13 Years Old!

13 years old!

 

12 years old

11 years old

For nostalgia's sake...

 

10 years old

 9 years old

8 years old

 7 years old

 6 years old

5 years old

4 years old

3 years old

2 years old

18 months

One year old

11 months

10 months

9 months

 
8 months

7 months

6 months

5 months old

4 months old

3 months old

2 months old

1 month old

2 weeks old

 Dear Victor,

Happy birthday, teenager! Having already surpassed me in height (and Dad in shoe size), there is no question that you are growing up. And we are so pleased and thankful to see the ways that God is shaping you to be a delightful young man.

You've continued developing skills through your piano lessons, and Dad regularly comments on how enjoyable it is to hear you play. 

School has taken a big jump up in intensity this year, but you are faithfully digging away, and even though you still really love sleeping in on weekends, you also love chasing down stories, investigating deeper details, and reading a wide variety of genres. When we asked yesterday something you'd like to do in the year ahead, you said maybe learn a language!

When you have free time, especially with buddies, you are up for games of all kinds. Football, basketball, playing catch (now you have a baseball glove :) ), board games, card games, mind games... You, Dad, and Josiah got up at 6am on New Year's Day to start a 4.5-hour game of Risk! 

You are also generous with your spare time to love on your little sister and brothers. You are very patient and gentle with Jemima, and you've begun doing some babysitting for the crew on occasion so Dad and I can go out. You are responsible, conscientious, and considerate. We are very thankful for your dependable character.

We are also so thankful for your good friends, and as you grow we are also glad for opportunities to see you expressing your convictions. Sometimes it means challenging some remarks that were not made thoughtfully or wanting to look at the Bible with a friend. Strength of heart, even when it is unpopular, is something we pray will continue to grow as you gain more and more independence. 

At the same time, I am grateful for your openness to input. When things go wonky or decisions lack wisdom, you are receptive and humble to accept correction.

You are also taking on more responsibility in various areas. You and a buddy are starting to lead the kids in our small group with some small Bible lessons and other planned activities. It is so cool to see you guys invest your creativity and thoughtfulness in that.

You are a hard worker--not just with school but also with the little Katterson Kitchen business we have. You also show industry to make snacks for school or to share at youth group. You love tackling a project, or exploring creative ideas with cousins or friends. (This includes a recent endeavor to make a 5-star stuffed crust double-decker pizza and "Reese's Peanut Butter Oreos.")

I could go on, but I'll close with one last attribute that I appreciate about you. You are quick to express thanks, gracious when things don't work out quite as hoped, and a good encourager of others. Many times I have been blessed when you ask what's for supper and then respond, "YES!!!"

As you grow, gain responsibility, and explore new horizons, I pray that the Lord will always keep you anchored to the foundation. As our Comp 2 class has been memorizing together, 2 Timothy 2 charges:

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 

There is no greater legacy to receive or to pass on than the gift of the gospel, granted to us in Christ, and guaranteed to endure until the end, when Christ is revealed in all His glory. May you continue to grow in that grace and stand on that Word.

I love you!

Mom

Happy Halloween (this blessed my socks off)

This year, Ben decided he wanted to pull our little fire ring to the front driveway and have hot cider, brownies, and candy out front so we could connect with neighbors on Halloween.

As we were bustling around getting ready, Victor came up to me.

"Mom, I wrote a little history of Halloween with the gospel in it. Do you want to print some off and we could attach it to candy for trick-or-treaters?"

Here's what he wrote:

The origin of Halloween:

 

Halloween is considered a time when kids go around in creepy costumes and collect candy from different houses. But that is not how it originated! Halloween began as a Celtic tradition, the festival of Samhain where they would light bonfires and wear crazy costumes to ward off ghosts. It then turned into a Holiday called “All Saints Day” that happened on November 1 In honor of the dead saints. The evening before was called “All Hallows Eve,” or what we now call ,“Halloween.” The two traditions eventually combined to create a crazy day of carving pumpkins, wearing costumes, and collecting candy. Although we know ghosts are not real, it is a fun holiday. We do not need costumes to scare away ghosts, though. There is someone who is much greater than any costume or saint. He came to Earth to save us. Even if you want to think you are good, no one could ever come close to becoming perfect except for Jesus. Jesus is God’s son and he is the only one who could do what he did. God, the maker of everything, saw that no one was good and that we needed help. So God sent his son into the world as a baby whose name was Jesus. God sent Jesus to bear the punishment we deserved. His son, Jesus, the only perfect person, Died a painful death on a tree so that we would be able to live with God forever. But his death wasn’t the end of the story. He was dead. But on the third day, when all seemed lost, He was resurrected! This is not a theory. People actually saw him after his death! Although Jesus died to save our sins, we cannot be saved unless we believe in him. Believe that he died for you. If you believe in him, God will look at you and instead of seeing your sin, he will see the perfection of his son on you and He will be pleased. And you will go to Heaven with him forever.

Victor Katterson age 12

And that pretty well blessed my socks right off. So Happy Halloween, and may the grace of Jesus cover you (and many others) tonight!

Victor and Grammy Piano Duet

 

Josiah's Challenge of the Week 5

 

Week 5: Learn about and explore God's creation

Components:

• Go on a hike with friends.
  
• Fish out small organisms from a pond and try to identify them.
  
• Investigate at a nature center.
   

Bonus: Outdoor survival kit

 Memory Verses: 

...who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now, so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains him will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

2 Thessalonians 2:4-10
(we had to investigate what on earth is "he who now restrains him"... not your typical Sunday school memory verses! 😂)