More birthday

I thought maybe it was time to post some pictures from Ethan's birthday. We celebrated quietly at home on his actual birthday. I was thankfully able to get out of work early so we could all have supper and dessert together. We had a nice evening just hanging out! The "crown" is from school. I think he had fun wearing it in class all day so he thought he should wear it while he opened presents!

Jason and I gave Ethan a bat. It's his very first metal bat and he is incredibly excited (though he didn't go as crazy as we thought he would when we gave it to him). The bat goes nicely with his new batting helmet from Grandpa and Grandma and his batting gloves from Uncle James and Aunt Merridith. We need some warm weather to get this boy on the baseball diamond! The bat is currently residing in the closet so it doesn't break any lamps or windows or brothers.


Once again, Ethan wanted pumpkin pie for his birthday dessert. I seriously think this is a conspiracy by all the boys in the family. All of them love pumpkin pie...and I, the lone girl, hate it. But, I make it and watch them all enjoy dessert. Insert audible sigh. Oh, and I let the boys put in the candles. There are actually six; one of them is just kind of hiding in the middle.

These next pictures are mostly unrelated to Ethan's birthday. However, they crack me up so I'm putting them in here. The boys were helping clean up before the grandparents came over for dessert. Jason had them wash and dry the kitchen table. This is how they decided they should dry:


In the next picture, you don't really see the whole story. Micah isn't really doing all the work. You see, right as Jason snapped the picture, Ethan fell off the table (thankfully only on to the chair and he didn't get hurt). Kind of a funny shot when you know the story behind it!

I'll post pictures soon of the birthday cake I made. I took step-by-step shots because it sounded like fun, so check back later!

Two Hands

Mr. Ethan,

Today you turn 6...we now count your age with two hands. I can't get over how strange it sounds to say you are six years old! As hard as it is for me to think about how old you are getting, sometimes I forget that you're not 10 or 12! You are wise beyond your years.

This past year your dad and I have been amazed at how you've grown and matured. Your shoulders are suddenly broader, you're taller, and we can no longer play baseball in the backyard because you hit most every ball over the fence. When you wrestle with your dad you can actually hold your own (and I think some of your playful punches are starting to hurt!).


Preschool finished in a blur and you were more than ready for Kindergarten in the fall. You have so much mental energy that I can hardly keep up with you at home. You thrive on the stimulation at school and soak up every fact that is sent your way. You're learning to tell time, how to read, fine-tuning your writing, and you've even learned how to spell. You come home from school and say "I don't remember" when we ask you what you did that day. However, most often at night, you'll suddenly spill a wealth of information about what you did that day or week. You love the science and computer centers at school and I loved your journal entry about beavers and how they have "slappers".

You are learning that your brother can be a pretty cool playmate (well, sometimes anyway). Your dad and I often find you playing trucks or race cars together. You love to lead him in an activity, or mischief, or whatever other craziness the two of you can concoct. We've decided that we're going to have to watch you guys closely when you play outside since we think you're going to convince Micah to do some pretty dangerous stuff. You have also learned exactly what to say to make Micah scream and cry. That, my child, is incredibly annoying. But, you are siblings and children, so your dad and I try to remind each other of that.

You don't hold my hand very often anymore. I knew that would happen eventually, so any time you are actually willing to be seen in public holding mom's hand, I take it. To your credit, you are trustworthy enough to walk through a parking lot and stay by me. I don't have to hold your hand to keep you from running off. You also don't always have time to give me a kiss when I drop you off at school. If you see one of your friends heading for the playground, the last thing you want is to spend extra time handing out kisses (I am learning to grab kisses at home before leaving for school!). However, just last night you curled up on my lap and asked me to sing a song to help you fall asleep. I can't begin to tell you how much your mommy loved having you rest your head on my shoulder while I sang.

What makes my heart the most full is seeing how you've grown in the the knowledge of God. You listen raptly to the Bible stories and love to talk about them later. You've learned to pray and will often lead us in prayer before or after dinner. I often have to fight tears as I listen to you thank God for the people and things that surround you. Your dad and I pray regularly that your love of God will grow and develop as you get older.


Ethan, I love you tons and tons and I'm blessed to have you as my son. Happy birthday, buddy!

Love,

Mom

Birthay Celebrations

Ethan's birthday is tomorrow, but we started celebrating early! I have our whole family signed up for the Coldstone Creamery birthday club, so on Monday we took Ethan for his free treat. Like last year we let Ethan pick his own flavor. He chose cotton candy ice cream with gummi bears. Now, I love candy and sweetness and ice cream, but that concoction is a little much for even me! However, he loves it, so we go with it! One note to self for next year would be to NOT have this concoction as a bedtime snack. An afternoon snack would be much better! Ethan was on a bit of a sugar high while we were trying to settle him down for bed. Sometimes even parents can't be taught!

He offered quite a few times to share some tastes with us, but Jason and I politely declined! I love cotton candy, but pretty much only in it's cottony form!

Ethan offered some to Micah, but he had tried the flavor in the store and wanted nothing to do with it! He did kindly share some of his concoction with Ethan: strawberry ice cream with gummi bears mixed in.

Everybody loved their treats, and the best (worst) part was that I discovered that the kid-size helpings of ice cream are only $1.50. I'm willing to spend that on ice cream!

Oh, and do you see that I gave the boys haircuts? I hate doing that because they both look so much older afterward, especially Micah! My kiddos are too big already!

One more random thing...

I had to share a picture of what happens when my husband is left alone with the peanut butter cookie dough. Enjoy!

