Dear Birthday Boy,

This last year has been so much fun watching you turn into such a little man. It is so hard to believe that you are now five years old and beginning all day kindergarten. It makes us a little sad to watch you take such a big step, but we are so impressed at how you embrace school and learning. You amazed us at how you jumped right in to a new school in a new country with only two months remaining. Within days you knew your classmates' names and made friends instantly. You have such a good, good heart and are always so giving. We love the way you offer your toys to friends and instantly want to return the favor when someone gives you a gift. You are an amazing older brother and always so protective over both of your little sisters. We love to watch you put your arms out to prevent Hannah from running into parking lots and how you run to give Sarah raspberries to cheer her up when she is crying. We are so excited to watch you grow and learn and love how interested you are in all that is going on around you. You are always asking questions and wanting to learn. You have such a love for the Lord always wanting to know more about how he made the world and what his plans are for you and others. You have so many more "whys" than we have the answers for, and at times manage to satisfy your own curiosity. We love it when we are having a conversation about something and you ask, "Who started talking about this anyway?" You even want to know how conversations work and what happens when one subject leads to another and another.


You are so excited about your birthday party and we are excited for you. It seems like just yesterday you were as little as your sisters are and now you are able to help plan your own birthday party. Amazing how fast the time passes. While making your slide show, we were so amazed at how much you have changed and how your little personality continually develops. We never would have described you as cautious in that first year as you learned to walk, but now that is a very accurate description. You often see something that looks a little too high or treacherous and say, "I'm not too sure about this". Even though we don't always say it out loud, we are often thinking the same thing. You are slowly overcoming fears one by one. We watch you talk yourself into watching movies about dinosaurs, sharks and tigers that scared you last year. You have learned to sleep all night in your own bed, which we were not sure you would ever do a few years ago. I must admit that I am still secretly relieved that you will jump at the chance to snuggle and cuddle with Mommy and Daddy and you don't mind being held or kissed. I know that won't last forever. Things have already changed, as there was a time when you had to be sleeping on top of one of us and if we moved, you were up crying. Now you let us hug or snuggle a bit, but then turn over and go to sleep on your own. Those sleepless nights seem like ages ago, which puts a lot into perspective for us. That explains the little bit of sadness as you go off to school. We know that you are excited and we are excited for you, but we also know that these years will whiz by and before we know it you'll be starting your last year of school.


We love you so much and are so thankful for your patience and understanding as we muddle through this parenting thing at times. We know it isn't easy for you to understand everything that has changed in your life these last few months, but we so appreciate your enthusiasm and tolerance. You are a remarkable person, son and brother and we all love you so much. We know you will probably remember this as the year that you had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle birthday party, but we will remember it as the year that you handled some very big transitions with a lot of maturity and grace. So much so, that we often forget that you are only 5 years old.


Thank you for being such an amazing son. We are so proud of you and thankful that we are privileged to be your parents. You are an amazing blessing. Happy birthday, Nathan James.


Love you,


Mommy, Daddy, Hannah and Sarah




Nathan's 5th Birthday from tsechief and Vimeo.