Joseph

This last Monday, along with the first day of school, my sweet boy Joseph (the one on the right) celebrated his 8th birthday. From the moment we laid eyes on him we were completely and utterly smitten.

On Sunday night we held a special family night where each of the children were given a father's blessing. After a lengthy discussion about our family motto for the year, we started with the blessings from oldest to youngest. When it finally came time for the youngest two boys I was worried that they'd run out of reverence. To my amazement this was completely opposite of how they felt. They could hardly wait to have their turn to hear what blessings would be pronounced on them. As a mom, you listen and acknowledge the heartfelt words and sneak a peak at the little bowed head to see if they heard it too. Joseph's eyes were tightly shut as he concentrated with a sweet little smile glued on his face just like in the picture above. He was blessed to be a leader among among his peers... things that I've always known him to be. After the blessing he gave his Dad a huge hug and went back to sit in his spot. I was overcome as a watched him hug a pillow while tears of joy spilled onto his cheeks. While all of the kids are special and unique in their own way, on this, Joseph's birthday week, I celebrate his giant, tender spirit and give thanks for the privilege of claiming this sweet, beautiful boy as one of my own.