The Moberg Family

Category: Colorado

  • 2023 Last Days of School

    2023 Last Days of School

    You guys. We start school in two days and I haven’t even posted about their last day from last year. You are probably wondering if my kids actually passed their last grades. The kids had their last day at their “out school,” we did two days of exams and then had their End of Year Performance and then we went out of town for a month. We got home and still had about two weeks of minor things to finish up. Then our days were so full that I have not had time to officially “close out” our year. We had a super full year, an even fuller summer, and yes, it is true–this blog post is BETTER LATE THAN NEVER! 🙂

    To sum up our 2022-2023 school year: The kids were introduced to the study of ancient history and the world of mythology and ancient writings–all from a biblical worldview. We enjoyed many wonderful books together and had another very sweet year with our little learning community. Since our school only goes through 6th grade, this was Elliott’s last year attending. It is bittersweet, as most “ends” are. He will miss the school and his friends but is also very much looking forward to what’s next.

    Our studies included: ancient history; physical science; Vermeer, Turner and Homer; Kipling, Hughes, and Stevenson; Schumann, Tchaikovsky, and Brahms. For nature studies we focused on pond life, birds and wildflowers. They memorized Genesis 1:26-27, Colossians 1:15-20, Luke 1:46-55, Habakkuk 3:17-19, and Proverbs 2:1-10 (and tons more Scripture for church, but these were their school verses). They studied some “Ancient Civilization” countries–several from Europe, Africa and Asia. For the first time in many years I just could not keep track of all of the books that they read. I tried, lost the list multiple times, and just couldn’t keep up with the hundreds of books. I’m a little sad because I really do love noting which books we thoroughly enjoyed but this year was SO FULL and busy that it just didn’t happen. However, I can list a few of our favorites: We did enjoy children’s versions of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, The Cat of Bubastes, The Golden Goblet, The Bronze Bow, Boy of the Pyramids, A Single Shard, Where Mountain Meets the Moon, A Triumph for Flavius, and Detectives in Togas. We finished the fifth book in a series we have thoroughly enjoyed the last couple of years called “Among the (Pond, Forest, Night, Meadow, and Farmyard) People.” They are sweet little stories about animals that have great morals. The kids both performed in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. They LOVED this play! Elliott was Don Pedro–one of the leads. He had 87 lines and did a wonderful job despite being sick for the performance! He got to wear a mustache and I think that experience will leave him clean shaven for the rest of his life ;). Though Selah only had a few lines as Ursula, she hit the ball out of the park and her character truly shone through her. At the end of the year, as is tradition, the kids each studied a person from ancient history, dressed up as that person and gave a speech from his point of view. Selah was Julius Caesar and Elliott was Hannibal. The kids continued with their Latin study this year and, of course, progressed with their math curricula. At the beginning of the year we hosted a “pond day” with our church homeschool group. The kids prepared little presentations and talked about the flora and fauna that we have seen in and around our pond. They taught our church friends a song about vertebrates and invertebrates, facilitated a time where friends could place an animal or plant life where it belongs on a huge mural we had drawn of the pond and surrounding area, read picture books and then I led a watercolor lesson for the group. Then, everyone jumped into the pond to play! Pond Day was definitely a highlight of our year! Winter Market was, of course, another huge highlight. Oh! And during the End of the Year Performance, Selah was one of five kids selected to sing a solo. It was her first solo! She did very well. A couple other things that stand out from this school year–we all wrote limericks and that was a hoot. I should post those below. The kids also really enjoyed doing research papers this year. It’s Elliott’s third research paper and one of his favorite parts of school. He wrote about fish and Selah wrote about hedgehogs. It was such a special and fun year of learning!

    Here is a collage of photos from events with the kids’ classmates:

    And here is a collage of photos from the Pond Day we hosted for our church homeschool friends:

    One of the things we absolutely love about our church is the multi-general aspect of it. It really is like one big family–we aren’t segregated into age groups for events like these. The youth in our church are youth that I want my children to model after. They are strong in their faith and kind, and always take the littles under their wings. Pond Day was no exception as the big kids took the little ones on boat rides and everyone enjoyed a lovely day together!

    Here are our limericks for your enjoyment:

    I once had a friend named Pompey,

    Till he met me in battle one day.

    So Egypt chopped off his head;

    And then I found a new friend—

    Till my last words were, “Et tu, Brute?”

