Isabelle comes racing into this birthday with so many milestones recently tucked under her belt.  She is a few math pages away from being done with her very first year of school.  She is using her newly acquired reading skills to read piles of books with great gusto.  And she just last week went from grumpily not even wanting to try her bike without training wheels to suddenly zipping all around as if she’s been riding training-wheel-free for months.

There are so many things I love about Isabelle.  She has the world’s best giggle, and paired with her half-moon laughing eyes and sweetest-ever grin, it’s impossible to not smile along with her.  She gives the biggest, tightest, never-gonna-let-go hugs, and though she is tall and strong for her age, she tries her best to curl up onto a lap as often as possible.  She is a helper and a do-er, and just can’t ever seem to sit still for long.  She will offer to do any and every task in the kitchen, clear dishes from the table, and carry heavy baskets of laundry to me for sorting…though she doesn’t love picking up after herself, which baffles me a little bit, but I think underlying it all is a real desire to serve and bless others and she hasn’t quite figured out how cleaning up her own messes accomplishes that.

Isabelle is an endless fount of questions.  She’s observant and curious and really wants to know so much.  And she is so articulate in her speech.  Some of my children have been less than eloquent in how they speak, but Isabelle has a natural ability to put words together clearly and creatively.  I truly look forward to reading her writing as she gets older.

She loves to dance, and will break into dancing whenever she hears music.  She is graceful and original, and as with so many things with our Sweetpea, my heart is so full watching her.

Some of Isabelle’s favorite things right now are playing dress-up, watching Pinkalicious, headbands, desserts, bike riding (!), playing Guess-Who (she has an uncanny ability to win at this), going for walks, and snuggling.  Her least favorite thing is cooked broccoli.

I am so thankful for Isabelle.  She lives life with abandon and loves fiercely.  She is encouraging and kind and so much fun.  I love this little girl utterly and completely.  She has been an indescribable gift these six years and I only hope that time will perhaps seem to slow down just a little so I can fully wrap my heart and mind around all the wonderful moments she will bring in coming years.

Time is a funny thing.  Sometimes, twenty years ago seems more like last year; other times, it feels like it was a lifetime ago.  All the time, though, I am indescribably grateful for the man who has been by my side for these twenty years.

It’s probably cliché to say so, but in many ways we are not the same guy and girl who walked down the aisle on that rainy Saturday, the day before graduating from college.  Growing up does that to people.  Life does that to people.  I mean, how is anyone to know how they would handle full-time jobs, endless bills, babies, sleepless nights, house projects, and so many obstacles and heartaches…much less how someone else will handle them?  And all of those things shape the person we are over the course of time.  But the person Tim is today is someone I am even more thankful for, more proud of, more in love with than I was on the day I married him.

I couldn’t have known, then, the extent to which Tim would go to provide for our family.  I couldn’t have known the depths of forgiveness he would show me, time and time again.  I couldn’t have known the scope of his intelligence, his capability, his ingenuity.  I couldn’t have known how he would be able to make me feel beautiful when nine months pregnant, or with stretch marks etched permanently into my abdomen, or with shoulders slouched with weariness, or eyes red and puffy from crying.  I couldn’t have know how unrelentingly he would put me first and lay his life down for me, in more ways than I would have thought possible.

There have been hard moments, hard seasons even.  For all of the things I love about Tim, there are still a few things that I just take because they’re part of the package…though at least some of them are more problems with me than with him.  So, I yell sometimes, and I criticize sometimes, and am generally unloving sometimes.  Sometimes, he tries to adjust and address whatever I’ve said.  Sometimes, he defends himself.  Sometimes, he walks away.  But he never yells at me in anger (occasionally, frustration, but there is a difference).  He never criticizes me.  He has never been unloving (occasionally, inconsiderate, but again – there’s a difference).  He is more patient than I deserve.  He is more gracious than I deserve.  He loves me more and better than I deserve.

I could write more about the amazing father he is…not just in his actions toward our children, but in his heart for them.  I could write about his integrity in his work, and his respect and humility shown toward his coworkers and bosses.  I could write about his unwavering principles and his willingness to stand up for right, even when it’s obvious that right won’t win the day.  I could write about the incredible strength he showed in the face of his incredible grief at the loss of his mom.

