Happy 10th Birthday Josiah!

Ten.  Somehow when you are holding a little 8lb 3oz baby, you don't realize they eventually turn four, seven, and now ten.  I remember often feeling like I didn't know what I was doing with you when you were a baby.  Honestly, I feel that way now too.  You, as the oldest, get to be the guinea pig.  Sometimes, I think that benefits you. Sometimes, I am sure it is a burden! You seem to have a personality that handles all that well and I am grateful for that!

A year to grow to ten has brought some changes.  Your sense of humor has grown and I love watching you "get" jokes that were above you just a year ago.  You think Hogan's Heroes is funny.  Your ability to read has grown and you've made a good dent in The Hobbit.  At one point while you were reading it, you told me, "I can't stop reading it, Mom. . .it's sooo good!"  At the risk of slightly embarrassing you, but because I want to remember, you stink more too and find bodily noises extremely funny!  I am sure that will get worse, but for now it means more showers, deodorant, and reminders to tone down the bodily noises as much as possible.  You started cello lessons this year.  I think you really enjoy it, although you tell me you really want to play bass.  You have worked hard at it and are doing well.  I am excited to see where that goes in the years to come.

A year to grow to ten has also keep some things the same.  You still love Legos and disappear often to make whatever you have dreamed up in your head.  You chose to pool your birthday money to get a large Star Wars lego set.  You still make the sets up but then spend hours modifying them! I continue to be amazed at what you dream up. You still love to work -- not housework, but "real" work.  Your dad often needs your help outside and you are content to do that.  You still love to shoot guns.  You have been thrilled that the move to the acreage has brought quite a few gun shoots with different groups.  This year you got to carry a gun during rabbit hunting.  You still like to be with people and continue to trail me or your dad or leaders at church to be a part of whatever we are doing.  And you still want me to be with you while you are practicing or doing school work or many other things you do.  Sometimes that desire of yours is impossible to fulfill, but I am trying to say yes as much as possible, because I don't know how long it will last and it is such a privilege to be your mom.

Life with ten year old Josiah is as exciting as it always has been.  You are always thinking, learning about the things around you, and talking with others about them.  Like your dad, you are always ready to have a conversation with people and keep things interesting with whatever new thing you have been learning or thinking about.  At conferences, your teacher told me that you sometimes "make the rounds" in the classroom, stopping at each desk to chat with students.  What a fun thing to know about you!  You embrace life enthusiastically, like you have always done, full steam ahead on most things.  You remind me that God has given us so much to enjoy and we miss so much when we fail to enjoy them!  

My prayer for you this year is that you will grow in godly character, developing those gifts that God has placed inside of you.  I pray that you will be confident in who you are and love others with more and more grace.  Josiah, you were the gift I didn't know I wanted and you put my life on a course of motherhood that has forever changed me.  You continue to challenge me as each year brings new aspects of mothering and you continue to bring me more joy than I ever knew I could experience through being your mom.  I love you!

Happy Birthday Josiah.
Love,
Mom

A Very Late Birthday Post

I have written Evelyn's birthday post in my head over and over again.  Each time I sit down to write it, I get teary and give up!  I think partly it is because, she of all my children, is a reminder that life is fragile and each child is a gift.  But, there are many things I want to remember about this year of her life, so here is goes!



Evelyn wakes up smiling and goes to bed smiling, literally.  Recently, she has started watching out of her bedroom door for me to leave my room in the morning and then she hops out to meet me with a big grin and stays with me throughout my getting ready routine.  Almost every night, after I pray, she tells me she wants to pray about something, grins and then, usually thanks God for something from her day.  Then she gives me another huge grin and snuggles under the covers.

Although she has mostly stopped humming while she eats, she is constantly humming and singing throughout the day.  When we walk across the yard, she is making up a tune.  When she is playing in the living room, she is singing.  When we are in the car, her vocals are at their loudest!

Evelyn had her tonsils taken out this year.  She really didn't sleep for the two weeks after the surgery, but since then has slept better than she has in a long time.  While she was recovering, she mostly ate chocolate pudding and orange popsicles.  Since her surgery, we have been back to the ENT doctor numerous times as her ears have had fluid in them.  We were so grateful to have them better at our last appointment, which meant postponing another surgery for tubes in the ears.  We are hopeful that they will continue to improve.  Evelyn is still visiting a doctor in Sioux Falls periodically, to keep her systems moving regularly.  She takes medicine at each meal to help train her body to work properly again.  Overall, she is much better, but has had some relapses.

