Big Dreams Come True

 For two long years, Chris has been asking us to get him an electric guitar, and for two long years we have been telling him "We'll talk about it when you finish your Eagle Scout award."  Well, after a lot of hard work, Chris finished his project!  He collected about 12 boxes of desperately needed supplies for Family Services Alliance, our local women's and children's shelter.  It was a terrific experience for him to be able to help out, and they were very happy to have the items they need to help women and children who have been victims of domestic violence.  We haven't had his court of honor, yet, but since the project was done we surprised him with this for his 18th birthday: 

Look at those cheeks!

He was SO surprised, and it was fun to watch the shock fade to excitement on his face!  Becky's family was visiting the weekend before his birthday, so we celebrated early with family. Grandma made fabulous homemade donuts, which made a delicious cake.

The doctor said the anatomy of his knees makes him genetically prone to subluxation.  So sorry for the bad genes, kid!

Unfortunately for Chris, he dislocated his knee a couple of days earlier, so it was pretty huge and swollen when we celebrated his birthday and he had to use crutches to get around.  In the beginning, when we asked him how he did it he told everyone that he just stepped wrong and it twisted.  When I took him to the doctor, though, the real story came out.  He had been dancing in his bedroom (practicing for the prom, no doubt), and his great moves got him into trouble. Of course, this information led to lots of teasing, which he had been trying hard to avoid.  When Becky found out, she started singing the lines to "Careless Whisper" to him, so Maren and Megan wrote them on his gift.  "I'm never gonna dance again.  Guilty feet have got no rhythm!  Though it's easy to pretend, I know you're not a fool."  We thought it was pretty funny, but I'm not sure if he did.