And there’s so much more, but I won’t focus on those things simply because today I am celebrating God’s wonderful gift of Tim to me.  I am taking time to treasure the very personal, unique ways that God has blessed me, and taught me, and loved me through Tim.  I don’t have words for how very thankful I am, or for how in awe I continue to be at God’s provision for my life in giving me Tim as my husband…at how He knew what I would need before I had any idea, at how He knew who Tim would be to me before Tim could even have known.  I married my best friend, but he has become so much more than that.  So, to say that these twenty years have been wonderful seems incomplete and insufficient.  They have been life changing, and I wouldn’t have wanted them any other way.

Lucas is a whirlwind, a volcano, a hurricane, and the brightest sunny day, all in one.  He has broken whatever mold there might have been for his older siblings, and is a force to be reckoned with (and I absolutely mean that literally).  This kid can jump five feet, from coffee table to couch (which is not sanctioned, by the way…but we pick our battles).  He can legitimately tackle his older siblings.  He can run fast enough that I actually have to run, not jog, to catch him.  It is just about impossible to wrestle anything from his grip. And he just goes, from the moment he gets up until well past what should be his bedtime.  This physical strength, endurance and persistence that Lucas has is definitely one of his defining characteristics, but he is so much more.

He loves to laugh.  He is silly and funny and actually really gets many jokes.  He hides just because he thinks it’s so hilarious (but it isn’t, kiddo, unless someone knows you’re hiding).  He makes goofy faces and weird noises, and imitates things that he sees others laughing at.  And he loves an audience.  If people are laughing at something he’s doing, it’s almost impossible to get him to stop.

He’s also persistently and oddly outgoing.  He will insist on going up to complete strangers to say hi, even when I (as his extremely not outgoing mother) try to explain why it isn’t a good idea.  But I do let him.  It doesn’t always work out great, since he’s still not the clearest communicator, but he usually seems satisfied with his efforts.  He has also, on occasion, made captive audience of random extended family members so that he can go into a long, not often very understandable, explanation of something.

Another notable characteristic he has is as a protector.  Whenever he deems someone is in need of help, he is insistent on rescuing them.  Seriously.  And unflappably.  Especially if it’s one of his two youngest sisters.  He will tackle, pry, pull, pinch, kick, and put himself in any amount of [perceived] harm’s way to protect and defend someone else.  [side note: generally, these are instances of someone getting tickled, or of a consensual wrestling match]

While Lucas is growing fast in many ways, though, he doggedly clings to his finger-sucking habit despite many efforts to convince him to let it go.  He also has no interest in potty training.  While he can make sure to find the quietest corner to do his business in his diaper, he will not ever head to the bathroom in those moments, despite promises of much-loved chocolate chips for success on the potty.  I think it will come down to a cold-turkey approach, which is obviously way more work for me…hence why it hasn’t quite happened yet. It will be soon, though.

Lucas also, obviously, has many favorites of various things.  He loves being read to, and his current favorites include When a Monster is Born; Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs; I Love it When You Smile; A Good Day; Guess How Much I Love You; and God Bless You and Good Night.  He fights over eating a lot, but some things he will eat as much of as he can get are cheese, French fries, chocolate, oranges and apples.  He is a huge fan of Scooby-Doo, and more recently, Toy Story and Cars.  He will occasionally prefer a Little Einstein’s video or a VeggieTales, too.  When it comes to toys, almost every preference comes down to whether or not the toy has wheels.  No matter what it is, wheels make it fun for him.  But he does also like to entertain himself with making shadows on the wall

Lucas loves people.  If he were allowed, he would choose to curl up next to a sibling every night.  He gives the biggest, strongest hugs and the cutest kisses on the cheek.  His smile is huge, endearing, yet almost always full of mischief.  He sings loudly even when he doesn’t know the words.  He says sorry if he thinks he has accidentally hurt someone (still working on when he intentionally hurts someone). He keeps us on our toes, and exhausted by the end of each day, but he is so fun and so loved and we are so thrilled to be celebrating his three years of life today.