It does seem like only yesterday that Matt and Martin (his neighbor buddy and friend for 16 years) enjoyed this Christmas present together - man, did they wear out the pavement in our cul-de-sac.
Now, he's taller and heavier and stronger than many adults. The photo (above right) shows Matt with his beautiful friend, Jessica at Seth's wedding.
He told me this morning that now that he is 17, he gets to stay out later. We'll see about that!
I keep reminding myself that God has entrusted to me and to Karla these three young men. They are on loan from Him. We are simply stewards with His gifts. They do indeed belong to Him, and we are very, very grateful for the time we have with them - the life experiences we have with them.
If you read this, and you don't have kids, please feel free to adopt ours whenever you want to - share in their joy and in their growing. I love it that our family and friends consider our boys "their boys" - that is the way I believe God intended it to be.
If you have small kids, this post is yet another reminder that they do indeed grow up way too fast before your very eyes.
So, Happy 17th Matt - even though I can no longer compete with you in one-on-one (without wearing boxing gloves to make it even close to fair), I am still older and wiser, and I am your Dad and last time I checked, the Bible still said to honor your father and your mother!
