Happy BIrthday Ciaran

Ciaran is 8 years old and we had a great birthday party! 8 little boys here for a baseball game, Mario Kart Wii, Star Wars Monopoly, Lightsaber battles, marshmallow spitting contests, and watching the Phantom Menace. They had such a great time and were so good!

For his birthday we bought him fire bellied toads - he has wanted a frog or toad since he was 3 years old. We told him he could have them when he was 8 honestly thinking he would no longer want them. Well here we are with 2 fire bellied toads added to our family number. He was so excited he could not stop hugging us. He literally ran from one to the other back and forth for a few minutes just so very thankful. He also received a lot of great little boy gifts that he can hardly wait to use, water guns, scooter, legos, skateboard and an eyeclops among others, he was so blessed and so very thankful.

For the first time ever one of my kids seemed sad to be getting older. He just kept telling us "I will never be 7 again" on the verge of tears. We were baffled by this reaction but he simply loved being 7, it was his favorite age and a great year and he will miss it. Interesting guy my Ciaran.

Baseball is around the corner, he can hardly wait to find out his team and start practice. Of course we are expecting a snowstorm tonight so the white stuff may be on the ground again, last year it cancelled opening day once and then snowed on our second opening day. Only in Minnesota does baseball range from 20 degrees to 98 degrees. I don't know which is worse, but I will vote for the cold, snow and freezing rain. Why we don't wait to start until late May is beyond me.

Ciaran is a sweet boy, he has such a generous heart and spirit and is so giving and loving. He is especially tender with me and for the past few months just runs up to me to give me big hugs and climbs on my lap to snuggle still. Of course he also enjoys playing Monopoly, Risk, Wii games and doing anything outdoors. He really is going through the growing out of a little boy stage but I love where he is right now and will hold on to it as long as it lasts. Enjoying his hugs and tenderness and desire to simply be near to me.

He is looking forward to summer when the frogs return, he can swim all day, skate, scoot, bike, play ball and have water fights. I am looking forward to the freedom of those days too. We are hard at work here now trying to finish up school so we have the freedom to start our summer earlier. We typically finish school in early May enjoying one of our favorite months in MN school free, May and September are hands down the best time to be in MN, no bugs, perfect weather just wonderful days for being outside and hiking and loving God's creation.

Ciaran had a great year - he became a proficient swimmer, learned baseball for real and found a passion for it, he got better at biking, scooting, skateboarding and roller blading, he became very creative with Lego's and K'nex and he still loved frog hunting, and geocaching. He improved in school and really advanced in his reading, books he recently read include: Prince Caspian by CS Lewis and Coraline by Neil Gaiman. We have watched his faith develop and him flourish in his bible verse memory. He grew more protective of his sisters and even took a punch in the nose for one of them as he defended her. Mostly though he had a wonderful fun and busy year filled with all the things that make a little boy's life fun and interesting.

I am thankful to be his mother and even though some days I am exhausted from his nearly endless energy he fills my days with joy and laughter, smiles and tenderness and that more than makes up for the challenges along the way. I love you Ciaran thanks for being such a special little boy.