This is an ode to my nephew, the cute little boy with an impish grin, big blue eyes, and a heart of gold. I was thinking about the day that I found out about Jackson's birth. I was on my mission when he was born, so I didn't find out about him until he was a day old, and I didn't meet him until he was 8 months old. My mom sent me a small package and included one of Jack's fist baby pictures. I stood there, in my missionary apartment and with my companion by my side, completely paralyzed by the feeling of love that swelled in my heart. I thought I knew what it was like to love, but I was completely amazed at how overwhelming the love I felt for Jackson was, even before I met him. Even when he was only a picture to me. In the two and a half-years since then, Jack has continued to grow on me, to the point where I cannot imagine my life without the little boy. Jack is about to become a big brother, and once again, I will not be present for the baby's birth. But baby brother will only be a few weeks old when I meet him for the first time. I find it amazing that love continues to grow with each additional being we allow ourselves to love. It is one of the only limitless resources we have at our disposal. I am so grateful for people who have taught me how to love. And now, without further adieu, I present to you the top 50 things I love about Jack.
50: The way he says "I'm sorry"
49: The way he knows how to get what he wants out of people who love him
48: The way he hugs me
47: The way he kisses me
46: His enormous blue eyes
45: His rosy cheeks (especially after he's been running)
44: The way he tries to play with the big kids (and usually keeps up with them just fine)
43: The way he eats
42: The way he tries so hard to make other people happy
41: His love affair with cranberry sauce
40: His superstar swimming abilities
39: His love of Lightening McQueen
38: The things he teaches people
37: The concern he has for others
36: The way his hair curls on the top
35: Did I mention his enormous blue eyes?
34: How fun he is to hold in my arms
33: How infrequently he lets me hold him in my arms anymore
32: How much he loves to play cars
31: Watching him swing on the swing set
30: Listening to him sing songs
29: The stories he tells (about penguins, Lightening McQueen, chicken little, and many other things)
28: The way his cute little mind works
27: The way that he eats anything and everything that is given him
26: The way he loves to try new things, even when they are scary
25: The way he pees on the potty
24: The way he loves his mommy
23: The feeling of those little arms wrapped around my neck
22: The kisses he gives his baby brother
21: The way he says my name ("Ra-ra! I wuv you")
20: Watching him eat Popsicles
19: The way he jumped into my arms and ripped off my name tag at the airport on the first day I met him
18: His cute little giggle he has whenever I tickle him
17: I even love how cute it sounds when he tells me "Go away Ra-ra!"
16: Those precious few moments that he likes to cuddle when he is very tired
15: Watching those little legs run up the stairs when he gets to Grandma's house
14: The way he is friendly with everyone, even when people are unkind to him
13: The way he loves his daddy
12: The way he drags whoever will come with him around the house to show off his toys
11: Helping him put gasoline in his toy cars
10: The way he learns new things every day
09: The way he becomes more and more sensitive to other people's needs every day
08: His little smile
07: His big smile
06: The way he treats other kids so nicely
05: His immense cuteness
04: His massive heart
03: His love of princesses
02: His incredible energy
01: His Christlike sense of compassion that is developed well beyond his two years
The picture I fell in love with as a missionary
The baby I fell in love with 8 months later
As I read back through this list, I see a lot of qualities in Jack that I would like to have for myself. I would like to have an incredible sense of energy, and I would also like to be courageous enough to try new things, even when they are scary. If only we would learn from these children among us. Jack teaches me lessons ever day. I just love that little boy!
P.S. In response to her worried blog regarding being her friends complaint board, Laura, I want to tell you- I think that we are more similar than we like to admit. I too have felt like a complainer/ bouncer board/ defender. I've decided that it is one of my best qualities though to be able to look for and find the best qualities in people and assume that people have good intentions for all their actions. Although this has gotten me in the middle of a few friend issues I might rather have avoided and it makes it very difficult to explain the evening news at times. (Adam will tease me and ask what noble intentions so and so might have had before "accidently" commiting a murder or street crime. (mental illness sometimes is the only cop-out I can find)) Anyway, I can't help thinking that Christ is a defender and I sure hope that when my life gets reviewed I have someone there who will say, I think Becky always meant well despite those numerous mess ups."
2 comments:
That is so sweet! Jack is a very cute, sweet kid. I am excited for you to have two, it is a great experience, a lot easier than you would think!
Hey Becky, I wasn't sure how to send you an email from your comment on our blog so I'll post the answer here. Go into your Nike.com profile (under edit), make your profile public, and click the "share" button. It creates the code and you post it in your blog site. You have to edit the settings on your blog and paste the post into the edit window.
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