Number 22

I skipped the gym Saturday morning, but got up at dawn to make the drive to Knox to wish my baby boy a happy birthday. 

I got this great picture. 

And this one. 

I’m sick. The photographer is dead to me because of this. 

If you had told me in 2004 in Germany that I’d one day celebrate Evan’s 22nd birthday at a tailgate for a SEC school, I’d believe you. At the age of two, his favorite movie was “Rudy.” He got into a three point stance before he could talk. And I can’t tell you how many times I had to pull him off of the AMHS football field on Saturdays during a game. He wanted to be on that field with those teens, my students, so badly. So it is appropriate we celebrated turning 22 on a game weekend outside of Neyland. 

Happiest of birthdays to my boy! 

#20

He’s not two, in Germany, learning to talk. 

He’s not twelve, in middle school, obsessed with football.

He’s twenty, in college, pursuing a dream.

Happy birthday, Evan! I’ve loved every bit of the last twenty years with you. May this year be filled with joy, peace, and good grades! Love you big!

Happy 19th Birthday

Today is this guy’s 19th birthday. 

He’s not 19 days.

He’s not 19 months. 

He’s 19 YEARS! I’m not sure how this can be because I’m still 30 years old. 

He celebrated by going to class, studying at the library (he better have been anyway), and then watching the Mavs game with Mak and eating his chocolate chip cookie cake. 

Happy birthday, Evan! I’ve cherished the first 19 days, the first 19 months, and every minute of the last 19 years. May your year be filled with joy, health, and lots of time in the library. Love you big!

Happy 18th Birthday

Today this guy is 18! We celebrated Sunday night with tacos, ice cream cake, and gifts because on Monday nights we have this thing called soccer. 

Makinley came over to help us celebrate and watch football. She is the absolute best! She just shakes her head as Evan rambles about draft selections, she ignores his shouts at the tv, and laughs when he wears his patriotic socks and Trump shirt almost every day. 

Evan is passionate about sports, politics, and debating with you about sports and politics. He is an excellent critical thinker and can defend any argument he makes. He is extremely articulate and has the absolute best oneliners. He loves ice cream, apples, and Oreos. He says he doesn’t care about good grades, but I’ve seen him study all hours of the night. He forgets his shoes, loses his keys, or fails to remember due dates almost daily. He hates to shave, wears the same outfits almost daily, and couldn’t care less about what anyone says about him. He has a strong moral compass and is frustrated with people who don’t share his same beliefs. 

Happy birthday, Evan! You have such a bright future ahead of you. Change the world; make it a better place!

Celebrating 18 in July

Summer has been extended by three weeks. Soccer training is still on hold. And the pool has been delayed until I-don’t-know-when. What does a 17 year old do with all of this extra free time? 

Evan gets an early birthday present!

He’s ready to kayak and fish for the next month! 

Sweet 6teen

Happiest of birthdays, Evan. 

My hope is year 16 will be better than year 15 - no ingrown toenails, a summer free of the podiatrist, and no injuries. My wish is you will have a year filled with health, happiness, and success! Love you BIG!

6Teen

It’s been a crap year for Evan. From winter spent at Vandy with “heart problems” and an order for no sports - to a spring spent with the podiatrist to remove four ingrown nails - to a summer spent in PT for an Achilles injury. There’s been very little to celebrate. But Evan has handled it all with grace and with an attitude that I’m in awe of. I’ve been sick with angst and frustration; Evan has persevered and proven he can tackle even the most trying of times. Life can be hard - Evan makes it look easy. He’s maintained an excellent GPA, volunteers in his free time, and spends Saturday mornings reffing U7 soccer games. No teen deserves this more.

This is his year! 

“Blessed is he who perseveres under trial.”

Happy Birthday

This kid is amazing! He was at school at 6:30 to put up a few shots before school started, he had a 90 min basketball practice after school, drove an hour for two hours of soccer training, and then was up until 1100 studying for an algebra test. I’m so proud to call him mine! Happy 15th birthday, Evan! May this be a wonderful year!

