Happy Birthday, Kenneth!

My oldest son Kenneth will turn 18 this week.  It is hard for me to believe he is a grown man already.  It seems like five years ago he was a little guy running around and climbing on everything.

When he was less than a year old, he could hang out of his exersaucer and pick up his toys off the floor.  He quickly moved to climbing after he started walking.  A few weeks before his fifth birthday, he started studying Taekwondo.  Three years later, he added Judo to his repertoire.  At 10 years old, he started helping me teach martial arts.

As he got older, martial arts became his thing instead of the thing he did with Dad.  Kenneth also developed his artistic ability.  However, the central focus of his life is his relationship with Jesus Christ.  Kenneth spent many hours reading the Bible and walking out his path of sanctification.

At the end of 2012, Kenneth earned his Gold Medal of Achievement in Royal Rangers.  1 percent of Rangers earn this distinction.

Over the last couple years, Kenneth helped to set the direction for our martial arts school.  I recently promoted Kenneth to 2nd Degree Black Rank.  He will be taking over as head instructor of the academy over the next four years.

Kenneth will be studying both of his passions, art and religion, in college.  Kenneth always said he wanted to be like me but he has far surpassed me when I was his age.

Kenneth was always the “daddy’s boy” when he was a kid.  I could usually count on him being happy to see me when I got home.  He also preferred me as a teacher, so I spent a lot of time home schooling him.  Over the last couple year, he has become his mother’s chief helper often accompanying her to the store.

Kenneth will do great things over the next several decades but it is not what makes us most proud.  Kenneth’s integrity and focus on doing the right thing is what makes us most proud.  He is human.  He will make mistakes.  He will also strive to correct them and set a good example for others.  We can’t ask for anything more.

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