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.

A daughter needs a dad

Recently I read something about daughters being a gift from God and thought I'd share a portion of it that lists some of the things a daughter needs from her dad:

A daughter needs a dad...
to show her that true love is unconditional
to teach her that her value as a person is more than the way she looks
to teach her that family is more important than work
to show her that a man can be trustworthy
to be the safe spot she can always turn to
to teach her that a man’s strength is not the force of his hands or his voice, but the kindness of his heart
to be the standard against which she will judge all men
to help her take risks that will build her confidence
to hold her when she cries
to teach her she is important by stopping what he is doing to watch her

There are many gifts that we are given that we take for granted. Kids are one of them.

As I read this list of what a daughter needs I thought back to the night before when Katelyn, who just turned 5 in September and started kindergarten this year, was sitting on my lap, leaning back and snuggling while watching tv.

I wonder...how long will she do that.

As I am typing this she came into the office with a pair of blue earmuffs on her head singing a song. With the last one on the list in mind, I'm off to play with her and give her a bath.

My prayer: Thank you Lord for the gift of a daughter. Please help me to be the dad that she needs me to be.