We celebrated with some of his favorites: Cajun food and pumpkin cheesecake. When he blew out the candles, I made my own wishes for him. 1) Win state in soccer on Sunday; 2) have an injury free basketball season; 3) survive this year in algebra! 

Celebrate!

 

On Wednesday Evan fastened this birthday hat to his head with Bobbie pins and walked the 8th grade halls for all to see and wish him a happy birthday. Crowds of kids gathered around his locker in between classes and caused major traffic jams. On Thursday he went to school and found himself with a new locker at the end of the hallway and...on the bottom row! The ultimate punishment for my 6'1" class clown!

We finally celebrated Evan's birthday today with cake and ice cream. This pesky thing called sports got in the way Wednesday and Thursday nights.

 

 

May all of your wishes come true, Baby Boy!

Evan is 14

Evan is 14 today. My opinionated, strong-willed, dry-witted baby boy is almost grown! He is unpredictable at best, loves to debate political issues, and has a passion for sports that rivals any ESPN contributor. He eats ice cream by the pint, loves to snorkel in the ocean, and binge watches "Law and Order" episodes like a retired cop. He is a leader, an athlete, and a scholar. He loses every single thing he owns, forgets to put on shoes when we leave the house, and plays "Where's my Phone, Mom?" daily. He looks just like his dad but shares a brain with me.

He is Evan.

I would change nothing about him; he is perfect as is. Evan is 14 today.


Happy birthday, Baby Boy!

The Teen Years are Upon Us

I'm officially old today because I'm now the mother of a teenager. This is how I remember defining old about thirteen years ago, anyway, but I will take old any day for a chance to be a mother to this guy. He might be six feet tall and I might have to stand on tip-toe to kiss his cheek, but in my mind, he's still my baby boy, my amazingly talented baby boy. I have no idea how he's able to juggle playing three sports at one time, often working out four hours a day, all while taking advanced classes and maintaining straight As. But he does. He's more comfortable away from crowds, he loves to win an argument, he can throw out one-liners that leave us in stitches, and he loves the outdoors. He's a boy of few words, unless you want to debate anything related to sports. He can eat his weight in ice cream, swim like a fish, and shoot like a sharp-shooter.  Most importantly, I am incredibly lucky to call him mine!

Happy birthday, Evan! May you continue to grow into the godly young man He has chosen you to be.

No Longer a Baby

My dear baby boy turns twelve today! Although no longer a baby, we are continually in awe of the boy we are so privileged to call our own.

 

 He is the master at answering at every question with the single word, "Good." He is the boy who detests technology but spends every waking moment logged on to yahoo checking his fantasy football points. He is the twelve year old that insists vacations are spent as far removed from other people as possible. He is the quick-witted tween that few are lucky enough to laugh with. He is the man-child that can eat his weight in ice cream. He is the sports analyst who can rattle off just about any statistic you would every want to know about football. He is the intellectual that can argue and debate even the most mundane of topics. He is the athletic one that loves to hit in football and loves to stop a scoring play in soccer.

 

And today he is the proud owner of his very first gun.

 

 

(I'm not holding it against him at all that he opened his gun this morning and immediately thanked Wes - even though it was my idea. Nope, not holding it against him at all.)

 



 





We wish you the very best birthday yet, Evan! We are so excited to see where this year takes you and the person you will become. We love you to the moon and back!

Celebrating Eleven Years Times Four

We celebrated Evan's birthday today with three of his soccer teammates, who just all four happen to have birthdays within two weeks of one another.

We joined the rest of the team for a game of paintball.

Keagan joined them, and even though Evan had never played before, he was full of advice.

As it turns out, Keagan didn't need it. He was shooting 'em up all on his own!

Evan said it was the best party, ever! Guns and battles in the woods? What eleven year old wouldn't like that?

Truth be told. I think the dads had just as much fun.

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to William, Evan, Harrison, and Jack!

Evan is Eleven

My dearest Evan turned 11 years old today. We celebrated with dinner at a restaurant surrounded by a huge aquarium. We ate fish while we oohed and aahed at the fish swimming for our entertainment.

