Trevor is 13 today!

As of today we have three teenagers in the house. The years are just flying by but again, as I’ve said many times before, I absolutely love the ages my kids are at right now. I wouldn’t trade these years for anything. This morning at church someone said “thirteen is the hardest age”, and I kind of shook my head because I can think of several years that were much harder than this. I guess we’ve just been very blessed so far, and I have no doubt this year will be a good one with the newest teenager.

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Trevor! My prayer for this next year is for you to grow in the knowledge of Christ and to simply enjoy every day God blesses you with. I have to say, Trevor has grown up a lot this past year and has become a fun, engaging, likable guy. Not that he wasn’t before, but he has a maturity to him and just seems so much older. I just love the kid. He has wonderful friends, is low maintenance, no drama and doesn’t ask for much. When he wants to talk, he will chat up a storm and have the most interesting conversations but when he isn’t in an outgoing mood, you won’t get a word out of him. He’s also decided to take up golfing and has had a lot of fun this spring getting out on the greens a few times already with friends and Brad. So for his birthday we bought him a new set of clubs, and he is very much looking forward to a summer full of golf.

This evening Travis took the kids to Omaha so they can go to Winter Jam which is a four hour concert with groups like Newsboys, Lecrae, Colton Dixon, Plumb, Thousand Foot Crutch, Everfound and Newsong. And it’s only $10 at the door which is amazing for all those artists. Of course they stood in line for 2 1/2 hrs this afternoon so they could get in, but at that age those adventures are fun (I’m certain I wouldn’t like standing in line for that long anymore). And they had the most beautiful weather today to be outside in! They have a couple friends with them so I’m sure they are having a wonderful time and will be tired at school tomorrow since they won’t get home until very late.

Here are a few pictures of our day…..and there aren’t any of the girl because she wasn’t feeling photogenic today.

Trevor’s all time favorite – cinnamon rolls – and a happy birthday song to start the day

this guy wanted crackers for breakfast instead

and after church it was his favorite Chinese for lunch

check out this cutie who is finally rid of his braces after 3 yrs and 10 months…he can’t be serious for a minute just like his dad

and finally it was my grandpa’s lemon bundt cake for dessert…Trevor loves lemon so this was a great way to finish up lunch before leaving for the concert

There isn’t much else going on at the moment except that Brad is now in full golf mode. His days are very long since golf practice lasts almost three hours every day, but of course to him it’s all fun. Sidney had her last volleyball tournament yesterday, and they placed 5th out of 60-some teams and won the silver tournament. Trevor and Ryan don’t have much going on right now and are doing well. There are no changes with Ryan which is a good thing. He has good days and bad days but overall, he isn’t declining much right now, and we are very thankful for the health he has. Of course his seizures are still rampant but that’s normal life for us. We are all counting down the weeks until we leave for our Make a Wish trip and should be getting our itinerary very soon. We know the days we will be traveling but the rest of the trip is still a surprise except for the resort we are staying at which is very nice. I still can’t believe we are being blessed with this trip and vacilate between thankfulness and grief over having a child who qualifies for it. But we are going to have a blast and enjoy every moment, relax in the sun and make lots of wonderful memories together as a family. I really have to fight worrying over the details of getting Ryan down there since he has never flown. It feels completely overwhelming to travel with medications, formula, feeding supplies, diapers, etc. I feel overwhelmed just traveling by car with him. And we have to get him through security with his wheelchair, plates and screws in his head, a vagus nerve stimulator in his chest and metal braces on his legs. But people do it all the time and I realize my worry is a complete waste of energy. I still find myself getting caught up in all the planning and preparing it will take to fly with him though. Traveling with Ryan is hard whether by car or plane because he has so many needs and supplies, but it will all work out. Only a few more weeks and we will be soaking up the sun and having a blast together.