A TEEN!!!

So today is Bradley's birthday and how old is he you may wonder:

13

Thirteen, that means he is officially a teenager (run, scream, cry, that is what I did this morning) and I am not very happy about it, It has literally flown by, I remember when he was young and sometimes I would look at him and wonder what he would look like when he was older, I remember when he was learning how to talk and wondering what our conversations would be like when he was older, also when he was in school and learning to read I wondered whether he would love books like me and want to read constantly, I wondered if he would need braces or glasses or if he would play a sport or be in drama or choir or band.  And now it seems like it all just happened at lightning speed, he is an incredibly handsome young man, I love the randomness of talking with him and he comes up with such out of the blue things to talk about, he doesn't particularly love to read (but I am still holding out hope), he most likely will not need braces and his smile is awesome, he has good eye-sight like his Dad, he is a mean soccer player and is playing on a team that ranges from 12-17 year olds and is doing fantastic, he wants to play football; mostly because he went to his first High School Football game with his friends and thought it was cool.  I think he would be awesome in drama because he has always been very dramatic, but he doesn't like to preform in front of people (again holding out hope for this one), he loves to belt out on Glee Karaoke with me and he did take piano for 5 years but now wants to do something like the school newspaper.  All these things that I wondered while he was younger now I get to see, I also get see the wonderful man he is becoming, his kind heart, his compassionate soul and his hands ready to serve.  Although these last 13 years have flown by I am grateful for every last one of them, But most importantly I am grateful to be Bradley's Mom, he may already be asserting his "teen" ways and thinks I don't know anything and everything I do is horrible and mean, but I know deep down (sometimes really, really deep) that he loves his family and that he is who he is today because of the things we have taught him and the love we have shown him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY B-RAD!!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

I guess we will keep you after all!!!