Celebrating Joel

The day finally came for Joel - his first "friend" birthday party! He's watched his siblings enjoy these for years and now it was finally his turn. We recycled the same "Pancakes and Pajamas" theme that we did for the other two when they were in kindergarten. The kids all had fun playing games, making crafts, and eating pancakes, sausage, and cupcakes! It was definitely the highlight of his birthday week because he kept talking about it for days.

For his actual birthday, he requested pizza and chocolate cake. Nana Pam supplied a plethora of zebra decorations that she found on clearance at Walmart several weeks before.  Everything about the celebration was right up Joel's alley and he was delighted!  

Dear Joel,

Just one look at this picture says it all....you are all grown up. As much as we denied this day would come, another birthday is here and you're SIX! As the baby of the family, lots of things have always been easier with you. All-nighters as an infant weren't so bad because we knew they'd be our last. Toddler tantrums didn't phase us - we'd done those twice before. Leaving you crying on your first day of preschool wasn't hard because we knew you'd be just fine. Lately, though, the milestones you've hit are anything but easy for these sentimental parents.

This past year, you have done so many new and exciting things. We've cheered you on along the way, but inside our hearts ached just a bit as we knew these would be our last "firsts". Last summer, you became a total fish and began swimming fearlessly without floaties. Though it's so nice to be able to leave all the gear behind on a trip to the pool, something about that freedom feels so strange. 

Summer ended and you marched yourself right onto that bus to kindergarten without even a glance over your shoulder to say one last goodbye. Since that day, you've spent many months growing and learning so much each day at school. Sometime early in the year, your reading skyrocketed and before we knew it, you were reading real, actual books. We've traded bedtime readings of Goodnight Moon for listening to you read Star Wars books and Pete the Cat. It's always been a favorite milestone to watch you and your siblings read, but watching the dust collect on those worn and loved board books isn't easy.

This past fall, you had the chance to play on your first sports team. You took on flag football and loved every minute of it. Your little mouth could barely fit the giant mouthguard and those flags were just about as long as your little legs. Through it all, you smiled and anxiously awaited Saturdays to play one more game. You're already counting down the days until you finally get to play baseball in the spring!

There's been a ton of other steps taken towards the direction of "big kid" land, but thankfully you've still managed to hang onto some of our favorite "little kid"isms. You still wake every single morning and let us pick you up and give you a big "squeeze" and "smoochy face". You're a super cuddler and won't pass up the chance to snuggle with those you love. You're still incredibly obsessed with zebras and hang onto hope that someday you might actually be able to own one in your home. You're as curious as they come and are constantly asking questions and eager to learn more about the world around you.

What's hard to figure out about you is that, as a third child, you still haven't quite figured yourself out. You desperately want to be like both of your siblings and often struggle with letting that desire overtake the desire to just be you. Sometimes, it's just too hard to keep up with them, and you're slowly learning how to work through that frustration and accept yourself for who you are. Regardless, both of your siblings would say that you're their favorite sibling nine out of ten times. You're almost always tagging along with one of them and it's rare to see you choosing to just be left alone. And, when things are going well and you're letting your better qualities shine through, you're one of the most delightful people to be around. You know how to bring joy to anyone around you and it's one of our favorite things about you.

As we celebrate another year, we know there is so much to be thankful for with you. You're everything a dad and mom could ask for in a child - healthy, polite, smart, easygoing, funny, and (like all Sturm kids) strong-willed. We know that God is molding you into a person that can do amazing things and you won't let anything stop that. We pray that those amazing qualities continue to bless those that you cross paths with. The joy within your little body is contagious and the world definitely is a better place because you're here. Happy birthday buddy! 

