Today we have a teenager in the house.
Hunter James is 13 years old.
Below is a quick look back to Hunter on the morning of his 2nd birthday.
Me, Hunter and our (sister we call her) friend Dana Elizabeth
This morning Hunter has requested a bacon & cheese omelet instead of the donut he so badly wanted for breakfast on his birthday eleven years ago. If I had donuts for him this morning, he would need a dozen instead of the one he had on his second birthday!
Miss E took this lovely picture of Hunter, Anika and me last weekend while camping. It is fun to compare that little two year old boy to our teenage boy today. All the changes in Hunter and in our life since we ate donuts together for his second birthday are tremendous!
When Hunter was two years old like Elizabeth, he asked Santa Claus for a brother. By age ten, when he became the big brother he had wanted so badly to be he was thrilled with a sister. And for his 11th birthday, he asked me to have another baby before he turned 12. Somehow that worked out for him and he had another sister before he turned 12. Two little sisters later, Hunter is a loving and fun big brother.
Despite being a busy teenager now, he plays daily with his sisters and he is their hero.
Anika says “Happy Birthday Big Brother! I love you.”
With teenage years come strong opinions. We are thankful for strong opinions. They lead to numerous discussions and debates. Above is Hunter logically explaining to Nathan in our camper why he should have his own cell phone and a Facebook account. Didn’t you know? All teenage boys need a cell phone. Everyone has their own fancy phone. And Facebook? 500 million people are on Facebook. How can we leave Hunter out of the loop as a teenager? For the time being, we are bypassing the cell phone and Facebook page for our teenage son and focusing on school, sports, music and in our spare time squeeze in family fun activities like…
racing on go karts.
Happy Birthday Hunter James!
We love you…from here to Pluto and back as you always used to say.
We are immensely proud of you, excited for all that your teenage years will bring and thankful every day for joy, humor and fun you bring to our family.
I was reminded of this verse on my friend Staci’s blog earlier this week.
Proverbs 22:6 “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
That verse is our parenting verse we strive for every day and will continue to recite it as we tackle the teenage years!
Now I need to go get that bacon & cheese omelet done before the birthday boy goes hungry…
Feel free to leave a birthday comment for Hunter. He will read each one.
Happy Happy Birthday Hunter Jamesey!!! I LOVE you and am excited to celebrate with you tomorrow!
p.s. I agree with your Mom and Dad–Facebook and a cell phone can wait. 🙂 Sorry.
Happy Birthday Hunter James Lukens Pinke! We love and miss you so much! It has been fun watching you grow into the incredible young man you are today. Thank you for being a great brother to the boys. Christian especially loves the picture your mom posted of the two of you…and to think Christian is almost 3 months older than you…too funny. (Christian thinks you are old enough and responsible enough for a cell phone, but we haven’t let him get facebook yet either…hang in there) Have a great day buddy!
Happy Birthday Hunter!!! Hard to believe you are already 13. I remember in Fargo when you had just started Kindergarten. How times flies! Have fun!!
Marisa (Mahan) Lee
HUNTER! Happy birthday to the new teenager. I lived with you when you were 2 years old and I can’t believe you are 13 and so grown up. I could tell lots of 2 year old Hunter stories! You were a great kid then and still are! Have a great school year, hopefully we will see you and your family soon!
Karla, Josh, Noah and Kaden
Happy Happy Birthday, Hunter!! I remember taking the boys up to see you and your mom in the hospital after you were born…Eric was 2 and Paul was 5!!
Hope you have a fun day…sounds like you started it with a bang!!
Love- Rennae and “boys”
Happy Birthday Hunter! What a fine looking young man you are becoming….keep up your piano playing–don’t give that up–that will be one cool thing to be able to play when you get married some day! Love to you from the South!
The Barnett Family