Dear Joel,

Happy 11th birthday to our baby boy! No matter how old you get, you are always going to be our baby boy. It seems as though you're still okay with that label and we hope that never changes. Even though you are the youngest in the family, you still have what seems to be the oldest soul. You're quirky and eclectic and have so many layers that we're not sure we'll ever completely unveil them all.

Every single morning you wake up with your sleepy freckled face and your wild bed head and you immediately find the dog to snuggle with. Aside from Nyla, Chief might be your most favorite family member and we can't say that we don't blame you for that. Your other two siblings are complicated. You seem to appreciate and idolize them way more than they do in return. You desperately want their time and attention, but they are usually far too busy with their school work, extracurriculars, or PHONES! Thankfully, you have managed to find your own way this year and have grown to be quite fond of a variety of hobbies.

You played multiple seasons of soccer again this year. We were quite surprised when you hung up your helmet and bat last spring and chose soccer over baseball. We weren't too disappointed though...one hour soccer games vs. two hour baseball games is a pretty good trade off. Plus, you're a rockstar out on the soccer field and the faster pace of that sport matches your energy level much more than baseball ever did. You also blew us away this past fall by joining the cross country team. This team was open to any kids from 5th grade to 8th. You were one of the youngest kids out there, but you ran with all you had and it was a BLAST to watch you grow throughout the season. You finished up cross country and within a month or two, you jumped into another entirely new sport...wrestling. This has also been a school team that takes in anyone from 5th through 8th grade. You are one of the youngest and smallest wrestlers, and you don't have nearly as much experience as the other kids, but you've held your own. In a very Joel-like way, you've given it your all. You watch videos about wrestling and ask for wrestling matches with Dad on a regular basis just so that you can learn new moves and improve your skills. You've only taken part in a few meets and it hasn't been easy. You're a perfectionist and you HATE to lose, so this new "individual" sport has taken some getting used to. You tend to be a bit too hard on yourself and wrestling is helping you learn to give yourself some grace.

When you're not busy with sports, you manage to keep busy with all sorts of other hobbies. You still LOVE fishing and would spend days upon days doing that if you could. This summer, you loved having the freedom to head to local ponds...even though that left Mom in a continual state of anxiety, you loved it too much to not let it happen. You also spend countless hours outside this Spring, Summer, and Fall helping with tasks around the house. You are probably the only family member who looks forward to cutting the grass! You became an expert gardener, know a lot about how to take care of the pool, and are a huge helper with fixer-upper projects. When the colder weather hit and you were forced inside (which is definitely not your element) you managed to find new interests to keep yourself busy. You still love to build and create. You enjoy puzzles and have also become a fan of diamond art....a seemingly tedious art project that keeps you busy for hours! If you aren't busy your with various hobbies, you're likely chatting it up with one of us. Your curiosity leaves you always asking questions. Sometimes they're the most random questions about topics that are so complex and beyond our understanding and other times you're asking thoughtful questions like "how was your day?" or "do you need help with anything?". 

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall...you live each day to the fullest. You don't waste a moment. You are full of joy and bring fun to any situation. You are Dad's little shadow, Mom's sweet boy, and probably the favorite sibling if each of the other three had to choose one. Your presence makes everyone's day brighter and life is so much better with you in it. We have loved watching you grow from our baby boy into the awesome kid you are today. You've brought us so much joy over the past 11 years and we are excited to continue to watch you grow into the amazing young man that you'll one day become. Happy birthday to you Joely-Joel....we pray that your year is filled with all of the joy and happiness that you bring to everyone who is lucky enough to know you!

Love,
Dad and Mom