Owen Is 15 Years Old!

This year my oldest turns 15 years old! Time is speeding up so quickly. He'll be a full fledge adult in a heartbeat! 

Last year Owen's birthday landed on a school day. The kids seem to think when that happens they shouldn't have to do school. Nice try! I told him to smile for the picture, but...

this is how he really felt about doing school on his birthday! :) :) 

On his actual birthday he got to open his presents from us.

His birthday was held on the weekend. We had a few friends come over and play D & D. 

The year Owen had a D & D day with Hansi the weekend prior to his birthday. We didn't say it was his birthday it was just a day to hang out. They had a nice time. 

This year we are planning to go to the movies to see Ghostbusters and then have dinner at Black Bear Diner. I asked Owen what he's going to order for dinner and he said, "French Toast with a side of bacon!" Owen also wants brownies and homemade chocolate ice cream for dessert. 

Owen has always loved facts. He will yak your ear off with all these random facts if you let him. He'll tell you all about which snack is the most venomous, how hot it is on the surface of the moon or which President served the shortest term. He loves that stuff. He also knows that Pa loves the game show Jeopardy so he decided to create his own Jeopardy game for us. He found a bulletin board in the garage and then used a bunch of index cards to write the answers on. We've played a few rounds now and it's been really fun. He tries to include some easier answers for his younger siblings, but there are also some answers that are quite challenging. It's funny when he includes a category like Lord of the Rings and then Ga-Ga & Pa have no idea what the questions are. 

Last year in Social Studies, Owen had to create a topographical map of the Hawaiian Islands. He did a great job...even if Maui wasn't drawn as having two separate mountain ranges, but just being one that was connected. :) He was so proud we displayed it on the wall in the dining room for months. 

This last year Michael has been getting better at asking the kids to help him with house projects. Of course it takes longer, but it's good for them to get to spend time with their dad, learn a new skills and learn how not to give up and navigate through obstacles. 

Last year I got to thinking about Owen's teeth. They weren't all that bad. He only had a couple teeth that weren't in the right place. After awhile I decided to get him checked out by the orthodontist. Turns out his lower jaw needed to be pulled forward so it was a really good idea to get him braces after all. He really wanted to have Invisalign, but after talking with the technician that was helping us out I decided that was not the route we were going to go. The technician currently had Invisalign and even she was having a hard time remembering to put them back in after eating. In fact she was only supposed to have them in for 4 months, but it was taking even longer because of that. Knowing my son I knew it was going to turn into this huge issue between us. His teeth would hurt and he'd rather not have them in so he'd not put them in and then 2 years would end up being 4. I knew that it would all turn out better if it was all or nothing. 

In the beginning, Owen wasn't too happy with my decision, but now he doesn't seem to mind. He did get rubber bands that were pulling at his jaw a couple months ago and for about 4 days he really didn't like me, but those don't hurt anymore so we're all good now. My thinking behind the braces is this....you can only have one first impression when you meet people so why not try to have it be the best impression you can make. Of course your character should dictates how that impression goes much more than your appearance, but let's be honest we've all met someone in our life with really horrible teeth and it's hard to look past those and focus on what the person is saying. I want to remove that obstacle for my kids. Besides it's much easier to have braces when you're younger....teeth move around more quickly and they get to go through this when their bodies are already going through adolescence so why not just add one more thing to the crazy mix. Lastly, why not take advantage of the fact that your parents have really good insurance and health savings plan so it won't cost you a thing except a little pain in the mouth! :) 

Even though Owen is getting older he still does enjoy all the holiday/event things we do. I mean who wouldn't especially when you get candy! 

Digging in dirt has always been a huge pastime for Owen. When we had top soil delivered for the backyard project the kids really enjoyed digging tunnels and turning it into a Hot Wheels track. 

One day while Owen was outside in the backyard he found a 4 leaf clover! 

What a lucky guy! 

Finishing off his first year of homeschool and his last year of Middle School! 

Owen and Jack are so different from each other in so many ways, but they do enjoy a few of the same things. They both enjoy reading, playing with LEGO and golfing. It's really fun to watch them get along occasionally! 

Make no mistake though, Owen's favorite person in our house is most definitely Charlie our cat. And yes I referred to Charlie as a person. He is as Owen calls him our FFM...Furry Family Member! 

