Jacob Stone Wilson
About a year ago Stone completed his Eagle Scout project. He built fox dens in Hubbard Reserve, near our home. Finally, after submitting the required paperwork, he officially received his Eagle Rank.

October 30, 2011. 14 years old. 9th grade
Last football season Stone broke his shoulder in practice after playing two games. This year he got tackled hard during his fourth game of the season and broke his collar bone. It was so disappointing. He was starting receiver and starting kicker. He had several first downs in that particular game and had kicked a 40-yard field goal--a school record. I was looking forward to more fun games, but it was over just like that. A player on the other team had broken his arm right after Stone had broken his collar bone, and the other injury was much more serious. No one was attending to Stone. So I left the little kids in the care of Zeke and ran to the car to get our emergency kit. I gave him ibuprofen and got ice on it before the trainer finally came and told us that it was broken and that we needed to head to the hospital. He enjoyed the season, such as it was, and is already talking excitedly about next season.

After the injury Stone's coach called me to see how he was doing. During that call he expressed how much he enjoyed Stone and what a great player he was. He particularly was complimentary of Stone's kicking abilities. He said he'd been coaching a long time and he'd never seen anyone kick like Stone--and without any formal training. He suggested we have him go to a kicking camp over the summer. We might do that.

His hospital band from the emergency room. When I checked him in and told the lady it was a football injury, she drily said, "yea, we're running a special." As we were waiting one of his teammates came in with an injured wrist.
Stone's artwork during Sacrament Meeting as he manned one of the doors--his responsibility as a Teacher.
Report card
movie stub
Last week I took Stone to get his driving permit from the DMV so he could start Driver's Training. The number we pulled was not a good sign. Sure enough, we waited in a packed room for 45 minutes, only to get called up and find out that we didn't have the right paperwork. We came back on a morning and sailed right in. Here are our two numbers we pulled.
This summer has flown by. Stone had conditioning with the football team in the mornings during the first part of the summer. Actually, he was supposed to have it all summer, but he cut his hand open a few weeks ago and has been out of commission for awhile. I was sitting at swimming lessons with the other kids when he called me on the phone and asked if I was on my way home. I could tell something was wrong. "Um, I kind of cut my hand to the bone." He had been sawing branches on trees down by the pond--a job Gregg had given him to do--and hadn't been wearing gloves. We left immediately to get him. It wasn't quite to the bone, but it definitely was super deep. In fact, the tendon was completely exposed. Super gross. I dumped the other kids off at home and headed towards the hospital with Stone. Luckily it was Gregg's lunch hour and he was able to come look at it and then take Stone to his office to put in quite a few stitches. It was slow in healing. We knew it wouldn't work for him to lift weights with the team, so we kept him out of that. Then he went to Scout Camp this week. He had a great time there. It was nice because he has his Eagle completed already, so this camp was really just for fun. He was able to participate in the more extreme stuff: rapelling, rock climbing, etc. I know he enjoyed that.

Stone has continued to be a help on the property his summer. The hand has slowed that a little, but not much. It's wonderful to have his help.

Another fun thing Stone did this summer was to attend Boise Youth Spectacular, a kind of church camp at Boise State University. That was a fun few days for him and we got a full report of the fun classes and presentations that he participated in. Last weekend we attended my family reunion in Utah where Stone was able to stay at his cousin Jaden's house and go rapelling with his Aunt Kelsi and Uncle Brian. We also spent a week in Coeur d'Alene and that was definitely a high point of the summer. Stone especially enjoyed the day we rented the wave runners and spent the day on Hayden Lake. He was nervous at first--he had never driven one. He and Gregg drove the two machines from the marina to our dock and Gregg had a hard time getting Stone to go over 10 mph. By the end, Stone was cruising around much more comfortably. He even beat Gregg on a race on the way back to the marina at the end of the day. That was a fun vacation.

This upcoming month Stone has football practices starting, more seminary activities, school shopping, and generally preparing for his first year in high school! He will also probably be getting his patriarchal blessing. He met with the Bishop this morning in preparation for that. I'm excited for that. I love Stone and I'm excited for everything he has coming up!

