Dear Leah,

 

It's official....you're a teenager! No matter how much we tried to keep this moment from happening, it did! One of the most wonderful things about you has always been your innocence and incredibly pure heart. Our fear has always been that this would fade as the teenage years approached, but that definitely hasn't been the case.

You are still the most imaginative and playful child we have. Though there has been a lot less playing and a lot more FaceTiming and texting these days, we still catch you channeling your playful spirit from time to time. Every once in awhile, you pull out your school stuff and transform yourself into a teacher. You are most likely to use this form of play to help reteach a concept that you've learned in school...it's your built in way of studying and practicing a topic that might have been a bit tricky at first. Or other times, you're in your room cranking up music and singing along like you're a famous star. You are also known to periodically pull out your dolls and spend time dressing them up and doing their hair. This all happens with the door closed since you love to create your imaginary world free of judgement from your brothers (who can be quite critical).

Indeed, you face the criticism of your brothers, but you don't let that stop you from being who you are. Which, by the way, might be your strongest quality as you enter your teen years. While so many girls are SO driven to define themselves by the standards set forth by their peers, you seem to be unapologetically you. You are definitely aware of all the latest trends and fads, and you seem slightly interested in following along, but more often than not, you're totally okay with just being your unique self. You stick to being simple...ponytails, comfy clothes, and no need for the name brands. You're a breath of fresh air in a world of people who try so hard to be someone they're not. We hope this NEVER changes for you!

That very quality is surely what makes you so likeable by so many people. While so many other girls your age are prone to gossip and putting others down, you seem to be one that doesn't have an enemy. You find the good in everyone and they seem to feel the same about you. You are selfless and kind. You are compassionate. You are the definition of a loyal friend. We are so proud of you for not giving into the temptation to be just like everyone else. We hope that you always stay true to who you are and you never let the world tell you who you're supposed to be. 

As you enter into this next phase of life, we are so excited to watch you grow. You are going to do amazing things. You are so hard working and well rounded. You face adversity like a champ. You have an innocence that keeps you young and an emotional maturity that makes you wise beyond your years. This world would be a much better place if more people lived the way you do. We don't know how we got so lucky to have a daughter like you, but we are thankful every single day that God chose us to be your parents. Happy birthday to our little ladybug. We hope this year is filled with all of the joy and blessings you deserve!

Love,

Dad and Mom

Fall Fun

I guess that this phase of life leaves me updating the blog a lot less frequently than in the good ol' days! Though I miss the slower pace of life with little kids, it sure is fun being on the go all the time and watching them do what they love!

Caleb jumped head first into high school life! He had a BLAST doing football and his team ended up with a great season. With over 70 boys, the coaches had their hands full, but did a phenomenal job. He liked his coach so much that he decided to give wrestling a try as a winter sport (Coach Napier coaches Freshman football and wrestling). While football kept him quite busy, he managed to squeeze in some other things as well. He has loved being part of the band and especially enjoys the fact that percussionists get their own separate class. It was so awesome to watch them at the concert doing a percussion-only piece! The traditions of homecoming week were a lot of fun. Caleb participated in the dress up days and became Instagram famous on Adam Sandler day. He had a great time at the homecoming Olympics and also enjoyed going to the dance with a group of friends. The dance helped Caleb land his first girlfriend...until he realized that relationships are just too time consuming! Though it only lasted for a little over a month, she was a sweetheart and we are hopeful that he will continue to have a good radar for finding quality girls (but maybe not for a couple more years)!

Joel had a busy Fall with being a two-sport athlete! He played another season of soccer and loved it. He also tried out a new sport through the school. Cross country is open to anyone in 5th grade through 8th grade. He had a wonderful time with this sport and met some great kids along the way. Joel did quite well for his first year and even got to join in on one of the bigger races that is reserved for the top runners. He finished up the season with his 5th/6th grade group taking 3rd place at their last invite and loved that they each got a turn to take home the trophy for a night. Joel's other Fall highlight was finally getting to take his one-on-one 10 year old camping trip with Dad. They had great weather...maybe just a little too chilly, but plenty of fun was had and memories were made.

Leah played another season of softball. There were quite a few cold and/or rainy games, but she had fun nonetheless! She's also enjoyed continuing on with another year of Girl Scouts. They have had several meetings so far and she had a blast at the 80s themed dance! Leah has embraced the transition to junior high quite well. She worked super hard during the first trimester and managed to get straight As. She's gotten very involved in different clubs and groups as well. Band is probably the activity that keeps her the most busy. She does the band class during the school day, but also joined jazz band and pep band. She had one concert so far, and bravely got up in front of the entire audience to introduce one of the songs.

For the first time, Caleb, Leah, AND Joel are all participating in 4H this year. We had a great time at the family picnic. We really enjoy all of the families that are part of the group. One family was kind enough to host everyone for a fun Fall get together where they created a scarecrow for our town's scarecrow stroll. They've also had a few regular meetings so far. Caleb took on the role as the president of the club and Leah is jumping in during her very first year as the club treasurer. 

Nyla is doing great back at U of I. She's all settled into her apartment and is back to being quite busy with the basketball team. We've been lucky enough to visit her twice. The first trip was for her birthday. The kids enjoyed a tour of her apartment building and we had a good laugh when we went back to her apartment and Joel found her wig! We also went apple picking, walked around campus, and ended the day having cupcakes and singing happy birthday with a few of her friends. Our second trip down was for a chilly and very windy football game on Dad's Weekend. Not everyone lasted for the entire game, but it was still so fun to be there together! Grandpa really enjoyed getting to see Nyla's apartment building....especially the pinball machine!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year! The pumpkin carving tradition continued for another year. The kids are definitely able to do more of that on their own, but somehow they seem to pick more and more complicated designs each year, so we are quite thankful for their talented grandparents who like to help! 

Halloween night was a lot of fun and the weather was fairly decent. Caleb went off with a group of his friends, Leah was gone for half the time with her friends, and Joel was the only one left for us to walk around with. It's hard to believe we are only a couple years away from being the people that get to just sit at home and hand out candy!