Happy Birthday Levi!!

 The teenage trifecta is complete with Levi turning 13 years old! As always, we were so blessed to have another year with this extraordinary young man. Levi makes everyone around him happier. He listens well to others and his wit is so quick and spot-on…years above where it should be. His teachers, camp counselors, and friends at church compliment his compassion and drive and leadership when he is around his peers. He is confident in himself and an encourager to others as well. Levi likes the leadership roles he continues to step into at church and at school. As a 7th grader, he helped plan an assembly at school and led several activities at the microphone in front of the entire middle school. He also loves helping with kids worship at church as a puppeteer. This summer, he had the opportunity to babysit some friends a few times with his sisters and he is just a really great leader and example to younger kids! He gets frustrated when kids around him are acting goofy and he has to wait for them to stop. His patience is pretty short with his sisters if he has to wait for them to be ready. He likes things to move at a pretty fast pace! We have to remind him all the time to slow down…stop running down the steps at home, slow down on homework so his teachers can read his handwriting, speak slower so everyone can understand him. His hard-working attitude improves every year and we know he will complete all his tasks with the very best results. He likes teriyaki chicken and rice, Indiana Jones movies, Nikes, math, the beach, shorts, Reese’s extreme blizzard, swimming, playing outside on summer nights, and spending time with his youth group. He doesn’t like putting gel in his hair, folding laundry, shrimp, getting sunburned, soups, country music, braces, his sisters telling him what to do, or volleyball. He is kind, smart, out-going, funny, determined, energetic and thoughtful. We are the luckiest parents to be blessed with Levi. We know he will accomplish great things in his life and show God’s goodness and grace to all those he is around. We love you so much, buddy, and wish you the very best birthday and another great year!

What is your favorite color? Green

What is your favorite sport? Football

What is your favorite fruit? Green grapes

What is your favorite movie? Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Corn dogs

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Mint chocolate chip

What is your favorite subject in school? History

What is your favorite snack? Cheez-It

What is your favorite animal? Dog

Who is your best friend? Boston

What is your favorite cereal? Fruit Loops

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Shoot the bow and arrow

What is your favorite drink? Root beer float

What is your favorite holiday? Halloween

What is your favorite restaurant? Texas Roadhouse

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? French toast

What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Spaghetti and meatballs, Texas toast and Caesar salad

What do you want to be when you grow up? Youth minister

Happy Birthday Erika!

 Happy 16th birthday to our beautiful, kind, gentle and good Erika! I remember on her first birthday imagining what it would be like on her 16th birthday and now here we are. It has been nothing but blessings and fun and satisfaction and pride to get Erika to this point in her life. She is so much more woman than girl now....although there are still some growing pains at times. She gets frustrated when our family plans don't line up with her plans....if we plan to stay home and work around the house for the weekend and she would rather be out and about she gets pretty difficult. She is learning when it's a good time to open her mouth and add to a conversation and when it would be better to just remain quiet...especially if the conversation is more directed at her brother or sister and not really involving her at all. These personality traits are a good growing area for her and she is truly seeing how to control her actions and her tongue and for that we are very proud of her. Erika is pleasant to be around in everything she participates in...church, school, sports, social. She is trustworthy, reliable, fun, mature, encouraging, smart, patient, active, and creative. Her classmates comment on how she takes a positive approach to things that happen at school and I know that makes her proud to hear. At church, every adult knows they can count on her to help teach or babysit the little kids. She adores all the kids coming up behind her at church and is such a great example to them! I host a Bible study at our home and moms will bring their kids. Each time, Erika comes up with a fun craft and game for the kids to play...she loves doing it! Erika is attentive to others feelings and observant of things going on around her which makes her an excellent friend. This past year has been a little stressful learning how to drive but she is doing quite well! She is cautious (maybe a bit too much) and only wants to drive the streets in our town that she is familiar with but I know she will enjoy the freedom that comes with having a drivers license! She loves doing hair, shopping at thrift stores for clothes, designing homes with an interior design program on her chromebook, babysitting, swimming, being outside, reading historical fiction, talking with the history teachers at school, Camp Yamhill, anything cotton candy flavored, her youth group, soccer, Panda Express, her friends, country music, and God. She doesn't like being reminded to do things that she already had in mind to do, driving, thunder storms, ruined surprises, the English curriculum at school, chicken cordon bleu, staying home, phony friends, turtles or chickens, and picking strawberries. Each year brings change and the older she gets, it seems the more change we go through...with jobs and cars and friends and school. But we are so lucky to be in the front row of her life encouraging her and telling her how proud we are of her and seeing how much she loves God and serves Him and watching her take care of her siblings and friends. Erika is a blessing to our family. We love you so much Baby Boo!!

