Zeke is 12!

 Happy 12th Birthday Ezekiel Dekker! Here's some things to remember from the past year: 

- You enjoyed creating this marshmallow/toothpick structure at the Kick Christmas party. You were very proud of how big your creation was by the end! 

- For our gingerbread house cookie decorating day you attempted to create a 3-D work. Apparently we did not create the correct "glue" for it to hold, so we had to shove everything into a glass bowl for preservation. You were quite disappointed. But it was still delicious! Next year? Sugar+water = glue. 

- Your annual contribution to Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Teresa's house -- cranberry sauce! Dad's favorite. And I think it's becoming one of your favorite things to eat also. 

- Fun at the KC Zoo! You enjoy walking, jogging, and biking. You don't particularly love any sports although you've gotten into watching Chiefs football this year. You enjoy taking hikes with our Adventure+Wonder hiking group on Thursdays. You've begun to make a few friends which is wonderful! You are inviting one of the boys from our group over to our house for your birthday this Saturday, to play Minecraft and eat pizza for lunch. I am happy that you've found a friend who enjoys some of the same things as you! 

- We  bought a few sets of new clothes for the Fall because you have grown! At your most recent doctor appointment they measure you are 5' 5" and it's been a few months since then. I bet you've grown another inch by now. 

- You are in middle school this year! And you have enjoyed attending the Middle School Youth small group on Sunday mornings at Restore. You've gone to a few of their events this year as well -- Friendsgiving, the Christmas party, and game night. 

- Cooking your dinner on our camping trip up at Wallace State Park in September. 

- You enjoy cooking and baking with and for your family. You have made quite a variety of things! You are getting better at including your siblings and giving them helpful advice on what to do and how to work together. 

BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW! 2/1/2024

What is your favorite color? Orange 

... food? Pizza 

... movie? "The Mario Movie" 

... TV show? "Tom and Jerry" 

... book? all Home Improvement Books :) 

... fruit? Apple-Pears 

... animal? Fish

... instrument? Guitar 

... band or singer or favorite thing to listen to on Spotify? "I like Parry Grip, he's a good one, I like him." 

... thing to do every day? "Read, play outside, rest, read, read, and some more reading. And then some building and taking stuff apart." :) 

... thing to learn? "I think... wiring." 

... about Naomi? "She's my youngest sister and that she's fun to play with." 

... about Zoë? "That she's artistic and that she has bunnies." 

... about Levi? "That he's my brother and that I can wrestle with him and that I can play with him on Minecraft and it's fun together." 

... about Mommy? "Mommy, oh the many things I could say about you. I like that you're my Mom and that you make great food and that you help us learn the piano." 

... about Daddy? "That he takes me on jobs and that I can go fishing with him and Levi and that he's fun." 

What do you want to be when you grow up? "An engineer or an electrician or a plumber." 

What do you like most about homeschooling? "That it doesn't take almost the entire day to do all the subjects and that it only takes half the day. And that Mom teaches us." 

Ezekiel, I love you with my whole heart! You are thoughtful, kind-hearted, silly, forgiving, chill, and so much more! I appreciate the way you are starting to really develop your strengths, but I've seen you take strides in areas where you've been weak as well. I love our time together on Monday nights -- taking walks, talking, learning about you, watching YouTube videos, writing in our journal, and praying. And I am supremely happy that you love this time too! You make sure it happens and look forward to it as much as me! You have begun guitar lessons this year with my friend, Andrew and I think you are going to excel. You have a natural ear for music. I appreciate that you will bring your guitar downstairs and play a song with us during our Wednesday night family Bible study time. I hope you will continue to do so and eventually feel comfortable leading a song or two on your own. Now that Pop-Pop lives nearby, you love going to his house to help with projects. You love to troubleshoot and fix things, put things together, and if you don't know how to fix it, you can usually find it in one of the 20+ library books you keep stored on your bed for your "nightly" reading :D I could go on, but for now I'll wrap up by saying how proud I am of you. I look forward to being with you this year as you continue to learn, spread your wings, and continue to find your place in our family and this world. Love, Mom 
P.S. I had this whole thing typed up, aside from this last paragraph, back in February. I guess I forgot to publish. Whoops! 

