I've Got Sunshine!

Eli!

My little man is now 11 years old.
How time flies.

For his birthday party, we rented the Covington Twp Hall at the Ski Hill and had Jack's pizzas, chips, fruit, cake, pop and sledding. Eli shares his birth date with our friend Nan so we decided to surprise her and invited everyone from church to the party and celebrated the two birthdays together. She was very surprised....never suspected a thing!

It was definitely a day to remember. I had taken the day off from BHK so I could get stuff done that morning but still had to teach art up in Hancock. Ended up running late ALL day. I had made plans to pick Eli's friends up and since we were running late parents were calling wondering what was up. So I was stressing and had trouble finding one kid's home. I finally figured out where I was going and as I'm just about to the turn off to his house some dogs ran out in front of me. Not wanting to tramatize myself or the kids by hitting a pack of dogs I braked hard and lost control of the van on the slippery back road. We fishtailed for a bit then spun off into the tree line. Thankfully, we missed a stand of pine trees and just buried the van up to the front doors in the ditch. Yah! NOT. I was distraught. And that is a HUGE understatement. We did get lots of help. Thank you to the strangers that dug us out and Mr. Toumi for pulling us out. I was now running VERY late. I tearfully called Nan's mom to ask if she'd pick up a cake for Eli since I would now not have time to decorate one myself. And then we were on our way. We ended up being an hour late to the hall and unable to preset or decorate anything. We had to come up with a way to surprise Nan now that she was already there and we did pull it off pretty well. The boys didn't care that we were late or about the spin out and didn't have a clue as to why I was so stressed. All the kids LOVED the sledding -- we had a hard time getting them to come in for pizza, cake or icecream. The parents had a good time as well but I ended the evening in tears with a blistering headache. Then it was back home with four extra kids to spend the night. They were well behaved and had a great time but at 12:40 in the morning I finally begged Mike to make them be quiet so I could go to sleep.

So Eli had a great party and a fun story to tell about his mom putting the van in the ditch, again.

It's hard to think of Eli as 11. Yesterday I picked him up early from school. He went to the eye doctor with me for my appointment. Then I took him to his Well Child appointment with his doctor. He was being so silly and goofy all afternoon but we had a great time. I felt bad that he was bored out of his mind at the Vision Clinic but he behaved himself and I was so proud to admit he was mine! The doctor's office was a whole other story though. He kept up his silliness and you know how you can just tell when people are infuriated with something but trying to be patient...that was our doctor yesterday. Eli would not answer any questions directly and I was getting upset and the doctor kept sighing. Not rude but real quiet and I give him kudos. I was ready to rip my hair out and just leave! Or insist on the shots that Eli really doesn't need until next year. But we made it through maintaining our cool and our smiles.

Eli is fun to be with. We raced to the car each time we left a place yesterday and he has such a great imagination. But that imagination gets him in trouble sometimes. He tends to exaggerate and embellish and sometimes just plain fib about things he's done. His smile and giggle make me smile even when I'm impatient with him--a common occurance in the morning as I'm trying to get him up and ready for school. Though he's a normal child and gets into his share of trouble he admits his faults readily and is quick to straighten up his act when in hot water. He's my outdoorsman. Eli loves camo and binoculars, bb guns and spends countless hours playing "hunter" or "soldier". Eli is also sensitive, loving and friendly. He can play quietly by himself or spend an afternoon reading or doing puzzles.

I'm really proud of Eli. He spent two years in the 3rd grade so that he wouldn't fall behind as he got older and this year in 4th grade he is maintaining a C+ average. He hasn't fallen in love with school but he's taking it more seriously.

My little man is definitely growing up. But we're not rushing him. He still plays "Tickle Monster" and asks for hugs and kisses. How long can this last? I cherish every one!

Eli is my Sunshine!