Monday, March 24, 2014

Kyle turns 12!

It is our last year before being parents of a teenager. We have so enjoyed age 11 with Kyle.  We knew with the job situation that we needed to keep this birthday very reasonable.  When we asked Kyle what he wanted and all he asked for was a party with his friends.  Not once did he act disappointed that he didn't get some grand fancy party. 
 
Kyle had a tough 5th grade year in the friendship department. We prayed so hard as a family for some solid friendships and wow...God delivered.  Kyle has a small circle of friends that Jim and I adore. They are such nice boys. 
 
We talked to Grandma and Grandpa and they offered to host a party for him at their house. Honestly, it was such a great night. The boys were just thrilled to be there. There were great moans when it was over. They played xbox, playstation, pool, air hockey and some serious nerf gun wars!  We had lots of Kyle's favorite foods.  In fact, the boys are already begging Kyle to have an "unbirthday" party!
 






 
Just to highlight what nice young men these are. First, they included Conner all night without any hesitation and for some chunk of the night... Callie too! Second, when it was time for gifts, they were almost giddy to share what they picked out for Kyle.   They were so generous and thoughtful.  Not that they needed to give him things by any means, but it showed how well they knew him and wanted to share their gifts with him. 





 Then on his birthday, we had the traditional sprinkle pancakes and sent him off to school!


Then we splurged and tried out the new Culvers for supper.  Again it was nice of Kyle to not have high expectations knowing the budget was tight. He was simply thrilled with the small stuff.


This led to the best part of the night.  Kyle has wanted a Jurassic Park video game that they no longer make.  He has been saving but they are expensive on ebay or amazon used. Jim pursued ebay for several weeks and happened upon a deal that we could afford on the game.  So we were able to end his birthday with a really big surprise.  His reaction was just PRICELESS!!!!! 

 
More than anything we are proud of the young man he is coming.  He isn't perfect, but he is making wise choices in friends, excelling in school, learning to maneuver new situations, exploring his faith, continuing to be an amazing big brother, discovering what interests him (Dinosaurs, History, Football, Minecrafts, and hanging with his Buddies), and still a mama's boy.  
 
Seriously, the day when he no longer wants me to come along on youth group trips is going to be a sad sad day!
 
Happy happy day Kyle!

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