Fourteen

Happy 14th birthday to my first dream come true!  It's so hard to believe it was 14 years ago today that the doctor place a tiny 6lb 14oz perfect little bundle in my arms and I truly understood what love was.  I never would have thought through that first 6 months of life where you continuously fell into the "under average" category for weight and height that in just 14 years I'd be looking up to you.  God truly blessed me by making me your mom!

I love you sweet boy of mine!

 ( I love that in this picture JK is actually leaning down a little to get closer to my height.  When standing up straight I only come up to his shoulders.)

I'm proud to say that we have officially survived year one of the fun that is raising a teenager and it honestly hasn't been to bad.  We have had to adjust our parenting in a few areas and I have had to really try to learn to not take the sudden mood swings thrown at me to personal.  This year has had a few ups and downs, but we are all learning together and things seem to be smoothing out.  What we have learned after being in a constant battle in a few areas is that we needed to adjust our no dating rule until 16 a bit.  Currently we ar still saying there is no dating, but there is now room to have a girlfriend.  (Because there is a difference!)  Clint and I decided that if JK decides he wants a girlfriend (which he has) he's going to have one whether we know about it or not.  Trust is important in our house so we decided to be a little more lenient in this area.  JK is still not allowed to go on dates or meet up at the mall or have any alone time with said girlfriend, but he is allowed to hug her and spend time with her at school and school events such as dances.  (Thank God for a school with a very strict pda policy and a staff that enforces it!)  There is phone time allowed, but it happens in a somewhat public place in our home and the time is strictly monitored.  While we originally said there would be no time spent together outside of school events until next year, we agreed to bend that rule a little and JK is being allowed to invite his girlfriend to see Frozen with our family on Friday.  Clint joked that she would be sitting on his right side and JK on his left.  We both feel that these girlfriends are going to happen whether we're ready for them or not and that we would much rather be the family they want to spend time with, when in the future they are allowed to start dating on a less restrictive basis.  Honestly this has all been such a learning process for us and I can only pray that we are making the right decisions with our sweet boy as we continue to take each day and each new situation one step at a time. 

Aside from the serious interest in dating and the mood swings that have come with the teenage years, JK is still the sweetest most thoughtful kid I know.  The way he thinks of and treats others continues to make my heart swell on an almost daily basis.  He is kind and generous and just so much fun to be around.  I am so blessed with the kids that God has entrusted with me but am beyond thankful that he chose to give me JK first.  He really has made being a parent so much fun and for the most part so easy.

We love you sweet teenager of ours and hope and pray that all of your birthday wishes come true!

Happy 14th Birthday!