Stories from Seventh: Hunter, the hunter.

Before I even met Craig, I knew that I one day wanted a little boy named Hunter. Well, with Craig's passion for hunting and when suggesting the name, he loved it. It was probably one of the easiest decisions we have ever made together.

Little did we know that our son, Hunter, would have a deep love for hunting as well. I mean, we kind of guessed that he may, but we could have been wrong and he could have loved sports and balls more than it.

For Christmas, Hunter received a shot-gun from my sister. Don't worry, it's not real, just pretend. He was so excited and didn't want to open the rest of his presents. He had one thing in mind and it was to get the gun out of the package as fast as possible. We convinced him that he needed to open the rest of the presents and thank everyone for the gifts. After prying away his fingers from the gun and hiding it in a back bedroom he opened the remainder of his gifts. While we were packing up to leave he had the look of panic on his face because he couldn't find his gun. We brought it out and he told us he was going to hold it on the way home so it didn't get lost again.

He had a Christmas program that night at his school and really wanted to bring it with. We realized then that this gun was now his new best friend. We compromised and said he could bring it with in the truck, but during the program it had to stay in the truck. Deal.

That night all he wanted to sleep with was his gun. He convinced us that it would protect him if a bear came into his room and he needed to shoot it. Somedays he thinks he is so clever. So, we let him keep it by his bed, not in it. Before heading to bed that night, I peeked into his room for one last look. To my surprise he had the gun in his hand and even had a pretend shell in the other. He was ready for that bear!

I have a pretty good feeling that this little boy will grow up to be an avid Hunter. I know Craig can't wait for the day to take him out to a deer stand and teach him all he knows. Hunter is a boy who will live up to his name.