Creator Unparalleled: Ethan

Ethan built this cool ramp for his neew lego car today at Uncle Joe and Aunt Tracy's house:

Eight Years and Eleven Months Old!

Ethan continues to amaze me. He is smart and caring, and a wonderful brother! He has become one of the neighborhood kids. He's constantly away, riding his bicycle around the block, playing pick-up football games, over at the Brenny's house, or just chillin' in the basement. I can hardly believe that my baby will be nine in a few short weeks.

Eight Years and Ten Months Old

Ethan is an amazing brother. He is a kind and caring boy. Ethan is growing into such a wonderful little man. I am very proud of him and can hardly believe that he is so close to being a nine year old!

Ethan's Room

Halloween

Ethan was a pirate for halloween. He really got into the "arrgh" and "matey" vocabulary. It was fun!

Eight Years and Eight Months Old & Eight Years and Nine Months Old

Ethan began and finished his soccer season since I last blogged. His team, The Challengers, had a 6 win, 1 loss, 1 tie record at the end and may play in a tournament during the first weekend in November. Ethan really liked playing soccer. He especially liked being goal keeper. He played well and learned a lot. We are planning to play soccer again in the spring with the same coach. Ethan has made friends in our neighborhood including a boy in his class at school who lives with his family directly behind us. They run around the neighborhood playing football mostly, and having a fun time. It's really nice to have kids come to the door and ask if Ethan can play!

Eight Years and Seven Months Old

Ethan is a third grader at LaGrange Elementary School in LaGrange, Kentucky. He is really liking school and has a seemingly good teacher. Ethan has signed up for soccer this fall and is looking forward to his first game soon. Ethan is eager to move into our home here and is being very good and very helpful in big life transition.

Eight Years and Six Months

This month has been stressful for Ethan. We have packed up most of his stuff and put it in storage. He did help Jeannie pack most of his room! Ethan and Daniel went to Grandma and Grandpa's for a few nights last weekend and had a really good time with them. We all enjoyed playing frisbee right before we came home. On the way home on the 15th, we saw all kinds of cool things in the dark. Here's a list that Ethan kept:
18 Deer
13 Cattle
4 Horses
3 Lightening Strikes
1 Tree across the road
1 Raccoon
1 Bonfire
1 Luna Moth
An Undeterminable Amount of Fireflies
and A Lot of Fireworks (from extravaganza)
This is us strategizing how to throw the frisbees down to the ground for Grandma and Grandpa to catch.

Dinner Out or A Car Wreck – Sometimes You Don’t Get To Choose!

On Sunday evening, July 8, 2007, at 5:00 PM, Ethan rode to dinner with Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa made Ethan sit on the backseat of the passenger side of the car rather than the driver's side where he wanted to sit. We followed them in the van. We got separated at the Northgate/Rosser stop sign. As we came up the rise to the Rosser/Tiffany intersection I noticed an 18 wheeler at the east facing light, stopped at a red light, we had a green light southbound. As we approached the intersection, I saw a lot of vehicle debris in the road, as if an accident had occurred, I said, "I hope that's not -- there's their car!" Grandpa and Grandma's car was at the side of the road and both drivers side doors were smashed in. We pulled over and I ran to see if they were OK. Grandpa was limping and in obvious pain, Ethan's neck was hurting, and Grandma was OK.

It turned out that a young woman had been traveling northbound on Rosser and decided to make a u-turn at the Rosser/Tiffany intersection, into the southbound lanes. She thought that the 18 wheeler was going to turn right on red and wanted to get around before he turned. She didn’t look to see if there was any oncoming traffic! Grandpa swerved to the right to avoid a head on collision with her and she t-boned the car as she was accelerating through her u-turn.

The young woman was a total emotional wreck, crying and trying to call her mother. Grandpa and Ethan were transported to the hospital in ambulances and x-rayed, but aside from muscular pain and bruises, everyone is OK. Both cars had to be towed.

We got home about 10:00 PM and had sandwiches and grapes for dinner then Walter and Ethan took Grandma and Grandpa home to Highland and got back home very late!

Click on each picture for a larger view, then click the back arrow to return to the blog.

Eight Years and Five Months

Ethan is so smart. He will be going into the third grade in Louisville, Kentucky in August. He is anxiously awaiting his summer mohawk!

Eight Years and Four Months

Ethan is so grown up. I feel guilty because he seems to get the short end of the stick when it comes to special time and treatment these days. He is a wonderful boy who is very willing to help around the house, cooking, cleaning, and with his brothers too. He's a voracious reader, a really smart child, and a treasure to me!

Eight Years and Three Months

Ethan on the day he was born.

When a child is born, in most cases, you cannot know what their future will hold. You can imagine what they will be like and how they will grow, and you can hope and dream for their future, but you can't know. Recently some of our friends lost their first grandbaby when she was just one day short of a month old. Their children ( the parents of the baby) were so strong through the family night and the funeral, and the family dinner afterward. The maternal grandmother said that her daughter told her she cried herself to sleep so many nights during her pregnancy and after the baby was born too, and that God was keeping her strong.

Well, I have come home to my children after attending some of these services with a new appreciation.

I am thankful to have happy, healthy, wonderful children. I know I have said it before, but I am so blessed.

Thank you, God.

Ethan Feeds Ben Cereal

Ethan fed Ben some of his very first cereal on Saturday!

What a Rip Off

This morning Walter and I were discussing Elizabeth Edwards who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer to her bones and possibly to her lungs. I was quoting a news show about the survival rates and said, "There's a 25% chance that people with this kind of cancer will live for 5 years."

Ethan happened to be passing by and said, "What a rip-off! They must be really sad."

I couldn't have said it any better.

Eight Years and Two Months Old

Ethan is so unselfish. He loves his brothers with such unconditional love! Daniel tends to be very aggressive and mean with Ethan; Ethan just sits there and takes what Dan dishes out and then hugs him or pats him...amazing! Ethan holds Ben in the morning and when he gets home from school. Then he makes sure to love on him before bed too. What a wonderful boy.

Last week we received a new ceiling fan from a friend and put it up in the boys room. Ethan and Dan really like it. Walter fears we will find them attempting to swing from it...

Eight Years and One Month

Ethan is such a big boy! He helps with both Dan and Ben. He makes cupcakes for his class. He reads voraciously. We had celebrate Ethan day on Sunday and he wanted to play Monopoly. I beat him, but he really had fun.

Eight Years Old!!!

Ethan is sick on his eighth birthday. His tonsils are enormous and his ear hurts. He's got the most pitiful cough! He has been laying around all day - he did build some really cool Legos that he got for his birthday from the Lego Store at Tyson's Corner mall in McLean. He really liked his cake (we cancelled his party) but he didn't eat any of it. We sang to him and he smiled... He doesn't have school tomorrow so perhaps we can get him in for a doctor checkup.

Happy Birthday my dear, sweet, firstborn son.