    (If you haven’t heard, Selah actually has a hedgehog named Jill!)

    Alright, and now it’s time for their end of the year photos and papers! This will possibly be Elliott’s last year of drawing first and last day self-portraits. I think he went out with a bang! Neither of the kids particularly enjoy drawing themselves but they also LOVE flipping back through their old ones. So I told Elliott he could be done now that he’s officially in Junior High :). The kids also complain every year that there isn’t enough space to write down all the books they love. I suppose if they’re going to complain about something, that’s a good thing to complain about.

    And now for my favorites…the compare and contrast from the first to the last day!

    Way to go, kiddos! We did it! We had another rich, fun, challenging and filled-with-memories school year! Thanks be to God!

  • Elliott Epically Turns 12

    Elliott Epically Turns 12

    Well, my friends, we officially have a pre-teen for the first time ever. What a marvel to watch these little people on their journey towards adulthood, growing more in the grace of God and the image of Christ with each passing year!

    As I’ve mentioned in the past, Elliott has declared that the only thing he ever wants to do for the rest of his birthdays is have Epic Capture the Flag parties every single year. Each year it has become a bit more epic, and I will say this year was definitely the most epic year of all. I am not sure I can handle if his birthdays become any more epic, so perhaps this is the climax of epic-ness. (I know….unlikely…and that’s okay.)

    Elliott continues to be the child who, just like his mother, always wants to invite EV-ER-EEEE-BOD-Y. That “EV-ER-EEE-BOD-Y” was taken to a whole new level this year when 83 people came to his party. Yes, that was not a typo. EIGHTY-THREE persons graced our property on that chilly, yet perfectly gorgeous Colorado day. (Eighty-seven if you count parents who did not stay to hang out, but just dropped off/picked up.)

    We had over 50 kids playing Capture the Flag and it was, may I say, EPIC.

    We had a dozen or so more kids join after the group photo that was taken towards the beginning. Good thing we got smart this year and procured a megaphone for the big day!

    You can see them scattered about our property in the above picture. After a couple of games, everyone headed back to our back yard for lunch and ice cream.

    On his actual birthday, he got to open some thoughtful presents from his parents and grandparents. I just love watching my kids open presents. The expressiveness of their gratitude never ceases to delight my heart. I love how Selah’s expressiveness just magnifies Elliott’s.

    As a family, we celebrated with waffles the morning of his actual birthday, leftover croissant sandwiches from his party for lunch, and pulled pork BBQ and baked beans for dinner. And, obviously, mud pie for dessert!

    We have had those cone candles since he turned 3, and have used them almost every year since! Think they’ll last till he’s 18?

    Our “big” present to him this year was to allow him to foster a red-eared slider. She was in need of a home and our neighbors wondered if she would enjoy our pond. Elliott has long wanted a turtle to keep as a pet and so Brian and I decided to give it a shot, knowing that if it didn’t work out we could set her free in our pond. Elliott was over-the-moon.

    Meet Pickles, the giant red-eared slider.

    What we didn’t know when we agreed to take her was how HUGE she was. She would really need her own 50-75 gallon tank and you probably know that Elliott already has one of those filled with fish. Our house is not big enough for two 75-gallon tanks! So we enjoyed her presence for a couple months and then decided to set her free into our pond– a space we knew she would enjoy much more.

    It occurred to me that “twelve” marks being 2/3 of his way to 18. It’s just so hard to believe!! Look at this little guy at one year old, six years old and twelve years old. It’s just amazing to watch, as a parent, how your child can grow up and change SO MUCH and yet be EXACTLY THE SAME as you remember him as a baby. He has the same joy, the same smile, the same personality, and yet he has GROWN tremendously. A true and beautiful paradox of life.

    Happy birthday to our favorite Epic Elliott!

  • First Day of School 2022

    Well, we are kicking off our last year of both kids being able to be at our sweet little classical Christian school together. When we first started this school, we bumped the kids up a grade (I’ll save the long story of why for another time). So Elliott was technically in 6th grade during the school last year. But since the school is very humanities-based (rather than skill-based) grade levels are really not all that important. Therefore, we’re having Elliott be a 6th grader at the school again this year, which puts him back at his true grade. The school is on a 4-year history and science cycle and he hasn’t had the fourth cycle yet. This year he will get the fourth and final cycle and I’m so thankful we get one more year of both kids together at our blessed little school. Oh, I wish the school still went through 8th grade! But I know God will provide for Elliott next year, whatever that may look like.

