Fan's 12th

Nathanael Gilbert turned 12 back on Oct. 9th.  I've been waiting to post since he hasn't done his traditional sleepover with friends yet, but at this point, I'm not sure it will happen at all, though it was in December last year.  It's difficult coordinating 4 athletes' schedules!

For the 3rd time, I've forfeited my mother-of-the-year nomination on the technicality of 'missing my child's birthday.'  Yup!  I have spent three of Nathanael's birthday on the opposite coast as him- his 7th, his 11th, and this year.  Thankfully, he is able to understand the importance of Daddy's annual conference and the value of my being there.  He plans to take over the business one day, so he's a proponent of doing what it takes to build the business.  Also, he maybe possibly gets some cool, guilty-parent birthday gifts in the process.

Ninny and Madison went above and beyond to make it special for him and it was a treat to stay in touch through the day with texts and pictures.  Ninny even remembered apple pie!

Notice the Banners-By-Trevor banner behind.  I actually have no idea what the significance of 'cool kids' is.  I guess you could call it creative liberty.

I had the kids FaceTime me so I could watch him open the gifts I left for him.  

Here is the video of him opening his gift after a letter full of clues and present "1" which was a clue.

Madison took it upon herself to get the boys ready.  And she did!  

Izaya was the cherry on top!  Shout out to Uncle Shaun for braving the concert with these 7 crazies!

A couple weeks later we were able to take him to Outback for his birthday dinner.

Nathanael is just a love, teetering on the edge of little guy and big guy.  He has matured so much over the last year- controlling his emotions (most of the time), making wise(r) decisions, staying on top of his schoolwork (for the most part).  He's a delight to be around and is often very chatty.  He's a good, loyal friend and son.  He's kind, helpful, shares easily, looks to bless, extremely tolerant, desires to be a good witness, and can be really silly and goofy when he's in the mood.  He cares deeply about people and he loves Jesus.

The following is an excerpt from his birthday book interview:

What was your favorite gift you received throughout the year?

My floor hockey nets.

What's the last thing you were sad about?

To be honest, Dad not giving me less school this week.

What makes you happy?

Going to Moe's with my family.

Are you scared of anything?  No.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to take over or run my Dad's business.

Who's the last person you kissed?  Renna

What is something you dislike about yourself?

I don't really have anything cuz I know I was made the way I was supposed to be made.

What is something you do well?  Play hockey.

What is something that really bugs you?  C4

What makes you feel sad?  School

What is the best advice you've ever received?

If you don't manage your time then later somebody else will for you.

What is your favorite day of the week?

Saturday.

What makes a happy family?

Lots of love.

What makes a good friend?

Loyalty.

If you could be someone in history who would you be?

Adam, so I could change the Fall.

What makes you laugh?  Trevor.

What do you think the world needs now?

A Great Awakening.

Which is your favorite room?

My bedroom.

What do you like to do?

Play hockey, hang with my buddies, bike.

What's your favorite

Ice cream?  Cookies 'n cream

Thing to eat? Five Guys cheeseburger

Thing to drink?  Dr. Pepper 

Candy?  Reeses peanut butter cups

Movie?  Rocky I 

Show?  Hulk

 Color?  blue

Song?  Feel It 

Artist?  tobyMac 

Snack?  yogurt with chocolate chips in it

What's your favorite memory from the past year?

Cape Cod, Outerbanks, camp with Izaya

Is there anything you'd like to accomplish in the upcoming year?

Make it to the state tournament and finish school before C4 and Maddy.

Who are your best friends?

Sean, Josh, Izaya

Give me 3 words to describe yourself.

smart * athletic * friendly

If I were 5, I would...

...Play all day.

If I were 40, I would...

...Be happy that I'm running my Dad's business.

I wish I never...

...Lied.

I'm happiest when...

...I don't have school.

Tell me what you think of when I say these words:

Home: love    *    Love: family

Bedtime: lights out    *    School: boring

Week 46

Monday, Nov. 9th

The much anticipated arrival of Cole Peter, 3rd son of our very dear friends, Megan and Chris.  (Also 4th grandchild for our dear friends Lil and Larry.)

Though I was not jealous of her for having a baby, I was jealous for all of the Day 1 excitement and newness.  Man, oh man!  There's just nothing like a birth and those first hours.  What a miracle.  What a gift.

Lucky us!  We got Mason for a few hours.  He's the responsible 1st born with an on-top-of-it mom in the climate appropriate pants and hoodie.  The half naked clowns are mine.

Tuesday, Nov. 10th

Rehearsal shenanigans:

Such a dedicated, hard-working cast and crew!  I spent more time with them then some of my family for a few weeks.  At least half my family came with me.

Pretty awesome lighting!

