My baby is all grown up...saving china!

If you haven't seen "Mulan" the title of this post will make no sense to you. But my first baby is all grown up. Finn turned 12 last month and it has been a whirlwind in our house since he turned 12 so I am finally getting to posting about it. He received the priesthood about a week after his birthday and today was the first day he got to pass the sacrament. And I'm not too proud to admit that I got a little teary-eyed watching him. He also got to sit on the stand, being the bishop's right-hand man and every time I caught his eye, he would give me a sly smile. I can't say it enough, he is such a good kid.

He also went on his first scout camp-out this weekend. He was so excited, despite the snowy, cold weather and the fact that the campout was about 10 minutes from our house. He probably asked me no less than 15 times during the day whether I thought it would be cancelled. He had his stuff all packed a few hours before and was the consummate boy scout being prepared for himself and then some. It reminded me of when he was 8 and became a cub scout. He was so excited to go to his first den meeting that he got his blue shirt on with the yellow scarf and then went and sat on the curb by the mailbox with his Cub Scout handbook in hand waiting for his ride to pick him up. I wish I had taken a picture. I only have the mental picture, but believe me- it is pretty darn cute!

On the night Finn was ordained a deacon we had a special dinner with his grandparents to celebrate him. I'm usually not a fru-fru, centerpiece kind of girl, but I wanted to do something special to recognize him. So I decided to put the lego space shuttle he made as the centerpiece along with a picture of him. Then I put some of his hats that represent his hobbies- like one with a fish on it, a camouflage hunting hat, a red Utes hat, etc. all up and down the table. I was so impressed with myself that I took a picture.

Also in honor of Finn's big day, after dinner we went around the table and each shared something we love about Finn. I wrote down what everyone said so we wouldn't forget:

Grandma Shauna- His sense of humor

Grandpa Mike- his acting skills

Katie- that he shares his car mat

Annie- that he plays with her but doesn't tell his friends about it.

Suzie- that he lets her sleep with him

Grandpa Craig- his thoughfulness and tenacity

Grandma Susan- that he says "I love you" back

Dad- that he loves to do the same things his dad loves to do

Mom- that he has always been so obedient and responsible and he is a protector. I tell him that he will be taking care of me when I am 80. (I like to encourage this line of thinking now so it won't even be a question 40 years down the road.)

And even though Finn's 6th grade teacher wasn't at our dinner she did recently share what she loved about Finn too in an email to me. So in her own words, here is what Ms. Allred loves about Finn too:

"He is such a WONDERFUL kid. He is so kind to the other kids and he works really hard to get his work in. I am just really impressed with the way he treats other and how responsible he is. I love ALL the kids. But there are a few that I could clone and mass produce and have a class full of that would make my job stress free and Finn is one of those kids."

Now that I am done bragging about Finn, I am going to do one last thing. I am posting his VERY favorite meal. So now you can try Finn's "Can we pleeeeeeeease have Shepherd's Pie for dinner?" shepherd's pie.