Eight sweet years

Josh at age 3 and now, age 8.

My sweet little man turned 8 last week. He is still a two-year-old little boy with a rail-thin skinny body, huge head highlighted with pink, pudgy cheeks, and drool on his chin, in my mind. For some reason I am a soft ball of mush for this kiddo. And for reasons I can not explain, I think it will be the hardest to let him fly the nest when he becomes an adult.
Maybe the reason is that he reminds me of Andy so much. They are everything I am not: quiet, athletic, only affectionate with a chosen few, great builders and problem solvers, laid back and easy to please, easily misunderstood- in a word, adorable. In his little, quiet heart runs deep waters. Oh, I adore this guy. When I am sick he cries. When he wakes up he finds me and hugs tightly. He tells me I am beautiful and he wanted to marry me until he turned five and figured out that would not work. Since my very, very easy labor with him he has been the most low-maintenance child ever. (Except for potty training. But hey, no one's perfect, right? :) ) The only thing I might change about Joshua is his fashion sense. Wow does he pick some tacky clothing to fall in love with! I have quit buying play clothes for him because if there is an outdated shirt or pair of shorts in the closet, he will choose them- clean or not. He's a darling, messy, reserved yet busy, blessing. And when he loves you, he loves BIG. When we saw him for the first time (the evening of August 31, 2002) we decided he looked like a Joshua. Forget the "John David" that I had called him for the last four months in my belly. He was Joshua, meaning "the Lord is my salvation". And it appears that He is just that to Joshua, praise God! My prayer for my boy this year is that the Lord would grow His faith. That He would gently make him less reliant on himself and more reliant on His heavenly Father. That He would "taste and see that the Lord is good" and is his very own. That he would grow in knowledge and grace and favor. May the Lord prepare Him for kingdom work now and all of his days! I love you, sweet Josh!