It’s always a whirlwind around here.  As I sit here in my office for the first time in weeks.  I’m looking around at stacks of stuff that I want to go through and sort into memory boxes.  For Jake’s 14th birthday, I remolded his room and still have all of this piled in my office now…

How did this happen!?  Isn’t that the way it goes for moms?  We spend our time making everything great for others and we get what is left over!  In my case, it’s a messy office full of stuffed animals and baby bedding I can’t part with.  I guess it’s not a bad thing to always put others first, but if I don’t get a handle on this soon, I’m going to be overtaken by piles in here.

What started out as a harmless trip to Target to get a birthday balloon in the dollar aisle ended up with an idea to remodel and cart overflowing with stuff.  This is the way I do things sometimes – just ask my family or my neighbor, Kim, she crossed paths with me that day in Target and I don’t think it even phased her that I ended up at the paint store an hour later.

My Jakers was leaving for the weekend with a friend – what an awesome surprise!

After 24 hours, it looked like this – with the help of my amazing side-kick, Morgan, of course.  And Brian, who said he would NOT be a part of it, ended up putting on a second coat of paint for me.  I love it when my peeps actually embrace my ideas.  My dad has said when I put my mind to something, I go for it.  He’s right.  And look at my super handsome birthday boy!The first thing he said was….where are all my trophies!?  Here we are in December now and they are still in a plastic bin in the garage.  It’s on my to-do list to get some of those back in there.
In the meantime, he passed his drivers permit test on the first try, we pulled off any amazing football-themed celebration, and he played football for the first time since he was in grade school.  I would say this guy is living it up right!

I love this guy so much, it’s hard to even describe.  He is an annoying teenager that wants to spend most of his time with friends right now, he loses everything that’s not strapped down to his body, and he eats like an animal, but I know his warm, kind heart is still in there!  It’s just a phase of life and I’m determined to be a part of it.  Jakers, keep being your charming, funny, & smart self.  YOU ARE LOVED!

Awwwww….I really want to go back to the days when Jake asked for a Rainbow Loom for his birthday!!  Remember the “rainbow loom” craze!?  We found this in the closet and it brought a smile to all of our faces.

I can’t wait to see what my Jakers accomplishes in the year ahead!  One thing is for sure, he is no longer in youth-sized clothing or shoes and he can set his chin right down on the top of my head with ease.  He’s really making me look short 😉