Ethan's Birthday - he's 12!

I can hardly believe it - but my boy has turned 12! I thank and praise God for the gift that Ethan is to our family. He has a very sensitive spirit and a kind heart. He works hard and is growing daily in his love for God. He has begun to pray and study without being reminded and has found true joy in worship and praise. Our whole family is blessed by him and by his seeking God.

On his birthday, we wanted to take him to get "fitted" for his birthday gift. The place we needed to get the gift is 5 miles away - a long ride, but the kids have done farther for sure. The problem was that the temperature was 17 degrees and the wind was at 30 miles per hour (making the windchill WELL below zero). Our beloved brethren the Peterson family lent us their van - which made Ethan extremely happy.

So we made it out to Arrow Dynamics where he was sized for a new archery bow! (Thank you Grammy and Papa and Grandpa Wendel) They checked his strength to adjust the pull weight - he ended up with a 24 pound pull. Then he chose arrows and they sized and cut them custom to both the bow and his pull length so that they are a match. Then he just had to wait in line to try it out!

Waiting for his turn.

Learning proper technique - though Ethan assures us that he already knew everything that Mr. Brian was telling him. :-)

Finally getting to shoot his new bow!! He had a great time and was very thankful to all for the time at the range and for the new bow and arrows.

He made the cake himself and was very proud of it.

Explanation of terms: Ward means protection so this is the shield of protection. The spirals on each end are called "Fibanacci Spirals" and are found created by God almost everywhere. They are on snail shells, butterfly probosci, and even the shape of spiral galaxies in the solar system. They are Ethan's favorite shape.