Loving Jesus, Loving Life
Dear Luke,
I know you hate public displays of affection, so I’ll try to go easier on you this year. You’re welcome. 
The kids and I love you more than words can express, and we’re so thankful for your godly leadership of our family. We don’t deserve you, but we’re so thankful that God blessed us with you.
It’s been fun to watch you grow more and more into a man of God over this past decade. I can’t wait to see what the next decade holds.
I love you with all of my heart,
Lacey
Last year, we started this tradition of asking the birthday kiddo 20 questions on his/her birthday.
Here are Caleb’s questions and answers.
Caleb, opening a birthday card
My favorite food is: that soup we just ate.
My favorite sport to play is: baseball.
The coolest person on Earth is: Daddy.
My favorite movie to watch is: Brave, when we stand in line at Sam’s Club. (*Editorial note: I watched Brave last fall and didn’t think it was appropriate for our kiddos at their ages. Little stinker watches it in the checkout line, apparently.)
My favorite thing to learn about in school is: science.
If I could go anywhere in the world, I’d go to: Mongolia.
My favorite color is: blue.
When I grow up, I’m going to: be a construction worker.
Three words that describe me are: I love baseball.
When I was little, I used to: be naughty.
My favorite season of the year is: summer break from school.
The snack I like the best is: donuts!
My favorite thing about church is: that we get to learn about Jesus.
My favorite Scripture verse is: Psalm 27:1 – “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?”
My favorite song is: We Will Rock You
One of my best friends is: Isaac.
My favorite thing to do outside is: play with Isaac.
If I had one wish it would be: to play baseball, which I got, which was so cool.
My best memory is: that Jaden’s first word was “Bible.”
My birthday dinner this year is: chicken tarragon soup, bread, and root beer floats
I decorated the door to Caleb and Jaden’s room the night before his birthday, so that he would wake up to this in the morning. Typically, Jaden wakes up last, so I was pretty sure Caleb would have a good chance of breaking through his streamers himself.
What I didn’t count on was that Jaden would wake up in the middle of the night, crying from growing pains. And I would have to untape the bottom few streamers and army crawl into the room with a tiny cup of children’s ibuprofen in my hand at 2:30am. Oh, motherhood.
The birthday boy, on the morning of his big day
For breakfast, he enjoyed homemade crepes with Eurocrem (like Nutella) and bananas. Served on the red plate, of course.
And then we had a really fun day with Miss Jana (my dear friend since birth!) and her boys at Frederik Meijer Gardens and the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Good times were had by all.
Can you tell it was a little (lot) chilly that day?
That evening, Aunt Alonna joined us for Caleb’s dinner of choice: tarragon chicken soup and homemade rolls, with root beer floats for dessert. After dinner, he opened his gifts.
He loves his new snorkel set from Grandma and Grandpa Rumley.
I played a little bit of an April Fools’ joke on him by wrapping a box within a box within a box for his gift.
He was happy with the outcome anyway.
We gave him a small set of Legos, a pair of sunglasses, and the paper in the picture above, which told him that he’ll need the sunglasses to play baseball on a team, starting this spring. Playing baseball on a team was the one thing he asked for this year.
*His birthday was April 1. Life is busy. I’m late.
Caleb, opening a birthday card
Dear Caleb,
How can it be that you’re 7 years old already? Wasn’t it just yesterday that we moved into the house we built, and I was 30 weeks pregnant with you?
But here we are, and you’re somewhere between a baby and a young man. You are so sweet I want to squeeze you, and sometimes you’re so exasperating I don’t know what to do with you. I grew up with sisters. I am a girl. I will never understand your need to jump, yell, hit, kick, run, and scream. But I am glad to know that God made you that way. And I’m glad that you’re starting baseball soon, so maybe some of that energy will work itself out.
I’m excited to see you play on a team for the first time. You have a God-given athletic ability, and I hope you use it to His glory. I think you’ll love playing baseball on a team.
I’m really proud of you for working so hard to learn verses. This winter, you memorized all of Psalm 27, and then your class recited it in front of the church. That was amazing, and brought tears to my eyes. Never stop memorizing God’s Word, Caleb. You will never regret it.
Daddy and I are so thankful that you are a child of God, and our prayer for you is that you would serve God with your whole heart, just like the Caleb in the Old Testament. We pray that you grow more and more into a man of God with each year that passes.
Happy birthday, Buddy! We love you!
Mommy
Because Grace’s birthday fell on a Wednesday, and we had church activities that evening, her celebration was a little spread out.
We began by celebrating Aunt Alonna’s birthday (she was 19 on the 11th) on Tuesday evening, and Grace opened most of her presents at the same time.
With the necklace Alonna gave her:
…and a new book series from Grandpa and Grandma…
…and horses from Grandma and Papa.
I made fudge for their birthday treat. Yum.
The next morning, she awoke to balloons all over her bedroom floor and a sign on the wall that said, “Grace, you’re 8 today!”
Then we had her requested meal: homemade waffles, bacon, smokies, OJ, and egg nog. Yum again.
After breakfast, all the kiddos sat on the couch, and we made them close their eyes while Luke wheeled in her birthday present. I think she liked it.
We have one more celebration to go, on Sunday, with her dear friend Miss Lindsey, who shares Grace’s birthday.
Happy birthday, Gracie girl! We celebrate you every day in our hearts and prayers, regardless of balloons or streamers! We thank God for you!
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