11 Years Old!

Our little man is eleven!!! We celebrated the big day with chocolate chip muffins to start, followed by the bike he knew he was getting. A few days prior to his birthday, he and I went to see a play. Luke and the girls were working on putting the bike together while we were gone. Our arrival home came more quickly than anticipated, and I didn't realize the bike was being assembled. Isaiah was so disappointed to walk in on his gift!!  Although he knew a big kid bike was likely in his future, he really doesn't like spoiled surprises. He loves anticipation and is hurt by disappointment. Not unlike his mother. So, he'd already seen and ridden his gift before his big day, but we still presented it to him and he was happy :) 
His bday fell on "Church Fair" day at LeTourneau. We had William over for the morning to hang out and have Isaiah's requested meal - chicken casserole and chocolate cake. Somehow I'm missing a pic of William, but we love him and were thankful to have him there to celebrate Isaiah. 

Our little family celebration event was fun but ended with a whimper. We went to an indoor water park in Tyler for the day. It was a great day for the first few hours. Lucy especially loved the wave pool, and the big kids loved the slides. As we were getting near the end of the day, I started feeling nauseated. I was soon followed by Isaiah, then Noelle. We assumed it was due to lots of swimming, rides, waves, and snack food. Maybe we just needed a good meal? The plan was Torchy's Tacos in Tyler. Luke drove and the rest of us tried to avoid car-sickness. Soon after entering the restaurant, Isaiah threw up. It was relatively minor. I cleaned it up and we decided to go ahead and order. It was probably car sickness, right? We ordered and sat down, trying to calm our bellies and enjoy the birthday meal. We picked through our meal then Noelle decided she needed to use the bathroom before we left. She ended up throwing up, too. By the time we got home, I was also sick. It was a disappointing finale to the celebrations, but Isaiah took it in stride, as always. 

We adore this kid and are in awe of his genuinely content spirit, hunger for knowledge and understanding, patience, willingness to help, and sense of humor. He is an awesome young man and we are thrilled to celebrate him becoming 11!!