Jaxen turns 8!

I am sitting here feeling very old, and very nastalgic.  Jaxen turned 8 yesterday and I swear he grew an inch last night.  He spent his birthday skiing on our pitiful Missouri  'hill" and he loved every moment of it.  Afterwards we all met at Chilis to celebrate!

Eight things I love about Jack

1.  His tender heart.  He is mindful of everyone around him and has an innate awareness of how they feel.  He struggles to m

ake decisions as he weighs everyone's feelings.  He cares deeply and is very attached to his entire extended family

2.  His humor.  I wondered for a while if he would find his wit.  He seemed stuck on bad knock-knock jokes for a long while, but his sense of irony and side comments have been catching me off guard lately.  

3.  He is the big brother I always wished I had.  He does his fair share of taunting, but when he needs to be, he steps up as the protector and the teacher.  

4.  He loves hanging out with the guys!

  His dad, his grandpa and his uncles are his heroes and nothing can light him up like when he feels like one of the gang.

5.  He loves animals and nature.  Rather than watch blue's clues as a toddler, Jaxen was into the Crocodile Hunter.  He loves to watch Animal planet

 and read about underwater creatures.

6.  He's good to talk to.  The older he gets, the more I realize that he's a cool guy to hang out with.   He's a good listener and friend. 

7.   He's a challenge.  Being Jaxen's parent has stretched my patience and my imagination.  He keeps me hopping and has been the subject of many late night talks with Jason.  I feel like I still have a lot to learn about this kid and that he has many more curve balls to throw.

8.  He's mine.  I sat today at church and looked at all of my kids and thought..."they are all mine"  I get to keep him forever and I 

am so excited to be a part of his life. 

Love you  Jack-man.