Happy Birthday, Caedmon!

"Birth" day

1st birthday

2nd birthday

3rd birthday

Dear Caedmon,

Three years ago today you entered the world and my life was forever changed. I had never experienced love the way I did when I first held you in my arms. I had never loved someone incapable of loving me back. No one had ever been completely dependent upon me for their survival. I'd never had a relationship that was give-and-give instead of give-and-take.

Through you I have become aware of, not only how great my capacity is to love, but also how ugly and selfish I can be. God is using you, a child, to develop character in me. Patience, perseverance, selflessness, and generosity. Thank you for these gifts.

You are the most fascinating person I've ever met. There has never been another person about whom I wanted to know every detail. I've taken more pictures of you in your brief three years than of any other person.  I wonder what you think. I try to imagine what your life will hold. I want to write down every memory we make so that I never forget them.

I love how you come barreling down the hall each morning with your messy hair and Thomas the Train pajamas. As you climb into my arms and rub the sleep from your eyes, you melt my heart. Over and over again. No matter how bad you'd been the day before, it seems my "mercies are new every morning".

I have no idea what God has in store for your life. You may or may not be a straight 'A' student. You may or may not be coordinated and love sports. You may or may not love music, or art, or a million other things. But, honestly, all of those things are of secondary importance to me. My prayer for you is that you would have an undivided heart...that loving Jesus would be your passion in life and everything else would fall in place underneath that. Because if you get that right, you'll want to honor your parents, you'll want to know God's will for your life, you'll want to work diligently at whatever you do. But if you get that wrong, then nothing else matters.

So today you are three. And this year will be full of finger painting, trips to the zoo, learning the alphabet, playing with trains, and riding your bike. You will "help" me in the kitchen, accompany me to the grocery store, and insist on pouring the laundry detergent into the washer by yourself. I will make countless peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, clean up countless messes, and read countless bedtime stories. You are my little buddy. We live life together.

A glance at one day of our lives may seem rather mundane to an outside perspective. But I know something they may not...I know I am building a legacy, shaping character, and training a wise warrior. I know that one day your life will impact hundreds of thousands of lives. My investment in you will reap a harvest that will far out-weigh any sacrifice I have made.

Words could never express how thankful I am to get to be your mom. You are God's gift to me and I will raise you to give your life back the Him.

I love you, precious boy.
Mommy