Tag Archives: Noah

Easily Distracted by Tanks…

Noah had an amazing Sophomore year! Running hard with Speech, eSports and FCA Club life, HS Men’s bible study, straight A student with several Honors courses, amazing math skills, Fall season with Pipeline Volleyball, broken arm and learning to drive. He supported two teachers this last year as a Teachers Assistant in the science department and conquered a lot of math! He has really found a passion for chemistry, history and military vehicles… primarily TANKS!

As he ended school and we entered into our 2nd June of remembering Ethan, we know his brother would be so proud of him. Joel and I certainly are! We purposed to travel in the days right after school let out to keep our minds on the Lord and his creation, learning about His world in places we have never been before. In the midst of the woods of Minnesota, we found the perfect gift for Noah and spent the day celebrating his accomplishments. You might not believe it, but he actually drove two tanks! Here’s the fun of the day…

Tank Garage at the Drive A Tank yard

Traveling out to the course in a 5 ton transport after briefing… Anticipation beyond measure!
It was a stormy and rainy day. ALL. DAY. LONG. Hordes of mosquitoes. Muddy. This was a perfect day to drive a tank!

To say that Noah is “easily distracted by tanks” is an understatement. These military beasts have become common conversation in our house. As he prepared for his Speech tournaments this last year, he wrote his own speech focused on the history, present and future of tanks in warfare. His voice always energetic and exciting as he speaks. It is fun to see him have such passion for it all. Standing in the tank garage in Kasota, Minnesota was awesome to hear him share his knowledge of each vehicle in front of us. Being in the drivers seat now a dream come true for this teen who is still working on his hours towards a drivers license!

Driving a FV433 Abbot SPG and a FV432 APC heads up and periscope style over the muddy course… splashing into ponds and through the woods. We were his passengers on each tank!

Many thanks to the team at Drive A Tank for making the time so memorable, so unforgettable. Even more… for giving our family the space to learn, share, celebrate, and encouragement towards our son. They exceeded our expectations beyond measure. We witnessed another participant in our group crush a car and mingled with the men who work on these beasts, learning more about tank life. So cool!

We also must tell of our antics at the local thrift store… in our excitement and to gift this time as a surprise to Noah, we did NOT come prepared. On the road, Joel and I realized that we failed to plan what to WEAR! Upon arriving at the hotel, we broke the news of our surprise and promptly ran to the local Good Will. Here we are in the gear we were able to outfit ourselves with for the day… shoes, boots, and jackets!

Arrows In My Quiver…

Brothers | Noah and Ethan

As Mother’s Day 2024 approaches, I am blessed to be mom to my handsome guys, Ethan and Noah.

The weather app yesterday showed high of 79 degrees. I thought to myself “79…Ethan’s 14-year hockey player number”... Today, I hear Noah practicing a song he will sing for recital called “Build a Boat”… both are reminders of the fact that the thread of my sons is weaved intricately into the tapestry of my life. As I think about how I can be thankful in this day, there is the realization that I experience both of them everywhere…

Noah’s high school days are filled with:

  • Math and Engineering challenges and a robust desire to learn
  • Art shows highlighting his creative spark and digital art projects
  • Minecraft and Lego engineering marvels around every turn in our home (he is so gifted as a builder in unique ways)
  • Stories from Chemistry Class in the kitchen (hey mom… baking soda and vinegar lab experiments explained)
  • Serious military vehicle discussions and trips to Cantigny to hang out with the Tanks
  • Learning to Drive… a standard transmission vehicle nonetheless!
  • Volleyball antics and musings on the progress towards healing his left humorous
  • Non-stop youth group and school club activities (developing the next speech team script in his head), and plenty of time with friends

Always Remembering Ethan’s life:

  • Hockey happenings (wait… Patrick Kane plays for the Red Wings now?! I am not sure what Ethan would say!)
  • Lego in the news (still on the hunt for sustainability by 2032)
  • Rollerblading pedestrians on the bike path and heading back home to watch hockey video replays (I am seriously missing Ethan’s mastery of skating on and off the ice these days)
  • Purdue Materials Science Department efforts to lead in the local community
  • Embarking upon plans for the upcoming 2024 Jolt-On! Memorial Game Days
  • His 24th birthday approaching…

I never grow tired of the learning about Gods plan for their place in this world. This learning takes place under our roof and around our table… I truly see the work cut out for me as their mom, to be on mission and equip my sons to be warriors for Christ.

Grateful this day and every day for the blessing of sons!

3Sons are a heritage from the Lord,
    children a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
    are sons born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
    whose quiver is full of them.

Psalms 127:3-5

May Sixth: Love of a Brother

In my last writing, you saw our boys enjoying brotherly time together. Even though Noah and Ethan are more than 7 years apart, it was beautiful to watch them grow up together. I recall remarking often how Ethan just had God’s ear. Anytime he set to praying for something, it seemed that sooner or later he had an answer… January 31st snow storm of 2011, Ethan prayed for 2ft of snow (all in the hopes of not having to head back to school so early the next day!). We woke the next morning to almost exactly that!!

There was one time even more precious than that snow storm though… it was the day Ethan determined to pray for a brother. Before age 5, we could see Ethan was ready to share life with someone else along side. December 2006, tired of waiting, Ethan wrote at the top of his Christmas list…“#1. A Brother”.

We helped him understand that God is the one who determines if he would have a sibling. We encouraged him to simply pray and trust that God would answer him. It was such an amazing gift a few months later when we learned we were expecting our second child! We tried to set expectations for Ethan. Explaining, just because God was answering his prayer, it did not mean that he would automatically receive a brother... Ethan was so confident that God was going to give him a brother though. To our delight, in November that year, Noah was born.

Our guys are true brothers! Challenging each other in just about every way. However, for all of their competition, there is a sweet bond they both share.

Both having highly creative minds, Ethan loved to take Noah’s ideas and spin them into reality. Countless lego builds, video/stop motion projects and forts were built over the years. Loving all things StarWars (Clones, droids, and every kind of battle ship), Legos and science projects, mini-golf, riding bikes, playing “shinny hockey” in the hallway or street hockey in the driveway. They were always about time together, just hanging out.

In those days together, Noah studied his older brother well. He could keep up with the quick witted teenager even before he grew to be double digits himself. They are both equally good at remembering movie lines and hilarious sayings… not to mention using them to frame moments in our days. To have two boys growing up in our home provided days full of energy and joy! At times when it is quiet, I remember the noise of my guys and think about how much Noah also needs a brother…

Thank you, Ethan, for praying for Noah…
even more than that, for trusting God had your back in the answer!

Love you both, Mom

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