Milestones

One day = about 720 minutes of daylight. The days can be long, but the weeks are short.

This is the title of one of my friend's blogs. (Her link is on my page somewhere.) 

This week, possibly more than ever, I've been reminded of how short the weeks and years are. Less than a week after our middle child turned seven, I registered my last [biological] baby for kindergarten! There are no plans to adopt yet, and may never be, but my heart, and even the kids' hearts, are still broken for and pulled toward orphans in this world. I really feel as though that may be a part of our family's story...some day.

Then today, I registered Isaac for his first week of overnight camp!  

Some major milestones, for sure.  I'm not sad or sappy about sending Elyse off to school...I know that this is how it works, and she is simply ecstatic about going.  She even composed a song for her music class about how excited she was for kindergarten.  It does, however, amaze me how quickly the time goes!  I mean, holy schniekes, I'm going to be "half way to 70" next week, as a dear friend reminded me a few weeks ago!

Whether the days are long, short, good, or bad I'm thankful we know and love our Creator who delights in our growth and milestones and deserves all the Glory, no matter what we are doing or facing.  

Whether you eat or drink, do it all for the Glory of God.                             1Corinithians  10:31

Testify to Love

Our handsome 7-year-old

Ace is seven today!  Kurt and I repeatedly say, "Ace is SPECIAL!"  Sometimes we're being funny because he says something a bit...off, but truly, God gave this kid an extra dose of "special!"  We are amazed by him and honored to be his parents!

In his honor, I thought I'd post what Kurt and I wrote in his birthday card.  It brought tears to my eyes to hear him read it out loud to all of us - just claiming who he is in our eyes and in the eyes of His Heavenly Father.
The card itself says,
"Happy Birthday...
...to someone who's in a
league of his own."
(ain't that the truth with our "gentle giant"?!)

My words to Ace:
Wow, it is hard to believe you are already 7!!  Seven years ago God blessed us with a fuzzy little baby who changed our lives forever.  You are no longer that fuzzy baby, but you are forever our snuggle bug!
The song that played on the radio when you were born was "Testify to Love." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu0wYHRMfwA
You, Austin Cutler, testify to LOVE more than anyone I know!  God has planted tremendous seeds of love, compassion, generosity, and empathy in your young heart!  You are already a great witness for Jesus Christ, by the way you love and live!  I'm excited to watch God grow you and to see the way He touches others through you.
I love you and am blessed to be your mommy!
Love, Mom

Kurt's words to Ace:
Wow!  Where to start?  It's hard to believe Mr. Enthusiastic has been in our lives 7 years.  You are such a blessing from God - your enthusiasm and excitement rub off on everyone you meet.  Both the Seattle Seahawks and Air Force Falcons are blessed to call you a fan.  Lose the D.R.A and you will make this world so much better.  I am blessed to be your dad!
I love you!
Dad

As you can imagine, there was much excitement in our house this morning!  Isaac and Ace were up at 5:59...ready to party!  As he read his cards and opened his gifts, there was no lack for enthusiasm.  Kurt and I got him a new flight jacket, as the one we purchased off CraigsList for his 5th birthday is getting a bit tattered, due to the TLC it gets day in and day out, plus, he's starting to grow out of it.  As he opened the new jacket, he said, "Isaac!  Now you can have my old one!"  He's always thinking about others!  I love that we can't claim any credit for this kid's heart.  It is truly the way he was made...a true testament!
Happy birthday, sweet boy!

Examining the new Adventures in Odyssey set MiMi and PopPop sent.

As I said...ready to Paaaaarty!

Birthday breakfast, presents, and cards

Oh the excitement of a "machine pitch" baseball toy from the Helms and Bunkas!

The new jacket!

Creating

Last week I spent a good part of a day planning out our summer - from booking some childcare for crucial workdays to marking all of the Colorado Free Days for museums, gardens, etc.on my calendar.  It felt good to have a few things nailed down, but I sure do look forward to the flexibility and spontaneity of summer!

While looking for free days, I noticed that this weekend Bemis Art School, part of Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, was hosting a free family art day.  All three kids love arts and crafts and I am not overly motivated to do a myriad of crafts at home, so this was a no-brainer.  Kurt worked at home and the four of us had a blast getting messy and making some fun things.  The theme was Native Americans and there were four or five well-planned art activities in which families could participate.  We will definitely be participating in these family fun days again.

