Jake turned 6!

Our heart hero Jake turned SIX in February. We cannot be prouder of Jake and the boy he is.

He had his last heart check-up with his cardiologist in January. He passed with flying colors. There have been no changes in the growth of the membrane on his valve in a year now--that is great news!!! His EKG looked great, too, with no rhythm issues. His only restrictions continue to be no prolonged running or strenuous physical activity (i.e. no soccer, football). At school in P.E., they run laps every morning. Jake is able to do 2 of the 3 laps before he tires. He is very proud of his scar and the fact that he's had heart surgery although last week he said, sometimes he wishes he hadn't had surgery so he could run the third lap and not be tired. That is heart breaking because I know he will face situations where he will be limited. However, Jake is a fighter and he doesn't give up! He's had so many strikes against him already with his heart health and speech delays. But, he is flourishing in Kindergarten! He loves it and is doing so well. He has a 100 in Math (no surprise--he'll already tell you he's an Engineer like his Daddy), and is doing so much better in Reading! He struggled at the beginning of the year with comprehension but is now on grade level in that area and is a real reader! We are blessed with a great public school for him to attend. His principal there is a Christian and fosters such a warm environment with the staff and students. 

Jake loves to be outside and just be a typical boy and dig in the dirt! He's started Tae Kwon Do and will play on a church league T-ball team again this Spring. We do believe his first love is music. He's happiest when he's singing, dancing, or banging on an instrument. He loves the Go Fish videos and the CD from our church's sport's camp last summer.

Jake continues to have a heart for prayer. I do believe that is because of the many people that have lifted him up in prayer. He loves Bible class and learning about God. His laugh is infectious :) He and Grace make sure our house is never dull or quiet. We are blessed.

I interviewed him on his 6th birthday about his favorite things and here's what he had to say:

Jake's Favorites:

color: Red

toys: Legos and his Jake and the Neverland Pirate ships and toys

fruit: apples

TV show: The Fresh Beat Band

lunch: a Happy Meal

game: Memory 

snack: goldfish

item of clothing: his OU jersey (I might have brainwashed him just a bit!)

animal: giraffe

song: Blessed be Your Name (by Matt Redman)

books: any books by Jan Thomas, his favorite author

friend: Jackson Babb

breakfast: french toast, bacon, and "waffle taco sandwiches"

activity: playing with Grace

drink: chocolate milk

holiday: Christmas

item to sleep with: Fire Bear

food: chips and salsa

restaurant to have his birthday dinner: Chuy's

when he grows up he wants to be: a heart doctor

Jake sporting his Thunder jersey 

Jake at the Lego Store's monthly free mini build--this boy loves his Legos (like his Daddy)

At Rodeo Day at his school--Yee Haw, cowboy!

With his sweet Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Snyder--we love her!

Jake and his school mascot, Rocky the Ram

With his BF Jackson on their first boy's campout with their Daddy's

The cutest Little Dragon ever!

 I feel like this video embodies Jake. This is Jake dancing after the Heart Walk this year. Joy just exudes from him! The first half of the day, he had been very shy and quiet. He still gets overwhelmed with big crowds, but once he warmed up, watch out world! Dance, Jake, dance!

January

January came and went with some fun playdates, a road trip, and a couple of firsts for Jake. 

An afternoon with the Mathews--all the pretty princesses

A fun trip to the Zoo with the Courington's on MLK weekend

Gracie Girl climbing...

Jake hanging out with the birds

A fun Saturday at the park with the Babb's

Our little monkeys

Gracie celebrated her 50th Day of School!

A Quick Weekend trip to Marshall--playing in the leaves at the Camp House

It was a cold day...

Hanging with her Pops

Jake learned how to ride his bike without training wheels this weekend, too! Ty took them off and Jake zoomed away--he was a natural! He's growing up…sniff, sniff! But, we sure are proud of him!

