Happy 5th Birthday, James

Every year I write a letter to my children on their birthdays that includes my heart for them and how I've watched them grow and change that year. I know it's kind of heavy for them at this age (we don't even read the letter to them now), but I'm really writing them for the future and my hope that they will enjoy having my thoughts and words of love and affirmation recorded in writing when they are older. We stick the letters in a "fun" card that usually matches the theme of their party and/or their interests for that year so that they can have a card that they can appreciate now too.

Today is James' 5th Birthday and here is a little excerpt (as he gets older especially I am feeling the need to hold some things back just for him!) from the letter that I wrote this year. We have a fun-filled day set aside for celebrating him. Stephen has worked quite a few weekends and not had a lot of time off the last few weeks, so he was able to spend the day with us too! I will try and post some pictures of the activity and restaurant that James chooses later. I know some might accuse me of making "too much" of my children, but I always want to err on the side of too much when it comes to them. God loves us lavishly (of course, He corrects, disciplines, and answers "no" sometimes too!) and I want to love my boys lavishly in a way that they would begin to comprehend the lavish (and perfect!) love of their Father. Not to get on a soap box, but in a world where people demean mothers and/or their children (perfect strangers, no less!) in the grocery store line when their children are tired and melting down, where we abort countless unborn lives, where we refer to a mother as "just a mom," where we say to a glowing pregnant mother "two wasn't enough?" or "another boy? how disappointing!" (and all in front of your children too!)...and I could go on and on just from this third pregnancy alone. In this world where life and birth are so completely devalued, I want to wave the banner on the miracle and beauty of life. I want to celebrate it, and I want my children to see it celebrated so that they would not embrace the attitudes of the culture. (Didn't mean to get on that soap box...ha!)

Happy 5th Birthday, James! Today is your "golden birthday" and I pray that you'll always know what a treasure you are to us. We love you and accept you unconditionally with all of your boyish wonder and glory: your noise, your unbelievable energy, your wit, your endless imagination, your passion and emotion, your stubbornness (that you try and back with logical debate!), and your heart of compassion. We praise God for your life! We praise Him for your love of transportation, transformers, and pretend play. We praise Him for choosing you to be the big brother of two little brothers and allowing us to parent such a special little boy. We praise God for the plans that He has for your life and thank Him every day (and ask Him every day) for another day to watch them unfold. We love you forever!