my baby

i'm sitting here in my flannel lined jeans from a dear friend, a huge gray wool cardigan, and super thick warmy socks.  sans make-up.  with frizzy, unkept hair.
yes, i just said warmy.
i love being warm, especially on days like today when the snow is falling {again} and i have no where to go or be, but home.
in between grading overdue school papers, teaching my son how to count minutes on the clock, and sipping my second cup of coffee, i am totally just enjoying being home and warm.
oh, so warm.  {i think i might even feel a craft coming on}.
i am truly thankful for the heat we have in our home and for our home itself.
only two years ago, we were 'homeless', so to speak, and we really didn't know where we were going to go.
we lost everything financially, due to sudden job loss, but the faith we 'learned' and the lessons God taught are worth far more than any amount of money we could ever have.
that experience made me appreciate so many of the things i used to take for granted.
someday i will tell you the whole story, because it is amazing how the Lord works things out.
i've been without heat{for short amounts of time}, so when the furnace blankets me in it's warmth and the fuel oil tank is full, i feel grateful, really grateful.
i know not everyone has this, and i feel for them.

did you know that it was henry's birthday last saturday?
of course you didn't!
i haven't blogged about it yet!  :)
shame. on. me.

well, i just have to show you a few pictures of my precious baby boy.
i can't believe that he is six already!
we all say that, don't we?
he is a source of pure joy to our family with a little mischievous mixed in.
ok, a lot.  :)
but his crazy, fun personality balances it all out and we love him so.
i forgave him a long time ago for weighing almost ten pounds when he was born, and for surprising me with the news of...him.
i was a tad shocked when i found out he was coming, but the selfish feelings evaporated shortly thereafter and turned into excitedness{?} for the gift that he truly is.
children are such  precious treasures.

i recently started working with him in writing.
we don't do a whole lot of writing in kindergarten, but he picked up some very special words over the holiday season.

exhibit A:

you can always tell where henry has been.  yep.
if you see the words 'HO' or 'NOEL' written in any dust, window frost, or taped up on the wall with half a roll of scotch, you know who was there.
i found the above yesterday.
i just laughed.
maybe i should be a little more OCD about dusting around my computer.  :)
oops.

he has also created a special 'code' between him and i when he has to go 'number 2'{or 17, as he stubbornly calls it}.
after one too many times of him telling me he had to go P**P in front of people, i decided that number 2 was the better option.
is it weird that i'm talking about number 2?
anyway!
when he has to go, he comes up to me with two fingers in the air, and...i know.
wait, it gets better.
when he's done, he tweets.
yes, tweets like a little birdie, because yelling, 'i'm dooooooone!', in the presence of company just wasn't working for me.
the tweeting is all henry though.
he has no shame, i tell ya!
apparently i don't either since i'm revealing our 'secret' bathroom code.
whoa.
this may or may not seem very odd to you{no judging, k?}, but it is something that makes our family giggle, and it is a memory of henry that i will always cherish taunt him with when he gets older.
and now it's in writing!!!  
:)

so! enough potty talk!  onto some pics of the big SIX year old!

:::love you:::

:::birthday boy:::

 :::goodies:::

 ::::henry loves animals and especially this owl:::

 :::brothers:::

 :::new slippers:::

 :::homemade ice cream cake with TWO monster trucks on top:::

 :::my baby:::

:::special boy:::

i hope that you are all having a wonderful, warmy day!
it doesn't look like it's going to stop snowing any time soon.
yay!

xo,