  • 2022 Last day of school

    We did it! Another school year planting seeds and building up these kids of ours in the Word of God and His truth. We studied modern American history this year and boy, oh boy, did we study some HEAVY topics–obviously. But what a gift to get to work through these wars and hard events in our nation’s history from a biblical worldview. Lots of pondering, lots of discussion, lots of ties to our current nation and world issues.

    So besides, modern history, we studied botany and zoology; Van Gogh, Cassat, and Monet; William Blake, Carl Sandburg, and Maya Angelou. For nature study, we focused on reptiles, fish, amphibians, Colorado Winter, birds, and flowers. They memorized Psalm 103:1-14, Isaiah 53:1-6, and Philippians 4:4-8 (and tons more scripture for church but I am just including school-related things here!) Selah can label all the countries in Europe and if you hand Elliott a blank piece of paper, he can draw and label all of Europe for you. The kids read well over 450 books just for school alone. We enjoyed so many together as a family, but some of our favorites were Amos Fortune, Number the Stars, Caddie Woodlawn, Elijah of Buxton, Rifles for Watie, Winged Watchman, Snow Treasure, Shades of Gray, and Across Five Aprils. The kids performed in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, which, you may consider an odd choice for an elementary school play. But when you look at this great work from a biblical worldview, it’s actually a fantastic learning tool, to recognize good versus evil and to see the depravity that lies within all of us. The kids each studied and dressed up and gave a speech as a person during the historical time period we studied–Elliott was Abraham Lincoln and was THRILLED to be able to tie coins into his presentation and Selah, who was Helen Keller, really enjoyed studying Helen Keller in depth and writing out all of her classmates’ names in braille. The kids excelled in another year of Latin study, which included memorizing the Lord’s prayer, The Sanctus, the Gloria Patri and the Table Blessing. Of course, the Winter Market was one of their highlights of the year. This year they tag-teamed and designed/built these adorable little reindeer together. They sold out at the Winter Market and received many more orders!

    I’m really not sure a day goes by that I’m not exceedingly thankful for this sweet little community we have! I thank the Lord for another year with this little school and for another year of homeschooling.

    And now for all the growth that happened this year:

    Elliott. This man is growing up! I feel 100% dependent on the Lord being his mama, and seeking wisdom for how to shepherd his growth without stifling him or having “girl” expectations on him. I am learning *a lot*. He is growing more and more fond of aquatic animals and chose to do his science project on one of our new favorite animals: the tiger salamander. We have all learned so much this year about this animal, which happens to be the Colorado state amphibian! We didn’t know we had them in our pond until the end of last summer. I love seeing how the both the kids’ “want to be” sections change on the little surveys they fill out at the beginning and end of each year. This year we had several fires break out in Colorado Springs–three in one day once!–and one of them was within a few miles of our house. The kids got to watch a helicopter grab water from a reservoir and dump it on the fire over and over. So, aerial firefighter made his list of future jobs this year, along with coin collector and aquarium owner :).

    Spiritual growth: He grew tremendously in self-control and obedience this year which made for very pleasant homeschool days for all of us! He has also excelled in Scripture memory, having memorized not only the verses for school but many different whole chapters of the Psalms, including all of Psalm 136!

    Academic: He mastered his 13s and 14s in multiplication and division. I do not know those by memory so it was a lot of effort grading his tests each day, ha! His typing improved from 8 wpm to 26 wpm and he can also write in cursive much faster than he could at the beginning of the year.

    Life Skills: He excelled in shoveling driveways during the winter and definitely prefers “going to work” than doing school. I’d say that’s a pretty important life skill for a man! He also improved tremendously on doing his daily chores with excellence. And, perhaps my favorite is that he has learned how to make a pretty mean chocolate peanut butter ball. He and I adapted our original recipe to be more whole-food oriented and they are DELICIOUS.

