My sweet big boy, you are
seven. SEVEN. I can’t believe it has been seven years since
I first laid eyes on you and instantly fell in love in a way I had never before
known. Of course, I also fell in love
with you the moment I found out about you and hid the bun in the oven for your
Daddy to find. You’ll have to ask me about that wonderful day, I remember it
like it was yesterday and would love to share the story about such a monumental
occasion in our lives with you. Then,
when you were born and I first laid eyes upon you, the love that I had for the
baby boy in my womb immediately grew to new heights that I didn’t even know
existed. It is a love that truly only
parents can know and I pray one day you get to experience it as well.
There are so many things to
recap about your year, but I will start with the single most important. It happened on Christmas Day. As
I was tucking you in, you said to me, "Mommy, I want to be saved."
I asked you if you knew what that meant and your reply was, "When
you ask Jesus into your heart. Jesus is our Savior; He was born on
Christmas day and then at Easter he died, but three days later they rolled the
stone away and the tomb was empty because Jesus went into Heaven. I want
to go to Heaven when I die and I want to ask Jesus into my heart to save
me."
As you can imagine, my sweet boy, I was floored. We have
talked about being saved before and you learn a lot in Sunday school, but that
night, it just came out of the blue. We talked about it for at least
another half hour because I wanted to be sure you understood what it meant.
It was something you wanted to do with me at that very moment and you
wanted to do it on Jesus' birthday. Again, this is the last thing I
expected to happen on Christmas Day, but of course, I was thrilled for you.
You asked if your stepdad could join us and we all prayed
together, I simply sat there, cried and let you speak from your heart to Jesus. How blessed I feel. Thank you, my precious son for sharing that with
your stepdad and me. I realize as a
mother how blessed I am to not only get to be there when you were born
(obviously), but also when you were re-born.
I pray God’s protection and blessing over you for all of your years to
come.
This year you started first grade!
Your transition into school has been wonderful. You are an excellent student and love
learning. I hope that continues for your
entire life. Even after you graduate
from college, dear son, it is important to continue to learn. Your love of learning will be a blessing for
you throughout your life.
Right after you turned 6, you learned to ride your big boy bike
all by yourself! I will never forget the
look of surprise and joy on your face when you took off for the first time through
our yard. I think you were just as
surprised as we were at how far and how fast you went!
Another dream came true this year, we went to Disney! What fun that was! I couldn’t believe how much energy you
had! We were blessed with the
opportunity to go with Chris, Angelica and Jacob and because Angelica was able
to coordinate everything so well, we saved money and even got to stay at the
Disney Resort, which allowed us the extended hours at the Magic Kingdom 10 p.m. until 3 a.m.
I was EXHAUSTED, but even as we were getting back to our hotel at 4 a.m. , you had tons of energy! We loved being there during the day, but
night time was even more fun! We got to
ride the rides over and over again without lines, we got to sit right up front
for the parade, there was no hot sun and it felt like we were the only people
in the park at times. It was
wonderful! You even rode Space Mountain
THREE times! Mommy was terrified of roller
coasters at your age. I’m so glad you
love them. You, my son, help keep me
young! After Magic Kingdom
You are adventurous, my big boy!
This year you went parasailing for the first time. How wonderful it was to fly through the air
with you over Myrtle Beach
You started coach-pitch baseball this year and you are again on
the Nationals! How wonderful that you
love sports as well. You are well
rounded, Nicholas and that is fantastic!
You also became a cub scout this year and have done well. Your derby race was exciting and you even
brought home a 2nd place trophy!
Another first this year, we ran our first official race. I did the 5K and you did the kids fun run in
Floyd. Once again, you cracked everyone
up when you came across the finish line waving and giving the “thumbs up” to
everyone as if you were in a parade. You
are such a little ham and you certainly like playing to the crowd!
You were in our church Christmas program again this year and once
again had solos to sing. This year was a
little different though, because for the first time, you and I sang together in
front of everyone. My sweet boy, I am so
thankful for your love of music. Music
truly is soothing to the soul, a wonderful form of worship and a beautiful gift
to share. Music is certainly important
in our home.
We did have another first this year that was a bit tough. Your first (and hopefully last) surgery. What started as a simple sty on your eye
became a very large sty that just wouldn’t go away. After several months, many different
treatments and seeing a specialist, it was determined the only way to get rid
of it was to have it surgically removed.
Who would have ever thought a little bump on the eye would have turned
into something needing surgery? Not us,
that’s for sure.
The day of surgery you were very brave. When they gave you the loopy juice, you were
very giggly and funny! But when they
rolled you away for the surgery, I had to try very hard to hold myself
together. My baby had never had surgery
before and it was very scary for me too.
When the doctor came back in and told us everything went well, I felt
like the whole world was lifted off my shoulders and I thanked God for keeping
you safe. When you came back in the
room, though, you were having a hard time.
You were still a little out of it from being put to sleep and the IV was
in your foot, which you did NOT like at all.
It was a little rough at first, but after they were able to remove the
IV, you started calming down and before long, were doing much better. And do you remember, my brave boy, that while
you were under they had to pull out your loose front tooth? Because of your sty, your visit from the
tooth fairy came a little early! In
every situation, my precious son, even the difficult ones like surgery, always
try to find the good. Focus on the
positive and stay hopeful, it makes the hard times easier. Face your difficulties knowing that God has
given you the ability to get through whatever path is in front of you. Know that God has also given you lots of
people around you who love you and will be there for you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need
it and always be willing to lend a hand to whoever may need it.
I’ll end this letter by saying, Nicholas Gabriel, that you are
such a blessing to me and so many. You
are a wonderful big brother, a terrific son and a fantastic friend. I am so proud of you for being brave enough to
be exactly who God made you to be. I
have noticed that you don’t give into peer pressure, if your friends are doing
something you know isn’t right or safe; you DON’T go along with them. You do what you know is right in your
heart. You are equally kind to everyone,
even if they are different or not the most popular. I am thankful for your character and your
courage, son. I am thankful for your
heart. I am so thankful to God for blessing me with
you and for your kind and giving nature. I am thankful that you have so many
different interests and enjoy doing so many different things. I am simply so
very thankful, Nicholas, that you are YOU and look forward to watching you grow
into the wonderful man I know you will become.
I love you, my precious and oldest son.
Mommy
P.S. Here is the birthday video I make for you every year, son. Enjoy and know that the lessons in this song are very important and something to carry with you throughout your life.
