Birthdays and Babies

Seth, the youngest in our little family, turned 1 last week.  Even though he is baby #3 and I should be used to this by now, can I admit that I'm not?  I'm not used to them growing up so fast and time going by so quickly.  I guess this is the plight of all parents.  We never get used to them going from this:

To this in 12 short months:

I know I've mentioned a portion of Seth's story before (find it here: "the line up" ), but just in case you missed it, Seth was a bit of a surprise for my husband and I.  Okay, a lot of a surprise. In fact, let's just go with shock.  I was shocked to find out I was pregnant again.  Having said that, Seth is the best surprise of my life.  And possibly, our last child.  So we had to make his first birthday party a big deal! Check out the images our friend Jessica Henderson took for us:  

I randomly found these chinese take-out boxes in one of my closets from my old wedding planning days.  I stuck cheerios inside for the guests.  The thank-you stickers were designed by friend, Amanda. Thanks Amanda! :)

And my good friend Katherine, owner of Wiggles and Giggles, made this for Seth.  Thanks Kath!

Check out these cuties!  All the moms of these kids are in my Bunko group (see this post about my bunko group) and all of us were pregnant at the same time!!! The oldest was born in March and the youngest in October.  SO FUN!

I love going to a child's first birthday party.  Seeing them inhale a whole cake for (hopefully) the first time in their life is so fun.  And, don't tell anybody, but I always find myself getting a little jealous that this tiny person can eat a whole cake by themselves and they can't even appreciate what it is they are eating.   My boy did me proud, though.  Here he is, post-cake:

 In the spirit of celebrating my kids birthday, I've gotta be sentimental here for just a minute.  It's such a bittersweet thing to watch your kids grow up.  On the one hand, I can't wait to see what kind of men they will grow up to be. What will they do with their lives?  Who will they marry?  How many granddaughters will they give me?   Ok, so that last ones a joke (sorta), but only once you are a parent do you realize what it is to dream for your kids.  

I suppose I may dream differently for my boys than most parents.  I do not dream for my kids to go off to college and get great jobs and marry and settle down.  Not that any of those are bad things.  That's certainly the way my life unfolded (except the whole getting a great job thing. I left that up to the hubs).  Here is what I dream for my boys:  that they will go out into the world equipped by the Lord and by His Spirit, and rise up from among their generation and lead it.  If that means not going to college or not having a great-paying job because God has a different plan for them, then that is more than okay with me.  But let me be clear about this: Ryan and I knew before these kids ever arrived into this world or into our lives that they were not ours.  That they belong to the Lord and he loves them so much more than we ever could.  And I am content to rest in that knowledge and let him lead them wherever he sees fit.  

But for now, I am so happy to just sit with them in my lap, reading stories of pirates and dreaming with them about the kind of superheroes they will grow up to be.   

Seth and me on day one. This...THIS is what makes it all worth it.