Levi is 10!

 Levi Olin, you  are 10 years old! We have entered the double digits -- woohoo! Here are some photos and things I'd like to remember about this past year. 

- You earned your first stripe on your white/orange belt, this month, for jiu jitsu! I'm proud of all the work you've put into this sport. You have worked hard and have learned a lot! 

- You love to eat and you enjoy baking and cooking too! You've become very good at making the green bean casserole for Thanksgiving each year. You also like to experiment -- you tried a few time to make some million dollar bacon at home (before you'd even eaten it!) and made some tasty breakfast for us. 

- You like to be active! You take yourself on jogs, we go on walks together, you like to ride your bike with Zeke around our family walk circuit. You enjoy playing football after our A&W hikes on Thursday afternoons and you like to play soccer in the front yard, especially with Lennox and her dad during Shay's piano lesson. You like to work on your slingshot skills in the backyard, you set snares around the yard in an attempt to capture squirrels (nothing yet!), and when we can find a court, you like to play basketball. 

- Your love of animals remains. You take good care of Sapphire and enjoy morning snuggles with Dora. The next pet you hope to get is a snake or another lizard. 

- You have worked hard at your Pet Care business this year. You have added two new customers that contact you with regularity to care for their dogs. That brings you to 4 consistent customers, with an additional 1 who will sometimes need help! What a fabulous start for a 9 year old. You are not afraid to pass out flyers, talk to strangers and ask them if they have pets you can care for, and meet new customers! I am proud of you. 

- In October, we had a screen-free month and you found several books at the library about staying busy without screens. You made tons of paper hats one Sunday morning. You made a pinata, a mustache, helped Zoe make a friendship chain, popcorn holders out of coffee filters, and more! I loved seeing your creative side shine through. 

- Squeezing beets to make a natural food coloring for our first Harry Potter baking project - his cake! 

- We went to Rocky Mountain National Park and you received your 4th Grade national park pass. It was a fun experience! 

- You love the outdoors! We did a very brief camping trip (due to thunderstorms) up to Wallace State Park in September. We'll try again next year! 

- You are getting better at playing piano (you've begun practicing daily!), you are still working on the ukulele and recorder. You enjoy listening to music especially Parry Grip, Jordan Feliz, Evan Craft, and Skillet. 

- One of my favorite special times -- going to a Monarchs game together each summer. This year we got a funnel cake and decided that would be a new special food we get to share once a year! 

Birthday Interview -- December 15, 2023 

What is your favorite color? "Green and Brown"

 ...movie? "Tin-Tin" and "Home Alone 2"  

... tv show? "Oh this is hard... Junior Baking." 

... book? "Right now it's probably the 'Who would Win?' books." 

... YouTube channel? "Dude Perfect and Snake Discovery" 

... favorite video game to play? "Legend of Zelda and Minecraft." 

... sport? "Soccer and football" 

... fruit? "Banana"

... animal? "Reptiles, specifically lizards." 

... thing to do everyday? "Nintendo" 

... about Naomi? "That she likes looking at the books I get her." 

... about Zoë? "That she asks before she takes something of mine, most of the time." 

... about Zeke? "That he helps me in Minecraft." 

... about Mommy? "That you're my school teacher." 

... about Daddy? "That he goes fishing with me." 

What do you want to be when you grow up? "I want to own my own pet store. And I want to be a vet. And a video game maker." 

What do you like most about homeschooling? "That we still learn a lot even though we don't spend a lot of time doing school." 

What is your favorite food? "BBQ Chicken pizza and Sausage, Green Pepper, and Mushroom pizza." 

Anything else you want to remember about turning 10?  "My 10 year old trip! Being in my two digits. Taking on more responsibility. And all sorts of things!"

Levi Olin, you make me smile everyday. You are an excellent helper, you pay attention to what's going on around you, you  are making good friends, you like to play games -- board and video, and you have learned to slow down. Recently, I was headed out on a walk and you asked to go with me. Typically I like some alone time on my walks, but I said it was fine for you to come along. Just a few minutes later, you came upstairs to get ready to go with me, and asked "Mom, do you want me to not talk? That way you can talk on our walk?" You are so aware of what's going on. You've always been my child who wakes up with questions and ready to converse, but you are beginning to notice that sometimes others aren't ready or need their space to talk as well. You are really maturing in this area and I am very proud of you! I look forward to the year ahead with you. I can't imagine our family without you in it! Love, Mommy 

SIX years old!