July 31, 2011. 14 years old.

Stone's final report card from his 8th grade year.
One evening when Stone was babysitting, Abbie left him this note and proceeded to take care of the kids and dishes and all other responsibilities for him to allow him some time to get some things done and have some time for himself. It was a sweet thing for her to do.
Well, Stone finished Middle School this week--and on to High School! It feels like Stone has started High School already. For one thing, he's already started High School football practices. So I've already had a couple weeks of dropping him off and picking him up at the High School. For another thing, Stone received a calling from the Stake a couple weeks ago to be the Freshman Representative for Seminary. He was sustained at Seminary Graduation. That is a cool honor for him. As Gregg and I sat there in the chapel at Seminary Graduation, surrounded by high schoolers and their parents it hit me that we had officially entered a new phase. It's an exciting phase, especially with a son like Stone who is such a wonderful young man.

Stone has been a huge help to Gregg on the property this spring. It almost brings Gregg to tears, he is so grateful for the help. What is wonderful about it is that Stone has been completely willing and diligent in his work. It has been good for Stone to do the work and to feel the companionship with his dad in their shared objectives.

Stone has pretty well graduated from the homeschool that I do with all of the kids. The only thing I still require of him is that he read classics. He is an avid reader, putting away hundreds of pages in a blink of an eye. But he rarely reads classics--books that challenge his very capable mind. So, I challenged him to read two classics during the spring semester. He started War of the Worlds early on and enjoyed it at first. Then he started getting bored with it. Finally, at the beginning of May I gave him an ultimatum that he needed to finish the book in two weeks or I would take his MP3 player away. I so rarely have to coerce Stone to do anything, that it felt very weird. But he appreciated why I was having him read it and, sure enough, he finished the book in two weeks. Then I told him that he had not completed the challenge until he read a second book. I told him it was entirely up to him if he wanted to read the second book to get the prize (a small gift card to Barnes and Noble). I told him I would not coerce him, encourage him, or ask him about his book. It was up to him. So, he picked a nice short classic (Peter Pan) and finished it in the allotted time. He earned his prize. As we've neared the beginning of summer, Stone has asked what homeschool I would have him do over the summer. I told him I wasn't going to have him do anything other than read classics. He was a bit troubled by that. He expressed a concern that he's felt his Language Arts skills slipping and thought maybe I should do some homeschool with him on that subject. That's his least favorite subject. I was quite impressed. I said, "do you want to do sentence analysis?" "Yeah, I think I should." "Do you want to do writing?" "Yes." "Like research writing?" "Yes. That would be a good idea." So, I guess I'll add some more to my homeschool plans!

Last week I received an email from one of Stone's teachers telling me that he would be receiving an award at the awards assembly on the last day of school. This fact was to be kept a secret from Stone. The evening before the assembly, Stone came up to me and said, matter-of-factly, with a hint of disappointment, "I don't think I'm getting an award at the assembly tomorrow." I didn't say a word. I could tell he was happy to see me when I showed up at the school the next day with his two little brothers in tow since that meant he was getting an award. He received the award for being the top history student. Last year he got the award for the top Language Arts Student. He ended the year with As and a few A+s. His classes included a sophomore-level Chemistry class and a sophomore-level Geometry class.

It was fun for me to see him at school that day. I also went and talked to him for a few minutes the day before at his "Eighth-Grade Getaway": a party for the eighth graders at the High School. Both times he was excited to see me and treated me with great respect--not always the case with teenagers when their parents' appear on their turf. I also liked to see him because it was fun to see how big and handsome he is. It was neat to see the respect with which he's regarded by his peers. I don't think he quite fits in with any one group of kids perfectly; his maturity level kind of keeps him standing alone. But he's liked and respected by all. The smart kids connect with him because he's smart. The jocks connect with him because he's athletic. Several times when I've been with him at school I've noticed very popular "jock"-type kids acknowledge him with great respect, almost with an air of submissiveness, by nodding or waving or calling out his name to get his attention. He always reponds with a cool nod in return. I can tell he feels a little unsure of himself socially, as is often the case at that age. I don't think he recognizes just how highly respected he is.

