He Turned 16!!

I'm a week late posting this, but my oldest Nephew, Hank, turned 16 last Sunday! I can't believe it! My sister is 8 1/2 years older than me, so I was only 11 when Hank was born, and right away I just adored him! He and my sister lived with us, so I got to spend a lot of time with him, and he's been a HUGE part of my life ever since. I was even lucky enough to get up in the middle of the night with him a few times (Erica was a really heavy sleeper :).

Before Hank was even born, he lost his Daddy to a car accident. For a mother and child who suffered such a tragedy, they have really done well. Hank has always been a special boy, very kind and loving, and not to mention hilarious. I fondly remember the time he got in trouble for riding his bike through town without his helmet on, and when asked if there was anything else he would like to confess, he calmly said, "sometimes in the shower I don't use soap." Poor kid, and he was just on the virge of discovering girls! Hank is a great big brother to sister Olivia and brother Jagger, who both idolize him. I am so proud of him. He is a sophomore in high school and gets good grades, is Student Body Vice President (of the whole school), plays football (JV and Varsity), and is just an all around great kid! Here are two pictures of Hank:

Hank's First Christmas

Homecoming Prince 2007

Happy Birthday, Hank, here's to many, many more!