Eli is 13

Our first teenager. And by the time I'm writing this he's already passed the half point and is rounding the corner to 14. Crazy! 

Eli is a great kid. His middle school has 3 words they put on everything: respectful, responsible, kind- and he is these three things. He doesn't love school, but he doesn't rebel and for that I'm really grateful. 

He loves sports (probably why he tolerates school) and participated in football, basketball and track this past year. In track, his most consistent event was the 1600. Hopefully he'll get a few more reps at discus next year too as he seemed to enjoy that one. In football he mainly played JV as a running back and linebacker. In the last game of the season, he got one rep at running back in the varsity game and had a 12 yard carry. Basketball quickly became a favorite and he was a great defender and mainly played the 3 or 4 position. There was one play in particular that I will hopefully always remember- we had scored and he picked off the in-bounds and went in for a reverse layup and made it. I stood up and what came over me was well, loud and proud. Track season was super fun for him and I think he enjoyed the social aspect of meeting new people. One of his closer friends by the end of the season was a kid he had never seen prior to the season starting. 

His favorite hobby is cards. More specifically sports cards- mainly the NFL and NBA. If he's not buying them, he's watching videos about them, getting together with friends to trade them, or dreaming about the next money he will get in order to buy more cards. His brain is a steel trap, so he can tell you rookie years and cards and all sorts of things. He and Micah both enjoy this together. As far as hobbies go, I think there are worse ones. He also continues to be an avid reader. If you have book suggestions, send them our way! 

We stopped farming this last year, so he's not bucking bales this summer but he is still really helpful. He's willing to put in hard work and doesn't mind sweating through it. He babysits for me, mows our lawn and mows for his grandma. He and Micah went into town this spring after a wind storm and stacked branches for folks- I think he felt really good after that. 

As is typical of a lot of first-borns, Eli would prefer to sit with the adults and soak in all the stories they're telling. He's really enjoyable, so he gets away with it sometimes. We've had several folks from our church that have sought us out to tell us how much they enjoy visiting with him. He really enjoys talking to and listening to people who are older than him. I think that's a great quality. 

We love him and love getting a clearer picture, as he grows, who God has made him to be. We're praying for a good growing year for him (and he hopes that's literal growing too). :)