All I know is that having him as a teenager is just a delight. Yes, he irritates his brothers and sister sometimes, but he's also great to them also. He has a strong testimony, he knows who he is and where he is going, he's respectful to Gregg and me, he works hard at school and his other activities and requires no encouragement from us to excel, and he has a great sense of humor and perception of life that is delightful. I am extremely grateful for his influence in our home.

May 29, 2011. Fourteen years old. Eighth grade.

Third quarter report card.
Earlier in the year the Stake Youth Leaders challenged the youth to, among other things, read the Book of Mormon before May 22nd (the date of Seminary Graduation). Stone took this challenge, ran with it, and completed the Book of Mormon in about 2 months. He was on spiritual fire during this time period. Here is his bookmark on which he charted his progress.
Stone and Gregg have been busy building a fence. Gregg had always wanted a pretty, white vinyl fence around part of our orchard with a couple archways for grapes. That dream has been coming to fruition this spring, thanks to Stone's help. It has been a time and energy-consuming project, but one that Gregg and Stone have been enjoying doing together. Stone has been learning good skills, as well as spending quality and quantity time with his dad. He can almost put a panel up on his own, from start to finish. Gregg digs the holes with the tractor (he has an auger attachment.). Sometimes the tractor can dig all the way to the required depth, but more often it hits caliche and can't go farther. That's where Stone comes in. He takes a big, long iron tool that I don't know the name of and hammers away at the caliche. It's good, muscle-building work. The result, so far, is magnificent. The fence is beautiful and should be done soon. And Stone's muscles are growing. When he was little we used to laugh at how he'd watch his shadow and watch his image in the TV as he would run by. He liked to watch himself! The other day we were talking in the kitchen and I noticed him looking at his muscles in the window. (It was dark outside and the windows were like mirrors.) He he. Just like little Stone.

It's Conference weekend this weekend and Stone has a testimony of Conference. I didn't require the kids to sit and listen to any sessions, but they all have listened to each one, and I know Stone's example has a great deal to do with that. He sets himself up in front of the TV with a notepad and colored pencils and the quilt I made him as well as a plate of goodies, and enjoys Conference. He loves going to Priesthood Session with Gregg. The session is always good--Stone listens to Church talks as intently as a mature adult--and the trip to Dairy Queen afterwards is always exciting. Yesterday's Conference was especially exciting. President Monson announced that a temple will be built in Meridian! Right by us! We were all hooting and hollering and jumping up and down. Even though the Boise Temple is only 20 minutes away, it's still exciting to have a new temple in our area!

 Stone announced yesterday that he completed the Book of Mormon! He started a couple months ago in response to a challenged issued by our Stake for the youth to read the Book of Mormon before the end of May. He took that challenge, ran with it, and has completed it a couple months ahead of time. The exciting part is how much he enjoyed that book. It came alive to him. He would come down and share things with me that he'd read. For example, he described the adventures of Teancum, who, as he described, is a "Commando." The way he related it to me was as if he was relating the details of a novel he'd read or an action movie he watched. Stone has such a witty, smart sense of humor; it is hillarious to listen to him relate things. But mostly, he gleaned great spiritual insights from the book. His personal spirituality soared. It was fun to see.

It has been Spring Break this week and it has been fun to have Stone home. He is so cute with his younger siblings. He and Ella have a "handshake" which is actually a shared facial expression that they do over the dinner table. He loves Mack and Mack loves him. We went on a family hike the other night around our property. Stone carried Mack on his shoulders most of the time. Everyone loves and admires Stone. He spent two days (one night) on a Scout campout at Swan Falls where he was instrumental in helping a boy who took a serious fall off a cliff. He's also instrumental in getting the younger (and sometimes, older) boys to step it up. I was talking to the wife of his Teacher's Quorum adviser the other day. Her husband had been complaining about the immaturity of the boys in his quorum. She said, "What about Stone Wilson?" He replied, "I'm not talking about Stone. We can't all be Stone Wilsons." He is mature beyond his years and the other boys, young and old, look up to him.

