Xavier celebrated turning 15 today and I think it was a great day!
He started his day by taking the driving portion of his school permit test and passing!
For the next year Xavier can drive to work and school/allowable school activities (HSAP classes, etc.) without an adult. After completing the year without violations he'll be ready for his intermediate license at 16.
After his test it was back to home for hootenanny (oven pancake) and bacon.
And a couple of gifts...
He spent the rest of the morning relaxing and reading, then we had tacos for lunch with dirt cake for dessert.
He opened some gifts from family that came in the mail and one last one from Dad and I...he has a new bike on the way but it won't be here until Saturday.
A new tool belt....which made Mom a little nostalgic.
He's a very loved young man.
Xavier played some video games, pitched some balls to his brother, and read a bit more to pass the day, before we headed to youth group.
We have the best youth pastor who heartily agreed when we asked if we could bring pizza to celebrate the birthday when we saw that youth group was scheduled for tonight. We were hoping to celebrate Jace, too, but he had a band event, so the teens sent him a lovely video singing happy birthday.
We slung pizza, chips, and ice cream and then Pastor Shawn had a couple of really fun games for youth. There were several friends gone who were missed, but summer is just hard, and I would say overall it was a really great night.
Back in the day, our youth pastor and his wife were such positive influences to "young Mike and Jenn." In fact, almost (tomorrow) 20 years ago our youth pastor married us.
We are so very thankful for those who help us pour into our kids.
Loved this moment....because we crashed the youth event Mia and Zayden played the games. In this round Zayden was the only man standing on his side versus a LOT of teens still standing on the other side. He held his own really well for quite a while! Nothing like a mom watching her 9 year old take on a group of teens solo to make the heart pump---all in good fun. 💓
We came home and Xavier admired a new survival kit from some friends and played a game of Telestrations before heading to clean up and call it a night.
All in all, I think Xavier did turning 15 up just right!
Xabe, you are a blessing to us. You shoulder a lot of responsibility and execute it very well. You love working hard, playing hard, and living hard. You see the big picture, are a good friend, a good brother, and a good son. We are thankful for you. Cheers to another year, Bud!
