happy 9th birthday Ben!

Last Friday, it was Ben's 9th birthday.

I remember holding Ben for the first time, all tiny and wrinkled and new. I remember the amazement that filled me when I realised that we not only had a little girl to raise now, but a boy.

I remember bringing our new Benny home. I remember standing in the hallway, holding him and staring into his minute face, wondering what he would become. Somehow, it felt different to holding my daughter, with all her familiar sweetness: this little boy was a world of difference, of unknown possibilities.

I remember all the years in between. Ben surprised us by picking up Dr Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham and reading it cover to cover when he was 3 (the only one of our children to do this!). On the other hand, he was slow to crawl and walk, and I spent hours doing special exercises with him. It took a while for him to learn to cope in the rough-and-tumble world of school. He's come a long way: every Friday, he organises a group of other boys in a running competition around the school.

If you meet Ben, you'll soon hear (in great detail!) about what he's currently absorbed in. He's worked his way through nursery rhymes, VeggieTales, Bible stories, atlases, Colin Buchanen lyrics, scientific facts, and for several years now, it's been pokemon. You can count on him to know every tiny facet of his chosen topic. Don't be surprised if - as he did with one of our more patient visitors! - he sits you down and lists the name and characteristics of all 493 pokemon.

He's proud of being our oldest son. He loves going to work with daddy. He collects miscellaneous facts like a dryer collects lint. If I ask him to put the bin out, he does it without grumbling (mostly!). When he grows up, he wants to be a mathematician or a Bible teacher. He adores hanging around with the big boys. He's no pushover, but he's gentle, generous and kind. He makes me laugh. That's our Ben.

Most importantly, he loves Jesus.

Happy 9th birthday, my son!