I’ve been going through old photos this weekend trying to clear up more space on my computer by moving them to the cloud. It’s been so nostalgic for me to see the kids’ chubbier faces and younger characters shine throughout the years. I’ve been reminded of many things about them I would have otherwise forgotten had I not taken the photo. And I’ve also been able to see a consistency in their interests and personalities.

I wanted to take a sec while I was thinking about it to capture who they are today. I’m sure you’ll find some similar interests and proclivities if you have kids their ages. It’s always good to appreciate where they are at in life right now, because if anything, I was reminded how darn quickly life passes with this youngsters!

Gabe

Gabe is a tech geek – in the coolest way. He reminds me of that kid in the movie Chef who is just so fast on his iPhone. Before you have finished asking a random question, he’s researched the answer and can share it with you. He keeps up with all the Apple updates and knows all the little differences between versions of phones and iPads. He does enjoy playing games like Minecraft and even Clash of Clans recently, but mostly he’s an info and pop junkie, keeping up with movies, music, tech, and authors.

He’s still a collector in many ways, although now it is with virtual badges like in Geocaching (looking for one on the bridge in photo above) or EpicMix. He likes to go after the biggest or most interesting goals around them. He’s a fast learner and can still breeze through much content quickly. He manages his schoolwork well and often writes about what he’s learning or thinking.

He’s at a stage where he’s caring about learning how to make money. He buys and sells a lot now on eBay. He’s set up a couple teenagers with their own websites and has been helping Don with various aspects of technology in our business. He’s reading through The Entrepreneur’s Mind and enjoys sharing about it with us.

He’s an athletic, driven, kind-hearted kiddo overall, but he sure is entering those “mush” brain years of adolescence. Don and I will often stare at each other in disbelief at the things he will forget to do or leave behind. But his heart and character are really solid, so we’re very proud of him and grateful for that.

Isaac

Isaac is fully kinesthetic. Music, sports, and art all come naturally to him. He has this amazing ability to watch something and duplicate it with his hands or body. He can capture the style and form of what he mimics. And he’s super creative around wit and humor. He loves to laugh. He’s a cheerful kid over all and always easy to hang out with. He makes conversation comfortable with new people and makes friends easily. His favorite sports now are snowboarding, lacrosse, tennis, and soccer, and he even enjoys swimming laps for exercise. In his freetime, he’ll pick up his guitar to play, draw something, learn something from a YouTube or TED video, or build a robot with LEGO Mindstorms.

He is more of an auditory learner and has always loved listening to stories. He picks up on the essence and meaning easily and thinks and cares about the deeper questions that are posed. He feels deeply. We almost didn’t keep reading Oliver Twist together because he felt so bad for Oliver! We found out he has a visual tracking issue that we can get vision therapy for, but in the meantime, he just increases the font size on his Kindle App on his iPad and can read more easily for longer periods of time now. It’s awesome.

Isaac is our most vocally passionate kid. His mouth never stops. We love his energy, but we’re also in the process of “taming his tongue.” I feel like Thumper from Bambi, always repeating, “If you can’t say something nice, shut-up!!!”  Just kidding, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” We’re really trying to help him focus on the needs and emotions of others, not just himself, and it sure it a challenging road as a parent. We are totally hopeful and grateful to be a part of his life each day. Life is better with Isaac.

Jadyn

Jadyn is full of spunk and style. She’s a gem of an individual. She’s conscientious enough to take care of all her stuff – from schoolwork to chores and possessions. She has a high level of commitment, to herself and to others. She has an internal compass that seeks to do what it right. She’s thoughtful and generous with gifts for the people she loves.

She enjoys listening to books on Audible.com, recently picking up all Elizabeth Enright’s books, and breezes through books when she gets hooked, like Heidi and those by Patricia St. John. She still loves medical things, and has found a fun online game where she can perform simulated surgery. She likes to play all sorts of games, from cards, to Boggle, Trivia Crack, and even build on Minecraft. She has a knack for Spanish and has enjoyed practicing with the Duolingo app.

Jadyn is very fun and creative. She likes to laugh. Her clothing and accessories are a creative outlet for her each day. She still loves to do puzzles and play with LEGO’s and Playmobil toys, making up stories as she plays. (“Playmobil would be totally boring if you didn’t have a good imagination,” she said once.) She also enjoys crafts and making things for others- crocheting scarves and blankets and now learning how to sew clothes for her dolls.

Jadyn is very athletic and enjoys both tennis and running. She rocked it in snowboarding this season, earning 7th place at Nationals for BoarderX. She was focused and chill all throughout.

She loves to be outside. And she likes to go off the beaten trail, when hiking or just in life in general, which is similar to all our kids and makes parenting challenging sometimes, but we love that about them. She’s turning in to such a romantic, getting giddy when people like each other in a movie, and even crying during sad parts. She’ll be my chic-flic buddy (I’m sure Don is grateful!) It’s sure sweet watching her grow up.