Happy Birthday, Squishers!

So... 2021 started with most of my birthday posts for my kids being late. And then at some point, the year got away from me and... I didn't catch up.  I was chatting about this with my little sister recently, and we decided to refer to this past year as my blogging sabbatical, to make it sound planned and official. Planned or not, I think I earned it! Needless to say, all my kids got older this past year. But my sabbatical is done and instead of rehashing the inevitable, I'm going to start fresh here.

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Squish! You're four years old TODAY! Finally! You've spent the last few months telling people that you would be four "tomorrow." Your persistence has paid off, Little Dude.

We still call you Squishy. Though, sometimes now, you'll tell us that your name is Jonathan and your last name is Squishy, or vice versa. I wonder how long this will last?

You're sweet and rambunctious and opinionated. You and Matthew are best friends, most of the time, and mortal enemies only occasionally. 

You really enjoy time with your non-sibling friends, too, and you're on high alert for the special someone who will allow you to refer to her as your girlfriend. 

Your prayers still regularly require interpretation, but you offer them sweetly and eagerly and fully. May you always run quickly to the One who holds all the answers.

We tell you this regularly, but it bears repeating: You are a gift from God, dear son, and God gives good gifts. We are so very thankful that He gave you to us!

Happy happy birthday, Squishy! We love you!

Happy Belated Birthday, Squishy!

So sorry for the late post, Jonathan.* I have no good excuse.

Squishy, you’re two!! And yes, you sometimes have terrible moments but 99.5% of the time you are a delight.

We’re loving watching you grow but we also savor your sweet, squishy cuddles and love.

We love that you always sing, “I love you.”

We love how you eagerly fold your chubby hands when it’s time to pray.

We love how you love your siblings, from the biggest to the smallest.

We love how much joy FaceTime brings you, and how the phone is covered with kisses and cuddles when your aunties chat with you.

And we love that you self-initiated potty training during the great shelter-in-place orders of 2020. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have initiated that this year otherwise!

Most of all, we thank God for all the ways that you have brought joy and comfort to our lives. You are a blessing. “The Lord gives.” Have a wonderfully blessed year, Squishers. Happy, happy birthday.


*I use the name “Jonathan” as that is technically his name, but he most typically responds to some variation of Squishy, a Finding Nemo reference bestowed on him by his siblings. But just in case this moniker wears over time, I wanted to make sure his given name was attached somewhere to this post 😘.

Happy happy (belated) birthday, TinTin!!

Baby, baby, baby...you're one year old!!

I was re-reading your birth announcement yesterday (of course, on your real birthday. You're one. You really don't care that we saved the cake for today instead) and of course, it all started coming back to me.

Auntie Charity always likes to remind me that we weren't really crushed during that season of loss after loss after loss that led up to your birth (2 Cor 4:8) but, if that wasn't crushed, I don't want to know what is. I praised God in that season because He is worthy of our praise, but not because I felt I had anything to bring to His throne of grace in worship. I knew that God draws near to the broken hearted, so I knew He was close to me. But it was a hard, dark, lonely place to be. 

Throughout that season, I regularly remembered the verse that got my mama through some of the darkest, scariest days of her life, "I would have despaired, unless I had believed, I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." (Psalm 27:13)

A dear friend was blessed with her own sweet baby boy a couple of weeks before you were born. I remember often tearfully saying of both of you boys, "this, this is the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."

Jonathan, you are a joy to our lives. We love all your antics, we love your joy and your smile and your emerging curly waves at the nape of your neck. We love how you wave your arms like a conductor while you sing and how you clap your chubby adorable hands whenever we say, "yay!!" We love your cuddles and good humor and how you bring out the sweetest, tenderest side of everyone around you...and especially your older siblings. 

We love you, Sweet Boy, and we thank God for you. May His face shine upon you all the days of your life.

Happy Birthday, Son!