Noah's 12th Birthday!

My oldest son, Noah, is now 12 years old. Besides being a little taller and a lot more responsible, he has become quite chatty. He told me yesterday that he made a "button" for his table group at school to hit when someone needs to say something. He thought we should use one at home too. All I could say was, "That is an idea" while visions of body parts being used as a punching bag to HIT the BUTTON.

The name Noah means Peace. He is a true peacemaker in our home. He would rather surrender his rights (chair at the table, special treat, seat in the car, turn on the computer, movie choice...) than continue arguing over it. I love this quality in him! He is a great older brother! He tries to be patient with Nathan and often plays with him. There new favorite game being wrestling. Noah lets Nate hit, kick, tickle, and punch him. He usually lets Nate knock him flat on his back pretending he's lost the fight. He is fun to watch with Rilla as well. Tessa loves to hear every riddle he comes home with and then he patiently listens to her ask the same riddles pretending he doesn't know the answers. And while he is aware of how Elizabeth somehow can get him to do anything she wants, he still does it and still loves her in spite of it. He is very helpful to me and usually smiles and answers, "Sure!," when I've asked him to do something for me.

I especially proud of his desire to be good. Truly good. Not just a be good because I said kind, but a good that is embedded into his core. He chooses good. He inspires me to be good and loves me even when I am not.

Noah was the last boy to turn 12 in his church class. He sat alone for over one month. The first week he spent alone in sharing time, his class had the assignment of providing sharing time. Noah did it by himself and did a great job. The joke in Primary became, "If you need a small class, just pick Noah!" I know many boys are anxious to get out of Primary and would have been miserable to be the last one. Noah just seemed to embrace it. I am grateful to his leaders for providing opportunities for him to help with Sharing Time.

Now that he is with the Young Men and holds the Aaronic Priesthood he continues to shine. A couple of weeks before his ordination he had asked me why some men prefer to dress casually at church. We discussed many options for this. He looked me in the eye and said, "Mom, I want to dress up for the Lord." And he does. He is anxious to perform his responsibilities with love and humility. On his first Sunday to pass the sacrament he had not been instructed how to do it. I watched him nervously as I wanted to soothe his confusion and nerves. He didn't need me and figured it out just fine. If it had been me or one of my girls we would have come home upset and scared to death to try it again. When I asked him how it went he answered, "Great!"

Noah invited 6 boys to accompany him to Provo's First Night to celebrate his birthday in conjunction with New Year's Eve. It was a lot of fun! It was also wonderful to have grandparents to celebrate with us. We enjoyed Grandma Pace's chocolate cake and ice cream and playing games. The still very boy side of Noah still loves Legos and Bionicles and was ecstatic to received many for his presents.
One of the activities was eating Red Hot Chili Peppers:
BEFORE:
DURING:

AFTER:
Spared viewers the sight!
A bungee cord game:
Noah & Payton duking it out:
I love my Noah guy! My birthday wish for him is a lifetime of a continued good attitude.