Colter was so excited when he woke up this morning. I do not think he quit grinning all day, he was just that excited about it being his birthday. He was excited, that is, until he was falling asleep tonight and remembered that he had declared his fourth birthday to be the end of sucking his thumb. He gripped my hand and snuggled close while he fell asleep. Every once in a while he would just say “Oh, I REALLY want to suck my thumb” but he didn’t. He never does anything half way and I have no doubt that in that same spirit this end-of-thumb-sucking will be difficult yet manageable for him. I love that resolve about him.
Cbug-
Your Daddy and I are so thankful for you, our “middlest” son. We love that you never do anything half-way and that you are passionate about so many things. You go at high-speed ALL.THE.TIME and often we can not even keep up with you. We have already seen that the same passion can quickly lead to heart-ache for you when you dive in head first and things do not go the way you desire. We pray and pray that we will be able to parent that passion in a way that molds and shapes and encourages it so you are never afraid to be excited about the good things that the Lord has in store for you.
You are passionate about your siblings. You love love love your “Korbs” and would always prefer to pick him as your only playmate in a crowded room of children. You protect and include your baby sister and just recently the two of you have really enjoyed playing together. In fact, when you got to choose a Christmas present for her you chose a pony because then she would have two and the you guys could play with them together. And indeed you already love your tiniest brother, too. You rarely let us forget to pray for him and you are always quick to be thankful for him. I love that, to you, family is one of the most important things.
I’ve never much met a little boy who loves snuggles quite as much as you do. I can always count on you for some big hugs and kisses…and so can your teachers, your friends and really just about anyone else you meet. You dish out a very sincere “GUESS WHAT? I love you” more times a day than I can count. And somehow seem to know just who needs to hear it most. This is, no doubt, because of your very apparent passion for people and genuine concern for others. You love to LOVE. This summer when your nearly-twin-cousin was heading home, I asked you to choose a few toys to let him take to his house. You brought me to tears when you chose to give him all of your wooden train track. Your trains are another thing that you are very passionate about so I was very tempted to talk you out of it, but you were insistent that he needed them because they were “his favorite”. They were your favorite, too, but the choice did not even seem difficult for you because of how much you loved him. I learned a LOT from you that day, just like I do so often by watching how fiercely you love others. Sometimes we have to remind you to love a little more gently (to keep you from tackling someone to the ground), but I hope that never takes away from your passion for people.
Another thing you have been very passionate about lately is Heaven. You ask me all the time when we get to go there, and WHY we can’t go right NOW. You are always wanting to know more about it. To be honest, I often want to reply, “But CBUG, I want to keep you HERE with ME forever!” But instead, as I snuggle you close and talk about your passion for Heaven, I love that your questions make me too long for that amazing place. Together we’ve come up with an answer “I guess God just wants us to tell more people about Jesus first”. So we wait together, and hopefully DO get to share about His great love with others before we go.
C-bug, on your birthday I hope you know just how very much you are loved. You bring such joy and energy to our lives. In fact, if we could bottle and sell your unending energy supply or your deep hearty laugh that comes to you so easily we’d be some VERY rich parents.
Then again, I’d say we already are.
I love you more than you can imagine, Buddy!
Love,
Momma
