Happy Birthday Ben-Jammin

Yep, it’s true. Eight years ago today I gave birth to this little guy.

We were a little surprised because your due date was Leap Day, instead you came on Valentines Day. Daddy was relieved because he had not done his Valentines shopping yet and he was sure your arrival would make me completely forget that he had nothing for me. He was right, I didn’t care. What a sweet little Valentine you were. We had been calling you Benjamin for months before you were born, so when I said I wanted to name you Valentino, and call you Tino, daddy said NO! That was a good thing because the name Tino just doesn’t seem to suit you and your blonde hair and blue eyes. So Benjamin it was.
We brought you home and started our life as a family of three. You were the sweetest baby in the history of the world. You rarely cried, and when you did, it was only for a purpose. You ate like a champ and slept ALL the time, including through the night by 10 weeks old. You loved people and were completely content being passed around at church and family functions. You were such an easy baby and we thought we must be the perfect parents!
Then you became a toddler. We started calling you Hurricane Ben, because everywhere you went you left a little path of destruction! You loved to empty everything out of the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen and then sit in the drawers; you were also very fond of unrolling the entire roll of toilet paper and shoving it all in the toilet. You figured out how to open the fridge and we would often find you dumping things on the kitchen floor. We quickly learned the meaning of baby-proofing and I think we were the only family in the neighborhood with a lock on their fridge.

But through it all that you were still a very happy little guy and you loved to be around people.
The preschool years were so much fun with you. You learned to talk, and it became a favorite pastime of yours! You started making friends and began demonstrating your keen ability to persuade. It was during these years that mommy and daddy decided that you might grow up to be a lawyer or a politician, but every time I mentioned that you said no, that you wanted to be a Worship Leader. You have always loved music! At preschool you quickly made friends with everyone in your class, you loved being with so many kids.

When you were almost four you became a big brother! What an exciting time that was. You took to being a big brother like a champ and are so good at the job.

You were such a helper to mom; I used to pay you a nickel for each dirty diaper you threw away for me, even the stinky ones!
One of the greatest memories for me was the day you prayed to accept Jesus into your heart. You were five years old, and knew exactly what it meant to have Jesus as your Saviour. It brings me an amazing amount of joy to know that you love God and even more joy when I see you demonstrate that love to your friends.
The school years brought along the excitement of learning to read; another favorite pastime of yours! Once you grasped the concept of reading you began to devour anything that you could get your hands on; from Henry and Mudge to Henry Huggins to Calvin and Hobbes. Oh, and how many nights have I gone into your room thinking you are asleep only to discover that you have snuck your glasses back on to read by the light of your fish tank.
Benjamin, the last eight years have been filled with so much joy! I love the way that you care so deeply for people and love God with all your heart. And even though “all I wanted was chocolate, but I got a smelly, stinky ol’ boy instead”

I wouldn’t trade you, my smelly, stinky ol’ boy, for all the chocolate in the world!
Happy Birthday Buddy!
Love Always, Mom