Russell is becoming an amazing young man

Russell with Heidi on a recent trip to Monticello. She was his babysitter when he was 3.

Russell is now 15. He is 5'10",190 pounds. It certainly feels weird to be shorter than your own child, but I guess I knew it had to happen sooner or later. He is finishing up his freshman year right now. We have had some ups and downs which I am sure comes along with the word teen at the end of his age, but for the most part it has been a wonderful year. He has matured so much and over-all I am very proud of the choices he has made concerning his friends and activities. He still loves football, and I honestly believe he would play it all day every day if he could find a willing partner. He is starting to sort his way through the opportunities that are out there and what he would like to do with his life. At the beginning of the year he was interested in being a detective with a forensics degree (because he loves science), but since he has decided that he us actually more interested in the investigative side of things.

Last fall we were finally able to hook up with the home school football team about 30 minutes from here. This enabled Russell to play high school football despite being home schooled. He plays for the Frederick County Christian Eagles. They had a pretty good team this year, and finished up the year with a third place win in the tournament. Even as a freshman he earned a Starting position, part of the year, as their middle linebacker. He had trouble early on in the games -- as big as he is for a fourteen year old, those full grown 18 year olds are still that much bigger. He lost his starting position for a while as he figured things out. As he became accustomed to the fact that he was no longer the biggest kid on the field he began to step up his play and eventually earned his spot back in the starting line-up by the end of the season. He is currently participating in off season conditioning practices and looking forward to another season of football. Recently, he was happy to find another home school boy from our area that is interested in playing. I am so thankful for a friend of similar age and interest for Russell. This is something I have been praying for. Perhaps we will also have some car pool possibilities in the future as well.

Russell Freshman Year Picture: Frederick County Christian Eagles

Unfortunately over the holiday's Russell lost his dog Sandi. He has since acquired a new puppy: Monte (Sir Monte Cristo). Monte is a Miniature Schnauzer and is an awesome little dog. Such a great personality, easy to train, and everyone loves him (well except maybe not Balou so much). Monte is SUPER attached to Russell. He doesn't mind being left in his kennel but don't separate him from Russell by a door or a set of stairs. He goes NUTS. They are great together and the best part--Russell does EVERYTHING for Monte. It is nice to enjoy petting a dog here and there and maybe play with him but never have to worry about feeding or walking or cleaning up after him.

Russell and Monte

In school, Russell is finishing up Algebra II, Spanish II, and American Government. He already finished Anatomy and has Art History and Literature left to finish off his freshman year. He struggled a bit early on with not taking school seriously and procrastinating, but it seems he has a handle on things now. School is running pretty smoothly for him and that makes life much easier for me. We are a little behind schedule because we spent much of the first half the year trying to fill in the knowledge gaps from when he went to FUMA for school last year. They really had a rotten academic plan and low expectations of learning. Coming up next term he is planning to take Early American History, Geometry, and Biology

Of course Russell's next big goal is getting his learners permit. If all goes well, when we go to Florida in about 3 weeks, he should be able to get his learners permit. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it sure will be nice when he can drive himself to and from football practice. On the other hand: who is gonna have to teach him to drive?

Russell playing in the snow with Olivia and Monte

In general,Russell continues to read everything he can get his hands on, is an active member in our youth group, and loves the outdoors. He is especially anxious to go on a mission trip some time in the near future, and loves to go geocaching every chance he gets. I am SO grateful for Russell as he has really become a big help in the the house. The house runs so much smoother now that I can depend on Russell to pick up some of the slack when Chris is gone. Russell finding a Geocache (micro)