    Selah has also grown in so many ways this year. In addition to selling the reindeer at the Winter Market, she made and sold balloon animals. It was such a joy watching her interact with the littler kids, patiently taking their requests and loving them well. She was quick to provide free replacements when a child got a little too wild with his sword and it popped. I think she just might have a balloon animal business in her future… I’m actually a *little* concerned over her total obsession with (addiction to?) reading. Can that be a thing? Addicted to reading? She has always lived all of life with a book in one hand, but this year she really got into audiobooks, so now she doesn’t even need one free hand to read. She spends hours in her room drawing, painting, building, and designing while listening to audio books. I literally can’t check them out fast enough from the library. Part of the issue is that she listens on 2x (or higher) speed, so she sometimes goes through several books a day. Well, there you have it. I’ve admitted it. That’s the first step towards getting her help, right?

    Spiritual: She continues to have a more and more contrite heart each year with a true desire to grow and be like Christ. By God’s grace, she is learning to gentle her tongue towards her brother and trust me even when she doesn’t like what I’m asking her to do. It is a true joy to be her mom.

    Academic: She mastered her 13s in multiplication and division and I finally got smart at the end of the year and started having Elliott check her times tests since I don’t know my 13s! (#momwin) Her handwriting is improving and she also can write in cursive much faster than she could at the beginning of the year.

    Life Skills: This girl is FINALLY learning how to keep her room clean!! I will not write a novel about that drama but just take my word for it–this is a BIG WIN. She is also doing her chores with much more excellence and my favorite thing is that she always sings while doing them.

    Awwwwwwwwwww!!!

    And, drum roll please…the compare and contrast:

    Some things never change 🙂

  • Elliott Turns 11 and Our Blog Becomes Extinct

    It seems fitting that our blog would take its place among the dinosaurs the same year Elliott turned 11. If you’ll remember, we started this little bloggy blog when we were pregnant with Elliott, so just over 11 years ago. And 11 years in computer age is like ELEVEN HUNDRED years in human years. So, our theme (I think that’s what it’s called?!?) is officially EXTINCT. KAPUT. GONE. At rest with the dinos. I noticed in February that our blog was doing something weird…the font turned white which obviously made it hard to read. I figured Brian (aka, builder of the blog and technical support) just needed to push a couple buttons to restore it after an update or something. But alas, when he finally had the 5 minutes to sit down and look at it, he informed me that the change was a result of the fact that our theme was dead. DEAD! Rest in peace, dear lovely theme that faithfully stuck with us for 11 years.

    He tinkered with it for close to an hour, trying to get it legible again. The result is something that I would not call “aesthetically pleasing” but it works. It functions. It will do for now. Brian says we will have to start from ground zero and rebuild our blog with a new theme. That does not happen to be MY personal forte and he has approximately *ZERO* extra minutes right now to tend to this problem. So, for those of you who are truly faithful and willing to bear with us as I post a blog or two here and there with my extinct theme, you definitely fall under the category of “true friend/family member.”

    I will admit I thought about ending our blog’s life, rather than raising it from the dead, but I can’t bring myself to do it. This serves as the one and only scrapbook we will most likely ever have of our little lives, and I’m committed to making it through as long as there is life in these nimble typing fingers of mine.

    So that being said, I bring you the belated news of Elliott’s 11th birthday! His birthday was on a Sunday and he begged us to open one gift before church. We had just happened to get him a new bible for his birthday so we figured it would be very appropriate to let him open it before heading off. He was gifted a bible many years ago with a children’s version of text and he has been asking for one with an ESV translation, which is what we all use. We found him a perfect navy and light blue one and it will never cease to delight my heart that my children are OVER THE MOON when receiving a bible as a gift.

    His Washington Grandma and Grandpa arrived that afternoon and surprised us while at church! We celebrated together the next day with a special breakfast, dinner and, of course, mud pie.

    As far as celebrating with his friends, you may recognize this birthday theme and think I have simply reposted last year’s birthday party, but alas, it is indeed a new year. All this guy ever wants to do for his birthdays for the rest of his life is play Capture the Flag on our property. And come on, who wouldn’t?!?

    We gathered with around 50 people I think (I never got a full accurate count but that is a ballpark) to celebrate this big guy’s life. It was a blast and, unlike last year when it snowed the morning of the party, the weather was PERFECT. I know what you’re thinking–“said no one ever in Colorado”–but I’m telling you, it was. It was cloudy and around 70 degrees and LITTLE-TO-NO WIND. Not too hot, not too cold, cloud cover…it was awesome.

    Thanks to all of our loved ones who could come out and bless the depths of our son’s heart by joining him in yet another epic game of Capture the Flag!! Happy birthday to our mighty Elliott!!