Wednesday, Nov. 11th
I was soooooo excited to sneak away to meet Little Cole.  Bonus: My visit overlapped with Larry and Lil.

Thursday, Nov. 12th
Big night for Fan.  His coach won some sort of raffle or silent auction which included 100 tickets to a Boston Bruins game.  Colombo had a dinner meeting and I had rehearsal, so C4 chaperoned him on the team bus.  Both the boys had a great time!

Renna spends a few minutes every night getting her bed "just so".  Spread, fluff, arrange, tuck in, rearrange.

Friday, Nov. 13th
My van is not plastered with bumper stickers, but I'll steal a quick second here to brag on Maddy.  Her first quarter of 'real school' and she made straight A's, Honors with Distinction.  So proud of the hard work she put in.

C4 also finished his 9th straight quarter of high honors.  He HATES when I mention such things.  I had a cute exchange with the kids when I picked them up this day.  They both eagerly handed me their report cards.  I began reading aloud from the 'comments' section.  C4 said, "I was just telling my friends that every time I get my report card, the first thing you do is read the teachers' comments.  Even before the grades.  They couldn't believe it!"

I smiled and reminded them, "That's right.  I care way more about your character, leadership, and reputation than any letter grade, though I do care about the grades, too."

We had to hit Burlington on the way to rehearsal to pick up some last minute costume pieces for Maddy.  Un-idyllic- we had the 4 littles with us, but on the bright side, we got what we needed without spending much at all.

Trevor rockin' the beanie in true Trevor form.

Oh, wait!  It's Johnny Depp.

Saturday, Nov. 14th
1st full dress rehearsal.

Sunday, Nov. 15th
I attended a lovely baby shower for our friends Brianna and Kevin.  It was a Pinterest dream.  Then a lllloooonnngggg rehearsal...

Week 45

I'm trying to squeeze a little blogging in on this lazy, rainy Sunday morning.  I'm weeks behind on the blog due to a rigorous rehearsal / filming / performance schedule.  It's been several weeks of nearly every day; many late nights at the church.  Today is our last performance and it's surreal.  Strange to think that tomorrow I'll wake up and my day will be mine.  It's been incredible and I'll soon have to share pictures, but for now, let's rewind a few weeks...

Monday, Nov. 2nd
Two dogs = double the love for Renna.  At this moment she was saying, "And now you can kiss the bride."

Perhaps, she has outgrown the crib?

Tuesday, Nov. 3rd

Can you see him?  I actually hate when my boys climb trees.  It make me sweat.  It has always seemed dangerous, but I carry the scar of watching Nathanael fall about 14 feet out of a tree 6 years ago.  I can't erase the image and every time I see the boys perched up high somewhere it just looks like an accident waiting to happen.  BUT.  But then I remember the hours of time I, myself, spent in trees as a kid and I also think of John Eldridge's Wild at Heart and all the 'boy mom' blogs I've read about the innate need boys have for adventure.

There goes C4 in his car!  Too cool to stop and smile for a picture.

I usually take the littles for a walk in the studio's neighborhood while Trevor is is in jazz.  This day two little friends came with us.

Wednesday, Nov. 4th
We've had a beautiful fall.  Gorgeous color all of October, and unseasonably mild (even warm) temps all of November.  This day was 72 and we headed to the beach to do some filming for Mystery.  My first time going the beach in November.  It was gorgeous and we weren't the only ones.  Plenty of people sitting and reading, walking dogs.

We also dug through some old pictures, looking for a good 5 year old picture of Maddy for Mystery.  We came across a few gems.

Party in the powder room.  

Thursday, Nov. 5th
Colombo texted me this sweet picture of Trevor joining his Dad for morning devotions.

Another warm day so we met up with Gramma at the campground.

The kids were just a teeny bit excited about the parachute at dance.

Friday, Nov. 6th
Dentist for two.  Everyone checked out good.  I got the usual patronizing treatment and guilt trip about no X-rays and no sealants.  We DiSalvatores like to live on the edge!  I saw a mom there I know.  She was freaking out because she had both of her kids (ages 8 and 5) there for back-to-back appointments.  She's all like, "This is the first time I've tried bringing them together."  I was thinking, "I ONLY bring mine in pairs.  What's the point in going to the dentist unless you're going to get two done at the same time?"

Naturally, Renna needed to be all up in it, sure that the Dr. was doing it right.

Saturday, Nov. 7th
A full day, starting with a baby shower for Shelley.  It was a beautiful event and I got to sit at the best table!

Then off to Nathanael's and C4's hockey games, back-to-back in South Windsor.

We also celebrated our dear friend, Steve's, 50th birthday with an intimate dinner party at a lovely Italian restaurant.  This was the only picture I took.

Sunday, Nov. 8th
No pic... A lazy morning, went to the late service, was at rehearsal until 9:00.