Oh, this boy! Is he not the most handsome on earth? I adore my little Dane Edward Marston and have since the moment he was born. He is so so obedient. SO kind and loving. So helpful and giving. He is always the peacemaker in our home and the one who will give me hugs and kisses whenever he deems I may be in need. He has grown so much this year and become so skilled at sports and with his reading and math. But never mind all that!! I just feel so grateful for his sweet and loving spirit in my life. He helps me to be a better mom through his example and patience.
Now, all this being said…. does he tease his siblings? sure, on occasion. Does he have the tendency to claim, “it isn’t fair!” Yep! Does he sometimes get wild and crazy with Grant, causing his dear mother to deep breath in the corner of the kitchen…. you betcha. But all in all a golden kid whom we love more than words can express.
Here is an excerpt from my journal:
Dane SEVEN years old
Favorite Things:
Favorite food is pick up sticks, house special chicken! You also love chicken on the bone, mac n cheese, spaghetti with parmesan cheese and no sauce, and hershey bars! You love hot chocolate and you love ice cream!
Favorite TV shows right now: Spongebob, Hannah Montana, and Tom and Jerry. Favorite color: green
Best friend: Carter Bradley
Favorite thing to do: You LOVE sports! Soccer, handball and basketball are your current favorites. You also love to race cars with Grant.. hot wheels. You love to be outside and active, I don’t think you’ve played a single video game this year! You love math and science much more than reading and writing. You love playing with your baby sister and your favorite thing to do in the morning is get her out of bed and take care of her. You enjoy helping out in the kitchen and doing crafts. You love to think of others and put together gifts for siblings, or mom and dad. You love your teacher, Ms. Blais and you enjoy school— but mostly recess!
You love short sleeves and shorts…despise wearing pants!
You love to win and get very frustrated when something gets in your way! Also love to play legos, uno, and jump on the trampoline.
Ways you have grown:
This year you have grown leaps and bounds in so many ways! You began first grade with trepidation and fear regarding writing and reading, however after only a few months, you were able to conquer those fears and you are now becoming quite a great reader and writer! Similarly, you spent a good 6-8 months deathly afraid of your bed for various reasons (strangers, spiders, snakes, etc.) but you’ve now learned how to get yourself to sleep without too much trouble and you are certainly taking charge of many of these fears. You rarely come into our beds at night and we are so proud of you for the prayers you’ve said and the strong desire you’ve had to conquer some of these fears! It has been beyond a joy for Dad and I to watch you play soccer. Over the past year you’ve become passionate about this sport and you’ve practiced, worked hard and consequently grown so much in the process! You are amazing! And though you were a bit worried about starting basketball, you’ve similarly worked hard to learn this sport as well and it’s been great to watch you learn and grow and have fun in a new sport! Your strengths are many; namely a very kind heart and sensitive nature. You can sense when I’m having a hard day and you quickly pick up the slack or offer to help. At such a young age, it’s unbelievable to me to watch your thoughtful nature shine through. You take care of your siblings in like manner and they all look up to you and appreciate spending time with you because of your peacemaking abilities. You are such a hard worker. You love to help and you love to clean up and get the job done. You rarely complain about homework, chores, or anything much. You are a happy person who enjoys life and makes life easier for those around you. You are strong in math and science… it is no mystery that you will grow to be a very intelligent young man. We can already see the wheels turning in your mind with the fascinating questions you ask and the problems you are able to solve! You are very coordinated and thoughtful when it comes to sports; you are also passionate and eager to learn. Your coaches have all enjoyed you so much because of this! Your weakness might be the fears that weigh you down and that middle child syndrome in which you view life as “unfair.” We are working on these things and hope to have you cured of this way of thinking before too long!
Stories/Memories:
Some fun memories of this year might include the wonderful outings to Disneyland that we enjoyed each month— as a result of our pass from Grandma and Grandpa! It was too funny, Evelyn begged and begged you to accompany her on tower of terror! She finally won you over about mid year, but that was the first and last time you’d do anything of the sort! You really were terrified! You prefer the more mellow rides like Toy Story Mania, and Autotopia. Roller coasters are not your thing!
This year you competed in your first ever soccer tournament… it was a learning experience for all of us! You had such a great season and had not lost a single game and this is where the learning for mom came in! By pointing out the fact that you were undefeated…..I think I may have caused you to be a little too overly concerned about that fact! By golly, you did not want to lose and in the process, you actually lost sleep over it! You worried day and night, counting down the days with fear of losing your winning title. And although you did in fact win the championship, you told me afterwards that you needed a break from sports…. you were too “stressed out”. Oh my! This year we are not focusing AT ALL on winning/losing/scoring/baskets… we are focusing on your hustle and hard work! ha!
We had a wonderful summer and I noticed that you especially enjoyed our annual Seattle trip. You were able to go fishing and actually catch a few fish with Papa. A dream come true for such a sweet little boy who’s always wanted to do so! You loved that experience and afterwards enjoyed seasoning and buttering the fish to cook on Papa’s grill. You did not enjoy actually eating the fish!
You’ve had a wonderful year!