Owen will do anything for this cat. He could be sitting down in the most comfortable position, enjoying a book he'd been dying to read and it wouldn't matter...Charlie would come first. I sometimes have to remind Owen that he should care about everyone the same way he cares about Charlie. 

Owen is not really an outdoorsy guy. It has to be for a certain activity and the weather has to be just right. He doesn't like it when it's too hot or too wet. For the most part he's an inside kiddo. 

Owen is at the weird phase when it comes to clothes. He's not in the boys section anymore, but he's also not ready for adult sizes. Especially with how skinny he is. He still has to have pants that have the adjustable waistband. For the most part he lives in warm-up pants and since we homeschool that's no problem. If we leave the house he has to put on jeans though. Michael does not allow the kids to go out in the squishy pants. I feel like there needs to be a store for boys called In-Between! I haven't had a lot of success at Wal-Mart, Target or Kohl's, but I'm going to try Old Navy and see if maybe their clothes will fit better and not look too adult for him. 

Owen has developed a great sense of humor. I remember when he was younger he could not laugh at himself. He would get so upset! He has finally reached a great phase where he can laugh things off and he even finds it humorous when someone gives him a hard time. 

One summer day we went to my friend Melinda's house to ride her horse and Owen found a Charlie look alike. He is totally going to be a crazy cat man! 

Owen has taken on more responsibility at church. At least once a month he runs the video booth and changes the songs for worship and the slides for the Pastor's sermon. He really enjoys it and takes pride in doing a good job! This summer he ran videos for the whole week during VBS! 

He also helped assist me during VBS since I was the one running game time. 

 

Once Lighthouse Christian Academy had a chance to review all our PACE tests and approve them we could finally toss out all the PACE's the kids completed for the school year. This was all the work Owen did during his 8th grade year! 

Owen tries so hard to get Charlie to stay with him, but no such luck. Owen is the chosen one when it comes to Charlie though. He will visit Charlie when he's sleeping on someone's bed during the day and Charlie will groom his face. It's so cute! 

High School here he comes! 

I can't believe he's a Freshman! He's growing up so fast! He's also grown so much this last year. In this last year he grew 6 inches! 

I'm sure he'll grow a bunch more this upcoming year too. Now if he could only start packing on some weight. Poor kids hasn't even broke 100lbs yet and he's 5ft 6in tall! 

Owen had a great time on our road trip this last year.

He and the other kids actually did great when it came to eating on our trip. I think we only had fast food once...praise the Lord! Owen in general has gotten a lot better in regards to trying new foods. In fact just the other day we had Ham & Corn Chowder for dinner and he actually ate all the soup we gave him. 

Owen has definitely entered the teenage skin issues phase. I have appointment for him in February to see the dermatologist. I had such bad acne it was awful! I don't want him to have scars or have to deal with all the looks from people or the teasing. 

Owen loved the ropes course on our vacation. In fact I think it was a highlight for all of us. 

Also if you haven't noticed, Owen is totally obsessed with this coat I bought him. He literally lives in! He changes his shirt everyday, but you'd never know it since he wears this coat over and over again. In fact sometimes I get so sick of seeing him in it I will ban him from wearing it. 

Owen still could spend hours at the beach running from the waves. We both enjoyed this when we were at Seaside, OR during our road trip! 

This year Owen has definitely started pulling away from me a bit. He used to snuggle with me and tell me I was his own personal love bug, but he hasn't done that in a long time. He still lets me hug him and give him a kiss on the cheeks which is great. I'll take it! I know this is totally normal. He's growing up and he's going to be a man one day and that's a wonderful thing. I have truly enjoyed each phase my kids have gone through. It's fun seeing them learn new things and gain confidence along the way. It's fun not having to do certain tasks for them because now they can do it on their own. It's all part of them gaining their independence. 

This year we finally decided it was time to pass the Power Wheels onto other kids. I listed them on OfferUp and they all sold pretty quickly. It's funny because in my head I was sure that the kids could probably sit fit in the cars...I knew it would be uncomfortable for them, but I had no idea it would actually be so comical! Owen is actually sitting on the back of McQueen here. He had a lot of fun in this car over the years! 

Owen still gets super grossed out about slimey things. He still has issues with certain textures...so much so he paid Jackson $5 to dig out the guts of his pumpkin for him! 