Jake also started a new activity--Tae Kwan Do. We signed him for it to help with his attention span. It's supposed to be great for kids who struggle with being still and hyperactivity. He's done it about 6 weeks now and we've seen incredible results. He really is focusing better. He's now a "little dragon" and got to break his first board to earn his white belt. Here he is with his broken board. The video below shows him breaking it!

A Caddo Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas with the McCathran's and Cochran's this year. Our little family stayed out in Eric's camp house on Caddo Lake which was a neat place for Santa to come. We had a nice fire in the fireplace and stayed warm in the cute lake house. We had lots of family time with Ty's siblings and all the cousins. We took the kids on a Christmas train ride in Jefferson which funnier than anything, but the kids loved it. We spent Christmas day in Mooringsport with the Cochran's and had a great day playing games. We're blessed with a wonderful family to spend the season with :)

Ty with his brother, Eric and sister, Destin

Elsie Jane and Tucker

The McCathran cousins

Nash and Jakers

Nash taking Gracie for a spin on his 4-wheeler

Uncle Ty and Tucker

At the Lake House

At the Jefferson Christmas Train

Christmas morning--Santa came to the Lake House!

Good thing Grace asked for the Barbie umbrella--Santa brought lots of rain!

A sweet picture Christmas Day at Mooringsport

In an unexpected surprise, we got to have breakfast one morning with my dear college friends Kaylee and Devan. Her parents live in Marshall, too. Oh, how I love Kaylee!

Happy Birthday to me!

For the third year in a row, my parents have come for my birthday, the week before Christmas. I personally think this is my favorite holiday tradition :) 

Making Christmas cookies with the kids…my dad is such a good sport in his apron!

Even Gilbert got in on the fun!

An afternoon at the park

He's Baaack!

Gilbert, our beloved Elf on the Shelf, came back to our home on December 1st. The kids woke up to waffles in the shape of snowmen that Gilbert had "made" them with a welcome letter. I totally realize I enjoy Gilbert more than anyone and I also realize I steal all of my elf ideas from Pinterest, but its SO much fun! He is not totally a naughty elf and he's not destructive. He is however, a super fun elf! Here were some of the kids' favorite antics Gilbert did during December. 

He is such a good speller…he sent them a message with gumdrops

He loves to make snow angels, but since we live in Houston, he had to settle for "sprinkle angels"

He decorated our family portrait…he was jealous he hadn't been included

This was by far the kids' favorite, he decorated the tree with their socks and underwear

He turned the milk green because elves drink green milk

And, of course, he had his annual playdate with his buddy, Connor, the Mathew's elf

The McCathran and Mathews kids with Gilbert and Connor watching over them

Until next year Gilbert…we'll miss you!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

We had SUCH a great December! I love making traditions with our family and it's possible I might plan too much, but I love Christmastime! This year my friends Misty and Lisa came over and we made Advent ornaments. We adapted a devotional guide we found from Ann Voskamp and made burlap ornaments for each night of the Advent season. The kids loved reading a Bible story each night and hanging the corresponding ornament. They looked forward to this every night and didn't let us forget. While I love Santa, I don't want him to be our focus at Christmas. It's important to both Ty and I that the kids understand the true meaning of Christmas and make it a Christ-centered holiday. Of course, we keep our silly traditions, too, and our beloved Elf on the Shelf, Gilbert, returned for another mischievous month with us. I also do a Christmas countdown calendar for the kids but try to incorporate making gifts for others, crafts, playdates, and service opportunities in that. I hope this was a memorable season for Jake and Grace. I know we are treasuring this precious time with them as they experience the Christmas season with believing eyes!

The end product--our advent ornaments--they tell the story of redemption, from Creation to the Cross

Meeting Santa at Old Town Spring--my favorite Santa ever!

Grace explaining that all she wants is a Barbie umbrella and Jake asking for his kid's Spiderman table

My treasures

Favorite picture of the year!

Gracie at her school Christmas program