Happy Birthday George!

Eight years ago, a sweet, mellow baby boy with big brown eyes that jolted our hearts, quietly entered our lives in the peace and beauty of Kaua'i.

That mellow nature and those big brown eyes have continued to captivate us and we are so grateful for the special place he holds in our family!  

While he is the quietest and most contented of all of our boys, he has a humorous side and a quick wit that makes us all laugh!   

George is an animal lover, through and through.  While the first 6-7 years of his life were spent in deathly fear of dogs, he has come to be the biggest dog lover of us all!  He absolutely loved getting to see some "doodle" puppies be born at a friend's house, and requested lots of return visits to hug on the puppies!

He loved having two visits by Grammy and Papa in his 8th year! 

(Here he is pretending to be Samson outside our dentist office!)

Though he was born just a few minutes from the beach and spent much of his first life crawling and playing in the sand, he does not have any memories of our time in Hawaii.  So his first trip to the Pacific Ocean that he can remember was a highlight!  He loved every minute we spent at the beach in Carlsbad, CA in March!

George is extremely introverted.  I've come to learn much more about the kind of quiet and space I need to protect and build into his days.  He enjoys playing with a friend one-on-one, but large crowds are not his thing and he tells me many times how glad he is to be homeschooled and not in a classroom filled with other kids!  :-)

But don't let this introvert fool you!  Not unlike his big sister, he can be one of the biggest hams of all! 

In May George had to get his tonsils and adenoids removed.  But within weeks, he was sleeping, breathing, eating and speaking better!  It has been a wonderful thing for our boy!

He also began losing teeth in earnest this year!  The classic missing front teeth was a good look for him!

George is very inventive and creative, and he took that creativity to a new level this year by making artistic lunches for his brothers!  Here he is designing an under-the-sea lunch! 

George loves Legos, dinosaurs, stuffed animals, hamburgers, the color red, being read to at night, coloring and playing with our dog, Hattie. 

I am so blessed to be George's mama.  I thank the Lord every day for this sweet boy, and the peace he brings in the midst of a family full of very dynamic boys.  He is bright and intuitive and serious, but also funny and playful and a bit stubborn.  But always lovable. 

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of our George!  May you grow him to be a boy after your own heart; one who is willing to think of others first and have the courage to stand for truth and justice.  Bless him in this next year as an 8-year old!