Monday, December 16, 2013

Dear Hudson,

Happy Birthday! You have reached double digits! Ten years ago tonight you were this tiny little bundle, and now I can't hold you on my lap. You are long, big, and strong. Your feet are bigger than mine and your hands are close. Sometimes from behind in a crowd I will look for you and not recognize you because I don't recognize how big you are.

When I think back to you as that little baby there are some things I'm not surprised about.  You slept anywhere, ate a ton, and were not easily upset. You still sleep well, eat a ton, and you are very rarely upset. You were the sweetest, easy-going baby. You are a very sweet, easy going kid. The part that is different is now you are a very big kid, who is very physically active. When you were that tiny little bundle I didn't realize you would be this fast, rough and tumble, tree-climbing, athletic kid. It was hard to imagine that when you were a sleepy little baby. Now just looking at your strong, lean body it isn't surprising that you spend your days in constant motion.
The growing boy, always eating.

You play soccer, basketball, and tennis. You would really like to play football, but we have decided the risks of football just aren't worth it. You settle for touch football at school. While you have asked to play, you don't complain even though you have many friends who play football. That is a great thing about your personality and character. You aren't a whiney kid, and we really appreciate that. You don't get sucked into drama at school, and get along with just about everyone. You have told us that some kids aren't nice, so you don't hang out with them. It doesn't bother you. This makes you very easy to parent.

Fourth grade has been great. You have Miss Krell, and she is pretty much a miracle worker. Knowing that she is strict, I worried that you would have a hard time adjusting to her. But you handle her high expectations very well. We have said in the past that you don't always hear adult voices. They are irrelevant to you. But you hear Miss Krell! You like that she jokes with you and you have talked about school this year more than you ever have before. It is a fun development for us. You are sometimes very quiet, or at least quiet for our family. But especially when we have you alone you are a little chatterbox. It is so fun to hear what you are thinking and excited about.

You still love legos. In fact, I don't know why we have anything else but legos and balls. They are the only thing that kids in our family chose to do. It is fine with us. You build awesome things and have so much fun playing with your friends. If you could have a friend over every day you would. You walk in the door from school each day with two questions, "What can I eat?" and "Can I play with a friend?"A Star Wars model at Lego Land

Watching sports on TV with dad is something you have grown into this year. You want to watch the Ducks or Beavers football, and now the Blazers.  Last week daddy took you to a Blazer game and you loved it. Your birthday cake was the Blazer logo. I made the cake, but daddy did the decorating because he has spent much more time than I have with the blazer logo!
The Blazer game last week

Hopefully no one will use this next part as proof that you committed arson, but you think it is awesome that you have learned how to light a match and make a fire. When we burned our leaves this fall you were on a mission to rake them so there were plenty to put on the fire. Blowing on the extinguished fire to make it come back to life was your favorite thing to do.
Outside with neighborhood friends around "your" fire. 

The best thing this year is that you chose to be baptized. You haven't always embraced getting up in front of people so when we first started talking about being baptized you didn't know if you wanted to do it because you knew people usually give a short testimony first. After carefully considering it you decided to do it. Even though we said you didn't have to talk first, you did. I was so proud of you. Daddy baptized you and Ainsley in the Sandy pool. You invited a couple of friends. It was very special and I've never been so proud of you. I'm so excited to see what God has planned for you.

Tonight we celebrated your birthday and you were so gracious about everything, extremely thankful and polite, and just so grown up. You couldn't have been sweeter. It is such a delight to watch you growing up. Tonight we got a glimpse of what a great man you are going to grown into. I'm noticing how brave you are and what a sense of right and wrong you have. You have a fun little personality and enjoy laughing and being silly. You are fun for us and other people to be around because you are easy and fun to spend time with. You are a great mix of entertaining, laid back, and energetic.

Hudson, daddy and I love you so much. I can't believe how fast you are growing. There is so much coming up for you, and we are going to do our best at guiding you to live a life in which you use all the natural charm, magnetism, and energy God has blessed you with to do the good works He has prepared for you. Hudson we want you to chose to do the right and kind things all the time. We are so proud of you and are so happy for each minute we get to spend with you.Celebrating your birthday and Camden's birthday at Great Wolf Lodge last weekend.

There are so many verses in Proverbs that I want to share with you as you are growing. A few of my favorites that if I could I would have on a repeating track in your head are:

Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 4:23
Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life.

We love you so much Hudson. You are a joy and a delight. It has been a great ten years. I'm so excited for the next decade with you.

Love,

Mom














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