Happy Birthday Calvin

I am so thankful to celebrate my son Calvins birthday today. I am thankful for his courage and strength both on the football field and off. I am thankful that although he excels in football his character shines brightly in the eyes of his coaches and mentors often describing him as a fierce competitor but a gentle mild man off the field. For this I am very thankful to the Lord for the work He is doing in his heart. It is a wonderful thing to see Calvin mature and grow and become a man. This has been a great homeschool year and I am enjoying him more than ever and I know that will be coming to an end soon but I also look forward to enjoying all my kids as they become adults. I pray that he continues growing closer to Christ and will continue to grow spiritually. I am so blessed! We had such a wonderful Birthday celebration with him today! Thankful for a loving Brother-in-law that has been so good to him and wonderful older sister(Melissa)that knows just what gift to get him because she has taken so much time getting to know him and his likes and dislikes. It is at times like this that I wish for more money to do more than we have been able to especially in these last few lean years. I so would love to be able to do BIG birthdays with LOTS of presents like we were able to do for Melissa and Caleb but at the same time these last few painfully lean years have also made the joy of going out for 5 guys burgers tonight such a treat! We have not been able to do that in so long so it was amazing and I am so thankful to God for it. When we got home Robert told Calvin that he will still get a present and Calvin said What? really? ...You dont have to dad...what a tenderhearted son who understands how difficult things have been for us. He felt so overwhelmed today as his grandfather took him to breakfast and lunch and shopping at the mall in between. That may not sound like a lot but we have been dressing from the free clothing attic at the seminary for the last 3 years and have been able to get so much wonderful clothing for all of us. All the kids have never complained about having to wear second hand clothes without much of a selection as they have always known it is all we can do and they all have fun going there and picking out 4 things each. But, today was even more exciting for Calvin as he was able to go to the mall with his grandfather and pick out 3 shirts BRAND NEW and anything he wanted within a reasonable price! That combined with the new shoes Lee and Melissa bought him he was THRILLED. So his kind words to his father tonight that he did not need to get him anything else was something I will never forget and makes all the hard lean years worth the pain.May I never forget the lessons and the lessons to come! I remember a line from Little House on the Prairie where Charles said to Caroline if not for the painful times and the tears then we would not know the joy of the happy times. So true and a lesson hard learned. God Bless you Calvin and Happy Happy Birthday!