Sunday, March 26, 2017

Happy Birthday, J.J.!!

Jeremiah Joseph ... It is your fourth birthday. And we are so very thankful that you are part of our family!!

Lately, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the season before you were born.  We were busy with six little kids, and we had recently moved into our new house which required a LOT of work and that kept us busy, too. But it was a sad season ... we had experienced great loss, and my heart cried out to God, asking Him to give us another baby. And your siblings were crying out to God and asking Him to give them another sibling. And I know other voices echoed ours.

And do you know what God, in His generous kindness did? He gave us YOU. (And then your baby sisters. And more recently, a baby brother that went to be with Jesus before we got a chance to meet him).

You were a chill, laid back baby even before you were born, and we have loved every second of getting to know you. You're happy and tender, sweet and caring. You love fully and laugh fully. (And you're a good sleeper. Which is probably why you have gotten away with sleeping on the floor in Mommy and Daddy's room MUCH longer than any of your siblings ever have. Ahem.)

You've been working hard to learn how to talk this year, and your very first and favorite sentence was and is, "I. WANT. HUGS!!" I'm pretty sure your next sentence will be, "I want TOAST," but that's a story for another day.

You love airplanes these days. Your Grandpapa is happy about that.  Whenever you run, you're arms go out as wings and more recently, you've started spinning an arm in front of you as a propeller and making awesome engine noises when you're trying to get my attention.

We hope you have a wonderful year, dear son. We hope you run and jump and laugh and play and hug and eat ... and we hope you know how very loved you are. We have a good God who gives good gifts. And we are thankful for you!!

Happy, happy birthday, J.J.! We love you!