He's a good boy for me. I'm thankful for my Stone! He's taller and bigger than me now, but he's still my little curly-headed Stone.

April 2, 2011. 14 years old. Eighth grade.

Stone looked online the other day for his current grades and jotted them down. Geometry and Chemistry are both 10th-grade level classes.
Student of the Month award. Stone is highly respected by the teachers at his school.
For Family Home Evening Ella had us all pick someone to write a note to on her pre-made form. Zeke chose to write to Stone. Zeke looks up to Stone with a great amount of childlike admiration.
Stone has always done a good job with his talks in Church. He does a good job writing them and presenting them. But this talk he gave a month or so ago was different. He wrote it and gave it during a time of great spiritual growth in his life--when he was devouring the Book of Mormon, reading multiple chapters every night. He delivered it with power and authority, driven by the depth and purity of his testimony. It was a beautiful thing.
February 2011. 14 years old. 8th grade. Stone is on fire in his life right now. First and foremost, his testimony is soaring. Stone has had a testimony from a young age, but just this year he is going through a growth spurt in his testimony. His personal scripture study is strong. I often see his scriptures and his "Preach My Gospel" book lying around on his bed or desk--indicating frequent use. Last Sunday he went to a standards fireside put on by our stake. They challenged the youth, among other things, to read the entire Book of Mormon by May. That's about three chapters a day. He took that fireside and that challenge seriously. He framed the printed challenge he received that night and placed it facing his desk. He is ahead of schedule on his reading. In the mornings at breakfasts I often ask the kids what they read in the scriptures the previous night. Sometimes I get solid answers and sometimes they admit to not having read. The other morning I asked one of the other kids what they had read. They hadn't. Stone was standing there holding a half-asleep Mack. He said, "Oh, I wanted to share something." He handed Mack to me, ran up to his room, and came back with his scriptures. He then proceeded to stand there and expound upon several chapters in Alma he had read the night prior. He talked especially about the "infinite and eternal sacrifice" required for redemption of mankind. He went on for a good seven minutes, sharing solid doctrine and pure testimony, all from his personal reading. It was beautiful. He did the same thing the next morning.

Stone is and always has been brilliant. He is beginning to see how intellectually stimulating the scriptures are. A few weeks ago we had a Family Home Evening on the Fall. As we read the account in the Pearl of Great Price, we read about the command to multiply and replenish the earth. He questioned, "replenish?" Fill it again? We talked about what an interesting concept that was and talked about what it could mean. The next day he talked with me about how exciting the scriptures were to him on an intellectual level and how excited he was to read them more. And he has. Needless to say, this behavior has had a very positive effect upon his life and the life of his younger siblings who idolize him, particularly Zeke.

One of the things that Stone has really enjoyed lately is working out with his dad. A year or so ago, Gregg mentioned casually to me that sometime in the near future we should look at getting more weight equipment, as Stone would benefit from that. That was a Friday. On Saturday Gregg drove him with new weight equipment in his truck. I said, "near future, huh?" He said, "It's a relative term." But it has been a great thing for Gregg and Stone to lift weights and work out together. They play basketball, run on the treadmill (not at the same time), punch the punching bag, and lift weights. They both really enjoy lifting. It's so good for Stone to have that time with his dad and that shared interest.

We've really struggled over the past few weeks trying to decide what to do about Spring sports for Stone. He had planned on Spring Football, only to find out that that is not happening this year. His old Meridian soccer team was super excited to have him play for them as was his old Kuna soccer team. But as we discussed and pondered and prayed, neither of those sounded like the right option. Spring is such a busy time on our property, and we all feel like the best use of Stone's time and muscles this season would be to help his dad on the farm. So he's in for some good, hard work this season.

