January

January was.....
A whole lot of Basketball playing.
And Basketball coaching,
And Basketball watching.
January was a fun month!

Some thoughts for March 30th

Today my Jacob turned 6.  I blinked and he's 6.  Although he was seven months when we moved here, he has celebrated all his 6 birthdays in Oklahoma.  That thought is quite the measuring stick for me.  How quickly he has grown.  How quickly our time here has flown.  Jacob, how do I even start to put in words what he is and means to me and our family?  To quote a favorite book, "Jake is an Indescribable Wonder."  He has an unmistakable and unavoidable twinkle in his eye.  Often that twinkle radiates mischievousness, to the 10 degree, but more often it radiates his happy, zestful, imaginative, loving personality.  He is Choice.  He is a hard worker, he is a good little player, he is charming and creative.  He is stubborn and tenacious and funny, and kind.  He is a good brother, and a good son.  He is strong.  He came to earth at a interesting time in our life, and during a stressful year, he was the best and sweetest baby ever.  He was so calm and peaceful.  He was the reminder of what was the most important, he was a gift from heaven that grounded us and helped us wade through change happily.  And then on March 31, 2010, the day after his first birthday, he started down the journey that would earn him the nick name HT (Holy Terror) from his Pops.  [It's funny how well Pops still gets him.  They are good buds, and the shenanigans performed by our Jake, that could drive most humans crazy, Pops calmly and ever so Pops-like leads him through and builds his confidence at the same time.] It was almost as if heaven said, "Ok, you've reached the top of the roller coaster, it's been a nice slow, ride but...HANG ON because now your in for the ride of your life."  And even though I often feel like throwing my hands up and screaming at the sheer thrill of the ride, it's such a favorite too. It is a ride that I would sign up for and wait in line for over and over again.  People are naturally drawn to that roller coaster of mine.  He has a way of wrapping everyone up in his little fingers.  One smile from that dude has everyone wanting and waiting for one more.  The things that come out of that cute boys mouth could fill columns and columns of the humorist's prose.  And the best news of all is that he belongs to me forever and ever.

Some random things about Jake:
He called Isaac Ikecob for years.
He was born with an impressive head of hair, and sported a permanent Mohawk for the simple reason we could' keep it down.
He hated nursery until he met Pitts and Ivy.  They loved him and he loved them back.  Especially that Pitts.  He wishes his last name was Pitts.
All Young Women seem to love Jake and he loves the ladies attention.
He is a dedicated cowboy.  Over the years, we've clocked hours walking to see the horses and feed
them a carrot.
He loves to lasso anything up.
He loves ropes.
He asked for a grappling hook for his birthday.  " he told me it was so he could climb the Devon tower."
He then asked for a parachute.
When that wasn't going to happen he changed his mind and wanted a mace, a spear, a hatchet, a sword, and nunchucks.
He gets in these funny, sweet, wanting to please moods, where he does funny things like, profess his love for salads and begs for more at the dinner table, while his big brothers are lamenting the side dish.
He has a mind of his own