Levi is 12!

 Levi Olin you are 12! We had fun celebrating you this month, although we all ended up getting sick, so your party was not quite as lively as other years. 

Birthday lunch at Kome Sushi! Your favorite! 

You chose banana cream pie doughnuts for breakfast. We made a valiant attempt and the filling was great, but the gluten-free yeast donuts were not as fluffy as I'd hoped. We'll have to keep experimenting. You enjoyed helping! 

Birthday Interview -- December 27, 2025

What is your favorite color? "Green and Gray"

 ...movie? "Family Switch" 

... tv show? "Carmen Sandiego" 

... book? "Chop Wood, Carry Water" 

... YouTube channel? "Snake Discovery" 

... favorite video game to play? "Hogwarts Legacy {he got it for Christmas}" 

... sport? "Football and basketball" 

... fruit? "Blueberries and bananas 

... animal? "Hognose snake" 

... thing to do everyday? "Playing outside, probably playing video games." 

... about Naomi? "That she's always up to do something, most of the time." 

... about Zoë? "That she plays board games with me." 

... about Zeke? "He tries to include me on his projects."  

... about Mommy? "That even if we play the same game over and over, you still like to play." 

... about Daddy? "That he includes me on building his fish tank." 

What do you want to be when you grow up? "A veterinarian." 

What do you like most about homeschooling? "That Mom helps me with school when it doesn't make sense." 

What is your favorite food? "I like BBQ Chicken pasta and pizza, pad thai." 

Anything else you want to remember about turning 12 (or are excited about)?  "That I get more stuff to do, like responsibilities; that Mom and Dad will probably say 'yes' to more things." 

We enjoyed our A&W Book Club celebrating "Treasures of the Snow". We made paper lanterns, carved soap, and ate fun snacks! 

The Splatoon cake we made for your party! 

For the fall semester you worked on a WWII project and you decided to share it with us since we celebrated your birthday on Pearl Harbor Day (December 7). 

Your Thanksgiving contribution: Green Bean Casserole. Our best one yet! 

We helped process a beef in November. You liked helping with the ground beef. 

We completed a National Parks puzzle during some of our first cold days of the fall. 

Mustache painted on at Fall Fun Day with Restore. 

Another bake-off -- you and Zoe worked together to make the Forbidden Forest cake from Harry Potter 2. 

At the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain during our family vacation in July in AR. 

You went to your first church camp at Encounter Cove, MO with the other 6th grade boys from Restore. 

Levi -- you are full of energy, zeal, and intensity for life! You awake ready to work, talk, play, move, be alive! You've begun to read morning devotionals in a book called "Catching Whimsy" by Bob Goff. I love that you come upstairs so diligently and start reading to start your day. I pray it will give you wisdom and knowledge about living well and growing closer to God. You have pursued regular work this year and walk Rubble (from our previous neighborhood) around 3 times a week; in turn, this has increased your fitness because you either ride your bike there (about a mile away) when the weather is nice or, recently, you've begun to walk all the way there and then take the walk with Rubble, and then we come to pick you up. Your goal for the coming year is to walk there and back! I'm so proud of the ways you are pursuing to be healthy and active and I pray you will continue to do so as you grow older. You are dedicated to learning in school each day, enjoying the trumpet in the homeschool band, making good progress in your piano skills, serving at church in the Kindergarten room, growing as a leader at Kick. They have invited you to begin taking the combatives class with the adults starting in 2026! I think you are ready -- you have been in jiu jitsu for 6 years, I believe, and I think you're ready to be challenged and pushed to the next level. You are an assistant instructor in Lil Champs and have just started helping in Junior Grapplers as well so I know you are making good progress even though I am not there to see it each week. You are gathering resources, doing research, and asking experts questions about getting a hognose snake. It looks like this will be happening in the coming year as well, which makes me nervous, but I think you are ready for the challenge and it will bring you lots of joy. I admire the way you move through life and I think it will be for your good as you grow into an adult -- the self-motivation, willingness to jump in and serve, the single-minded focus, and pure effort you put into all the things you pursue. I love you buddy and can't wait to see what '12' brings! Love, Mom