Grant is a Believer

Something Levi and I have always prayed for was that our kids learn to the love the Lord at some point throughout their life. That they understand the importance of putting their salvation in Jesus. That they learn to live their life for the Lord. 

Since the boys have been old enough to understand, I've tried my best teaching them about Jesus. Reading them Bible stories. Memorizing certain scriptures. Doing Bible studies with them.  I can do all that til I'm blue in the face, but God is ultimately the one that opens their heart to understanding it all. And thats exactly what happened to Grant during his week at SBO. While I feel the he has believed in God and put his faith in Jesus for a while now, this week it all truly "clicked" for him and he 100% knew it and believed it. 

When I picked him up from the 4th day of SBO, his teacher mentioned that she and Grant had been talking about accepting Jesus as your Savior and she said he was stirring over what it all meant. When we came home to have lunch, I could tell he was struggling with his thoughts and feelings, so I dropped what I was doing so we could talk it out. He started getting choked up because he feared he wasn't going to Heaven. I asked him if he knew how to get to Heaven, and he said, "By believing in Jesus." I asked him if he believed in Jesus, and he said, "Yes!" And I told him that he had nothing to be scared of because it sounds like he would be going to Heaven someday. Oh, the look of relief on his face was priceless! He said, "I have always believed in Jesus, but I didn't really know what that all meant until just now." We talked through the ABC prayer (admit, believe, confess). And right there in our kitchen, Grant knowingly became a follower of Jesus. He was so happy! He made me text so many people so they could hear his good news! 

That night, when Levi got home from work, he and Grant went out to dinner and Grant picked out his very own Bible. He was so proud of it and was just beaming from ear to ear. 

Just a few months prior, Grant was reciting a scripture passage during our Christmas service, and he read these words "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12-13. It gave me chills when he read those words aloud months ago, but to know those words are now describing Grant is the best feeling! Thank you God!

Seals and Monkeys, Oh My!

Grant has loved seals since he was an itty bitty guy. He's not so itty bitty anymore, but he still LOVES seals!! And monkeys. He just loves them both! After changing his sheets one day, he decided to sort out all of his seals and monkeys so he could really admire his collection! Most of these were in his bed, some were in the toy box (he feels so bad for the animals that live in there, because if he had his way, they'd all be in his bed, but then he'd need two king size beds for them to all fit!) and some were figures that were on his bookshelf. I loved how he organized them all and then of course, posed with them, like the proud stuffed animal dad he is!! His seal and monkey collections are always growing, as those are the first stuffed animals he looks for when out and about! 

(The robot thing is just a robot he built (not sure why he's in the midst of all the seals and monkeys, but with Grant, ya never know!)

Grant's Christmas Part

A few months before Christmas, Grant was asked to recite some of the scripture for our Christmas Eve service at church. He jumped at the chance because he LOVES being involved at church. He always says he's "famous" around there. Kind of true :-) He loves to have his presence noticed! So a few days before Christmas Eve, we were up at church doing run throughs and it was just so awesome seeing my little guy up there, knowing God was using him to spread his Word. Nothing more awesome than that!

Then on Christmas Eve, he got all dressed up and knew his lines down pat. 

 The big performance! He did so wonderful, I got teary listening to his little voice spread such amazing truth!! His lines were John 1:1-5, 9-13. My favorite part: But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor the will of flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.  Chills!

 And a cute story- this kid had ZERO dress clothes. Like nothing. So a few days before, I took him to Target to get an outfit. While they had less than stellar clothing choices, he fell in love with this pair of shoes, which was so shocking. So we bought the shoes and knew we had to match his outfit to the shoes. When we took our surprise trip to the Mall for a BAB surprise, we swung by Children's Place where he picked out his ENTIRE outfit. We walk into the store and he says to me, "I want to wear a tie. And a belt." I looked at him like he had 5 heads. Who is this kid?!? But gosh darn it, did he make that outfit look good! He's growing up people, growing up!