Love,
Daddy and Mommy

Lake Lawn 2018

We took our annual trip up to Lake Lawn Resort over the MLK long weekend. It was SO nice to get away and we are incredibly thankful that my parents take us there each year. The kids all have a ton of fun and the adults get in some much needed relaxation. I even managed to squeeze in time to read some of my Jen Hatmaker book that I've been trying to find time to read for several months! It was so timely that one of the chapters I read talked about the importance of having traditions with your children. She wrote about the significance of the cabin her family grew up going to year after year. I shed a few tears as her words spoke so deeply to me. I've been so blessed to see my own children carrying on traditions that were a part of my childhood. The yearly trip to Lake Lawn during my childhood was something I always looked forward to and enjoyed so much!

Here is how Jen Hatmaker puts it (I couldn't have said it any better myself):

Mamas, the traditions and experiences we provide during the Family Years are paving a road our kids can always return to, one that always points home. There is something about a recurring shared memory; the sum becomes greater than the parts.

Childhood is such a wonky, weird season. Do you remember the fears and confusion and insecurities we harbored, our own little private pile of worries? Kids are amazingly resilient and handle change better than we give them credit for, but there is something to be said for a given, some constant, an element of childhood that delivers over and over with predictability and joy. While their bodies and minds and friends and classes are a swirling vortex of volatility, while they are constantly required to adjust and shift and recalibrate and flex, providing a familiar touchpoint week after week or year after year is an anchor that keeps them grounded and a buffer against the scary winds of change. It says to them: Yes, everything is fluctuating, but you can count on this thing we do, this place we go, this meal we share, this memory we make.

I cannot say enough how thankful I am that this truth she writes about is something we've been able to provide for our kids (often with the help of generous family members). Trips to Florida each year, Lake Lawn, the lake, and even our new tradition of a summertime road trip are constants that our kids can count on. They've stored up hundreds of memories in these places already and will hopefully have many, many more in the years to come.

The kids loved swimming and we were glad the water was a bit warmer this year than it was in the past.

Morning snuggles and cartoons are the best!

Of course we love all the game playing, hot chocolate drinking, and eating of yummy treats.

It was TERRIBLY cold, but we got in a little bit of ice skating!

The kids loved building a gingerbread house with Grandpa.

Relaxing before bedtime...

We had a little bit of a problem with the heating in our room, so the kids used Daddy's clothes for extra layers at bedtime.

Disney Half Marathon

After each half marathon I've done, I always swore I'd never do another one. However, two out of the four were in the pouring rain, so I have a reason to not enjoy them very much. Thankfully, the third one I ran last spring was on a gorgeous day and my attitude shifted just a bit. So, when my wonderful running partner said she really wanted to run the annual Disney race, I decided to just do it!

The training was tougher than usual because we headed into our longest runs just in time for temps to drop and winter to settle in. With spring races, our last training weeks are usually accompanied by great weather! This time around, we were forced to skip a whole week of running just before the race because Chicagoland was experiencing frigid weather (we run in anything above zero degrees, so you know it must have been bad)! 

That cold weather followed us to Florida and we were both quite sad to be in Florida with our winter coats! We made the most of it, though, and enjoyed the short trip to Orlando. My sister tagged along for the trip, so we made a special visit to Universal Studios to (mostly) see the Harry Potter worlds (she is a huge Harry Potter fan). It was a fun day, but we eventually got so tired of the crowds that we left. Race day meant a 3:00am wakeup because we needed to be at our corral by 5:00. Standing in a giant herd of people in 30 degree weather for almost an hour was definitely the worst part of the race. Once we got running, however, we were all smiles and had a blast! It was absolutely amazing to run through Magic Kingdom as the sun was coming up. I found myself especially emotional because our family had just had such a magical experience there the year before and all the memories came flooding back! We didn't worry about time and stopped to take plenty of pics along the race route. By the end, we felt pretty good and managed to still be smiling. It was definitely an unforgettable experience and I'm so thankful to have had the chance to do it!

We made it!!!

Packet pick-up.

Leah showing her Disney support from back home.

What an amazing way to see Magic Kingdom.

Of course we couldn't run past Woody without a pic!

Run? I thought you said Rum?

Stitch!

All done!