Working together

Quite some time ago we referred to the boys as Trouble. Big T and little t. The two of them seem like they could work together to cause mischief. Well...it's starting to happen.

On a recent Sunday morning I heard Ethan get up first. He came into our room and saw us still in bed, so he went into Micah's room next. Since I love to hear them talk with each other, I stayed in bed so I wouldn't interrupt. I smiled as they talked, and then listened closer as I heard Ethan say something about getting Micah out of bed. You see, Micah is still in a crib. This mom is not ready for a big boy bed and Micah has only climbed out of bed once. So, he's still confined when he wakes up.

Anyway, I could hear Ethan trying to lower the side of the crib. He was busy telling Micah that he couldn't get it. Then I heard the sound of the bean bag dropping. Ethan's next words? "We'll put this here in case you fall so you won't get hurt." I almost jumped out of bed and went running, but I really wanted to know what they would do next! After that, there was silence until I heard two sets of feet coming. They both came into our room with beaming expressions. Ethan was so happy that he helped Micah...he told me he just put his arms under Micah's armpits and helped him over the side. We may have to switch to a big boy bed sooner rather than later!

Quote of the day--Thursday edition

My boys crack me up. This morning Micah and I were playing pretend eating. It's a thing we do lately. :) Apparently it was someones birthday because we were having birthday cake. He kindly put some in front of me as well as himself. I reached out to sample my "cake" and was informed that "we have to pray!". Oops! So, I folded my hands and he nicely said his prayer (which he says on his own without direction!). "God is great, tank-you for this food, God bless mommy, daddy, E-tan, Micah, E-tan, Micah, and a happy day, amen." He then looked at me and said "your turn!". He's such a sweet boy!

Not to be left out, Ethan had his own cuteness. I worked until bedtime today, so when I came home the boys were already in bed. I went upstairs to talk with Ethan for a few minutes. He noticed that I had forgotten to take my name tag off and asked me what it was. I explained that it was my name tag and it had my name on it so people at work would know who I was. I slipped it off and he held it and looked at it for a few seconds. With a puzzled expression he said "shouldn't it say 'mom'?"

Quote of the day

Tonight I read the kids their Bible stories (they each have a book and we read a story from each book). Ethan's story was on the Ten Commandments. Since he's learning to read, he helped me with a lot of the words. There were some sentences where I read most of the words, but he did a great job. This Bible story book had the Commandments worded in such a way that it was easier for kids to understand, like "obey your father and mother" instead of "honor your father and mother". I read that one, just to be sure he understood the word. :) Here's the conversation when we got to number 8:

Ethan: "Number 8, do not"
Me: "steal"
Ethan: "Oh, that's a good one"

I don't know why, but his comment struck me as funny, especially since he didn't comment on any of the other commandments! Maybe that means that the 8th Commandment will really stick with him!

What a year!

I've been meaning to write this post for a few weeks now, but I can't quite seem to make myself do it. I think it's mostly because I don't quite know how to describe what the year 2008 meant for our family. To say that it had "ups and downs" just doesn't do it justice. This post doesn't have the pictures like I usually post, but I think it will be worth your time. It's not a book or anything, just something I really wanted to say. So, stick with me while I do my best!

Many of you know that Jason and I started a business a little over 2 years ago. We chased a dream, and it is incredible to look back and see God's faithfulness through that time. Jason and I found that working together and following where God was leading made for many learning opportunities in our marriage and family. Our priorities changed--spiritually, financially, and in our married and family life. We had to say "no" when we wanted to say "yes". We had to make hard choices. We had to do without. We had to ask for help even when we just wanted to do something ourselves. In short, we were humbled. But ultimately, we were blessed beyond measure to be loved and supported by our family and friends.

We closed the doors of the business in March of 2008. It was an awful day. It was easy to look around and feel like we failed. Our dream didn't turn out the way we planned. But, in all honestly, failure was a term that the world would use because we had to close. If you ask Jason or I if the business failed, we would likely tell you "no". In our eyes, it didn't. Yes, we no longer operate the business. But, God used the business for so many successes. He opened our eyes to areas where we needed to trust and follow Him more. He showed us that HE is our provider and that He will never forsake us. Our lives have changed because of the path that our Lord took us down, and those changes are the successes that I am most thankful for.

Jason began working at a new job, but God wasn't finished yet! In August we found out about a job opening that would fit Jason perfectly. All of the skills and knowledge that he had from operating his own business, plus the job that he had prior to that, made him seem like a perfect fit. Through a wonderfully swift process (though it seemed agonizingly slow some days!), he was offered this new job. We saw God's faithfulness and provision once again--a few days prior to him being officially offered the job, our second car died. We knew it was coming, but pretty much had prayed that the car would continue operating until we had the ability to replace it. Well, it died, and a few days later the job offer came...which included a company car. Jason started his job in September and has loved it ever since! We're adjusting to the new routines of the job, and it has it's own challenges, but it has been a gift that we are incredibly thankful for!

2008 will always be a year of bittersweet memories. It's wonderful to look back and see the many ways that God has taken care of us. I also remember days where I was brought to my knees and all I could do was cry out to God. I've spent more time in prayer and devotions than I ever have in my entire life. Jason and I started reading through the Bible and we've been blessed by that time together (our goal is to read through the Bible in a year...we should be done around September!). Our challenges are not all behind us. We have responsibilities that we need to take care of that will be with us for a while. But, we now have established a firm foundation that we can use to make decisions and plans.

Will life be perfect in 2009? I definitely don't expect it to be! But, I'm looking forward to many more memories with family and friends and seeing God's faithfulness on whatever path He takes us down this year.