Grant's Stuffed Animal Christmas Party

Since they put up their tree the first weekend in November, Grant had been "wrapping" presents for his stuffed animals. He'd wrap up something, label it with a blue post it note, and put it under the tree. Every night he'd load up the tree with more and more presents! Then finally, one night before bed, he decided he was ready for all his friends to open their gifts! Oh my goodness, my heart melted a little bit as he sat with each of his animals and "watched" them open their gifts. His little voice is forever imprinted on my heart!! He truly has a love for his stuffed friends. Such a sweet innocent little boy that I hope never changes!!!

Grant's Last Day of 1st Grade

I'm not sure how this is possible, but 1st grade is OVER!!! I mean, didn't it just start last month? Crazy!! This kid has grown soon much this past year- not just in height either!! He has far surpassed any expectation I had for him this year!! He's a rock-star reader, mathematician, science whiz, and history buff! He was a great friend, responsible student, and just an all around good guy!! (Hopefully I'm not just biased when I think all that!) But truly, he had a remarkable year, with a fantastic teacher, and an awesome class! Couldn't have asked for a better time!!!

Comparison pictures, because I just love them! His face literally changed before my very eyes!!

The obligatory Last Day of School photo in front of the Morse Elementary sign!!

 Who doesn't have lunch at Orange Leaf on their las day of school? It was totally warranted!

 And again for comparison sakes, 1st Day of School vs Last Day of School for these sweet friends!!

Yes, Grant chose his outfit on purpose! :-)

And now, its on to SUMMER VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grant's School Supply Obsession

Sometime around Spring Break, Grant's love of school supplies went to the extreme. Every MWF at school, the 5th graders host a school shop called the Marksmen Market, where they sell pencils, pens, folders, etc. Of course, they aren't just plain on pens and pencils. They are gel pens, or shape erasers, or mechanical pencils. You know, things that just sing to Grant's heart. So every MWF he was trying to scrap his money together to buy little treasures. His little buddies would do it too, and then after school they started trading school supplies or little trinkets. It because this thing they'd do EVERYDAY. One Sunday, while prepping for the week, I was trying to put a snack into Grant's backpack pocket and it was literally bulging at the seams. I thought, "What in the world does he have in here?" Well, this is what he had in there..

In one pocket!!! From them on, I honestly never knew what I'd find in his backpack. 

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He likes to "organize" his school supplies in his backpack or special box quite often! Even with just 4 days left of school, he took 2 quarters to school to buy a special eraser at the market. He's so silly!! 

1st Grade Bake Sale

The first graders were learning about consumers and producers and goods and services, so what better way to end the unit and the school year than with a Bake Sale!!! Our school has very rigid terms for what types of food are allowed in the classroom, so it wasn't your traditional bake sale. The parents supplied the ingredients, the kids supplied their imaginations! Each table group had to come up with a name for their "bakery" and what types of treats they were going to sell. They had to use Twinkies, Rice Krispy Treats, graham crackers, Oreos, Skittles, licorice, marshmallows, and some sort of sugar-free, gluten-free, dye-free (and probably flavor-free!) frosting as the glue! Oh, the ideas that came out of their little imaginations was AMAZING!!! They worked for over an hour making their baked goods! After that, they had to prepare to open their bakery to the public. The teacher staff came shopping first, followed by kindergarten, and then their buddy class- 4th grade! Each group had to make 100 items to sell just to make sure there would be enough!

Each item was 1 penny so that math was easy! It was so cute watching them sell!! Grant was quite the salesmen, and definitely the leader of their bakery. He'd welcome anyone that came close by saying, "Welcome to Yummy Goods! What would you like to buy today?" He really was the only vocal one in the group! A born leader!!

 Some of Grant's bakery goods their group created!

Such a fun and memorable way to end the year!!! Good times in 1st grade!

