Caleb's 12th Birthday (in Three Acts)

For some reason, 12 years old feels so much older than 11.  An 11-year old still fits into the "young kid" category in my mind.  A 12-year old, in contrast, fits into the "goodness gracious he's only one year away from being a teenager!" category which feels like a whole new ballgame and brings a lot of thoughts and emotions with it.

Back in May, Caleb turned 12 and changed categories in my mind.  This kid is not even remotely a little kid anymore!

ACT I 

It began the week before his actual birthday with a small gathering for cake and presents in Michigan.  Caleb requested an Ice Age cake - "not like the movie, just like the time in history" - so this is what I concocted.  He was fairly pleased with the cake which pleased me immensely.

Our bookworm acquired several new books, some of which made him literally squeal or shout with delight.  My personal favorite gift was a sasquatch-shaped multi-tool!

The evening ended with a boat ride around the lake, with the Birthday Boy behind the wheel.  It was a lovely finish to the first half of the celebrations.

ACT II

We celebrated Caleb's actual birthday while in California visiting with Eli's aunts and uncles.  They were gracious enough to spend the entire day driving out to Yosemite National Park and enjoying the sights in honor of our kid.  Caleb loves national parks and especially loves hiking, so it was completely magical to do a bit of hiking at Yosemite for his birthday.

Caleb was so excited when we stopped to view Yosemite Falls that he literally ran and jumped in my arms as soon as he got out of the car!  (Can you see him running toward me in the photo below?)  His joy was infectious!  Honestly, that day at Yosemite was the highlight of his entire year.

Although we didn't have time to go anywhere beyond the valley floor, there's a reason Yosemite Valley is so popular.  In addition to Yosemite Falls, views of Half Dome, Bridalveil Fall, and El Capitan are all there.

We packed lunches and, instead of birthday cake, Aunt Laurie packed Swill Rolls which are Caleb's current favorite treat. This kid was well-spoiled on his special day!

We had brought one more present for him to open on his actual birthday - this T-shirt which has a fabulous John Muir quote on the back: "Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt."  It felt particularly appropriate on this day.

We were so thankful for Eli's aunts and uncles who hosted us and were happy to drive six hours round-trip just to take us to Yosemite for Caleb's birthday.  Our son doesn't like much attention and doesn't like engaging in much social activity, but they accepted and respected that. They were happy to accommodate our kid so he could have a grand birthday, and he truly did.  He was so very happy, which made us so very happy too, and we're deeply grateful for the part Eli's aunts and uncles played in making that happen.

ACT III

The last special thing about this birthday was the letter we shared with Caleb, which I had written to him when he was a baby explaining why we chose his name.  I'd never told him about the letter before, but had decided that the milestone of turning 12 felt like a good time to share it with him.

Caleb's first name means "wholehearted" and Caleb's namesake in Scripture was known to be a wholehearted follower of God with a noticeably different spirit about him (Numbers 14:24).

We are so thankful that our Caleb also loves the Lord and is committed to following Him.  We will never stop praying that our son will love the Lord wholeheartedly and choose to follow Him all the days of his life.

The Lord has blessed us with a passionate, bright, God-fearing son.  As we walk alongside him as he navigates this life, our greatest hope is that he'll always know how loved, cherished, and chosen he is.  His birthday at Yosemite was an outpouring of confirmation that he knows that to be true.

Midwest Tour: Iowa, Oklahoma, and Chicago

We are heading back to Kenya soon and I have completely failed to post about so many things we've done during this HMA.  It's been a busy year and I've been focusing more on the people in front of us than on posting anything on social media.  With that said, I will attempt to catch up a bit for the sake of helping myself remember this HMA down the road.

So to pick up where I left off a couple months ago...  Our Midwest Tour in the spring finished with a road trip through Iowa, Oklahoma, then Chicago on the way back to Michigan.

