Eli's Journey

Gene Siskel said that the best way to criticize a bad movie is to make a better movie. Thus do we overcome the crushing sadness of the recent altercation (see previous post, or better yet, skip it) by moving on to the kind of inspiring moment we've come to expect from our little hard-working superhero. Today Elijah went to occupational therapy and had a lot of fun playing with toys and jumping and flipping and stuff. I had to step out to make a phone call, and when I came back, our new friend Suzette said she had something to show me. I assumed she had some kind of exercise she wanted me to do with Elijah at home, so I took it in stride. I sat down and watched as he picked up a ball, aimed it quite carefully, and threw it at three "dinosaur bowling pins," knocking them all down with impressive accuracy. We clapped and cheered. But that's not what Suzette wanted to show me. Elijah crawled up a set of benches into his own chair (an impressive feat on its own) and sat at...

We went to a park last night...all four of us. Two other 4-year-old children at the park immediately became interested in Eli. They squated in front of him staring. Eli said "I am four and this is my mom (waving to me). My name is Eli." Eli was the only polite one of the bunch. They just watched him. One asked me, "Where are his feet?" I said, "We left them at home." I heard one comment to another later, "He has three fingers and one thumb." A bit later, one said "He looks like a monster with those feet." My sweet Eli said to no one in particular, "I'm not a monster." David corrected the kid telling him that was unkind to say and he should never say that about another person. I knew Eli's spirit was untouched by the incident. I was mad at the kid, but heart broken that Eli heard the declaration. Sophia missed the exchange, but later caught on that some kids were treating her brother unkindly. She is very protecti...

VIDEOS TONIGHT of Sophia's very first piano and voice recital. You have GOT to see the performance that all of Tulsa will be talking about for the next month-and-a-half. Prepare yourself for "The Glory of Love," which is the rendition the kid sings in the movie "Beaches." Our darling girl makes the song her very own, and the crowd actually gasped with delight at how she nailed it. And here's her piano recital. She's only been playing the piano for about eight weeks, so we're all super-proud of her for playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" flawlessly and by memory in front of this big audience. She was the least experienced pianist in the show, so she played first. And since she was the MOST experienced vocalist (even performing next to teenagers), she also closed the show. We're just absolutely bursting with pride tonight. BONUS VIDEO: I know you're asking, "So when does Elijah start singing professionally?" It won't b...