Happy 7th Birthday Jimmy!

Somehow my guy known as Jimmy is turning 7 tomorrow. I can still remember when he was born in the wee hours of the morning, coming very fast before the doctor made it. The nurse who helped deliver him was as calm as could be and brought my beautiful little guy into the world with me. I remember the two weeks after he was born that he spent a few days in the hospital, sick as could be from a virus we never figured out. I remember that scary time, relying on faith and praying he would get better. And he did. I remember his healthy deep-voiced baby cries that surprised a few people with how low his voice could go. His little "Curious George" baby face. He was one busy little guy that wasn't happy unless he was in on the action or creating his own adventures.

And now he is 7, speaks more Mandarin than I ever will, creates all sorts of elaborate contraptions, equals his almost 9 year-old sister in height and will surely pass me one day, wears his heart on his sleeve, looks out for his young brother, and amazes me with his observations about the world around him. I love Jimmy. He is such a blessing to our family. He adds something that is all his own.

For his birthday he wanted a party, which he was too shy to do last year. We had a Bad Piggie party, which found me making invitations, elaborate cupcakes, and a pinata. But it was totally worth it just to see the smile on Jimmy's face.

 The invitations

 Cute pinata

 Cupcakes

 Creating their own Bad Piggie mobiles

 Presents

 Blowing out the piggie!

 Good bye pinata!

Golden Egg spoon race

Back to reality

Tomorrow school begins again! How crazy that Christmas break is over and another year begins. I am so excited and anxious over all that awaits! Marshall will be teaching early morning Seminary at Hurricane and Pine View Highs, 5 days a week, on top of working full time, bishoping, and teaching a night class at the college. Crazy! But it is exciting and hopeful for the future. After this semester of teaching we will find out if he gets hired on by the Church Education System as a full-time Seminary teacher. What an adventure!

Christmas was a blast. We stayed around here and took it easy with Marshall's parents and his brother and family. Lots of yummy food, good times, and games. Santa brought a trip to Disneyland to the kids. We'll be going during Spring Break this March, when Marshall will have time off from teaching and such. The kids also got some fun presents. Christmas Eve they all did a cute Nativity with their cousins.

Jacob turned on year old the day after Christmas. He is now 4 and thinks he should be able to go to "the big school". Of course, he also wants to be little enough for me to carry on the way home from the park. Uh-huh.

For New Year's the kids were so excited to stay up. Jimmy said it was a competition to see who would be the last one up. We had all sorts of snacks and candy. We did some fire crackers and had a "Just Dance" party. Jacob gave up at 10:30 and Marshall and I went to rest in bed at 11. We told the kids that at midnight they could go outside and shout "Happy New Year!" and come to bed. They did. They were amazed that they survived longer than we did. I wasn't too surprised. We are "old" and sleep is so precious.

And now it is back to reality! Maybe having a schedule again will help me avoid the massive supply of dark chocolate my husband gave me for Christmas. It is so hard to avoid since dark chocolate actually has some good properties to it as well, unlike that "watered down" milk chocolate stuff. Good thing Marshall also gave me a running watch to help track the distance of my runs so I can keep that chocolate off. I am such a running geek that I tested out my new watch on Christmas Day!

I hope you all had a good holiday season and can ease back into reality with as little problems as possible!