Vince's Journey

Today our oldest son, Judd, turns 17! Its hard to believe he is already 17. I remember his birth like it was yesterday. He was born at 4:04 am in the morning, weighed 8 pounds and 8 ounces, was 22 inches long. He had a rough delivery...at one point Dr. Smith was prepared to do a C-section because they thought they had lost his heartbeat. As a result, they were a little more aggressive about getting him into the world and he was born with a broken collarbone. Shortly after his birth, Julie developed a blood clot in her leg and had to be hospitalized for about a week. Talk about being thrust into the world of fatherhood! I was home with a newborn for about a week.

Today Judd is 6'3", 175 pounds and a junior at Moeller High School. He is interested in studying art in college and has played in Moeller's volleyball program his first two years. This year he should move up to varsity where the bar has been set pretty high. Moeller has won the state championship the past two years. He's been driving for almost a year (although he recently learned that driving 89 miles an hour on the highway will cost you your license for 30 days) and has had a girlfriend since the end of the summer. Tonight he's decided his birthday dinner will be at Outback Steak House.

Judd has been a great son and we love him dearly. We're proud of all that he's accomplished and know that he will do great things as an adult. So today, on his 17th birthday, I simply want to say...Happy Birthday, Judd...your Pappa Persons loves you and is very proud of you!