Four Blessed and Happy Years

On this day, four years ago at 10:11pm, I became a mother.  Noah was born into this world and forever changed our lives.  He (along with his brother) are two of the greatest gifts I've ever received.  How I'll ever thank him for the things he has taught me in his 4 short years, I don't know but I plan to spend my lifetime trying.  I never knew unconditional love until I set my eyes on his precious little face.  At that moment, I knew that no matter what lie ahead, there was NOTHING that would make my love for him change and I would do anything for that sweet, tiny baby boy that I had just met.

I'm so proud of the little boy Noah has grown into.  He has such a sweet little soul.  He is so loving to his family and friends and enjoys expressing his feelings with a hug, a kiss, or by rubbing noses.  I'll drop anything to be on the receiving end of these affectionate gestures!  He loves nothing more than to cuddle on the couch, especially when he's sleepy.  Some days, we'll spend hours of our time cuddling and watching tv and I wouldn't trade those moments for anything in the world.  He has the brightest smile that will light up a room and the best laugh I've ever heard.  Regularly, we are stopped by strangers that comment on what a handsome little boy he is.  I also hear all the time how he looks like he's such a "deep-thinker".  I jokingly think to myself that hopefully he'll share all of those deep thoughts with us soon!  He may not communicate verbally, but he is very effective with his non-verbal communication.  He is full of so many facial expressions!  He understands far more than we realize and is quite perceptive.  He surprises us all the time with things that he knows and understands.  Everyone that knows him has fallen in love with his sweet little personality and he has precious friendships with the teachers and aides at his school, as well as the high school kids at our church that help in his Sunday School class.  It's so funny to watch him flirt with the girls, he'll literally wink at them repeatedly and smile so coy.  It's too cute!  One day, several high school girls were volunteering at his school and when I came to pick him up, they ran outside to meet me and tell me how much they loved playing with him.  Things like that warm my heart.

Noah has definitely faced his fair share of obstacles and despite his very young age, he is so determined to overcome these challenges.  He sees all the things that his buddies in school and at church can do and he wants to be just like them!  He has shown perserverance, working hard through therapy, and learning to do all these skills on his own without giving up.  I hope these are traits that we can continue to instill in him.   He's a tough little guy.  And I couldn't be prouder!

He has no idea how many people he impacts on a regular basis.  So often, members from our church will comment to us on what an inspiration Noah is to them.  Grown men inspired by my little boy... WOW.  Every Sunday morning, the Wee Care kids of our nursery (3 - 5 year olds) join the beginning of the worship service.  They walk down the aisle together, stay for a few of the songs and a prayer, and then all walk out together to the music.  Noah has now been doing this for a year so the people of our congregation have all witnessed first-hand, Noah's progress in walking.  We try to always let him walk some of the way until he tires out.  In the beginning, he would walk with two adults holding his hands on each side of him part of the way down the aisle until he would get tired and then someone would carry him the rest of the way.  Now he will walk with someone holding just one of his hands and he can make it the entire way up and then back down the aisle.  It won't be too long before he's doing it completely on his own!  On many occasions, I am the one who walks with him as he makes his way up and down the aisle for this part of the service and it amazes me just how many people have their eyes on Noah, smiling the entire time, some even with tears in their eyes, celebrating right along with him as he conquers that walk up and then back down the aisle.  He has won the hearts of so many people and he doesn't even know it! 

He loves his family and especially his brother.  These two are quite the little pair and I love watching them together!  He enjoys music and if any commercial or tv show has a little tune that he can dance too, he's instantly glued to it and swinging his arms and bobbing to the beat.  He likes cars, trucks, and the louder they are, the better!  Sirens wailing, engines revving.. he loves it all.  He still enjoys playing with any type of ball and has fun watching sports on tv with his daddy.  He can't get enough of being outside!  This child LOVES the outdoors and cries when we make him come in.  I'm pretty sure that if I would let him, Noah would drink his weight in juice, daily.  I have to bargain with him to get him to eat... "Noah once you take 3 bites of food, THEN you can have some juice."  Most of the time he'll comply.  Of course, if its a cookie or a snack, then he'll gladly eat up!

These past four years have been the greatest of my life.  It is such a joy to be Noah's mom.  I'm so thankful that God chose ME as the one for the job.  He makes me prouder than anything I've ever accomplished or completed.  He's my heart and my world and I look forward to celebrating many more wonderful birthdays with him! 

Happy 4th Birthday, Sweet Boy! 



"While we try to teach our children about life, our children teach us what life is all about."