hero training

wesley's 4th birthday party was all about superheroes.  we asked all the kids to come in costume and it was AWESOME!
a short timeline:
on arrival, every kid got a bag with markers and mask making supplies and were directed to the mask making table.  after masks were made everyone was herded outside for the superhero obstacle course.  each kid put on clark kent clothes (blazer and glasses).  they had to run into the phonebooth, change into a superhero and run out.  next was the tunnel, then the trampoline, then they had to throw bean bags at the joker to retrieve the kryptonite, then down the slide for a sweet finish.
after the obstacle course each kid was awarded a certificate of hero status and a superman ring.
then came cupcakes and presents, and THEN came the balloon girl!  the balloon girl was arguably the most popular event of the day for kids and parents.  kylie rocked the party, thanks balloon girl!
some photos of the chaos (thank you chelsea for the photos, for the birthday banner, the weights, and for being awesome in general!):

and a few more of my newly minted 4 year old (who has asked repeatedly in the succeeding days if he is still 4):

and what we did after the party: legos!!

i dreamed you

wesley had a birthday this past week.  i wonder if birthdays get easier for moms?  like maybe when they get into school or after they turn 18.  or maybe the more kids you have the less intense the birthday feels?  i don't know.  i do know that this birthday week was an emotional one for me. 
the night before his birthday, i told wesley that before he was born i prayed every night that Heavenly Father would send him to me. i told him that i prayed and i prayed, and i prayed for him.  then one day i found out that Heavenly Father was going to send him to me and i was so excited to be his mommy!  i bought his clothes, and blankets, and toys and got ready for him to come.  and when he was born, i held him, and kissed him, and snuggled him, and never put him down because i was so happy that he was my little boy.  and then I told wesley that he was the baby i prayed for, and i was so happy that i could be his mommy, and that i would be his mommy forever.
it's a true story.

i am so blessed to have my little boy.  happy birthday wesley.

Desperate!

for these gorgeous honeycomb shelves.

attn ian and laura:  please draw my name for christmas this year and make me these shelves!

this is only a test.

have you ever been doing something completely mundane and all of the sudden you get filled up?  not like you ate too much, but full in your chest, so you can’t really breathe, but in a good way? 

today I took a package down to the carwash (beautiful warm spring day!), turned out it needed to stay in the office, so I turned around to walk back up.  halfway up the drive I just felt…good.  joy.  full of joy?  is it crazy to say that all of the sudden I just felt awesome and happy and that life is good?

it happened a couple of weeks ago too.  this time I was driving into Lawrence.  Wesley was asleep in the backseat, wilco was on the ipod, and it was snowing.  like, really snowing.  big, huge flakes.  I drove under the bridge in east lawrence, and as I came out everything went to slow motion, and I felt it.  just, full of joy.  it was like someone had pushed pause and everything was ok, better than ok. 

before that, it happened once before (that I remember).  I was working in the office, mopping the floor actually, and there was music playing, something pandora.  all of the sudden, I was just happy.  I felt so good, like I could do or be anything, and that life was wonderful.

for a long time in my life I think I forgot to be happy.  and now I’m being jump-started.

I like it.