That's my (soon to be) boy!

Amanda and I attended our first couples event with our Married Young Adults class last night. It was a "Bring Your Own Pumpkin" party where each couple carved their own creation. Since Braden was with us, we let him choose the design. His choice? A big 48 to represent Jimmie Johnson (his favorite NASCAR driver).

So, I cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin and gave Braden an ice cream scoop to gut it out. Since Amanda had no interest in touching the yucky stuff ("It will get on my ring and I can't take it off because my pants don't have any pockets!") and we were only give 20 minutes to make our creations, I reassigned Braden to the task of picking out the seeds from the goop as I scraped it out and dumped it on the floor.

The next task was to carve out the 48. Not having a pencil, I did it freehand style. Like a sculptor says, you just cut away everything that doesn't look like a 48.

After I carved out the 4, it dawned on me that the 8 would be more of a challenge. Without the centers of each loop, we risked the 8 looking like a snowman. But alas, my untapped pumpkin carving skills came through. As a final touch, I threw in a Lowe's logo (Jimmie Johnson's sponsor) on one side and the initials "JJ" on the other.

The original plans to pick the winner of the carving contest were scrapped at the last minute for a new plan. Instead of using adult judges, the decision was made to let Braden and Jocelyn (JT and Jennifer's 3-year old daughter) pick their favorites.

("We're sure to win now!" I thought to myself. "But how scary is it that I care so much about winning a pumpkin carving contest? Lord, please don't let me grow up to be THAT kind of dad!")

Braden and Jocelyn made the rounds looking at all the pumpkins. Finally, Braden announced his favorite. Surprisingly, he did not pick our own creation. And surprisingly, I couldn't have been more proud of him.

Why? Because he chose a pumpkin with "BU" carved in it--a tribute to Baylor University carved by Chris McGuirk and Jennifer Eveland. (For the record, there was an "A&M" pumpkin, too, and neither child chose it.)

So, my hard work on Braden's behalf may not have been his favorite, but that's OK with me. He made the right choice! I just pray he makes the same choice in about 13 years!