Gavin my Gavin

What a kid! i can't believe it's been 7 years...that seems like another stage of life he has entered now. he now reads, writes, plays grown-up games with us, takes care of babies and little kids without being asked cuz they love him (maybe he is like his father and will be a pied piper as well???) i love what gavin brings to our family. his character is all his own and he represents sensitivity, structure, commitment, love, sillyness, creativity, adventure, and his inward world is yet unknown to anyone...his brain and emotions run deep inside him and it's mysterious to us. how great to know he brings such things into our family. i love his freckles that come out more and more as we have been playing at parks and at the beach (where he feels most comfortable in the waves). i think his doggie that he has had since his 1st birthday (given by grandpa paul and grandma linda) will stay with him till his wedding day...he holds on to those sensitive things...and even though i am not one to hold onto much...i can appreciate why he does and how he does it. as we wait for our new little addition to come into the world, he asks how i am doing and asks how he can help and wonders what is wrong with me when i grunt and groan to get up into our van...ha ha ha! he cares for people...and...he knows his role as big brother...how to get paul and hazel to do what he wants, how to get them in trouble, how to make them scream, how to trade candy for his benefit...it's so funny to watch! Greg and i are proud of gavin for going through so much the past year+ in indo...it's not easy for him to go through what he does but we are all learning to trust in our God more. i pray that as he grows even more this year that his faith develpes as he grows to know he is a SON to our God and not an orphan just wandering about aimlessly...there is a purpose to math, reading and writing. there is a purpose to learning responsibility and the hard stuff of living overseas... there is a purpose to having fun in life...there is a reason he is the oldest in this family...we praise God for gavin in our family...happy birthday mister gavin...we love you!