Happy 17th Jonathan..."Chippy"!!!

WOW!!! When they tell you time flies and to cherish your babies, did you ever really think it would all be in the blink of an eye? 

Really! I am sure it was just yesterday...(well maybe last year) that I was dancing around my living room with my first little baby, singing and listening to his little baby sounds.

Tonight I am listening to the deep bass voices (filled with testosterone), of Jon and his friends as they laugh and sing and shout in my family room. Teenage boys are an absolute "Hoot"!

They are also VERY LOUD!!!

Jonathan has wonderful friends and everyone of them is a joy to be around...such awesome young men....though hearing them brag about who won what video game...does make you wonder about maturity levels. My girls were in stitches listening to the "whale of a tales" these boys would come up with.

As I held that 9lb 1oz "little" baby 17 years ago, I so desperately wanted to protect him in a bubble and never let him out of my sight.

Now he is driving, working, out of the house more than he is here and we are trying to hold on to every last second as we anticipate Jonathan leaving home for university this time next year...

I guess he and I have both really grown up. I don't want my baby to leave the nest just yet...but I also never wanted him to go to kindergarten, or drive either...

I have learned to trust the Lord to protect him and to fill all of the gaps left by my imperfect parenting...I have seen the faithfulness of my God in raising my first born to become a young man I am very proud of and who I know will be ready for life and will thrive as he makes his way in this world.

Jonathan eased us into parenthood so gently every step of the way...he makes parenting a teen easy and joyful and lots of fun. I guess that's what made the decision to to go on to have three more children simple.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY "BIG GUY"!!!

I LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH!