February Fiestas

If ever there were a month needing extra oomph, it's February.  It may be the shortest month, but the continuing cold and short days make February feel like it will last forever.  I'm so glad our family has some birthdays to make February special!  First up, Mr. Anders!  Our little man turned six!

Papa Kay and NomiAnn drove out from Omaha for the special occasion.  Looks like Papa Kay has stories to tell and love to share!

Eila is all smiles for the birthday boy as well.

Most of the family may may be delighted to see Anders, but is his mama?

Of course!  Callie's just helping him put on his new scuba gear.  Snorkeling's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

Next task: crack open the llama pinata before your fingers freeze.

Last but not least, the sugar fest.  Happy birhday, Anders!  We love you like crazycakes!

Ruby also celebrated a milestone birthday in February.  This beautiful girl turned eight!

We celebrated with a rainbow spread of colorful foods.

Ruby even helped the make the cake!

She comes from a long line of culinary talent.  Our family specializes in the consumption of said talent. :)

Working off the extra caolories with a game of fussball.

As exciting as Ruby's birthday was, her baptism was even more special. This sweet girl made the beautiful choice to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized by her father.

Ruby, you are a beautiful inspiration to us all, especially Violet.  It's heartwarming to see how much she looks up to you and how tenderly you watch out for her.

All of the cousins singing "I am a Child of God."

Soul-warming soup in the cultural hall after.  Thanks, Brianna!

Naturally a post about "February Fiestas" needs to include Valentine's Day.  Jason cooked a delightful breakfast of pancakes and eggs.

Of course, Annika went straight for the syrup.  (And no, we do NOT endorse such table manners.)

Breakfast was tasty, but what my kids really wanted was Cupid's Crazy Cafe.  This tradition of mixed up menus and surprise culinary delights is time-consuming and exhausting.  Yet the kids love it so much that we haven't let it go.  Instead, they've really stepped up to help with all the preparation and presentation.  This year we went with an Indian theme.  We indulged in samosas, naan, chicken tikka masala, mango lassis, gajar halwa (a carrot pudding), and the most delicious raita that Christy brought.

While certainly an atypical meal, I think Christy and Ben enjoyed sharing our goofy tradition.  We certainly owed them a meal!  Christy lovingly cooked for us every Tuesday night all winter.  It was such a tender blessing, not just for the food, but for the friendship and connection.  Now that is love that beats any Valentine's schmaltz.

So hey, let's honor the heroine with some pics I found on Jason's photo roll.  Christy, you are radiant!

As perfect as those pictures, I think I like the goofy shots even more.

And since February is all about love, a final photo of Eila with a giant heart.  As she climbed up on back of the couch, we realized that she coordinated with the artwork perfectly.  To borrow the Yiddish, it seemed bashert, or meant to be.