Happy Birthday Colby!

So... the last of the summer boys' birthday bash has arrived. Colby turns 9 years old on Sunday. WOW! It's another one of those shockers for me. I can't believe he's already NINE! Of course, any of you who know him well would guess that he's a 49 year old stuck in a 9 year olds body. He's always been a little that way though... it's what makes him Colby!

Colby is so fun to talk with. He has always had this gift of tossing big words into conversation. Most of the time, it all makes sense too. He enjoys talking about everything from exotic cars (he's already saving money in his piggy bank for a Porsche) to relational issues (like reasons why his little brother behaves the way he does). He comes up with solutions to problems like it's no big deal. He would make a GREAT supervisor some day! Some people think he'll go into law school since he likes to argue his case (and he usually wins). We'll see... whatever God chooses for him, he'll be good at what he does.

As I look back in my journals and think about specific areas to pray about for Colby this year, these are the things that come to mind:

1. Prayer for new friendships. Since Colby isn't involved in organized sports up here, he doesn't have as many friends as his brothers. We are praying that this year that changes.

2. Prayer for Colby as he makes new decisions about what to be involved in. He has decided that gymnastics competition team isn't right for him, and we are supporting this idea. We pray that he finds something new to be involved in that gets him really excited!

3. Prayer that Colby can relish in the season of childhood. He tends to want to speed up his childhood so that he can do "adult things". We all know the importance in just being a kid (you only get to do it once). We pray that Colby soon understands this importance too.

This little man of ours is so full of life and love. His character is strong, yet so gentle.

We are blessed by you, Colby! Happy birthday!

PS. The picture of Colby in the tree has a story. In a "nut-shell", we had a bit of an ant problem one morning. Colby remembered a conversation that he had with my mom's neighbor about insects in the house being a problem because of woodpeckers. Caleb was very upset on this morning because he was the one who encountered the ants as they were crawling up his body as he was getting food for the dog. Colby came to his brother's rescue. He took it upon himself to take his bow and arrow and climb the tree so that he could snatch a few woodpeckers off of the house. He waited very patiently in that tree for the woodpeckers to come... and that they did.