Birthday dinner with the Burkes 

Isaiah is my very favorite 14 year old. He stepped into the position yesterday on his birthday.  14?  14!!!!!  Wow.  This year, he wandered around in those size 12 jeans for about a week and then settled into the 14s.  At the end of each meal he asks me what’s for the next one; we are thinking that he must have little side pouches somewhere, like hamsters have in their cheeks, where he hoards food because we can’t figure what the heck he’s doing with it.  No one could eat that often and stay so skinny.  And of all the kids this year, he has changed the most physically – it’s just that time!  I’m not sure how it got here but KABOOM – he’s a young man.

homemade warrior of some kind helmet

 Isaiah is a great kid and a blessing.  Something that has always been evident in Isaiah is how thankful he is. One of our favorite Christmas home videos features him when he was four.  We all crack up, because every single thing he gets (and I mean EVERY SINGLE THING….toothbrush and toothpaste in his stocking, a little Matchbox car,  a kazoo, you name it) he gets all excited, jumps up and shouts “YES!  I’ve been looking for that!!!” like he just got a new puppy.  He requested pecan pie for his birthday yesterday so pecan pie it was.  He thanked me three different times for making them and thanked Elisha just as many for making the crusts.  The Burkes got him a book light and an iTunes card and he was beside himself – he thanked them over and over and was so excited.  I was just really blessed to see such sweetness in him at 14.  

Isaiah is also super motivated, not easily discouraged, and cheerful most of the time.  I know that when I ask him to do something it is as good as done.   Because Isaiah is finished with his work and responsibilities so quickly he often gets more work than the other kids.  I really have to work at not taking advantage of that, because what a bummer it is to get more work for being diligent!  Hm. 

I am so grateful for and proud of my young man.  We are looking forward to the things that are to come with him.  We cannot be more thankful that the Lord has entrusted him to us to raise and love and that he loves us back.  Happy Birthday, Isaiah.  I love you more than you will ever know – my life is infinitely richer because of you.  

Isaiah the Teenager

It wasn't long ago - about half a year, I think - that we had all sorts of little people running around....when number 5 was born the oldest wasn't quite yet 7. So I am not sure exactly how I got to the place where as of today, we have three teenagers in the house. We realized that there will be a 17 day period (18 if it is a leap year) when we will have 5 teenagers in the house. We ought to take a really crazy road trip during those seventeen days. Teenagers get a bad wrap....I love my teenagers. That's a good thing becuase there is a new one in the family - Isaiah turned 13!!! Wow. Here he is with some of his birthday gifts. He is really into Army gear right now. Isaiah's birthday always falls on our trip back from San Diego. He has been such a sport about it, but this year he asked if maybe we could NOT be in the car on his actual day. So, we stayed a day later in San Diego. Isaiah is a very cheerful and easy-going kid. He is so quick to forgive others and admit when he has done something wrong - not that it necesarily changes, but at least he admits it!! He is a very motivated kid - when he was little, he would come to my bed at around 6am with his math book in hand, wake me up, and ask if I could do his math with him right then....um, I just figure that in my sleep, I must have had a look on my face that said "I wish I was teaching math right now instead of sleeping". Which is strange, because I am pretty sure that when I had 5 very small children, I really wanted to do a lot more sleeping than I did.

Isaiah is still driven. We love who he is and watching him grow. I can hardly believe that he is 13 years old....where does the time go. One thing that I love about Isaiah is that when he is done with his chores, if someone else isn't done - and that person might miss out on something fun because of their lack of dilligence - Isaiah jumps in to help them get their things finished. Not sure how great that is for the slacker, but I love the compassion that Isaiah has towards them. Here are some of my favorite photos of Isaiah when he was little. I had to take photos of them from his album and then upload them, so some of them look a little weird.

Brand spanking new, with Daddy. Oh, he was so yummy, and a sweet, easy baby.

About 3 months.... and ready to rock and roll.