It was a great reminder that we were created to be creators.  Our creator, the creator of the universe, created each one of us uniquely, in His image.  No matter how "unartistic" we deem ourselves, we are creators and our creations are a form of worship!

The End of an Era

Yesterday was Elyse's last day of preschool for the year.  She still has a whole other year of preschool, so it's not really the end of an era, but it's the end of this season.  She's been in school three mornings per week this year.  Next year will be four mornings per week.  She is so ready.  She actually thought that Kindergarten was next year.  Why wouldn't it be?  Isaac went to Kindergarten, then Ace, and naturally, she would be the following year. 

One last story with Mrs. Dwors

Elyse and her friend, Hadessah enjoying ice cream sundaes

Elyse with her fabulous teachers, Mrs. Dwors and Mrs. Trujillo

Sorry, little girl!  You still have another year of these sweet preschool years.

Our Little Sweetheart

The title of this post should actually be "Every one's Sweetheart!" 
It's clear that Ace is naturally our nurturing, sweet kid!  He just cares for others, shares, and loves from his heart, not because he knows he should, but because that's just his nature.  Simply put, he's a sweety.  This is not to say the other two aren't sweet kids, but they tend to be sweet because they're - dare I say - for the most part, "well trained."  There's no filter with Ace.  What you see, hear, and experience is the real deal.  Many times I've been stopped by teachers and parents to hear a story about a situation where Ace was himself, and just extremely nurturing or helpful to a peer, a teacher, or a younger sibling of a friend.  That's just what he does.

However, he's also "our little sweetheart," because he is already turning a lot of heads!  The girls in kindergarten and first grade tend to whisper and talk a lot about this little man of ours.  He's been given flowers on numerous occasions from girls in his class and moms have joked with me that they have already started their daughter's dowry and they want to know how they can arrange a prom date with Austin for their daughter, because they "know he'll have her home by 10 and be the perfect gentleman."  Seriously, I'm not just talking about one conversation or one mom.  He's catching the hearts of little girls and moms!

The other day, I found a note in Isaac's backpack from a friend of his - a first grade girl.  It was apologizing for something.  It was, as some first-grade writing is, a bit difficult to decipher, so I asked Isaac about it.  He explained that everybody was talking about Ace and he didn't like it.  I asked them what they were saying.  He said, everybody was talking about all the girls liking Ace - the first grade girls and the kindergarten girls!  I told Isaac I'm happy for him to stick up for a friend or a sibling if people are speaking inappropriately or meanly about someone else, but that it isn't mean to say someone likes Ace.  He just kept saying, "I just didn't like it."  As we talked, I started to realize that some of his dislike could have spurred from jealousy.  We talked about how Ace is a very likable kid and he will probably always be talked about - in a good way.  Isaac is a very likable kid too.  He's the kid that is nice to everyone and everyone likes and respects him.  Somehow though, at this point in the game, Ace is capturing a myriad of hearts, in a different kind of way.



Who could resist this sweet face, paired with his loving heart?

 The best part about "our little sweetheart?"  He has no clue!!  He's just living life the way His creator created him and is completely oblivious to all of these onlookers!  I just love that!  It's incredible to see God's fingerprints all over our kids, in such unique ways.

Preschool Mother's Day Luncheon

Elyse's preschool teachers hosted a Mother's Day Luncheon for all of us mothers last Thursday.  It was so sweet and Elyse was thrilled to give me a gift she had made and sing the songs.  She likes the gift so much, that I think she's decided to keep it!

As you can hear, she has no problem being heard!

Dreaming Big

Isaac's swim team practiced at the Olympic Training Center last week! It just so happens that the Michael Phelps is currently in Colorado Springs training at the OTC, as well, but unfortunately there were no sightings of the swimming icon.

However, Isaac did share the pool deck with another Olympic Gold Medalist.  Rudy Garcia Tolson.  Rudy is a Para-Olympian gold medalist, who Ace actually met a couple of weeks ago on his field trip to the OTC.  He was quite the inspiration to these little Kindergartners.  He is an Ironman and has four pairs of "legs!"

Walking toward the OTC pool

Excited to swim

 He had an amazing time and I'm sure there will be more days at the OTC.  Swimming is his current passion!

We weren't allowed on the pool deck during practice, so E, Ace, and I did our own "training" while he was swimming!

 Future Gold Medalist Weight Lifters

If ballet isn't in her future, this certainly may be...

Ace and Carson on their first school bus ride headed to the OTC for their field trip

The Kindergartners with Rudy, wearing his "walking legs"