5th Teen in the House

Karsten turned 13 today, which makes five teenagers in my home.  I can say that I would take five teens over five toddlers any day.  They are a lot of fun, even though they eat a ton of food.  I think back to the days of sitting at the table until they cleaned their plates after hours of battles and wonder why in the world I wasted all that time.  Today I would jump for joy if they would stop eating for an hour or so.  Karsten wanted Mongolian beef for his birthday dinner.  I haven't quite mastered that one yet, so we headed over to New Garden in Pullman and gave the rest of the diners a show.  I guess just having us walk in the room and sit down is pretty interesting for most folks.  We enjoyed dinner and came home to have white chocolate, raspberry cheesecake for dessert.

I didn't want to let the day get by without acknowledging Karsten's big day.  He turned thirteen.  He is an amazing young man, and I am so God has kept him around this long.  He had more than his fair share of close calls as a toddler, but I am sure God has a plan for this guy.  He is a hard worker, and continues to be diligent in everything that he is asked to do.  He cares for the people around him, especially the kids that others tend to exclude.  He has lately started to give the attitude of his mother.  He is mocking those that think they are all that, but he is still lacking in the appropriate amount of sarcasm.  People think he is cocky, but we make sure he stays  humble at home.

He has been given many gifts.  He is athletic and likes to play sports.  He has never been driven to win in sports where he is an individual.  He does well in track, but he is not out to  beat everybody.  He tends to be more competitive when he is playing team sports.  I think his drive to win increases when he has others counting on him.  He is amazingly sweet to his sisters.  And both of his brother think he is the best.  He is my go to guy.  He acts like a first born even though he is the middle child.

I know God has big plans for Karsten.  He has many friends, and he loves to be around people.  I am very blessed to have him, he gets better every year.  Happy Birthday my sweet boy.