Happy 6th Birthday, Gideon!

I know that six years ago...I was having a rough, but soon to be rewarding day! Your birth was the most difficult for me, and truthfully, after the 5th time that they tried to give me an epidural...I don't remember much! I know that you were born at 5:30 pm.

However, I do remember that you looked very different than your older brother, Joseph, had at his birth. You were so darling, that I couldn't stand for you to be in the bassinet in that hospital room. I wanted you right there, in my arms, on my lap, laying between my shins on the bed. I hated for you to be out of reach.

You were so miserable for so many months. You cried and screamed and cried and screamed and cried and screamed. Until we finally tried a medicine that would work to soothe your acid reflux. Little did we know that it was so new on the market that none of the pharmacists in the area had ever heard of it. We had to search for a pharmacy that carried it, with our search finally ending in the lobby of Texas Children's Hospital. High Maintenance, Indeed!

It was worth it! You were a new child. We finally tried that new medicine while Daddy was away on a mission trip. I introduced him to his new son upon his return! We were so pleased. You started sleeping through the night, laughing, cooing...doing all of those things that we had been waiting for!

From that point, you have been a growing machine! You LOVE milk. Love It!

You love the pink blanket that Laura Hawk gave to me for Christmas in the 5th grade. (That thing is 23 years old...and you still sleep with it!)

You LOVE animals! Love them! There isn't one on earth that you are not desperately concerned for. You are just now finishing Kindergarten. You love Mrs. Wilder and are confident that she is the prettiest teacher in the school. (She has been teaching Kindergarten for 27 years!) You are reading very well! You draw all the live long day! A few days ago, I was going through the pockets of all of the jeans before starting the laundry. I pulled out of your little pants a paper cell phone (complete with screen and all of the appropriate buttons) and a wallet (which was folded and contained two $47 bills - which obviously, you had made.)

We are so happy that you asked Jesus to be your Savior this year! You literally changed over the course of a week. Unfortunately, you have your mother's flare for drama. However, after you accepted Christ, you have been much more capable of controlling those wild emotions.

You are a joy. We love you overwhelmingly! Gideon, you are my favorite 6 year old in the world!