Happy 11th Birthday Joel

 Today my baby boy turned 11. Oh wow. 11. That is 2 years away from 13. 2 years away from being a teenage boy. I know I am not ready for that, so good thing it is 2 years away. For now he is still respectful and an amazing person.

Eleven years ago I was a completely different person. I was scared to death. I was a new wife, new mom and 18 years old. I could barely take care of myself let alone someone else who was completely dependant on me. But I think with LOTS of help from God and my family we have managed to raise a pretty cool guy.

Joel loves his sisters. As I type this he is playing a game he made up with them. They are not fighting and he is amazing at keeping the peace. Joel loves science. He loves everything that comes with it. He loves to build things. Legos, K'nex, you name it, he loves to create. Joel is SO artistic. He loves to draw and color. He loves to create things in 3D too. He will create diaramas that are so cool. It just blows me away!

Joel loves God. It amazes me how it is so easy and seamless for him to talk about God and Christianity in his day to day life. I pray that this never ceases.

As excited as I am to see what kind of man he will grow into, I have plenty of patience to wait for it. Afterall, these first 11 years have literally flown by. I can only imagine how quickly the next 10 will. I am thankful for what God has graced us with in my son. I pray that in the next crucial 10 years of his life that I will have grace and love, honesty and patience, faith and awe in him as he grows into the amazing man I know he will be.