Happy Birthday Joshua!

Happy Birthday my precious Joshua!  Can it really be 11 years since you entered our lives? I remember well the night you arrived.  It was my easiest birth.  It was all that I could have hoped for - and ending it with a beautiful baby was all that mattered anyway.  I remember your chunky thighs as a toddler.  Oh, I loved all those rolls!  Hard to imagine now that you were once chunky!  Look at you now! 



He has always been sensitive - sometime in ways much beyond his years.  I remember that he was the one to comfort me on the due date of a child we had lost to miscarriage.  He was just 3 years old and I knew didn't remember that date - no one really did.  I think it is one of those things that a mom never forgets, but is often something that only she carries.  We were driving somewhere and I was pondering that I "should have been" doing something much different on that date.  I was missing the little one that we had longed for and talking with God about it.  I was sharing with Him how hard it was to have a date that meant something to me - and that nobody else really remembered it.  From the back seat piped up a little voice - Joshua - asking me about our baby in heaven.  Talking with me about the fact that the baby was with Jesus.  God used our little boy to show me that He remembered.  He knew.  I was comforted and stunned. 



Joshua has always been curious.  He asks questions.  Lots of questions.  He wants to learn about so many things.  His interests are varied and many.  He frequently surprises medical staff when he wants procedures explained and processes defined.  I think that they appreciate that he wants to know and understand what is going on with his body.  His questions can at times seem a delay tactic - especially at bedtime.  It's hard to stifle that creative mind - but a boy does need to sleep!  LOL

He is also brave.  He has endured a lot over the last year and learned more than a little boy should have to about needles, pokes, blood sugars, carbs, lows and more.  I'm proud of him and the way he is learning to care for himself.  I hope and pray he will continue to make good choices with his life. 



Joshua loves to read.  He often has his nose in a book.  I love it!  I learned to love reading at an early age and it delights my heart to see my children following the same  path.  There is so much to learn and explore between the covers of a good book.

Joshua also loves to play outside.  There is much to do in the woods and in the backyard - especially in the company of siblings and friends.  Joshua also has a fun sense of humor and loves to make others laugh.  He enjoys being silly - especially if it results in laughter. 

He has his own sense of style and self.  He wears his fedora every day.  It's his "trademark" .  I love that he is comfortable in his own skin.  I pray for my children that they will realize that they need approval from One and that this will allow them to be the person that He created them to be.  I know God has a purpose for each one of them and what a treat it is to watch them grown and learn and start developing the skills and talents they will need to follow the path God has for them.



One of the things that Joshua has been wanting to do - is to play airsoft like his big brother.  To be honest, it wasn't high on my list for him, but then I'm not a huge gun person either.  Joshua was delighted to receive an airsoft gun for his birthday.  I do think that it's a fine things for the boys to do - at the right age (with supervision when needed) and with safety rules in place.



We allow our children to choose what they will do on their birthday.  Joshua said that he wanted to play football and airsoft.  We invited over a family with a bunch of boys and they all headed to the backyard to play.  They stopped for awhile for a dinner of hotdogs, hamburgers and fixings and then headed out for more play time.  We were joined by some neighborhood friends too.  It was a fun day.

I'm thankful for this special child and all that he has brought to our family and our lives.  I prayed for him long before he arrived - often wondering if there would be a 3rd Nelsen child.  What a sweet answer to prayer.  Thank you God for blessing us with Joshua.  Thank you for the gifts and talents you have given him.  Help us to encourage, challenge and nuture him in the way that You have planned for him.

I love you Joshua!



Love,

Mom