When Evan was not yet two he was diagnosed with a severe case of apraxia. We were told he might never talk and that he would require extensive speech therapy to learn to communicate verbally. The young therapist that diagnosed Evan was obviously wrong. I mention this because my hopes and dreams for my boy are so different today than what they were just a few short years ago. Nine years ago my biggest hope was that he would learn to say simple words and communicate in phrases. Today my hopes and dreams for him know no limits.

My hope, dear Evan, is that you will never lose your competitive spirit and that your dream to compete as a professional athlete will come to fruition. May your hard work and dedication on the field bring you the personal satisfaction that so few people have the joy of experiencing day in and day out.

My dream is that you continue to excel academically and your intense desire to learn will never fade. May your desire to explore the unknown and ask the questions that others never dream persist.

My hope is that your leadership skills will cultivate a yearning to lead an entire generation of young people to think beyond selves and reach out to others. Playground kickball teams and petitions for football at recess can be the beginnings of a much larger movement.

My dream is that your abstract understandings of justice and your strong personal conviction that all should be treated fairly will lead you to fight for the injustices experienced every day by others. May you continue to take a stand for those that cannot take a stand for themselves.

May you continue to smile big and laugh for the joy of laughing. May your life be filled with happiness.

Aim, Shoot, Celebrate

We celebrated Evan's birthday Friday night with a laser tag party. The boys loved it, and best of all, it was great to be surrounded by family and so many of our new friends.

This next week four families associated with Heifer International will awake with flocks of chicks at their doors with the donations and generosity of our friends. When Evan first decided to do this in lieu of gifts from friends, he thought the chicks would be sent to our house, and then we would distribute them. I had to explain that we would not actually see the chicks but trust that the chicks would make it to the right people. He seemed to be okay with this, but our discussion made me wonder. When we originally visited the website, Evan had first selected a water buffalo. Where did he think we would keep a water buffalo?

Then and Now Eight Years Later

 Eight years ago, we were blessed with the early arrival of this bundle of joy. 

Today I have a bundle of joy that eats as much as an adult male but cries with the injustice of every little-brother-mishap. In other words, my baby is now eight.

Here Are the Eight Things I Love About my Eight Year Old:
1) Evan's smile. When I catch it on camera, it absolutely makes the picture - any picture.

2) Evan's reasoning skills. He can only think in black and white. For instance, I asked him to spray Pam on the sides of the crock pot so our roast wouldn't stick. He sprayed the sides, alright, but the OUTSIDE of the crock pot.

3) Evan's passion for football. In the yard playing football with his brother, on the Wii playing Madden, wearing his multiple jerseys, watching the NFL, reading a book on famous football players...He can never tire of it.

4) Evan's opinions. He is always right. There have been times when I have detested it, but overall, I LOVE having a boy that can think for himself and establish a well-thought out opinion.

5) Evan's ability to empathize with others. What eight year old requests that friends buy chicks for a family in Africa instead of receiving birthday gifts? After reading "Give a Goat", he did just that.

6) Evan's running. He runs with his head cocked to the side so that he can run against his shadow. After eight years and lots of races, he claims lots of ties.

7) Evan's competitiveness. Who doesn't want to win, though?

8) Evan's big brown eyes. Absolutely LOVE them.

Happy Birthday, Evan!

Evan is Seven!

Fourteen little boys + two games of laser tag + six pizzas + one big GI Joe Cake = Evan's 7th Birthday Party

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!

Happy Birthday, Evan!

Seven years ago today Evan surprised us with his early arrival. What a great day that was! This morning he awoke to clues that led him on a search through the house to the new bike that awaited him in the garage. Mr. Fennelson, our next door neighbor, will be the happiest with this gift because I think he had all he could take of bike repairs.

Even if he does require 20 inch bike, he is still a little boy. It's highly probable that we will leave his birthday party on Friday with crumbs of chocolate cake and clumps of icing on his mouth just as he did at his first birthday party.