  • 2:22 on 2/2/22

    We are having a lovely snow day today. Very, very thankful for the moisture God is providing for us! In fact, our little lake is even slowly beginning to fill back up! Three cheers for snow!!

    It started off as an ordinary snow day…the kids made waffles and then went outside to make maple syrup snow candy. Brian didn’t have to leave right away so he pulled the kids behind the four-wheeler on a snow tube. Good times in the snow.

    And then suddenly, they got the idea to start shoveling our neighbors’ driveways. They have now been going at it for about 4 hours and are not interested in stopping. (Well, Selah came in for a half hour to eat, but Elliott refuses to quit working.) I think they have already done 8 houses**! But, during one of the times I went to check on them, they said, “Mom! It’s 2/2/22! Make sure you tell us when it’s 2:22 pm!!” These are the things that my somewhat-attention-to-detail children take note of.

    So I set an alarm (because, who can remember something like that?) and went out to find them just before 2:22 pm. And we took a picture. Because, 2:22 on 2/2/22.

    So there you have it. This is what was happening the EXACT moment it turned 2:22 pm on 2/2/22. Elliott wanted me to try to get it at 2:22 pm and 22 seconds, but I told him to forget about it!! (HA!!)

    In other news, this is one of the reasons I *absolutely love* homeschooling–to have the flexibility and freedom to work a different muscle of hard work! I love seeing Elliott, especially, come alive when he has real hard work to do. My son, who is sometimes in tears when tasked with drawing a picture, is refusing to stop working–even to eat–after many hours in 12 degree weather because he’s so intent on blessing and serving our neighbors. (And, I should add…they’ve already been thanked with a plate full of cookies and a few bucks in their pockets, which certainly keeps the motivation factor high!) He’s a man. He loves to be productive and take care of others. God, may this character only grow and increase in him as he ages!!! And thank you for his daddy, who has modeled this character for him all his life.

    So…what were YOU doing at 2:22 pm today?! If you missed it, you have another shot to document your whereabouts on the 22nd, when it will be 2/22/22!! (Set an alarm!!) If only we could be alive in another 200 years and take a photo at 2:22pm on 2/22/2222! I might even be willing to try to get it at 22 seconds if I could be on this earth for that!

    **They ended the day with 12 houses!

  • 2021 School Year Off to the Races

    2021 School Year Off to the Races

    The first day new grade bacon tradition continues. Say that 10 times fast.
    Some things never change….

  • Summer 2021

    FAMILY

    Can you spy the new member of the Moberg family?

    FRIENDS

    SURPRISES

    Letters from authors the kids had written, a shimmery purple-blue butterfly, two hot air balloon landings on our property one morning and a creature that we still can’t identify!

    PROJECTS

    Brian and Elliott rebuilt the crumbling concrete wall surrounding the drain to our lake. Selah even jumped in (quite literally) to help from time to time.

    COOKING

    Selah cooked many different meals this summer, but by far her favorite thing to do was make her own creations. She particularly enjoyed making dessert creations for us…imagine that :).

    MOWING and BUILDING

    Ummm, yes, that IS Elliott driving our 100 horse power tractor ALL.BY.HIMSELF. Thus begins the time when my 10 year old can do things I’ve never done. He also built a floor in our attic, so add that to the list!

    DEATH

    With GREAT HOPE for spending eternity with our friend…

    LIFE

    In case you couldn’t spot him in the Moberg family photo, meet the kids’ new cousin: baby Beckett!

    ADVENTURE

    DAHLIAS

    • All thanks to Uncle Joe!!!

    GRATITUDE

    And although I have no picture for this…I must document that this summer Elliott beat me AND Brian at ping-pong!! WHAT?!! He has come A LONG WAY since we got our table at Christmas. Way to go, Buddy!!

    So very thankful for the Summer of 2021!

  • Elliott and the double digits!

    Elliott and the double digits!

    Our mighty man turned TEN!

    Wow, we have seen the fruit of the Lord working mightily in our son the past few months. What a joy it is to watch him GROW UP, not just as a boy filled with zeal and joy and wisdom and wonder, but as a disciple of Jesus Christ. We have seen a lot of maturity in him these past few months leading up to the big double digits!!

