THREE YEARS? Already?

Tomorrow (9/10/11~ cool, huh?!) is my baby....MY BABY boy's third birthday. He's THREE! My sweet little chubby, round-headed, laid-back baby boy is three!

It's hard for this mama to believe that there is no longer a baby in our house, but two "big boys."

I decided to post Ford's birthday post today since tomorrow is his actually birthday and we have lots of activity going on at our house tomorrow. But as I sit here and write, it has truly hit me like a ton of bricks at how quickly these angel babies grow up. It only seems like yesterday we were moving back into our newly renovated home just 2 days before Ford was born. The last three years have been so much fun with our two boys and Ford has definitely shown us just how different he is from big brother, Logan. Ford likes to do puzzles, read books, SLEEP, and eat. His loves Thomas the Train (like Logan) and his favorite train is Toby(pictured above:). His favorite things to eat are a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, gummies, applesauce, and pretty much anything chocolate! Unlike his big brother, he DOES like to sit down and be still occasionally and he ASKS to go to bed almost every night. :) He wakes up with a smile on his face (immediately asking for milk and a pop tart) and loves to give me hugs and kisses at least several times a day! He is such a joy and I absolutely love being his mama!

God has truly blessed me with two amazing boys to raise and minister to and nurture. I attended a funeral this week of a woman in our church who had raised 6 children: 5 boys and 1 girl, and at 64 years of age, God felt it was her time to go home. One of her sons stood up and praised her for teaching him to love the Lord, teaching him how to pray, how to be a friend, and teaching him how to be a godly man for his family. It was a blessing to hear him talk about his mother that way.

~~Proverbs 31:26-30~~

26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,

and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

27 She looks well to the ways of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

29 “Many women have done excellently,

but you surpass them all.”

30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

He talked about how she WAS a Proverbs 31 woman, and today her husband and her children rise up and call her blessed. What an amazing testimony and a legacy this godly woman, wife, friend, mother of 6, grandmother to 20 has left behind.

My prayer today, as I ponder the 3rd birthday of my second child is that I will have just a fraction of what this precious woman had, what she was able to share and give to her children. To me, that is a gift that far exceeds any earthly gift I can give my children. To not only tell them about my Lord, my Savior, MY HERO, Jesus, but to show them how to love as HE loves and how to pray and trust and obey Him. If my kids stand up to speak at my funeral service one day, I hope that they will be able to say that the best "gift" I gave them was an example of how to live a godly life and not that "mama bought us a lot of "stuff" and we never wanted for anything." I pray my example to them will leave them never wanting anything BUT the sweet joy Christ brings through an intimate relationship with Him.

 Happy Birthday my sweet baby Ford!! 

You are mama's little happy, affectionate, cuddle bug and you bring so much joy to our lives! 

I thank God for you every day!