Dear Keaton,

The biggest news is that you are officially on your way to getting your eagle, and already have attended 2 scouting pow wows!  You are up to 6 merit badges already, and just need to create a geocache to get your 7th!  I am so proud of the work you have done.  I am also so grateful for your father, and how he is signing you up for these and doing the homework and requirements with you.  You are lucky to have him as a dad and I hope you thank him someday.  

You are turning into a teenager right before my eyes.  Now that I am working at your school I do occasionally see you in the halls.  Sadly, you already try not to make eye contact with me in the halls unless I touch your arm, but I understand.  You are doing okay in class, seem to either get A's or F's, which I am trying to understand.  I know part of it is that this school's tests are quite harder than other elementaries and you actually have to study for the tests, but I think you are learning that you have to work for your good grades, which is a very good lesson to learn at your age.  Your Nexus 7 tablet that you asked for for Christmas has been taken away for the last few weeks because of it until we see all A's and B's. 

Your favorite friend is still Landon, although you have been doing as I had asked and starting branching out a little bit more, which is great.  You are still playing the trumpet for school, and we are trying to remember to get you to practice playing it every night.  I have a terrible time getting you to read lately, which is bad because that is one of the grades that needs to be brought up, so we are working on that.  You are such a good worker though, and you know how to clean when you want to.  Yesterday, you volunteered to help me with the bathrooms and I was really surprised at how well you cleaned them.  I didn't have to make you redo anything, which seems to be the norm with the other kids (it is probably due to age).   Still, your hard work made me so happy.

You are such a good kid.  Every now and then you tease your brothers and sister and remind me of your father, but for the most part, I love how well you treat everyone and how respectful you are of those older than you.  I can't wait until you are made a deacon in a few week so we will have another priesthood holder in our home, and to take you to the temple to do baptisms.  

I love how you still want me to tuck you in every night, how you will put mustard or BBQ sauce on anything, are starting to say amazing prayers, live in that navy hoodie with the your sleeves rolled up to the elbows, want to walk home from church each Sunday with friends, can't wait to get out sharing time, insist on taking your tennis shoes every day to school so you can play soccer at recess with your friends and slyly keep them on for the rest of school even though it is out of uniform.  I love you so much.

Love, 
Mom