 Happy Birthday Naomi Irene! You are six years old today! Here's what you've loved and done in the past year: 

- You love dance, especially ballet! Over the summer, you had a negative experience with another girl in class and it almost made you want to quit dance. I was feeling very sad because I know how much you love to dance, so we have talked through a lot of fear and worry and anxiety before each class this Fall. This past week (Nov. 8) was Parent Watch Day and I was SO  PROUD of you! You had been telling me over the weeks that you have learned new moves in ballet and that it is your favorite. But due to your bad experience over the summer, I hadn't seen you perform ballet since early in June because we left partway through because you would get worried and wouldn't go back out to dance during the second half. Your moves were beautiful and you know all your ballet positions. My heart was exploding with happiness for you! 

- For some reason you are really into wearing these Harry Potter glasses right now, Ha! We watched the first four Harry Potter movies in October and we got out some accessories that Levi had from his costume, and you think it is so fun to wear the glasses. You even insist you can see better with them :) 

- You like to play outside -- swinging on monkey bars, riding your bike (you learned to ride a bike with pedals this summer!), taking walks and hikes with our nature group, playing at the playground, fishing (sometimes), running, and more. You love to move and I am glad! 

- You had fun with your cousins Ben and Amelia when we visited Grandma at the beginning of Fall. 

- You like to bake and cook with your family! We try to have you kids cook once a month, so in August this was your contribution -- a cheesy puff pastry in the form of the Whomping Willow from Harry Potter. It turned out great and tasted good too! You also like to help makes snacks during the week, stir batter, decorate desserts, cut up fruit, and most anything I ask you to do. You especially love licking the bowl at the end! 

- You are silly! You love to joke, and make us laugh. You make silly faces and tell funny jokes. 

- You started Kindergarten this Fall! We are working on reading lessons, numbers, phonics, handwriting, and piano. You listen in on Bible reading, history, science, and all of our family topics too. You are taking dance on Wednesdays this Fall. We had a rough start due to a girl bothering you over the summer which almost made you decide to quit, but you have persevered and we've talked through a lot of your fears and today (11/8) I watched your entire dance class and I was so happy because the past 2 parent watch days we've ended up leaving before I watched you do ballet. And now you've decided ballet is your favorite and you're learning new things and you did awesome today! 

- You are fearless! You went out on the inner tube behind Bryan's boat this summer. You climb on high things. You are always willing to try things even if the other kids don't do it. 

- You are scared of spiders. And you don't like bugs of any sort. But you seem to enjoy other animals! Your current interest is getting a bird like a parrot or parakeet. 

- Your current favorite toys are: stuffed animals, magnatiles, kitchen/food toys, Barbies, legos, and most any open-ended toy that allows you to use your imagination. 

BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW! 11/11/23

What is your favorite color? Black 

... food? Meatballs and spaghetti 

... movie? "Sonic the Hedgehog" 

... TV show? "Cocomelon" 

... book? "Curious George" 

... fruit? Strawberries 

... animal? Parakeet (or some type of bird that can be a pet, that flies) 

... instrument? Ukulele  

... band or singer or favorite thing to listen to on Spotify? "Cocomelon" 

... thing to do every day? "Having my birthday!" 

... thing to learn? "The A book for school" (she means her new Explode The Code Book A for phonics) 

... about Zoe? "That we dance really hard!'  

... about Levi? "That we spin and I put my ankle, right here in the middle, and we spin around so fast!" 

... about Zeke? "That he lets me listen to music." 

... about Mommy? "That when it's my birthday, we have a good time together and also, we can do special time." 

... about Daddy? "That he sometimes does Group Therapy."  

What do you want to be when you grow up? "A teacher for piano, like you." 

What do you like most about homeschooling? "That we can get drinks of water." 

What are you looking forward to about being 6? "That I'm older!" 

