Elliott the Teenager

Are you more shocked that Elliott is 13 or that it’s taken me this many months to post about it?

Elliott had another epic birthday, but epic in a way that none of us were expecting!

We scheduled his fourth annual capture the flag birthday party for a Saturday in March. I have said it before and I will say it again–my baby who was born on the first day of Spring has had snow on three of his birthdays (two cancelled parties due to blizzards), whereas my fall baby has had to have outdoor parties moved inside due to the extreme heat. Thanks for keeping us on our toes, Colorado.

So although snow is not rare to get in March, it was quite the surprise to not only get EIGHTEEN INCHES the two days leading up to his party, but Colorado’s faithful friend–the sun–chose to hide for those same two days. So the snow did not melt quickly, like normal, but apparently thought he, too, was invited to the party.

And two days later, after the sun returned from his vacation, this is what life was looking like around these parts:

So we rescheduled for a month later and we were checking the forecast like crazy people and it was looking perfect. That is, until a few days beforehand everything changed. It started to show rain…and then more rain…and then flood-like levels of rain. The day before, here was the forecast:

Are you even kidding me? A 100 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN? That’s not even a mathematical possibility.

But we prayed hard and held on strong. It was BEAUTIFUL the day before–sunny, blue skies and not a cloud in sight until the evening rolled around…and along with it, the rolling clouds and thunder. But we told all of the attendees that we were moving forward. We rearranged all of the furniture in our house to try to clear a space for 60+ people. We bought the food and prepped all the things.

And that night the floodgates of heaven opened wide. It was literally a torrential downpour THAT.JUST.DIDN’T.QUIT. ALL.NIGHT.LONG.

But still that morning we held strong–we were determined. But then the four of us sat down to breakfast and not only was the rain coming down like a waterfall, but the lightning and thunder was flashing and raging around us without more than a few seconds in between. I said to Brian, “I don’t think we can do this…we can’t send people out into a literal lightning storm.”

And he said, “Forget about the lightning! The kids are all going to get swallowed up in mud pits and we’re going to lose them forever!!”

And then, on top of everything else, it started to SNOW. And I looked out once again and realized that our property was so flooded that we couldn’t even get to it.

We would have had to swim across the moat to get to the other side.

So we cancelled…again. Frantic texts and emails going out to all of the faithful friends and family who were willing to brave lightning, thunder, torrential downpour, snow, and bottomless mud pits just to celebrate our boy.

We still have half of our friends begging us to reschedule, while the other half is begging us not to, lest we bring on yet another unprecedented weather pattern.

Though obviously disappointed, I was thankful that God gave Elliott the grace to endure the disappointment well and with a heavenly perspective. We prayed hard both times that the weather would hold, and it didn’t–so we can rest in the fact that this was God’s plan.

There happened to be a free numismatic event happening at a local hotel the days leading up to his birthday, and Elliott was able to attend twice since the first party was cancelled. If you don’t already know it, Elliott loves coins the way Brian loves trucks. It has turned into quite the hobby for him. This was one of the gifts I made him for his birthday:

And truly, it has not only made him cents, but many dollars! He buys coins in bulk and then sells them in smaller lots. He knows their values and knows a good deal when he sees it. He is becoming more and more Brian’s “mini me” in the real-life game of “Bigger and Better.”

And we also took a trip to the State Capitol and the Denver mint while his Washington grandparents were in town. That was a real treat!

And of course, we also celebrated with my family and lots of yummy food and mud pie.

We are looking forward to the years ahead. I am so grateful that our main community, which is our church community, is filled with teenagers and young adults who are wonderful examples of godly young men and women who love the Lord and love their families and love their friends. I am thankful for the teenaged boys and young adult men who are examples of respectful, hard-working servants and leaders. These are the young men Elliott gets to rub elbows with and learn how to navigate the teenaged years with. We are grateful.

Happy 13th Birthday to our first-born son!!!!