Toby's Got Mail and other thoughts...

The day Toby turned five, my eyes were opened to so many things. One of the things I realize about this sweet boy of mine is how absolutley different he is from his sister. What I am beginning to see is how his "differences" are so cool and God given. Toby has an incredible imagination and memory. He brings up times we've spent as a family from over a year ago and talk to me about specifics of those moments. He can memorize a movie after watching it once and tell you lines from it and replay it over in his head. He is curious, he wonders about things. He is verbal. He seriously woke up this morning at 6:00am started talking and did not stop having conversation with me until an hour later. I am realizing that while I am barely awake and am drinking my coffee and he is talking to me about anything and everything on his mind that I have a very special son. These things that set him apart from his sister are unique and special and as a parent I need to foster his creativity, look at his gifts... and watch them blossom. This is what I love about parenting. It starts with the birth of your child, but as they grow through the years, you learn about yourself, you learn about them, you are challenged, you are blown away by what a cool person God created for you to have in your life. The blessings just keep coming. I love an adventurous and spontaneous life and recently I realize that parenting is one of the best ways to experience adventure. Having this family is an adventure of a lifetime. What a blast! :)

PS - Toby received this pic from his good buddy Kale for his birthday. He literally screamed when he received the piece of mail. And kept saying how much he loved it... it was AWESOME! And the picture is hanging in our kitchen so he can look at it while he eats dinner. And of course... he talks about it ALL the time!