Naomi, you add so much fun and joy to our family! Whenever I paint your nails, you pick them off within a day or two. You like to jump from several steps high off the stairs. You can make it all the way across our monkey bars. We cut your hair short this year and it was a good choice because now we can brush it more regularly and your curls look great! You like to wear dresses most days and decided to wait to pierce your ears. You still have all your baby teeth -- I will probably cry when you lose your first tooth, baby teeth are one of my very favorite things. You pronounce your 't's as 'f's and you like to kiss my face *repeatedly* as I brush your teeth at night! I look forward to watching you learn more in the year ahead; to watch you dance and make your family laugh. I love the way you use your imagination and love others big! I am very thankful to be your Mom! I love you! 

Zoe is 8!

 It's your birthday, Zoe Kayte! Here's what you been up to over the past year: 

- You love art! You like to draw, color, paint, and create. You and Daddy do art videos on Sunday afternoons and have created many lovely paintings and marker drawings. We discovered Art for Kids for Hub on YouTube this year and you absolutely love it! You've probably watched and followed along with over 100 videos. It definitely shows as I'm trying to put away papers before the new school year and your art is everywhere! We are hoping to put you in an online art class for the Fall. 

- We went to breakfast together at First Watch back in February for special time. You are a great eater! Some of your favorite foods are strawberries, nutella, pizza, cucumbers, stuffed peppers, and grilled cheese sandwiches. But you are not picky for which I am grateful! 

- You love to play games -- board games, computer games, video games, tag, soccer, volleyball; even making up games with Levi or Naomi. You win consistently at Dutch Blitz and Trekking. You seem to have a good mind for strategy. 

- You enjoy baking with me in the kitchen. You have a brownie business this summer and it has gone quite well! You've made many batches of brownies. You have all the ingredients memorized, I just have to help a little with amounts because you make 8" pans and 9x13" pans, some are regular, and some are gluten-free. They are very good! 

- I took you to your first pedicure last Fall! It was fun for both of us. It's always nice to be pampered now and then. 

- Up in Maryville, MO for the homecoming parade and football game! We enjoy taking everyone there to see where Daddy and I met and got married. 

BIRTHDAY INTERVIEW! 8/2/23

What is your favorite color? Teal

... food? Enchiladas and grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza  

... movie? "Bolt" 

... TV show? "Tom and Jerry"  

... book? "Zoe's Room" 

... fruit? Strawberries 

... animal? Bunny

... instrument? Violin

... band or singer or favorite thing to listen to on Spotify? "Jazz, I mean my cds from Pop-Pop" 

... thing to do every day? "Art"

... thing to learn? "Art"  

... about Naomi? "She plays with me."  

... about Levi? "Hmm... I don't know actually. That he smiles in a funny way." 

... about Zeke? "hmm... that he lets me borrow stuff." 

... about Mommy? "That you help me and that you make my food." 

... about Daddy? "He colors with me and he sometimes plays with me and reads to me." 

What do you want to be when you grow up? "A painter or artist."

What do you like most about homeschooling? "That's it's not as long as public school. That's it" 

What are you looking forward to about being 8? "That I will do lots of fun stuff. And I'm sad I'm not turning 7 again." 

Zoe, you will be starting 3rd grade on Monday! You are becoming a better reader and making progress across the board in school. You are getting better at playing piano too. You like to come with me when I serve on the worship team at Restore, so you'll wake up early (6 am!) and help me set up, then help Aunt Teresa and other leaders out in the lobby, play with Miriam, go to Kid City and then to MVP during the second service. You have been asking questions about baptism too. I enjoy spending time with you Tuesday evenings. We take walks and talk, read books, watch YouTube videos, play games, bike up to Mission: Board Games, and spend time getting to know each other a little better. You like to sleep in, wear your pink nightgown, swim, dance, and generally have a fun time! You are getting your first pet on Saturday -- a Holland Lop rabbit! He is a 'blue otter' which means he is a blueish-gray color and has cream colored feet. You've named him Owen. Daddy and you have been working on building his hutch to set up on our back porch. You have been so patient, you have asked for a pet since you were 6, so I'm really happy that it's finally happening for you! You are responsible and kind and I know you will take great care of him. I can't wait to see what this next year holds for you. Love, Mommy