    On his big day, he woke up to a blue balloon with the words, “Happy 10th Birthday, Elliott!” written on it. Inside was the following note:

    Dear Elliott, Happy 10th birthday!! We love you because God made you and you’re YOU. You will never earn more of our love by anything you do. We love you because you are YOU, period! But we wanted to share some of our favorite things about you and some of the many reasons we absolutely delight in you and are so thankful that God placed YOU in our family!! Love, Mommy, Daddy and Selah

    We then instructed him that he must find 10 other balloons in the house. We had all written out some of the things we love about Elliott and each hidden balloon contained one of those things.

    Elliott Brian Moberg, how do we love thee in all of thy joy, and wonder, and zeal for life?? Let us count the ways…

    1. You always love me so well! You play fun games with me and if you ever wake up before me you will wake me up and snuggle me! -Selah
    2. You are so generous with your Legos! -Selah
    3. You are playful! You wrestle and race with me! -Selah
    4. I love this about you: when you love something or someone, you love them with all of your heart! And when you love something, you love to share facts about it with everyone who listen! I have learned a lot of facts from you! -Mommy
    5. I love that you love to snuggle and can’t get enough mama kisses or “I love you’s”! -Mommy
    6. We are constantly amazed at how detail-oriented you are. One way this plays out is when you do a job, assignment, or chore, we can always count on you to do it excellently. For instance, I’m not sure if you’ve ever missed a day of flossing and if you’ve ever not brushed your teeth for exactly 2 minutes (timed, 30 seconds per section, of course!) Your school work is always frame-worthy because you do all of these things with your whole heart. -Mommy
    7. You are such a good and loyal friend. You are inclusive, welcoming and kind. You are sensitive to others’ needs. -Mommy
    8. I love how good you are at driving huge tractors all by yourself! I am grateful I can trust you with such grown-up things because you are trustworthy. -Daddy
    9. I love that you’re always bursting with energy to share your thoughts and ideas with people! You love telling stories and inviting everyone into your experiences with you. -Daddy
    10. I like that you love going on long trips with me because I love going on long trips with you! -Daddy
    We had waffles, whipped cream and strawberries for breakfast, per Elliott’s request! Good morning, birthday man!!
    Grandma and Grandpa Moberg were here visiting and Grampa and Nonna Mauss came over for lunch. Hooray for grandparents! Elliott opened some presents and we feasted and enjoyed mud pie! I’m not sure either of our kids are capable of doing anything half-hearted. This series of pictures just cracks me up. I love Selah’s expression in the second photo. Literally awe-struck at his gift! He had just opened a 2011 proof set of coins from his daddy and me. As the awe wears off and pure excitement builds in picture 3, he goes flying up and down, as you can see in picture 4. Picture 5 is Selah–in the air–because she literally cannot contain her excitement as Elliott opens the gift from her. Hmmm, I wonder which parent they got their expression from? 😉 I sure do love these two joy-filled kiddos!!
     Our kids are so blessed to have both sets of grandparents in their lives. I thank God often for that. I didn’t grow up knowing my grandparents and it’s hard to imagine Elliott and Selah not knowing each of our parents. So thankful for the blessing of their lives!
    And, you guys. Look at these two. Are you kidding me? They are such a gift to us. Growing in their love for each other with each passing year.
    Just like last year, Elliott pleaded with us to time our daily bible reading so that Brian would be reading to us at exactly 6:25 pm, since that is the moment he was born. (5:25 pm Pacific Time) Again, these pictures crack me up. They were taken at precisely 6:25. Brian just kept on reading, undeterred :). But no lack of enthusiasm on either of their parts!
    Also, I wanted to mention that Selah, in true Selah fashion, decided to buy a balloon animals instruction guide and learn how to make balloon animals so she could give everyone party favors–2 days before his birthday! And learn, she did! She made Elliott a turtle! It was her very first balloon animal! And then a personalized balloon animal for each grandparent and Brian and me. Grandma got a pink bear, Grandpa a white bunny, Grampa an airplane and Nonna a flower! Brian and I got some very special creations, which we decided to call Cacti :).
    We decided to take Elliott on a special 10th birthday trip. Brian took him skiing and they had a wonderful couple of days away together. He hadn’t been skiing since last year but he picked it up quite quickly again! The trip was wonderful, other than a horrible, no good, very bad sunburn. (Grrrr….)
    Now, as for celebrating with friends… Last year, all Elliott wanted to do was have friends over to play ultimate tag on our property. The Lord had different plans, but this year his dream came true. In fact, I suggested making the focus an epic game of Capture the Flag and that is what we did. Elliott really, really wanted to have his cousin Micah there for his party so we held off about a month until Micah and his family were in town visiting. We started out with Ultimate Tag in the back yard as families and kids trickled in, and then Brian led the kids out to the property to commence Capture the Flag. Can you see them out on our property in the bottom two pictures? Huddled up on the left and spread out all over on the right?
    You’ve probably heard me say it before but in Colorado it is risky to have a Spring birthday party. For Selah’s fall birthday, we usually end up having to come inside because it’s too hot, but for Elliott’s spring birthday, we usually end up having to come in due to blizzard conditions. I think I got tricked because we had had such gorgeous sunny, beautiful weather. I love you, Colorado, really, but could you follow the seasonal rules, please?? So, staying true to her nature, Colorado decided to snow that lovely spring morning of Elliott’s party. Thankfully, the snow melted before everyone arrived, but it was VERY cold. But the kids were troopers and were running around the whole time anyway so they didn’t ice over completely. We started a fire during lunch so they could thaw out a bit. And then, just to confuse everybody, we served ice cream for dessert :).
     
