Living Green: Happy Birthday Jacky Boy!

The Awesome Birthday Dude! We love you Jacky Boy! Happy First Birthday!

It's Jack's first birthday and what a year it has been! The theme of his life so far seems to be "expect the unexpected and be blessed!"

Before our 20 wk ultrasound, I was positive he was a girl-then saw clearly he was a BOY! My labor and birth with him was not what I planned at all, an unexpected and fast homebirth. Then my midwife weighed him and he was 9lbs 6 oz. and I thought, "Wow! This kid means business-he's not messing around." There was never anything small or tiny about Jack. When he was a newborn, I didn't look at him and think, "He's so tiny." I thought, "He's so substantial."

He was born yelling and has only gotten louder these past 12 months. He makes his presence known. At the same time, he is pretty content and a good sport, fitting right into our family and loving his spot as a little brother. He is also really passionate though and not afraid to tell us what he needs. He eats up our attention and will often preform daring-dos until Mama, Dada and Clara all tell him how cool he is.

He is a great wrestler and climber. He growls and grunts and yells a lot-not exactly verbal-just tough-guy sounds. He is such a sweet boy though and will sigh and give hugs a lot. I cherish these little hugs and pats.

Having a son is such a challenge-it's like creating a bond that is intended for separation. My prayer for Jack is that he will someday leave this family as a strong, man of God, dependent on Christ only. While I want Jack to find strength in our family unit, I want him to leave someday with confidence in Christ and wisdom to lead his own family. So for my short time of training and loving him, I'll treasure his little hugs, absorb all his loud noises and clean up his endless messes, answer constant questions, place bandaids on his knees, and pray daily for his heart. I'll be grateful for these unexpected blessings that are my son, Jack Timothy Green.