Growing up

Remember shy, timid, and bashful Justin. Well, he's not so much anymore. He has come out of his shell some. Actually he has come out of his shirt as well. :)

I have heard that having a teenager is challenging. That life will be a mess, full of stress, constant arguments and the like. Well, I'm not going to say that there aren't challenges and disagreements at times. Yes, we still have to tell him to go to bed, yes, we still have to tell him to put his clothes away, and yes, we still have to tell him to take a shower. But, overall though, it's pretty great having a teenager in the house. We've seen Justin grow up a lot this year, especially since we've changed school systems this past year. He has had to step out more. Not only has he grown up emotionally, he has grown in inches. We went shopping for pants the other day, because he only has 1 pair that fit. If his pants fit around the waist then they are way to short. He really needs a 30-34, but they are very hard to find. He also eats everything in the house so our grocery bill has gone up quite a bit in the past year.

The picture above is from a Jefferson High School Dragons home game. Can you imagine him doing this 5 years ago? No way!

At his school they have a spirit week. This picture is from nerd day.


If the glasses look familiar it's because they are mine from basic training, called by the Army, BCG's (basic combat glasses), but by soldiers they are called birth control glasses, for obvious reasons.

This year he played football for the middle school and has recently made the basketball team as well. His grades are great, even while being in a few honors classes.

I guess you could say he's adjusted to the new school pretty well. As far as us adjusting to having a teenage son; we're doing good as well, it's a work in progress. :)

I love these verses from Psalm 127

Psalm 127:3-5
Sons 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

I am blessed to have Justin as my son. And speaking of a warrior, the first picture does kinda look like war paint.