    And not only did he get Micah there, but ALL of his Moberg cousins!
     And now, let’s do a little flash back, shall we? This popped up on my phone, reminding me this was 10 years ago. I haven’t been able to stop laughing since. What was going on here??? Did I write a blog post about this?? I’m taking caption submissions….
    Far be it from me to not pull together a few other wonderful baby pictures from 10 years ago…
    Really though, have you ever met a child more captivating with his joy? How is it possible that his joy has grown in the last 10 years when we started with such a high bar?!!!!
    Now, come on…their heads are LITERALLY tilted at the EXACT same angle, TEN YEARS LATER. Who does that? How did he know??
    Elliott Brian, what JOY to watch you GROW UP these past 10 years! A decade!!! We are SO GRATEFUL to be your parents!! We thank God that he chose YOU to be our son. May the Lord continue to grow you into a man of honor, valor, strength and wisdom, who loves the Lord with all of his heart, mind, soul and strength. Happy birthday, mighty man!!

  • Selah’s Golden 8th Birthday

    Our sweet little girl turned 8 on the 8th…her golden birthday!! I’m so thankful that we could slow down and take the time to celebrate our girl. She is a constant source of laughter and joy in our home and I am so thankful for her!! She is still the little girl who doesn’t need another person to hold a conversation (she is perfectly content talking to herself), interrupts herself while she’s talking almost EVERY.SINGLE.TIME and cracks herself up more than anyone I know. The other day I asked her a simple question about what she and the other girls did at school and after 15 minutes of trying to answer this simple question but interrupting herself with rabbit trails and other stories I finally burst out with laughter, “Selah! Just finish your sentence!!” She paused and said, “Well it’s more like a paragraph than a sentence.” Oh my word…yes, yes, it is. More like a novel, really.

    She requested just having one friend come over for her birthday, her dear friend Aspen. And it’s a good thing that’s what she wanted because…Covid. She sees Aspen 3 times a week but it is never enough for these two girls. They are CONSTANTLY asking for sleepovers and extra play time. What a perfect day to make that happen!

    So when I asked Selah what she would like to DO for her birthday, the ideas ranged from ice skating, to “I want it to snow and build a snow fort and have a snow ball fight,” to make and shoot bow and arrows, to whittling wood. But the two things that she kept coming back to were a wood whittling party and a bow and arrow party. Because, Selah. That’s my dear, special girl!!

    She and Aspen have been making their own bow and arrows for weeks and it’s been really fun to watch their creativity and skill. So why not have an archery contest?! But then, of course, I started thinking about her golden birthday and how to incorporate that and it came to me: Selah’s Golden Olympic Birthday Games: Go for the gold! How fun, right?! I also just couldn’t resist doing something extra special for her golden birthday, so this year she woke up to a surprise on October 1st with a note explaining that she would have a surprise every day for the 8 days leading up to her birthday. That was fun :).

    Day 1: She woke up to new bedding on her bottom bunk! (The kids had shared a room and the bunk beds up until last Spring. But ever since Elliott moved out the extra bunk has just remained empty.)

