Oh why did you have to grow up?

Jordan turned 18 today and it's been a really emotional day for me. Because you see he was my little boy just yesterday and today he's all grown up. I've been counting down the years, but I never really thought this day would come.

I remember the overwhelming feeling that came over me the minute the doctor placed him in my arms...all I could think of was, "Oh my gosh! What have I gotten myself into?" I was so scared and so young and so unprepared. But he is here today because I could not disobey one of the strongest promptings I have ever felt in my life. He was to be born at that time for a specific purpose known only to our Heavenly Father. I just pray that I've done my part in preparing him to choose the right and to fulfill his mission on this earth. I don't know. How can any mother ever feel like she's done her job?

I have to reminisce for just a minute...

Jordan was so wild and crazy as a baby that it was impossible to change his diaper alone. I needed someone to hold him down and someone else to distract him while I tried to change him at an Olympic record pace. I remember my mom promised me that once he turned 2 and started to communicate, he would get a little more easy to handle. Well 2 came and went. She then told me, "Just wait until he's 5. He'll be better once he starts school." Really? Then came, "For sure by the time he turns 8 and is baptized." Well, to make a long story short, my mom's latest advice is, "He'll be great once he goes on his mission!" He's not really all that naughty...well, maybe he is, but I've just learned how to deal with him through the years. He just has a very strong personality. The type that sometimes only a mother can love.

His favorite movie since the age of one has been Home Alone. I guess watching Kevin get into so much mischief influenced him just a little.

We used to tell him that he needed to hold our hand when he crossed the street. He would just start walking across the street cupping his hands together and say, "I hold my own hand!"

Jordan's favorite past times as a little kid, besides playing with any type of ball, were playing with his Batman guys and drawing. When he was about 3 years old, my brother Carlos noticed a bunch of scribbles on his Senior Art project that he had been working on for weeks. Jordan denied the whole thing of course, but the problem was that the scribbles spelled J-O-R-D-A-N! Oops! He insisted that it was the "Other Jordan." We have had a family joke for years now about "The other Jordan."

When he was about 4, he was bugging someone or something and we told him to mind his own business. He immediately stopped and declared, "I don't have a business. I don't even have a job!"

As he got a little older he turned more into Will Smith's character on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Ever watch that show? That's Jordan exactly. Funny and wild, always pushing someone's buttons, but not always knowing when to stop.

I wouldn't change a thing if I could, though. It's who he is and he makes life a lot more fun and interesting. Next year we are going to miss him so much. He doesn't hang around much anymore anyways, but there's never a dull moment when he's around.

Hard to imagine, but I know next year we'll be saying how much we miss him announcing at the top of his lungs in an opera voice, "I HAVE TO GO PEE!" or turning on Jake's bedroom light and jumping on top of him after he's asleep, or fighting over the radio station or volume in the car, or making my mom cringe everytime he gets near her because she doesn't know if he's going to scare her or pick her up and spin her around, or having to stay clear of him until after 12 noon because he's as far from a morning person as they come.

He's been one of my greatest challenges, but also one of my greatest joys. What a blessing it has been to raise him and have him be a part of our family. I'm so thankful that he has been a good leader amongst his friends and also for their examples to him. I'm thankful that he is such a hard worker when he needs to be, but is also able to chill and relax and have fun. I'm thankful for the laughter that he brings into our family. I'm thankful that he honors his priesthood and is preparing himself to go on a mission and gets up at 6:30 on Sundays to go to his Missionary Prep. class. I'm thankful that he has always been able to excel in school and in sports. I'm thankful for the experiences he's had on the football field that have taught him the payoff of hard work and also how to lose and pick yourself up again. I'm just so thankful that we've made it this far and I can't wait to see what great things our Heavenly Father has planned for his future. I may not be the center of his life anymore like when he was little and loved his mommy so much, but I'll always adore him and be his number one cheerleader. I'll always stand tall and proud to say that he's my son!

Happy 18th Birthday Jordan!

I love you from here to space to the North Pole!