The Fabulous life of Mike.....

Because I can't bring myself to

purchase school photos,

I try to keep my kid's portraits updated.

So from time to time

I will take one or two of them out for

a photo shoot.

The boys are long overdue,

so yesterday was Michael's turn.

I have to drag Zach kicking and screaming

into the hair salon

before his turn....

don't hold your breath!

I am quite smitten with this child.

I have been ever since I was first blessed by

his chubby little cheeks

and striking blue eyes.

Sadly, this is the best representation

of my memory of him

when he was just a little guy.

I'm sure there are more photos that I could scan in,

but they are burried in bins

far too deep in the storage closet

for me to get to them quickly.

Here he is with his sister.

A bit older than that adorable little boy

who keeps running around in my memory

whenever I notice Michael's current height,

but still just as sweet!

Michael is a lover.

Can you tell?

I know I have commented before

on some of his finer qualities,

but I think there are a few that are worth

expounding upon.

Michael runs.

He runs FAST!

Last year Michael tried his hand at cross country for the first time.

He made it all the way to the State Meet and took 39th!

A few meets before State,

Michael had an altercation with another runner.

At the end of the race, the runners grab a number

according to the order in which the crossed the finish line.

Usually there is someone there handing them out as they see

the runners cross.

Michael and another runner were racing to the finish.

Michael beat him by about two strides,

but he ran past the number person.

When he went back to get his number,

the boy he beat had grabbed the number before Michael.

This put Michael in 5th instead of 4th.

Not really a big deal

except that where you finish over the course of

the cross country season determines your

consideration to run for the State Meet.

So where Michael placed was important to him.

Michael went to the boy and said,

"You know I beat you. Do the right thing, man."

The boy refused to give up his 4th place standing

and gathered up a group of team mates to support him.

There was a bit of back and forth arguing,

and other testosterone driven actions.

Michael kept his cool though

and over time

he got over the anger of feeling as if he'd been shorted.

The rivalry between him and this boy

continued to be heated

during subsequent races .

Flash forward to the State Meet.

This boy and Michael were both in it.

After Michael finished, he told us that

in the first few minutes of the race,

he was three or four runners behind

this boy.

He saw this boy trip and fall pretty badly.

Knowing Michael's spirit,

I asked him if he wanted to stop and help the kid.

He said,

"Oh mom, it killed me not to stop.

I thought about it the whole race.

I wanted to help him so bad,

but I saw that some parents standing along the race path had already

gotten to him ."

That is My Boy!

Michael also has the gift of comedy.

His hilarious sense of humor

brings so much laughter to our family!

We used to call him our little Jim Carey.

As I watch him grow into a young man,
I am increasingly proud of
his character,
his compassion,
his work ethic
and his determination.

He's always the first person to give me a hug,

the first to encourage, and

the first to notice the little things.

He's also the first to bring silliness to a whole new level!
His enthusiasm for the lighter side of life is contagious.
We are so blessed as a family to have Michael in our lives.