1. What is your favorite color? Teal
2. What is your favorite sport? Soccer
3. What is your favorite fruit? Raspberries
4. What is your favorite movie? The Greatest Showman
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Kraft Mac and cheese
6. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Birthday cake
7. What is your favorite subject in school? History
8. What is your favorite snack? Goldfish
9. What is your favorite animal? Dog
10. What is your favorite song? “Buy Dirt” by Jordan Davis
11. What is your favorite book? The Orphan Collector
12. Who is your best friend? Emma and Sonia
13. What is your favorite cereal? Fruity Pebbles
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride the go cart
15. What is your favorite drink? Cotton candy frost
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What is your favorite restaurant? Texas Roadhouse
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Swedish pancakes
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Shrimp
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Interior Designer

Happy Birthday Laurel!

 Our tiny little Laurel Ann turns 14 today! This girl is truly something else and we are all so blessed to be living in her world. My friend told me once "I love talking to Laurel....everything that comes out of her mouth is gold" and she is not wrong. She is hilarious with her phrases and descriptions without even trying and sometime it seems like we are talking to an elderly woman when she speaks.  I love it! Her heart is so pure and she is so confident in herself and what she is doing. At times that can mean a stubborn streak that is frustrating to her parents, but I really admire her integrity. Laurel is funny, sweet, thoughtful, athletic, kind, independent, and determined. She gets the most angry when she is called out for a wrongdoing but I've just recently come to discover that she's not angry for the act of getting caught, but rather she's angry at herself. She knows right away when her words or actions were hurtful and she really gets upset that she caused someone pain. Laurel is, for the most part, the most easy going kid we have. She usually doesn't know the upcoming plans, but she is totally fine just going along with whatever we are doing! Every year since she started to talk I've noticed that she is a thinker before she is a doer. She examines and truly gets to the root of the conversation or written piece. Unfortunately this does not always transfer to her academic career as she tends to rush through her work so she can be done! But when she does slow down, she is an excellent writer with fun details and creative techniques. Laurel loves animals (especially dogs and highland cows), soccer, ribs, swimming, watching television, pop music, pizza pockets, chocolate milk, fidgets, telling you about her injuries, and hamburgers. She does not like chores, science, being last, waking up early, cake, clipping her toenails, or seeing someone hurt. She is easy going, tough, a fierce and forever friend, understanding, compassionate and mature. We joke often that Laurel is the luckiest member of our family and she is just gifted with things absolutely falling into perfect place for her. On the day she was born, she was a pretty fussy newborn and Matt and I were exhausted and the nurses on duty at the hospital that night told us that even though it wasn't protocol, it was pretty slow in the delivery department at that time so they would take her to the nurses station and hold her while we got several hours of sleep. She has been won raffle drawings, been waited on with surprising speed in a time sensitive situation at the sporting goods store, had coaches hold her jacket/sweatshirt/water bottle while she competed....Laurel succeeds and is taken care of in most life situations. And the beauty is that she does not take that for granted or even really notice it....she just keeps bouncing happily through life! We love her so much and appreciate her attitude and can all learn from her steadfastness and honesty. We are so proud of you little Lowlie Pie!

1. What is your favorite color? Pink
2. What is your favorite sport? Soccer
3. What is your favorite fruit? Watermelon
4. What is your favorite movie? Once Upon A Time
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Pizza pockets
7. What is your favorite subject in school? Electives
8. What is your favorite snack? Homemade granola bars
9. What is your favorite animal? Dog
10. What is your favorite song? 
11. What is your favorite book? What Not To Do If You Turn Invisible
12. Who is your best friend? Brooklyn and Paisley
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cocoa Pebbles
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Ride the motorcycle
15. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17.What is your favorite restaurant? Red Robin
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Donuts
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Hamburgers
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Physical therapist