    Day 2: Her cousin Taylor! She knew her grandparents were arriving on the 2nd, but she DIDN’T know that they were bringing Taylor! I told her she would find her surprise in the back seat of their car…as she opened the back door and began searching, Taylor popped out of hiding from beneath a pile of coats! It was awesome.

    Day 3: Brown paint! Selah and I finally got around to painting her room a few weeks ago and as we talked about what she wanted on her walls, she said she really wanted a family tree painted on her wall, with photos of her family (and friends) on each of the branches like leaves. Well, okay then! It was super special for her to have Taylor here to help draw and paint the tree (which we barely got finished before Taylor had to leave)!

    Day 4: A rug for her room! Many weeks ago she mentioned casually, “I would love to have a round, teal rug for my room.” Amazon made it happen :). That day, I told her she’d have to find her surprise and her reaction when she found it was priceless! She carried the rug around with her everywhere she went for the next several days, haha. She wrapped herself up in it like a blanket and dragged it through the house and slept underneath it. I think she likes it :).

    Day 5: Have you read “The Courage of Sarah Noble”? It’s a very short chapter book about an 8 year old little girl who learns to keep up her courage. The character reminds me of Selah in so many ways so we got her this book, encouraging her to keep up her courage in the Lord.

    Day 6: I had asked her several weeks ago if she’d like an “8” shirt sort of like the “7” shirt we got her last year. After looking through several puppy shirts (still in love with puppies) she came across this brown tulle skirt with puppy ears and a tail. And she was IN LOVE. She wanted a plain brown shirt to go with the skirt. Alrighty then, Selah B!!! So her favorite stuffed teddy bear was missing this particular morning but Selah found a note from her, explaining that she was playing hide and seek (which happens to be Selah’s favorite game). When Selah found Beary, she was dressed in Selah’s new puppy outfit. 😉

    Day 7: We decided to get her a “real” bow and arrow. We knew she would love it but we also figured it might be good to have a real one for the kids to use for the archery contest. See anything interesting about this picture below???

    Also, what should I do with this picture? Blow it up and frame it? I can’t get enough of it. I have entitled it, “Target Practice.”

    Day 8: For her golden 8th birthday, her final present from us was a (rose) golden locket with a picture of the three of us in it.

    Her actual birthday was a co-op day so we had a semi-special but quick breakfast, she opened her locket and then she was off to school. I sent her with some chocolate golden coins to pass out to her friends at school. While she was gone I decorated the dining room. Aspen came home with her from school, we had a special birthday dinner (ravioli, garlic bread and asparagus–her choices), and mud pie for dessert.

     

    The next day, the Golden Birthday Games began! My parents were able to join us (what a praise and gift!!!!!) and the kids began their competitions…an archery contest, a hula hooping contest, a limbo contest and an obstacle course. (Unfortunately Taylor had online school she had to do during the party. So she was out there with us while Zooming into her classes for the morning…) It was a gorgeous but way-too-hot fall day. The kids tallied up their points at the end and received chocolate gold coins as their “medals”.

     

    And how perfect that her Olympic rings formed the perfect number… (wink, wink)

    Now, I was trying to figure out how to incorporate her wood whittling request into the party…because whittling wood is about as exciting as watching paint dry on a wall (in my opinion). I just couldn’t figure out how to do a meaningful project that could be started and finished within a short time frame. So…I came up with…wood burning!! Perhaps slightly selfishly motivated (I’ve really wanted to learn how to wood burn but couldn’t justify buying one for myself, ahem), we purchased a wood burner and I tried it for the very first time at her party! Wouldn’t recommend that :). I thought it would be so simple…have the kids draw with pencil on a piece of wood and then trace over it with the wood burner, right?! Well, not quite that simple. I helped Aspen make her way through the project but then spent the next few days playing around with tips until I figured out a much easier way to wood burn. So it went a lot quicker with Elliott, Selah and Taylor. Anyway, it was fun. My vision was to have the kids wood burn a design and then color it in with colored pencils. None of them chose to color them except for Selah, and I think the simple wood burned look looks really neat. I do love how the colored pencils look with the burned wood outline though! Taylor did both the front and the back of hers so she can change which verse she has up in her room at any given time. Here is a little bit of the process along with their final projects:

     

     

    What a blessed little girl she is…she is so loved!!

    And here she is with her puppy ears. You can’t see the tail, but I assure you, it is there. 🙂 Happy golden birthday, dearest Selah!