How Can He Be Twelve?

Today my RedDog Soren is twelve years old. I blinked and he's twelve.

I have always marked our time here in Virginia by his age. He was born a month after we moved here. He came into chaos - moving, renovating, two siblings running around screaming - yet he remained calm.

He's still that way today. The most calm of our kids. The most sensitive of our kids. The most introverted of our kids.

He is the one who says to me every night, "Thank you for this delicious dinner, Mom." Even if he choked it down because it contained his nemesis, celery.

He is the one who goes on long walks around our neighborhood with me, not embarrassed to grab my hand and hold it every so often. We talk about school, friends, joys and fears. Recently I learned he was afraid of the testing for the swimming merit badge at Scout Camp because he'll have to jump in wearing clothes and remove his shirt and pants to make a flotation device. I assured him he'd do fine and we could go practice at a friend's pool. His worry wasn't about making the flotation device - it was about swimming in his underwear in front of everyone. Oh, we laughed hard after I told him he'll be wearing a swimsuit under the clothes, not his underwear! 

My RedDog loves playing trumpet, Harry Potter, the games MineCraft and Terraria, his cousins, his best friend Chris Meck, riding his bike, scooter, and roller blading. He is fun, funny, can make crazy faces, can burp the alphabet, dances like no one's watching and is a joy in my life.

He loves Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He wants to make the right choices. He wants to help others and tries his best to be a good brother, son, and friend.

He has been a light in our lives for twelve whole years!