Build A Bear

February 22, 2007: Bearali was brought into this world by a very excited birthday Bethani. "We share the same birthday" she says.






It was quite a process, mind you. First, the bear skin must be chosen.


Then any music or sounds must be added, and then there is the heart ceremony and the stuffing.


Every newborn must have a first bath.








And then there was shopping for bear clothes... Everyone knows that bears must be in modest fashion! Bethani especially liked this denim dress.


As with any newborn, we had to have a name before we left the 'hospital.' Now, this was no easy task, seeing that we have a set of guidelines for names in our house. Every dependent in our home must have a name consisting of 3 syllables and an 'i' at the end. Thus: Tiffani, Jeremi, Bethani, Emili, Melodi, Chariti, and now, Bearali.


She used her $25 Build-A-Bear gift card from Marissa to pay for Bearali and Grammy & Grandpa's b-day money to finish up the rest.

She was a very careful shopper, and used her money wisely--thinking through each purchase.



When we got home, we duplicated Bethani's birthday shirt for Bearali, and gave her a little jean skirt.

What a fun afternoon this was.







HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETHANI!!

Bethani's 8th Birthday Sleep-Over

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Bethani had a great sleepover last night. We encouraged the boys to find something 'MANLY' to do, and then we girls had the house to ourselves. There were 5 little girls in all: Bethani, Emily, Keilani, Shanna and Marissa. We started out with a tea party, and then they all voted to get right into their 'jammies.' They came back all comfy cozy and we sang happy birthday with the cake and candles. Bethani opened her presents. She got a purse, pens, journal, Polly Pockets, and a $25 gift card to Build-A-Bear. That will be another day of fun!

At one point, Bethani ran downstairs into the kitchen where I was washing dishes and squealed: "Yeah!! My wish came true! I'm having a sleep-over!!!

Someone suggested Monopoly, and that lasted for a while. Then it was upstairs to play make-believe princesses. Somehow that turned into playing babies, and before you know it, here it was 11:00. I suggested we drag all of the mattresses into the school room so everyone could sleep with their heads together. The last of the pretty little eyes closed about 12:45. (I had to crawl under the covers with a few of them to encourage sleep to come.)

I woke up to giggles about 7:30, and decided I better get the pancakes cooking. They especially enjoyed the banana-orange-mango smoothie. We quickly cleaned the upstairs, found lost socks and (oops someone forgot a pair of shoes) then I fixed hair. One by one parents came, and then before you know it, the house was back to normal--well, as normal as normal can be after having 4 extra little squiggly bodies. It was a lot of fun!

California 2007

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Mommy/Daddy Date

It is our time. After being away from each other for a week, we have decided to re-establish our 'date night.'

This picture was taken at Akbar. It is an Indian restaurant that we found in our Entertainment book. With the buy one/get one coupon, we enjoyed a nice sit down dinner for just $15. We ordered a combo deal that gave us a 3-course variety. It included malai kofta, paneer kadaiwala, and bahaar e subz. Our favorite of the 3 was the malai kofta. It was a cheese and vegetable dumpling in a cream and almond sauce. I don't even want to know the nutritional specs on this dish. Maybe I'll ask Sis. Joy. Anyway, it was the one thing that wasn't fire hot, and I really enjoyed it. (Thank goodness for the flatbread, rice and yogurt to put the fire out!) Nonetheless, with all of this dating going on at all these different restaurants, I am feeling quite cultured. :)

Mother/Son Date

And now it was Jeremi's turn. Tiffani spent the day with Rochelle on Sunday afternoon so that Jeremi and I could have some alone time. He picked an Indian restaurant that some of our Indian friends had recommended called Chettinaad Palace. It was a buffet, so we were able to sample everything and then go back for the things that we really liked. I'll have to say, most of their food is incredibly hot! Our favorite turned out to be the coconut curry chicken. (I tried not to think about how many fat grams it must have.)

Jeremi was a perfect gentleman, holding the door, waiting for me, picking up 2 plates from the stack and offering me one, a young man I am proud of. We don't get to go out very often, but when we do, it is very special. After dinner, I asked him what he wanted to do, and he suggested that he would like a new tie to match his new shirt. We went to Syms and found a great match.

This was our last day of Teen Week. Craig and Bethani landed at DFW at 11:18, so now it is back to our usual routine. Something feels different with Jeremi though. He seems to have matured some as a result of our 'date.' I know these are rough and turbulent adolescent times moving from childhood into adulthood. I continue to ask God to give me wisdom to help navigate these unchartered waters.

Tokyo One

What a highlight to our week. My mom, better known as Nana by our kids, flew in to spend a wonderful 24 hours with us. We celebrated her birthday at our all time favorite restaurant, Tokyo One . We had a lot of fun and laughter, and oh the spoiling that went on in that brief time... It is always a treat when Nana and Papa come to visit.