Cale....

I wanted to write a little something about each of our children. Being that Cale is our oldest and because we also celebrated his birthday this week I thought it would make sense to start with him. However, I have been attempting to write about him this entire week and it has been very difficult. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why, as words usually come easily to me especially when it comes to my family. Finally it hit me. There is just so much to say.... I could literally write a novel about this child and the circumstances of his life without skipping a beat and probably still wouldn't get everything in there. The crazy thing is that he is only 11 years old!

I could tell you about the miracle of his birth and how hard he had to fight to even be here with us today. I could tell you about his stay in the NICU, how he had to have a tracheotomy tube put in at 5 days old which he had for the first 14 months of his life or how he has had six surgeries so far. I could tell you the fancy names of his diagnosis'. I could go on and on about the many times he has proven different doctors and health care providers wrong but as I think of all of those things now they just don't seem to matter as much as they once did.

Sure, those things are all apart of his life and always will be. Sure, we are still dealing with some of the medical issues that he was born with and will continue to deal with those for the next several year. It just seems like such an injustice to let ourselves be consumed by all those things when those are not the things that represent Cale. Those are just things that have happened to Cale, that is not who Cale is.

My goal as a mom is that when you look at my son you see what a fine young man he is growing into. That you see how caring and polite that he is. When you talk to him you immediately realize how brilliant he is as he can definitely carry on an intelligent conversation with the best of them. Most of all, I hope that when you see Cale you also see Christ because at the very core of Cale you will find that his faith and his deep belief in God are what matter most to him. If you see that in our son then Jason and I have been successful parents. Most importantly we have honored God in how He has called us to raise him. There is nothing else we could ask for as parents or nothing else that could bring us greater joy.

When I think of Cale the following scripture comes to mind. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11. I know many of you are familiar with this scripture as it is a popular one, especially around graduation time. But as I think of Cale this scripture takes on a whole new meaning. The things that Cale has had to go through have been difficult to say the least but from the moment that child was born I knew that he was in God's hands. Now, eleven years later he is living that out. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for him or how God decides to use him and we just thank God for "prospering" him.