Finley Joseph is 11! May 5, 2021

I can hardly believe I am writing these words that our oldest son is 11 years old. In many ways it feels like it was literally yesterday I awaited the scariest and most incredible day of my life. In other ways it feels like it was a lifetime ago.

I can say one thing with absolute certainty, that day 11 years ago forever changed me life for the better.

Finley arrived first on the scene at 12:58pm and was the only baby I actually got to see in the delivery room (albeit for half a second). They held him up over the sheet shielding my eyes from all that was happening and promptly took him away. He was the biggest, 4 lbs. 13 ounces and the first to go home from the hospital. He had hair and cried like a goat. He was perfect.

He will forever be known as my “moose” from the days as a young boy that he refused to wear anything other than three different shirt options all of which had a Moose on them. One said “the Moose is loose” and it was his absolute favorite! This should have been some kind of foreshadowing as he still prefers to wear only a few shirts that he wears on an endless repeat cycle. His Jen Gile Lemon out shirt is a fan favorite, as well as his Kansas City Kings shirt and of course any sort of Michael Jordan jersey!

Finley Joseph loves basketball more than any kid I’ve ever known. I have not known any her child of his age that spends the amount of time working on his game and trying to get better than this young man.

His obsession with MJ came easily as both his parents grew up idolizing the legend and cheering on the Chicago Bulls. A friend (thank you Eric Peters) gifted a life size MJ years ago that still sits in his bedroom.

He is fiercely competitive, another characteristic he comes by very naturally. He wants to be the best at all things. We love to watch him compete and look forward to seeing him grow in his confidence in all things.

He is the most loyal little boy and loves his siblings and his family more than anything. He has the softest and most caring heart that those that know him best really get to see. He told me recently when his brother was hurt and couldn’t attend school or play sports “I don’t want to go to school without Cooper.” He loves his siblings so much.

He worries. About everything. But not in a useless stress way, in a I want everyone to be happy sort of way. It’s one of his greatest qualities.

He is a friend to everyone but isn’t a fan of being the life of the party. He’s quiet with people he doesn’t know but sarcastic and funny with those he trusts. He has his dads sense of humor and he gets funnier everyday.

He cares about doing the right thing. Always. If he ever gets in trouble, which isn’t often, it wrecks him. His guilty conscience is intense. His desire to be good and do good is beautiful and he has a soft, caring heart that always has him asking important questions.

He loves school. He loves to be with his friends and recess is his favorite, although school does seem to come easily for him. He likes to read anything sports related!

He is the best big brother. His siblings all look to him for leadership whether he knows it or not. There was a time on a vacation where Fletcher wanted to hold his hand everywhere he went and Finley just went with it, never complained, just carefully took his brothers hand and showed him the way.

He’s always the first to get up and do dishes. He’s a “see a need fill it” kind of kid and it makes us so proud everyday.

His favorite place is home or in the barn. He cherishes Friday night movie nights and he loves to eat my chocolate chip cookies or brownies even though his favorite meal would be a good steak, brusel sprouts and strawberries.

We could not be more proud of this sweet boy and all his goodness. We try to cherish every single moment we spend with him and each moment is better than the last.

Some baby pictures of our sweet boy!