Semi-Sweet 16

Tomorrow my oldest turns 16 years old. Wow. It seems like an eternity since we were excitedly expectant in 1990, but at the same time it is surprising how fast this has gone.

I spoke a little about Jeff in an earlier post, so I won't go into his history, other than to say he is an awesome young man, I love him very much, and am thrilled to call him son and watch as he grows and matures into the man God wants him to be.

Jeff is out of town at a friend's house until Wednesday, and then leaves for Oregon and Mexico on Thursday, so we will have to do most of the celebrating without him. His siblings won't mind that too much - more cake for them without his appetite at the table!

So, in honor of the day, here are 16 things that are uniquely Jeff:

1. He is a lifeguard and swim instructor at our city pool - and is very good at it.
2. His favorite thing to do is play airsoft with lots of other guys - the more the better.
3. His favorite food is very authentic Chinese food - although he will eat large quantities of any quality of Chinese food.
4. He will eat just about anything. In the pursuit of #3, he has eaten duck tongue, goose intestines, tripe, fish eyes, jelly fish, sea cucumber, duck blood and innard soup, and many other not so scary food items from VERY scary locations - just to name a few.
5. He was born in Bremerton, WA, at the Naval Hospital, and rode in a helicopter on his first day of life.
6. He is much of the reason we are a Christian family, and why we home school today.
7. His standard dress is a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt.
8. He loves China, and would like to do missions work and teach ESL there.
9. He has been to China twice, Romania once, and will be in Mexico late this week. He also wants to go to Ethiopia with me, but we will see. It is our goal to get him out of the country once a year as a teen so he can experience some of the real world.
10. He plays bass guitar.
11. His favorite movies are action/spy types like the Bourne movies, and the MI series. Also The Lord Of The Ring series.
12. He once flicked a flaming marshmallow from the end of the roasting stick straight into his eye - could be a circus act in there somewhere.
13. He loves Vineyard style churches.
14. He is a tall (6'1", with a size 14-4E foot), friendly, handsome lad with a great smile.
15. His nickname is Paco Cheese Nip - and I have no idea...
16. He has a great personality, and is hard working, mature, responsible and honest, so there are a number of adult friends in our life who think the world of him, including me.

Happy birthday son. Sweet 16 seems too girly, so semi-sweet 16 it is.