Ryan is 8!!!!

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I cannot believe how fast time flies. It seems like just yesterday that we were waiting for Ryan to make his appearance, hauling him to classes, and cheering for him to reach each little milestone. He was born at 10:38 pm on Sept 7, 2000 after a long day of walking and walking and more walking. But then he was so perfect and little and amazing. Stephen and I were both going to school and he just went along with us to class. I was working on my Masters in Family Relations and Child Development, so most of my professors were fine with having him in class. There were even a couple who would give us a group assignment just to have an excuse to hold the baby for the hour. He was a total trooper and hardly ever cried.

Fast forward to today: Ryan is a very independent, determined, smart kid. He excells at his school subjects and is usually in the middle of at least 3 books at a time!!! When he turned 7, he used his birthday money to buy himself scriptures and set a goal to read the entire Book of Mormon before his 8th birthday. We read part as a family, but he spent a lot of time on his own listening to and reading along with the CD. And he did it!!! I'm amazed at how well he remembers the scripture stories and how comfortable he is with the language of the scriptures-- he even loved the Isaiah chapters.

He is a fun kid to be around and a good helper. We've been canning peaches and tomatoes this past week and he has skinned them, cut them, and put them in the bottles. He is excited to be able to start mowing the lawn now that he is 8. He is also excited about his baptism and starting scouts!

We love you Ryan!!!!!