(To read Part 1, go here).

This story about a boy is not just any boy. He is our boy. Our sweet oldest child whose charm is often more apparent than his challenges. I haven’t written much about his struggles here before for many reasons. In reality, people who don’t know him well often don’t notice any issues. In our home, we try to focus on his successes, but his challenges are personal and painful and affect every area of our lives. Parenting styles and choices are controversial as evidenced by the amount of advice we’ve received on what we should be doing differently. Other people often do not understand this boy, and I understand that because we often don’t understand this boy. Understand?

It snowed that day in March. A baby boy was born and he had ten fingers and ten toes. He was perfect, and he was healthy. Thank you, Lord, he was healthy. His lungs were strong and his cries filled the room. The mother held her baby, and he became quiet and still. He looked around in wonder with big blue eyes and his parents looked at him and wondered how they would raise this tiny baby. They took him home and loved him. How they loved him!

Last month our baby turned two…which means he is officially no longer a baby. But he’ll always be our baby, right? Our sweet third baby who’s life is not as well documented as his older siblings. Since this blog is translated loosely to photo books, I’ll get it down here while I still remember the details.

Thanksgiving.

Christmas.

Several birthdays and other celebrations.

Getting settled in our home.

That is our last few months in a very small nutshell. And now it’s a new year and we are excited to see what’s in store. What better way to ring in a new year than to celebrate the birthday of one very special girl?

Months before our move, we began the process of sorting, selling and donating items, packing, and so on. It quickly became evident that this process, though a ton of work for us parents, was quite fun for the kids. Their only concern with selling our coffee table was, “But WHERE (dramatic hands) are we going to eat our PIZZAAAAA?” (We had Friday movie nights in the living room).

On Easter Eve, we decided to let the kids watch The Jesus Film for Children. While we were watching it, our sweet little E started saying “Jesus.” We couldn’t believe how clear it was. The name of Jesus is even sweeter coming from the mouth of a baby.