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Friday, June 22, 2012
I can hardly believe that Will is 15!   Funny as it may sound, I remember being amazed that Dave and I made it to Will's 1st birthday as that first year was a doozy for us.  In fact, Dave bought me a beautiful gold Tiffany charm bracelet on Will's 1st birthday in honor of surviving that first year as a Mom (wasn't that so sweet?).  Back then I would never have been able to imagine the fine young man he has become or the way our family has developed.  I would never have thought that charm bracelet would have charms representing 3 kiddos on it!!  Our first year with Will was SO rough that we had pretty much settled on the idea that he would be an only child. {The day Will was born Dave's Mom was diagnosed with cancer.  She died when he was 8 weeks old. His first plane ride was to her funeral.  Will had horrific colic (he cried/screamed 7 hours a day straight).  He also had MAJOR head surgery (half his skull was removed when he was 6 months old).  One week later Dave had major back surgery. I left a career I loved to handle all of this and probably had some baby blues.  Will also had all kinds of therapies (speech, OT, physical etc.)  It was a tough year.}   Look at us now though!  God had much bigger plans than we could have ever imagined for our family.


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At 15, Will is very smart, very compassionate, awfully cute, a fabulous dresser, an avid reader, a strong swimmer, a selfless volunteer, pretty funny, quite polite and well mannered and he knows EVERYTHING ( ha ha! don't all teenagers?). He is also a strong Christian.  He can be a great big brother when he wants to be too. I will tell you that it has been a little bit of a rough year for us.  Will and I have always been very close but the teen years have been a bit bumpy at times.  I can say that Will is always quick to apologize when he hurts my feelings and he is about as good as a teenager gets.  But still...he IS a teenager and a bit of a challenge. I am working really hard to keep a close relationship with him.

We have had a busy day.  Will had swim team and drivers ed.  Then I took him and his best friend (and the friend's Mom who is one of my best friends) out for a nice lunch.   Will and his best friend have known each other since they were a few months old and they are going to the same high school which is so nice considering they have never gone to school together.  We gave him a G shock watch that he wanted and a few shirts.  I only had a minute to snap some quick pictures this morning (not the  best light at all) and I wanted to post them as I am headed out the door.  

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Happy 15th Birthday Will.  We are so proud of you!!!

32 comments:

  1. Happy birthday to your sweet boy. I have a 15 year old son, as of earlier this year. And while he is so sweet and a wonderful young man, he is a TEEN. It's so hard as a mom to start to let go and let them be their own person. And it is really, really hard to be given the teen "tude" and not let it hurt my feelings. I'm learning and so is he. ;-)

    Hope you all have a fabulous weekend, celebrating his birthday! :)

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    1. Thank you so much RC! I am learning right along with you:)

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  2. Happy Birthday, Will! He is looking so incredibly grown up, and it sounds like he is really maturing on the inside, too!
    I hope this year is his best one yet :)
    P.S. Love his haircut!

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  3. Happy Birthday to Will! I didn't realize all of you had such a hard first year. Any one of those things is a lot to deal with, I cannot even imagine having all of that on my plate. I was so overwhelmed and stressed when my son was first born and everyone was healthy and everything was normal otherwise. You guys are amazing for coming through all of that.

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    1. Thanks Melissa. it was a tough year but we all got closer because of it.

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  4. He is adorable and sounds like such an amazing young man. My brother and mom were always so close, then high school happened and it was VERY tough on them. They fought all the time, I was in college and mom would drop him off at my place! Now they talk almost every day. Have a great time celebrating!

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    1. Aww this comment made me feel very hopeful...thank you. I want to be close to Will...some days we are and some days we bicker. I am working SO hard at it. Thank you for the encouragement!!!

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  5. What a handsome young man!! Happy birthday Will. Kim, you will survive the teenage years and actually look back on them fondly:) Gardner is now 23 and has been babysitting for the littles some this summer and is so very awesome!!!!

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    1. Thank you Paige...it is great to hear wisdom from someone who has been through it before:)

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  6. WOW--LOVE LOVE the outfit--15--he is so very handsome! Happy Birthday to Will!!!

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    1. thanks Barbarann.... he does have a great sense of style.

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  7. Happy birthday Will! So handsome!

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  8. Such a handsome, young man! You have every right to be so proud of him. In 10 years, you will not even remember what you went through in the teenage years with him!
    Happy Birthday to Will!

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  9. Happy Birthday Will!!! WOW, he is so handsome and looking so grown up these days...... and he is looking more and more like Dave!!!
    I hope he had a wonderful day!

    The teen years area always the toughest. Thanks so much for you comment the other day on the post about Nick and high school. Change is never easy.....

    Enjoy your weekend Kim~

    xo,

    Lisa

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    1. Thanks Lisa. it is a tough time..these transition years. Thinking of you and praying for you and Nick.

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  10. Handsome Young Man... you are blessed... they grow up so fast.. watch out Mama...
    hugz..

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  11. Tears in my eyes from reading about the challenges of your first year of motherhood. Such a blessing to see this happy, handsome boy. When I see teenagers like your Will, I have such hope for the future. Happy Birthday, Will.

    Just yesterday, I was looking at the tan, smiling face of my youngest child, and felt overcome with emotion as I remembered his time spent in the NICU, unsure of his future. A rocky start adds so much sweetness when it is endured, through Christ's strength, and overcome.

    Have a beautiful weekend, Kim.

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  12. he's so handsome! teenagers are tough at times for sure. thanks for sharing about your hard times as well as your times of blessings. sometimes they overlap, which sounds like what happened during his first year. it's all a part of life...we learn and grow (at 15 or 50!) ha!

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  13. What a great son!! He is such a cutie and a fabulous brother too! Hope you had a wonderful time celebrating.


    janet

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  14. Hi Kim, was away a few days but glad I didnt' miss this! What a wonderful young man you have raised, handsome, smart and kind...hes the whole enchilada and he is going to make one senorita very happy and very lucky one day!! No doubt this is a wonderful testament to you and your husband and the wonderful job you are doing/have done! Wishing him a wonderful birhtday and a year full of laughter and success!

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  15. Happy Birthday to one handsome fella! I know he'll do great things!

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  16. What great pictures of Will. He sure is a handsome one! :) From everything you've written over the years on your blog, Will is an amazing young man, and I know you're an amazing mom. I hope the upcoming year goes well for both of you.

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  17. Chiming in LATE! HAPPY BELATED "15" BIRTHDAY WILL!!

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  18. I read this on my phone the other day but couldn't comment! He's so handsome! You must be so proud of the young man he is! And thank you for always sharing your story - it is a comfort knowing that you have three beautiful children knowing how rough that first year was (and then eveything Harry went through too!) You always provide such encouragement! I've been meaning to e-mail for you for forever but after two trips to Johns Hopkins and getting second opinions Lola is doing so much better! Still working on some things and still behind in some areas but all in all is showing enormous improvement!

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  19. Wow, Happy 15th Will!!!
    Love these pictures Kim ~ he's so dapper....I think the 1st one is my fav with the flag. :)

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