7 year old Holden

This day 7 years ago was a life changing day for us and we didn't even know it at the time. One week later Jeremy and I would finally hold the title of mommy and daddy as we held our baby boy for the first time. Something we had desired for a while...a baby to love. What a blessed day in the history of our family. If you question the power and presence of our great God, read Holden's story here. It still baffles me that God did that for me. Many years later, I'm still so honored and thankful for his story and how God worked on my heart during that time.

I can not believe that we have a seven year old in our house. A seven year old that just finished 1st grade.That's right. We are officially done for the year and moving on to summer! Hallelujah! If Holden had to choose his favorite season, it would most definitely be summer. He is a kid that can stand the heat. He would play outside all day, no matter the hot, humid Texas temps. He also prefers to be playing in the water outdoors. He's content with a sprinkler, a baby pool, a play water table, a garden hose or of course something big like an swimming pool or water park. He just loves to play in the water. So we will be finding some way to do that this summer, I'm just not exactly sure on the details yet. He loves riding his bike and riding his new scooter. He loves running, playing tag and racing others. He's a very fast runner, which is to his advantage in most sports. He loves playing soccer and basketball. With his height, people assume he'll be a basketball player. So far, he has much better skill in soccer. But he's also had 4 seasons of exposure to soccer and only 1 season in basketball. So who knows. He loves swimming, jumping on the trampoline and going to parks. Clearly, he loves being active. He also loves cars, race cars and monster trucks. He loves to watch movies and play video games, which I work hard to limit. He loves reading books and even listening to books on CD when we change things up.

Holden learned alot this past semester in the class he took away from home. He especially grew in the subjects of math and history. He would come home telling me lots of cool facts about famous people like Abraham Lincoln and Anne Sullivan. I have always loved reading, but was more particular in what I enjoyed reading. So I didn't enjoy history and some other subjects when I was young. Right now, everything he reads he is soaking up. I hope that continues. I think that reading is the best building block to learning. So I personally think he has a great start.

We always tell people that Holden is the extrovert of the family. He loves being around friends and making new friends. This past year he has gotten to be great friends with our next door neighbor who is 1 year older. He is constantly asking me if Sophie is home from school. She doesn't get off of the school bus until 3:30 so it makes for a long day of asking. He is always so ready to play with her each day. When we go to a park or a play place, he immediately makes new friends and normally starts a game of chase or tag. He is not shy around other kids. And kids really seem to like being around him. He has a fun and playful personality. I hope and pray that he'll be a devoted and loving friend one day. 

Parenting this son of mine has never been the easiest task. God is constantly stretching me, teaching me and refining me. But loving this boy has always been easy. Always. From the moment she placed that tiny 8 day old baby in my arms, I was overcome with the amount of love I immediately had for my child. Looking at these picture above of my growing boy gets me a little teary. I see this huge, long legged handsome boy. I think he is just beautiful! And I still hear God telling me, be patient. I've got this. And honestly, we have very few guarantees in this earthly life. But trusting God should come easy for me. He's always been faithful. Not just in my life, but in Holden's too. So I choose to trust and continue to be patient as I wait to see God's plan unfold further. Happy 7th birthday, buddy! You are a dream come true!