Happy Birthday to My Babies . . .

. . . who are so NOT babies anymore! They're EIGHT today.

For crying out loud, how did THAT happen?

Every June 5th finds me a little more shell-shocked than the year before. Tell, me, those of you who have grown-up kids, are your kids' birthdays always bittersweet? Will I always feel a pang in my heart along with the merriment of this yearly milestone? And while you're at it, please also tell me, where does time go? Seriously. I totally feel like it was yesterday that I was stumbling around in a sleep-deprived fog trying to figure out how to manage two babies and survive it all. I still can see and feel those moments so clearly, it just doesn't seem possible it was 8 years ago. We're halfway to 16, people. Ouch.
And so today, my precious boys, I am recording a few things about you so that you can look back someday and see who you were when you turned 8 . . . .

To Noah, my "firstborn" - a whole minute older than Jack, and you are constantly reminding him of that little tidbit. In fact, Jack now even refers to himself as the "youngest." :) The most notable things about you, at this moment in time, my sweet boy, is your heart and your mind. They both astound me. And tire me. I'm afraid you have inherited your mommy's mind - a mind that NEVER stops. Sometimes that's a good thing, but when you hit my age, you probably won't be thanking me for it. Right now, however, you constantly want to LEARN. About everything. You ask us an average of 75 questions a day. Really. About everything. You simply want to soak up and take in as much as you can - and while I love that about you, I find myself feeling really dumb because many of my answers are "I don't know." Or "we need to go look that up." Or "that's a Pastor Dave question." :) You have such a thirst for learning everything about Jesus and that's incredible for a parent to see. Which brings me to your heart. I see Jesus there, and that's the most important thing I could ever want for your life. You have such feeling and sensitivity for people - there have been times your little heart has been broken for what someone else is feeling. Just the other night, you cried and cried and cried over something you said to Dad that wasn't really offensive at all, but you were worried about how it made him feel. I hope you never lose that.

You love love love to read - you finished 1st grade reading at a 6th grade level and you have buzzed through 4 mystery novels in the past month. You are a total whiz at the piano - you can play something one time and then do it from memory. You can even concoct your own little tunes. You love soccer (and have a monster kick!) and basketball and the Vikings and cheeseburgers and tacos and fishing and the Smurfs and especially Scooby Doo and somehow you love Bon Jovi and Nickleback and you sing your little heart out during worship at church and you have the most amazing belly chuckle and you love making Jack laugh. You can name all 32 teams in the NFL without any help and you love all things doggy and never tire of begging for one even though your mom and dad can't decide what kind to get.

And you love Jack. Your bond is becoming more apparent to us - you are best buddies and are really quite dependent on each other. Which is totally ok with us. And you are a total SNUGGLE BUG. You love bear hugs (giving and receiving!) and cuddling and you always have to lounge on whoever is sitting next to you while you are eating. We call you a Roman and it's just adorable. You are currently a very solid 78 pounds and I could not love every square inch of you more.

To Jack, my fiesty little dude - your 8th birthday finds you as determined and focused as ever. I will never ever forget the day you learned to walk. And yes, it all occurred in ONE day. You took your first step in our living room and in that tiny moment, you realized the potential for complete mobility. And you didn't quit. For 3 solid hours you fell, you got up, you fell, you got up and the determination exhibited on your 1 yr. old face was remarkable. You were NOT giving up and by the end of the day you had it mastered. We learned a lot about you that day, and you haven't changed one bit. :) To say you are driven and competitive would be an understatement. You are happiest when you have some way of releasing that. You love running (I'm talking Forrest Gump), soccer and shootin' hoops. Your basketball coach just adored you. He'd laugh at your determination and tell us "man, you can't teach that." I can't wait to see what kind of athlete you will be. I read you a list of summer sport camps recently and asked which ones you wanted me to sign you up for. Your response - with a straight face - was "all of them."

You totally love playing the Wii, but that goes along with your competitive nature. (And you can't stand it that your mom can beat you at bowling!) Mario Kart is your favorite. You did very well in school this year, but you have no time for it. You love watching any sport on TV, and you love the Vikings as much as your Daddy and are determined to BE one someday. With you, I actually believe that could happen.

You are BIG on practical jokes, you love playing Monkey in the Middle with Dad and Noah downstairs with the beach ball, Monopoly, macaroni and cheese (the Velveeta Shells and Cheese - no other), crab legs, any kind of fruit and calling your mom "sweet lips." You hate milk and taking showers and love eating ice. You are quite the entrepreneur for your age - you have developed a whole concept AND business plan for theme restaurants that you are going to build when you grow up.

Like Noah, you love our nightly devotions and have your many questions and this year told me that you asked Jesus into your heart one day a few years back while you were at preschool at Zion. :) I love the details of this story, but decided they are between you and God and I won't publish them here. My heart soared the day you told me this as my greatest desire for your life is a true walk with Jesus. Everything else in your life will fall into place if you have that. Oh, and you still love to snuggle with your mom - often curling up on my lap or sneaking into bed with us. I've made you promise over and over that you will never stop doing that no matter how big you get. :)

To both of you - there aren't words in any human language to describe how much we love you and the gifts you are to your Dad and me. You truly are the lights of our lives, the sparkle in our eyes, and the center of our world. I hope you will someday truly grasp how enveloped in love you really are. And while I sometimes mourn how fast these days go, I do rejoice in your growth and I adore the little gentlemen you are becoming. You will, however, always be my babies. Happy 8th Birthday!