All About Nathan

First, I have to say that if last year was an indication of how "teenage years" with Nathan will be, then we LOVE the TEEN years!  Talk about easy!

Seriously, Nathan is a great kid.  He is typical teenage boy in some ways, and yet as we look around at other kids his age, we see some great qualities in him that are sometimes missing in others.  He is a good example to (and playmate for) his younger siblings... he enjoys simple things and it doesn't take much to make him happy... he isn't picky about anything... he is open with us and has not shown an ounce of rebellion.  Okay, so we are just barely over one year in, but still... we are feeling pretty good.  :)

 

This is an essay Nathan wrote this year:

I can't imagine that there are too many kids in this world who are surrounded by as much love as Nathan.  Besides FOUR parents and SIX siblings, he has numerous grandparents, tons of Aunts & Uncles, and bunches of cousins.  

A couple of weeks ago there was a fundraiser at our church for a mission trip he is going on in July.  He had so many family members there to support him that we all barely fit at one really long table!  As his mom and I sat there chatting together, I thought, "of course this kid is a happy, well adjusted, easy going guy-- who wouldn't be with all of this love!"

 It can be a challenge to keep things seeming "fair" among our kids.  They have all realized at one time or another that Nathan basically gets double of everything... double the Christmas presents, double the Easter baskets, double the birthday parties/gifts, double the vacations, double the fun opportunities, and more than double the allowance/money/shopping trips.  We don't factor any of those things into what we do at our house.  There is no way to make up for all of that with the other kids and we don't even try.  Other than an occasional bout of "it's not fair", we have been able to avoid any major issues.  Brian and I don't talk openly about these things so it really comes down to how Nathan relates to his siblings.  He doesn't flaunt the extras.  He is learning how to balance his desire to share information with sensitivity toward kids who don't have the same benefits.  He is a caring big brother so this hasn't been difficult for him to balance.

 We love how he is growing and maturing.  It is quite an adjustment for us as we realize he's not a little kid anymore.  We try not to look too far into the future (high school, drivers license, etc) but to just take each day/week as it comes.  Time is flying by!