I really appreciate Stone. His head is in the right place. He is good and respectful and obedient to me. He is a good influence in our home. I'm thankful for him.
Stone made this sign because we both think it would be hillarious to put official-looking signs like this up around our pond. He he.
Stone is in student council at school (Junior CAST). The student council put on a skit and performed it in the school talent show. Stone's character had to talk in an Australian accent. He thought the whole thing was a little silly. but I think he had fun doing it when all was said and done!
Part of the script.
Stone is in 10th grade level Chemistry and Geometry classes at school. This is one of his chemistry tests.
A cute Christmas card from Ella.
Handsome 8th Grader.
Fall of 2010 Stone got his braces off! It had been over 2 years. I was absolutely delighted at these before and after graphics from the orthodontist. Both depicted such different Stones but I love each one so much! The cute little Stone . . .
And the big, cool, teenage Stone! I love them both!! !
Stone played and excelled at flag football years ago as a younger boy. Then for a few years he stopped playing football and focused on soccer. Last year he started talking about playing football again. He received some encouragement from coaches and friends at school who recognized his skills when he played during lunchtime at school,and as we contemplated it over the summer, Gregg and I both felt that we should encourage him to play. He had never played tackle before, so he had a healthy amount of nervousness before the season began, but he decided to go for it. The night before the first practice he developed a high fever and felt completely miserable. He and I went to the practice, anyway, hoping it would be light since it was the first. They fitted him for his pads and then did some sprinting tests. Stone didn't even look like himself out there, but I was impressed with how hard he worked despite how he felt. He continued to impress us with us toughness the next couple days as he gave it his all despite how he felt. On Wednesday he developed spots all over his body and we visited the doctor who suspected he had mono and banned him from playing football until we knew for sure. The tests for mono came back negative as did the CAT scan the doctor ordered. We're still not sure what that mysterious illness was--just a bad flu, I guess. He stayed out of practice the rest of the week, missing the first practice in pads. Monday he felt better, though still not 100%, and as he prepared to dive into his first tackle practice, his nervousness brought him almost to tears. My heart ached and I felt like I was throwing him to the lions den as I dropped him off that day, but I felt like I needed to just let him do his thing. It ended up being the biggest hitting practice of the year, and he came back happy and covered with bruises from his pads that he proudly displayed to everyone. There was a contentment about him. He had conquered something he was afraid of and that felt good. Within a week, this boy that had never played tackle and had been out of football for years and that had been sick early on had worked himself up to starting receiver. He was elated. I kept expecting his football high to taper off, but every day after practice he excitedly related to me his successes on the field. He was loving receiving, loving working his body, and even enjoying hitting. One day at practice, the boys tried out for kicking positions. Stone was last in line. Before he kicked, the coach was shaking his head and muttering, "we're going to lose every game. No one can kick." As Stone's soccer leg sent the ball sailing down the field, the coach pronounced, "You're my new favorite player." He became the superstar kicker, in addition to being first-string receiver. The players were stoked about him; the parents were thrilled to have a kicker on the team. He caught a two- point conversion in one game, and his PATs won another game for the team. He had acheived superstar status on the team and at school and he had the personal contentment of tackling a fear and conquering it. Then, after several weeks of practice and two games, he called me to get him one day after practice. I could tell in his voice that something was wrong. He had taken a hard hit and his shoulder and arm hurt. Sure enough, another CAT scan revealed that he had broken his shoulder. He was so frustrated. We hoped that he'd be able to get back at least into kicking, but it was not to be. The day after the season ended, he was able to remove his sling. It was a season of emotional ups and downs, but one in which Gregg and I gained new respect for Stone. He was an impressive kid every step of the way.
Stone's football team: Fall 2010. Stone is number 38 on the left side next to the coach.
Stone was asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting this past Sunday (July 25th). The Bishopric decided to ask all those who hold priesthood keys to speak, and as Deacon's Quorum President, Stone qualified. Here is his talk that he wrote. The topic was up to him. I gave him a few suggestions and he picked this one. He does an impressive job both writing and presenting his talks. Following this one is another talk he gave awhile back. With his dad in the Bishopric, Stone gets plenty of chances to speak in Church! Lucky guy.