We have a Teenager!!!!

It is with fear, trepidation, nerves, and an overwhelming desire to continue my procrastinating, that I finally sit down to write this post about my eldest son Kevin.  How does one go about writing a post about a teenager. Which of his teenage virtues should I choose to extol . . .and still have him aware that I love him deeply:).  Yet, it isn't every day that your first kid turns 13!  

Actually, it hasn't really been momentous at all except for that 13 means you are a teenager and teenagers are pretty cool and get to do a lot of fun stuff.  Right?!!!  Kevin is a fairly young thirteen and I am thankful for this. His interests and hobbies are not a lot different than the ones he had when he was nine or ten. 

Kevin loves his family and so far is not even embarrassed of either of his parents.  We're honoured.  He has a very special place in his heart for Karter and I know I say this all the time, but it is special and I am very thankful for it.  He also loves Kade - but fights with him pretty good too. They have aligned their interests a lot lately which means they spend most of their home time together.  I am glad they have each other to hang out with, to burn energy with, and to spar with once in a while too.  Kevin will once in a while take the time for Kylie and play school, house, or store with her too. This usually involves a massive setup and a massive mess . . . and probably takes more minutes to setup than the minutes actually spent playing.  

Kevin continues to love his sports and thrives while playing them. He can't get enough of soccer or hockey and enjoys any other sport as well.  He loves to play competitively but also at home with just Kade or if they are lucky . . . Jonathan.  I don't know how many games of one on one have been played in the yard and the basement, but I am thankful for an active son and one who is so easily entertained.

Kevin is mostly your typical grade 8er . .  or maybe not.
 I told you this set (there were about 10 of them) would come back to haunt you buddy!

Grade 8 is a big year and Kevin is excited about it.  We have encouraged Kevin to be a leader and to really stand up for the good things and to show kindness.  It is easy to be peer pressured, but due to the dynamics in his class, we also think there is great potential to be a strong leader. It will be a lot harder in high school, so we encourage him to really make goals and make good efforts while he is one of the  "the top dogs" at school.  We pray that good habits will be formed and will carry on throughout high school. Be strong buddy!.

Kevin loves spending time with friends and has a bunch of good friends. We are thankful for each one of them. It seems to be easy for him to make friends and it is neat to watch new friendships form. We hope he will always be friendly and not take any of his friendships for granted.

Kevin enjoys school - especially recess, lunchtime, and phys.ed. The rest is just fillers.  He gets by with as little effort as possible . . . though he has promised to try harder this year!  He does not like to waste any home time on homework, so it is either done really quick at school or it is done on the bus.  This week he had a dentist appointment so he did his math homework on the way to the dentist.  I looked over it as he was in his appointment and quickly discovered that he just filled in most of the blanks without even thinking.  It was a whole lot of guesswork and most of it not even educated.  BUT . . .it looked done!!  I will have to keep a good eye on what comes home and keep lots of erasers handy.

Kevin loves music - except piano.  Maybe I should say, he loves listening to music. He continues his torture  piano lessons and doesn't even pretend to like it.  I'm sticking with the fact that it is a good discipline and that someday he will thank me.  Terrible reasoning according to him.
Kevin loves food and has already outeaten me and matched Jonathan for years.  He is not picky at all and makes cooking a bit more enjoyable for me. One night when he was at Campfire! and Jonathan came home late, I made a nice (I thought) casserole. It was disappointing. Kade and Kylie couldn't stop noting how disgusting it looked and Karter echoed them very quickly.  I missed Kevin greatly in that moment! I am thankful for a kid who will eat almost anything . . . and sometimes not quite as thankful when he's eaten a huge plate and tells me he is still STAAAARVING! 

Kevin continues to need very little sleep.  I wish he needed more. He does go to bed, but will lie awake for a long time.  He says he can't fall asleep unless he is listening to Adventures in Odyssey.  He DOES like to sleep in though!! In the summer, he would take full advantage of not having to get out of bed.  And it usually takes more than one call to get him up on school mornings.

Kevin is pretty sure he should have more electronics in his life.  He loves anything electronic and has nothing.   Poor deprived child.

Kevin's work ethic has perhaps suffered lately. He is pretty sure he works really hard and we are pretty sure that he gets away with doing pretty much nothing.  BUT . . . every once in a while, he will have a surge of energy and determination and will do a really good job. I have found that he likes lists.  Well . . he actually hates seeing them, but once he is reconciled to the fact that there is a list and he has to complete it, he is off to the races. He will not stop till he is done his chores and usually does a decent job. He really wants a job away from home . . . we fear for him . . .but it WOULD be really good for him. They'd have to be tough . . .and patient!

Kevin is still a die-hard Maple Leaf fan and has lots to say about everything they do. I'm pretty sure that he could get them a Stanley Cup if you left him in charge. He'd make a few trades, have the goalie stop a few more pucks, and have the wingers shoot a little more. He enjoys perusing TSN on the computer and the Hockey News magazine . . . though I think Kade has invested more hours in THN than the rest of us put together!

Kevin spent a week at Campfire! Bible Camp this summer and loved it. He went during sports week and had a blast playing sports, meeting and making new friends and learning more about God and His Word.  

Kevin is growing up.  He's smaller than he'd like to be, but I think he is just perfect. He will grow one of these days or years and catch up to his cousins, but for now I am thankful to have him just the way he is.  He is a pretty good teenager. That's not to say he doesn't have his fits of anger, a bad attitude now and then, or his moments when he is definitely smarter than his parents.  He is not always a good listener and sometimes talks way too much . . .when he should just stop and listen. He is not perfect, but he is a good kid. He's a kid we are pretty proud of most of the time! 

We love you Kevin and pray for you every day.  We pray that your love for the Lord would grow. We pray that your desire to spend time with God and His word would grow.  It is so easy to spend time doing the things that are "fun", but we want you to encourage you to do the hard things and the right things too!

"But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith." 1Timothy 6:11-12a