Before going any further, I need to brag on our kids.  These travelers are truly the best!  They have patient attitudes while spending hours on the road, and don't complain about when or where we eat along the way, and have mastered the art of telling us when they need a bathroom break with enough advance notice that we never find ourselves in an emergency situation anymore!  Traveling cross-country with these boys is smooth-sailing in this season of life and we are proud and deeply thankful.

We stopped in Des Moines for a night to see our dear friend Steph and meet her new husband!  Steph and I briefly worked together at Bethel in the tutoring office, then we ran into each other at our grad school orientation at Wheaton.  We had no idea the other would be there and it was a moment of pure delight to realize we'd be in grad school together!

We've been deeply connected since then, sharing many joys and heartaches over the years.  During Eli's residency years, Steph drove up to Duluth more than once to see us and I drove down to Des Moines more than once to see her, and our still hearts remain connected across the miles.  When it wasn't possible for us to be at her wedding last year, my heart broke and I shed many tears.  I've never hated the ocean more than at times like that - times when we should be with our people but can't and we acutely feel the sacrifice of being so far away from friends and family.  So although our stop in Des Moines was brief, my cup was overflowing with joy to be with Steph and Bob and see photos of their wedding and hear about their honeymoon and all the happy joys they've experienced this year.  I'm so thankful the Lord watches over us all, no matter where in the world we are and no matter how far apart we might be from each other.

Next we headed on to Oklahoma.  First stop: Tulsa to see Eli's uncle and cousins.  We had attempted to visit this crew during our first HMA several years ago but something interrupted our best laid plans and it never happened.  So we were especially thankful to finally make it there!

We ventured to the Oklahoma Aquarium and, naturally, had a wonderful time.  We have yet to visit a zoo or aquarium that we haven't liked.  Afterwards, we snagged lunch at Chick-fil-A which was a treat too!

Onward ho!  We made the short drive from Tulsa to Oklahoma City next, where my twin sister lives.  Her kids had a long weekend off school, which was perfect for squeezing in a bunch of fun activities.  We visited "the horse hospital" (as my kids have always called it) where my brother-in-law works, which never ceases to amaze.  Equine surgery will forever be a fascinating thing!

We played mini golf in downtown OKC, went bowling, ate ice cream, and of course visited the zoo!

The zoo is massive and extremely well-organized and well-maintained.  I've always loved to OKC Zoo!  A highlight this time was seeing the wild dogs - we happened to walk up to their enclosure at the exact moment they were let out for feeding time and it was so fun to watch them!  We've still never seen these incredible animals in the wild in Kenya - they are endangered and hard to find - so seeing them up close at the zoo was the next best thing and was truly amazing.  I took a video but didn't get any pictures.  Oops!

Another highlight was the komodo dragon.  Few zoos have these creatures, but they are consistently at the top of the list of my boys' favorite animals and they just about melt with excitement if they ever get to see one.  We spent quite a while admiring this gorgeous guy.

After a wonderful weekend, we got up early and drove 12 hours to Chicago where we made a quick stop at Wheaton to see a friend of ours - an MK who grew up in Kenya and whose family is so dear to us - before heading on to Oak Park where we used to live during the med school years to see other friends.

The highlight of being back in Chicagoland?  Going to a nature preserve and catching snakes!  Boys will be boys anywhere in the world!

After three weeks on the road, we finally made it back to Michigan.  We welcomed Eli's cousin/bff and family who came to just relax with us and also to hear us speak at our church in Davison.

It was convenient to schedule all of our church-speaking engagements during the same month.  We maintained momentum and felt practiced in what we were saying.  We love talking to people about Kenya and the residency and Chogoria.  Our supporting churches are incredibly loving and encouraging to us, and Journey Ministries in my hometown is always generous to give us the stage and let us talk about whatever we want.  We deeply appreciate their trust in us.  We come away feeling heard and seen and cared for.

After presenting and socializing for a few weeks straight, we let ourselves take a deep breath and enjoy the budding springtime in Michigan before the next trip.  Spring has always been my favorite season and I was thankful for moments to see her in all her glory when we paused long enough.