Four

Man, I can't believe it's here already.  Four years old!  My little boy is growing up so fast - it's almost sickening to think he'll be in kindergarten soon, then grade school, middle school, high school - AAHHHH!!  Okay, let's slow down and live in the moment!  Oh, Will...my first born.  To take a phrase from a friend - "You made me a momma!" 

Such a sweet boy!  I love his energy - the boy never stops!  He keeps me on my toes, that's for sure.  He is incredibly strong-willed (not sure where he got that from - ahem!).  This brings me many frustrating moments in parenting, but I hope will bring him successes later in life.  (Now just to figure out how to cultivate this into a positive thing!) 

I love watching him learn how to be a big brother.  He loves Micah so much, but learning how to show that love comes with difficulty!  He was the only one for three years and then all of a sudden there was this little guy demanding attention and now getting into his toys.  Every moment is a learning opportunity!  Even with all the fighting and selfishness and bossing around, there are plenty of sweet moments.  This morning Micah bonked his head (again) and immediately Will was by his side telling him it was okay and giving him hugs. That's enough to melt a momma's heart!  Oh, how I pray they will be friends and one day brothers in Christ!

I love his servant heart.  He gets that from his daddy.  He's always wanting to help around the house and outside - especially outside!  It might be an independence thing, but I'm thinking we can grow this into a heart that wants to serve the Lord. 

I love his silliness!  This one might get him into trouble at school.  He definitely feeds off of people's attention and if he gets a laugh out of someone, you'd better believe he's going to repeat whatever it was that got them chuckling.  Oh, I can just imagine the phone calls from the principal and parent-teacher conferences!  Help me now, Lord!

I love his happiness!  There are moments when I wonder what got his undies in a twist, but for the most part Will is a pretty happy kid.  You can always get a smile out of him.

Oh, yes, Will...you made me a momma.  More specifically, God made me a momma, and he chose to do it with Will.  This has been a crazy four years.  Gregg and I have learned a lot, grown a lot, grieved a lot.  Parenting is NOT what we expected.  It's so much more...and so much harder.  We never realized it was going to be an exercise in personal faith and dependence on God.  It's amazing the things God uses to help us grow closer to him. 

One thing Gregg has said over and over, is that he was never able to even begin to understand Christ's love for us until we had Will.  I reflect on this and how true it is.  Even though the relationship with your spouse should be the closest relationship here on this earth, there is nothing like the love you feel for that child.  The closeness you feel as they are brand new, the joy you feel as you watch them succeed, the heartache you feel when they don't, the grief you feel when they chose to sin.  Being a parent has made me so much more thankful of my heavenly Father and his love for me!

I am so thankful for this little boy and all the joys and challenges he brings Gregg and I each and every day.  I can't wait to see what the next four years, eight years, sixteen years hold for us.  Happy Birthday, Will!  I love you!