With his new baby, Elias - just a few hours old.

We were re-doing the front yard in San Diego and it was a disaster....dirt, mud, dust, topsoil everywhere. Isaiah was in the middle of it. He took his little chair out there and sat amidst the loveliness of it all. He was about 18 months old. He found this little crack/hole in the sidewalk where water pooled and he stuck his nose in it and stood up with the above pirate's mustache and goatee. We all laughed so hard. OH, I miss his little 18 month-old self.

Love this photo.. Happy little guy!!

this is my favorite Isaiah photo, I think...it is just SOOOO him.

Cute little guy!

He is always covered with sand at the beach

football stars - they were constantly playing football or baseball at our house

Elisha's first day of school, but Isaiah was so excited to be doing school

he had to get in on the action

Isaiah got baseball clothes and gear for his birthday this year. He wasn't old enough to play teeball (so he must have been 4), but he was so ready. He wanted me to take photos of him pretending he was playing baseball. Here he is "running the bases"

Getting so big even here

And here he is as a new teenager - 13 big years old. We love you, Isaiah and we are glad that you aren't going to be a waitress when you grow up (private joke!).

Redwall Scmedwall

I am so thankful that my kids L-O-V-E to read, but I am ready for them to read and discuss something else. Elisha and Isaiah were introduced to Brian Jacques' Redwall series (21 big, fat books long) by Jeffrey Miller in the fall. They have both, since then, read all 21 books (at least once, some more than that). Isaiah is now listening to them on tape and CD as well. They are dramatized readings and so he now has voices to add to his own line recitals (oh boy!). Unrestrained (by me) breakfast discussion is no longer about anything other than Dibbins and Moles. They have gone over the deep end. This happened last year with the Lord of the Rings books until we made them give it a rest, so I know that this shall pass. I am sure that we all will be able to look back on it with fond memories...........someday.

Isaiah the birthday boy

Isaiah turned 10 years old on the road. Driving 14 hours through Southern Utah, Nevada, and the desert of California (groan - and L.A. even) is not a great way to celebrate a birthday, but he didn't complain even once. We started out Isaiah's day in SLC, UT heading toward San Diego. We arrived at the Curles late that night and so celebrated the next day with them. We went out to lunch that day (at our beloved and missed taco shop), and had cake and tacos that night. Because of the guilt of being on the road and him not getting a normal birthday, he was able to milk it for all it was worth. And his birthday extended until our trip was over on the 18th.....when we arrived back in MT, we had tons of snow (just for him) and gifts waiting.

Isaiah is a great kid. He is extremely motivated, helpful and exceptionally cheerful. I always know that I can depend on him to get things done. He is always finished with his work and on to his own adventures before some of the others even begin their work. He is such a sweet kid and will often help a sibling with their work so that they won't miss out on some fun. What would we ever do without him?

I cannot believe he is ten. I remember a time when he had just turned 4 and we were going to Josiah's tee ball game. Josiah had gone early with Brad and he had forgotten some item. Isaiah wanted to get out to the field and give it to Josiah right away and begged to walk from the parking lot over there by himself. I was still getting the littler people out of the car and I let him go. As I watched him, walking tall, all the way over there with his cute, little stride, it hit me hard that this was a first break into Independence and that one day he would be all grown up and not my baby anymore. Funny, but the moment is etched so deeply in my mind; my little man, heading out into the big world.

My little man keeps getting bigger and growing smarter and figuring things out. I look forward to the young man and the grown man that he will be one day. God will do great things with him. I am so thankful that he is mine - he is one of my most cherished blessings. Happy Birthday, dear Isaiah, Happy Birthday to you!!

Sharp Shooters

A local sports store (Snappy's) hosted an air gun competition this fall for the homeschoolers in the valley. The kids had a great time practicing and competing. We have some sharp shooters in our family. Josiah got second in his age group and Isaiah got first in his. Exciting stuff.