When I asked him if he was going to stop going trick or treating since he's getting older...he look at me like I was crazy to think that he would willing give up getting free candy! 

Such a handsome guy! 

We were able to have our Women's Christmas Dinner this last year and they asked Owen if he would take care of the projections. He was more than happy too! He wasn't expecting anything in return, but they blessed him with $50 worth of Amazon gift cards! Such a nice thank you! 

Owen got new glasses this year. At first he wanted nothing to do with getting new ones. He can't stand change at all. It had been almost 2 years since he'd had his eyes checked so I knew he would probably need a new prescription. We went and this nice guy helped Owen pick out a new pair of glasses. They aren't actually that different from his old ones and they look great. The best part was how much he noticed that his old prescription was off when he put his new glasses on. He can now see SO much better! 

He had fun making his own pizza when we had the Kuch kids over. Owen is definitely a routine kids when it comes to food. He has the same lunch everyday...peanut butter & honey sandwich, goldfish crackers & a small bag of Takis. Everyday!!! 

LEGO's are one of Owen's favorite things. He got numerous LEGO sets for Christmas this year. 

We had the Storer's over for a Christmas craft and I was so surprised that he was willing and actually enjoyed participating in it. 

More LEGO sets! 

Snow time! Owen loves the snow, but I think he loves the idea of the snow more than the actual snow. He was the first out of the 4 kids that asked to go home and he played outside the least amount of time. It was really amazing to not have to help kids get dressed in snow gear this year. 

We recently reenrolled all of the kids in Taekwondo. Owen has to have 72 hours of PE for the year and this will be a good way for him to consistently get an hour each week. We still have to have more hours than that, but at least this gives him some time. He wasn't super thrilled about it at all, but he doesn't have a choice in the matter. Owen's not really a physical guy, but I know this will be good for him. 

This is something I really sad about....I didn't get to build any of the kids LEGO sets this year. They are finally old enough to build them all by themselves. Jack did need a little help with one section of his ship, but that was it. Owen was completely fine all on his own though. 

Owen really enjoyed the KiwiCo crate that I got, but only after we had to set them aside and have a talk about complaining and perseverance. He tends to have this mindset that everything should be easy and he shouldn't struggle or have to take something apart and redo it. We've talked a lot about how much we learn from our failures and how that teaches us to take risks and try new things. It's totally okay to fail! It's okay to find a million and one ways that something doesn't work to finally try one more time and have it succeed. Determination is great skill to have! 

I really want to get Owen in piano lessons...he was taking them last year, but unfortunately his piano teacher moved to a different state. His teacher was amazing for him so it was a real loss. I've had a hard time trying to find a teacher that will teach in person, is close to home and the cost is manageable. 

Owen...

I can't believe you'll be going to Drivers Ed this year. I still haven't signed you up yet...I'm hoping they'll offer in person classes instead of virtual soon. I'd really like you to get out and meet other people your own age, have that classroom type experience and also learn from an instructor that's physically present. 

You don't seem to mind homeschool at all. In fact you rarely talk about public school anymore. You are perfectly content doing school at home. 

We've talked about how this upcoming year should be a big one for you in regards to growth...not just physically. You are getting closer and closer to being an adult and with that comes more and more responsibility. When I was 15 1/2 I got my first job. I'm not sure if you're ready to venture into that realm yet, but it is closer than you think. 

Owen I'm so proud of you! I'm so proud of how you stepped it up in regards to having a servant heart. That is something that is near and dear to my heart. I love to serve others and I really want to instill that to all of you kiddos. Jesus came to serve so we should follow his example and serve too. I pray that as you grow older your relationship with your Creator will only deepen. I pray that you will fully put your trust in the One that has known you since the beginning of time. 

You are so special to me sweet man! You made me a Mom after all those years of heartache. I still remember standing on the deck talking to the nurse on the phone and being in absolutely disbelief when she told me I was pregnant. We had waited so long to hear those words it was almost like a dream. Now those struggles seem to have been from a different life altogether. God has brought us through so many trials and each time he does my faith and trust in Him deepens. I pray that you will always look back and remember what a miracle were right from the start! God has a special plan for your life...I pray that you trust His plan and let Him lead. Our lives are so much better when we choose to follow Him! 

Happy 15th Birthday! 

Love you so!