At four...

It has been one month since Lawson's 4th birthday. I can't even believe that my little boy has turned four already! This time has flown by!

Lawson is just the sweetest boy I know, I think! He has the most tender heart and really cares about other people. He hates to hear about when other people are sick or don't feel good. I love to see him help and try to take care of Jordan. Of course they have their, um, un-tender moments, but they are really best friends and they love to do everything together.

The older he gets, the more of a cuddler he becomes. I love when he just stops in the middle of playing to come crawl into my lap and give me an "I love you, Mommy" and a big hug.

He has always been such a singing boy, and that certainly has not changed! He loves to sing, and picks up on songs so quickly! I try to let him listen to lots of different things so his favorites depend on what we're listening to that week. Some of his recent favorites are anything Carrie Underwood, all of the Christmas songs, Dora and Diego songs, and any song he has learned at church or Bible Class. Some of his favorite praise songs are For the Lord is a Righteous God, God has Smiled on Me, How Great is our God and Here I am to Worship. At night, I sing a few older ones to him--his favorites are Abide With Me, Sweet Hour of Prayer and I Need Thee Every Hour. A couple Sundays ago we sang I Need Thee in worship, and my eyes filled with tears hearing my 2 and 4 year old children singing out that song that they already know and love!

Lawson loves to play outside! Swinging and climbing on our swingset, jumping on the trampoline, riding bikes and scooters and just plain running around are some of his favorite things to do! I cannot wait until the weather is warmer and we can start taking camping trips, because he just loves being outside!

His other current obsession is Dinosaurs! He loves dinosaur movies, books and toys! He asked Santa for 'lots of cars and dinosaurs' and Santa Nana helped fulfill that dinosaur order between birthday and Christmas gifts! Nana also provided us with dinosaur bouncer at his birthday party!

He still loves all of his Bible Classes and teachers. He loves to tell me about his Bible stories during lunch on Sundays. Also, every night we read 'Jesus stories' out of a paraphrased Bible story book. It's a collaboration of all the gospels that reads like an in-order story about Jesus. It always amazes me when he remembers details about the stories we've read even days later! Because of some of the stories we've read, he has begun to ask questions about Heaven, and God, and our souls. We try to answer his questions as much as possible in a way that a 4-year-old can understand.

God has blessed our lives through Lawson. I am so thankful for him.
My prayer for Lawson is that he continues to grow strong and healthy. I pray that his heart for people stays tender. I pray that he grows in his love for Jesus and that we can instill in him the ability to trust in God to provide everything that we need.

Happy Birthday, Bud!