1st Grade Boat Regatta

Grant's class was learning about density and how and why think sink and float. They put their knowledge to use and designed boats and had a regatta to see who's boat would go the furthest! The kids were so creative with their designs. We used all sorts of recyclables and the kids really got into it! 

The kids took turns racing each other with a single elimination race. After narrowing it down after a few rounds, we had the winner- it wasn't Grant! He changed his design up in the finals and it was a flop! Oh well, guess he learned a little more about how things sink and float! Lesson  learned!! But it was a fantastic time!!!

Look at the dedication to winning!!!!

Grant's Basketball Season

For the second year in a row, Grant played 4 weeks of Saturday basketball. And this year was soon much better than last year!! I'm amazed at how far he came in just a year! His overall body coordination is just so much stronger! I attribute a lot of it to a years worth of gymnastics! And he could actually jump stop and do a layup which was practically impossible last year! Amazing!! He loved going to basketball every Saturday!  He had the same coach as last year, so he felt very comfortable and just had a great time! To see his confidence and enthusiasm was awesome!! He's already looking forward to playing on a team next year!!!

 Wyatt was a good spectator, patiently waiting for his 4 weeks to come. He liked doing L-sits while he waited!

Wilderness Science Center

Bear with me as my blog is totally back-logged. So let's take a trip down memory lane all the way back to September......

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I had the privilege of attending Grant's 1st field trip of 1st grade!! When he found out that his three field trips of this school year are all science related- he was stoked!!! I hadn't really thought out my volunteer plan, as this outdoor field trip coincided with the worst allergies I've had in years! But to spend a few extra hours with my big fella was well worth the allergy attack I had later!!!

We got to ride the bus together and I got to be his group leader during the field trip! hooray!! 

The field trip was to learn all about plants and how they grow. We started the field trip in the "classroom" checking out the animals. Snakes and lizards and turtles, oh my!! Grant looked comfortably at them all from behind the glass! But some kiddos held a humongous snake!! Ew! 

 Then we headed outside to do some activities! The kids acted out the process of getting water to all the plant parts! This was pretty cool! A great demonstration! 

 Then we got in our groups and went out to do a field study, in a field!! We had to collect roots, stems, leaves, and seeds! The kids did a project with them when they got back to school! I just love spending any extra time I can with Grant and his classmates!

First Day of First Grade!

I can't believe the day has come that my little buddy is in First Grade!! He has thoroughly enjoyed his summer and I was thinking the transition back to school might be a tough one. But once we got word of who his teacher would be- Mrs. Knapp- he seemed to be a little more excited! Then, during our supply drop off night on Monday, as he was putting his supplies in his desk he said, "Ok, can we just start school tomorrow?" I took that as a good sign that he was ready for a new school year!! 

 He woke up with a spring in his step! He was excited about his new outfit, to bring his new lunchbox to school, and his cool patch on his backpack (thanks to his awesome dad!) We got to walk to school as a family, which was SO GREAT!!!!! 

 We walked back to his classroom, he hung up his backpack and went right to his very own desk!! He is super excited for that this year, since Kindergarten only had shared tables. Then, he just got to work, which was my cue to leave. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay for as long as possible. I wanted to watch him and be there in case he needed me. But seeing him feel so confident, I knew he wouldn't. I knew he would have a great day!

 And he did!!! I walked back to his pod to get pick him up and he said, "The day seemed kind of short!" We walked out of school with his buddies, snapped these few pictures, and got a sweet ride home from Eli!

  He said he liked First Grade! They had two recesses where he got to play with Jalen and Eli, and he sat by both of them at lunch, even though they are in the other first grade classes. He had Computer and REAL for specials. They did one math page. And that was about all the info I could get out of him before he and Wyatt ran off to play, and where they are currently holed up in the basement enjoying each other immensely!

It'll be a year of transition- full day school, lunch at school, part time school for Wyatt. But I think before too long, we will figure it all out!! Bring it on new school year, we're ready for you!