Enchanted with Teens

We now have two teens in our home.  Yes, our home is still standing.  Yes, please pray for us!  In fact, it is becoming more evident that teenagers are in the midst:

This is the creative work of the eldest offspring.  He, umm, really likes to keep anyone 5'5" out of his room.  If you can't read the yellow tape it says:  DO NOT ENTER:  IDIOT ZONE.  Did I mention he has a great sense of humor?  Frankly, I love it (his humor and his artistic flair)!  My husband was watching him wrap the tape around the door just shaking his head, but, alas, I think...at least it's not spray paint!
He has always been the kind of kid that likes design.  I remember him coming home one day after visiting with his grammy, I think he was 3, and I had been cleaning and rearranging furniture in his absence.  Well, he walks in the door and first thing he says is, "Hey Mom that shelf looks nice there!"  He is an amazing artist, he sketches in his free time cool warcraft guys.  He has an eye for detail.

I am so very blessed by his gift of music.  He has been playing piano since he was 5 years old.  When he was about 10 years old people started coming up to us and telling us was 'gifted'.  Oh, don't all 10 year olds play like him?  DUUHHH.  Shortly after, his piano teacher told us she had taken him as far as she could with teaching him.   Hmmm, as God would have it the Maryland Conservatory of Music is a stone's throw away and he started lessons there.  He can NOT walk past any piano and not play, he must touch those ivory keys.  Not only does he have an ear for music, he can hear a song 1 time and sit down and hammer it out.

Piano practice is my most favorite time of the day.  Sometimes I feel like King Saul beckoning David to come and play the harp for him to soothe his weary soul!  Pachelbel's Canon in D is my most favorite piece he plays.  I recently bought him the score to Phantom of the Opera so there has been a lot of intense music being played lately.

And socks...what is with the socks?   This child goes through socks like wind goes through a pair of pantyhose.  It was very thoughtful of him to hang up his dirty, holey socks to dry on the rack!

I just love this kid!  He is the kind of guy that brings in a neighbor's trash can on his morning walk.  I got a phone call one day from a little old lady we don't know that he brought her trash cans in and it just made her day.  Another neighbor (he is in the Mc Donald's breakfast club with me dad) just can't get over the fact the he will stop and chat with him, intelligently.  Mom's will tell me what a great example he is at church and how other's look up to him.

Recently, he went swing dancing with a group of kids and some of his friends decided to leave and go get a soda across the street.  He had to make a hard choice in that moment to obey what we told him about staying at the dance, or dive under the peer pressure and hope to not get caught.  It's the little choices that we make all the time to stay on the right path that will make it easier for us to say no when the big things come along.

My he is growing up so fast into a fine young man.  We have survived our homeschooling jaunt having LOTS of bumps along the way (yes, my eye is still twitching from the whole exhausting freshman year).  Now don't get me wrong, he does not have a halo over his head.  He antagonizes his little brother incessantly, he is loud and noisy, and he paces when it is time to leave for something because he like to be early and well, the rest of us are not as punctual as he.

I pray for him to grow in Godly wisdom.  I pray he will be blessed with a Jonathan at his new school in the fall.  I pray for his purity, his discernment (especially  the lies the devil whispers), and his walk with Christ to continually flourish.

Blessings,

E.W.