure sans mommy (which means: sans wipes, extra outfits, snacks, etc.). this method (while frightening to some) only makes the outing more full of the unexpected and unpredictable...and ultimately, full of more fun!:)

a few weekends back the destination was the columbia zoo!! here are a few pics they sent me of their time:

 everyone was a little if-y on the birds flying around and landing on people. everyone that is except ben:)

Presenting...Africa!!

the boys were scheduled to give their presentations on the topic of geography this week at CC...preferably, a country they had studied. we have done some discussion of africa in our classes, so that, combined with the fact that our poppy has been there several times as of late, made it the obvious choice! 

poppy graciously spent some time with us one evening this week sharing interesting and sobering facts about his visit to kenya. we learned about the houses, clothes, kitchens, and resources that the people of the villages utilize. a "nice" house is no larger than your dining room and made of concrete. river water is carried to the kitchen for cooking and used for washing the one set of clothes most people own. typically only one child in the family has shoes. there is no electricity, making it difficult for much to be done after the sun sets.

this time gave the boys (and myself) much perspective on how little these people have compared to how much we have. a true lesson in thankfulness, gratitude and hopefully generosity! james' class plans to each bring some money next week to contribute towards the solar lamps that poppy will be taking over in a few weeks.

here are a few pics of the presentations:

Lessons from Basketball

this heard after witnessing a great victory at my 2 nephews b ball game tonight Annaliese Emmrich Anderson, :

caroline, trying to grasp it all: "so, you are a winner or a lost-er?"
james: "no caroline, you mean loser."
me (attempting to instill good sportsmanship): "yes, but what really matters is how you play the game!"
ben david: "not really mom, it only matters if you win."
hmmmm...