Stranger Things

After deciding for the umpteen time to wear an excessively long shirt that was a hand-me-down, I asked Zane why he keeps wearing the same things over and over rather than his nicer clothes. He replied "Because I wear my good clothes to sleep in and play in on the weekends." Oh . . . that makes sense . . . :-?

"Mom, wouldn't it be cool if Jesus just appeared and I could hear his voice?"

Zane explained recently that he has been sort of scared of Hans Solo. I asked why and he went on to share that he had a bad dream where Hans Solo was dressed as a stormtrooper and was trying to hurt him and Princess Leia, which was me.

Overhearing his prayers:
"God, please give me new hands so I can be better at parkour."

Pull In the Reins

I feel like a lot of maturation has taken place in the last several months. She's so torn between being a  kid and wanting to be an adult. She has natural tendencies to pull people together and lead them, but sometimes the tasks can be too overwhelming for a delicate 9-year-old. I love when she gets excited and extremely serious about something. Her passion takes off like a race horse and we often have to pull in the reigns to get her to slow down and take one step at a time, or she becomes overwhelmed and crashes hard.

Recently, while listening to Juicebox Heroes's Suck My Thumb song at the same time we were pulling up to the school to drop off, Vanessa shrieked "Mom! You better turn this down! Don't do this to me, Mom! Why are you laughing?! Turn it off, Mom. Thank YOU." It was so funny -- a song we used to think was cute and relatable is now quite embarrassing and in no way could one be caught dead listening to it with her family.

At dinner one night: "Hendrix, just sit down. Why won't he stay seated?"
"Vanessa, he's just like you with this. He doesn't stay in the highchair very well. We had to strap you in and even then you yelled. It's why we hardly ever went to restaurants with you."
"Why not just use a highchair at the restaurant? All restaurants have them."
"You wouldn't stay in the chair. You were all over the place. And you were loud. Some people thought it was cute and funny but we didn't, and we didn't want you to think it was an appropriate way to behave. Your busyness made it hard to sit there and enjoy dinner. One time I had to take you to the van after a major fit. And I sat with you while your dad sat in the restaurant to finish eating."
Vanessa's face dropped with sadness and guilt. Her eyes teared up a tad and her face turned red. She was embarrassed and felt horrible. It was obvious. We reminded her she didn't know any better and we love her and eventually Hendrix will settle down too. Just like her, he's a busy guy with lots to do. It's only for a short time . . . and now for her, we can look back and laugh. :-)

Put On

The picture above is from 1 month ago. It's fun to watch the first connections babies make! Hendrix was putting my hair comb in his "hair". And below, Hendrix found Zane's hat and kept putting it on his head. He likes to wear our glasses and sunglasses too! Now if I could only get him to put on his clothes . . .

I Spy

"Be careful little eyes what you see . . ."

Along with looking through the cat door into the basement, Hendrix is all the time spying on people. I could create a book with a collection of his peering under the door photos.

Out and About

Picture from January 3

Ages and Stages

The kids like looking at old pictures of themselves -- finding resemblances in Hendrix  . . .

Treasures

Daddy-o

In honor of his 41st birthday, here are at least 41 ways he is extra special (the list could go on!):

He works hard. He is good at what he does. He's a fixer by nature. He's THE man. His kids adore him. He's extremely loyal. He's loving. He's passionate about anything he holds dear. He likes tidy. He loving.

He's an amazing example with prayers. He's consistent. He speaks truth in love. He has broad shoulders. He's an overcomer. He's in touch with his feelings. He can be so very patient with several aspects of life. He's genuine. He's a great friend. He's a great hugger.

He's meticulous. He's organized. He's a leader. He's a great decision maker. He's caring. He strives for excellence. He's honest. He's strong. He's fast. He's an awesome sleeper.

He's an amazing husband and father. His smile is priceless. He's gifted in drumming. He's a great singer. He's active. He's confident. He's an encourager. He's a nonconformist with worldly traditions. He's a God-fearing man. He's intelligent. He's generous.

He's THE Adam William Betz we have fallen in love with.

*Pictures from August and September

Beyond

Hendrix is very observant. He tries to engage his shadow.

"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." ~ Abe Lincoln

Speaks volumes, doesn't it? What are we like when no one is watching? Beyond a shadow of a doubt the light will win out.

Cousin Holidays

Playing games with Rachel, Joel, Luke and Seth.

 Hendrix and Hank playing in the redneck playpen.

 Lounging with Tucker, Tollie and G-pa.

Squeezing in a visit with the Mollohans!

Looking for the Light

It's been a blessing to see various lights whenever convenient to squeeze in. We did Wildlights and Hilliard Station after the holidays in which they were displayed for. But we accomplished hopes with lots of flexibility. And I didn't have to freeze my patootie off! And neither did the guy above.

I'm not sure if Hendrix's motivation for walking is related to keeping up with his sibs or if he's trying to get away from them.

Daddy took off his hoodie for this pic. Hendrix didn't like him wearing it.

Hendrix loved the train and lights.

And he had a big time with the interactive ice in the Polar exhibit.

He's a social butterfly. "Talking" to strangers and making friends . . .