She loves to play with her Strawberry Shortcake set and I love to eavesdrop while she makes conversation between the dolls.  She is also easily persuaded from her brothers to play big machinery or kitties.  She loves to run errands with me and thinks she likes to shop with Aunt Crystal and me, although often grows weary before we are done!  She holds my hand.  She hates to have her hair combed, but will sit very still for Aunt Crystal to do it.  Her made-up word is "Ba-ba-low-nee" -- as it "it's a babalonee" or "we should make a babalonee."  She is almost as tall as Ezra.  She loves to wear pink and purple. She loves to ride horses, especially Grandpa the Farmer's Copper, and seems completely confident and comfortable on them, like she has always ridden them.




Dear Evelyn,  you bring so much joy and life to my days.  I love to watch you enjoy life, bouncing through your days as if life was a gift. . .as it is.  You challenge me to remember that, each day.  I am grateful for the "girly-ness" you bring to the house.  I pray this year that you will grow in your love for Jesus and in your understanding of His love for you so that you can show others that love in your joy, actions and words.  I love you.

Lucas Reading

All the kids were tucked into bed.  The house was quiet.  Joel went upstairs to take a shower and discovered Lucas Reading (click on link for video) in our bed.  He had turned on Joel's bedside radio which is the noise you hear in the background and was probably imitating what he has seen his brothers do before bed!

A Day on an Acreage

Some go-cart ridin'

Some sand playin'

Some workin' with Dad

Oh yeah, and some rabbit shootin' and toad catchin' too. . .

All in a day on an acreage.

Fixed

Oops!  Now all the videos should work.  :-)

Happy Birthday Lucas!

I know that I am spoiled.  But, it hit me especially today as we celebrated Lucas' birthday.  My parents were unable to be at the celebration because they are having a wonderful time in Ecuador with the college. I can count on one hand how many birthday celebrations they have not been a part of.  I am so blessed to be able to have them close and they were certainly missed today.

Here's a few videos from the celebration that I think capture things quite aptly.

Lucas Blowing out Birthday Candles
Lucas Checking out the table-covering with all the trucks!
Lucas trying out new car

The Fifth One

I know people are different. So, you wouldn't think that it would surprise me to discover that my children are different. But it has surprised me how different they are.  If I had to pick one word to describe my fifth child, Lucas, it would be. . .opinionated! He doesn't really talk too much yet, even though he is almost two. His discernable words are "snack, truck, and socks." I think it's fairly impressive that he can make his opinion known so clearly without too many words.  

Take yesterday for instance, we stopped to check out something at our local Alco store and when we got out of the car, Lucas spotted a candy bar wrapper on the ground beside the car next to us.  He pointed at it and grunted towards me. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that, being in a hurry, I had no intention of picking it up. Lucas however, refused to move and kept pointing at the wrapper. I finally reached down to pick it up and before it was even in my hands, Lucas was trotting towards to store door.  

Or earlier this week when I was changing Lucas for bed.  I had him all cozy in his pjs and he started pointing at his feet, saying "socks, socks, socks."  Well, normally I don't change his socks before bed, but I decided to indulge him since he was quite insistent and I changed his socks.  Then I told him to put his dirty clothes in the laundry. He looked at me like I was crazy. And, honestly, before this whole process was over, I would begin to think I was crazy. I told him again and he grunted his sound for no. This was followed by me giving him the stern mommy look and telling him he needed to obey. He picked up his shirt. All the dirty clothes, Lucas. He grunted, but picked up the rest, and took a step towards the laundry basket. Good job, Lucas. It's important to praise obedience, right? Perhaps not to Lucas, because as soon as I said that, he dropped all of the clothes and stared at me, seemingly informing me that my interruption was not appreciated. I finally got him to pick all of them up again and we got to the laundry basket where he put everything but the socks in. He refused to put the socks in and told me in no uncertain terms why he shouldn't put them in. Unfortunately, I could not understand anything he said. So I had him show me where he wanted to put the socks. Turns out he wanted them where his socks belong, in his sock basket. And I gave up. I let him put his dirty socks in with the clean ones and I put them in the laundry basket later, when he wasn't looking. 

He knows what snack he wants, whether he wants milk or water, what pants he wants to wear, whether he wants to wear a jacket, whether he wants help getting down the stairs to outside or if he wants to do it himself, how he wants the men placed inside the toy truck cab. . .so, opinionated is how I would describe my fifth son.