"Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood, we find a delightful creature of a boy." ~Author unknown

February 5, 1993 was a cloudy, cold day, which began quite early for me.  I had to be to Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas at 7 a.m. to get prepped for my C-section.  Jeff and I made our way there, leaving my mother with our two-year-old twins.  I still vividly remember all of the feelings I had that morning on the way to the hospital - excitement (would this baby be a boy or a girl?), trepidation (how am I going to take care of a newborn with two-year old twins?), and overwhelming thankfulness (God is so good!).  At 9:53 a.m., Dr. Weinstein held up a pudgy, black-haired, 8 lb 1 oz. baby, and exclaimed, "It's a boy!!"  And our lives haven't been the same since!

From his earliest days, Caleb was an extrovert born into a family of introverts.  He never met a stranger.  Ever.  This was quite a change for me from his sisters who were timid and scared of everyone.  He would talk to people in the library, in the grocery store, and would even try to engage the men serving the Lord's supper in conversation as they passed us the trays.  When his sisters were in first grade, he would go with me to pick them up from school in the afternoons - he quickly formed friendships with the aides who helped the car riders each day.  He called Mrs. Powers "My Lady," and Mrs. Richards, "My Friend."  And the remarkable thing about Caleb is that he maintained those friendships - he still keeps in touch with both of these ladies today.  

In a diary I kept of Caleb's childhood, I often noted how polite and thoughtful he was as a youngster.  For example, one day he told his preschool teacher, "You look beautiful today," followed by, "Where did you get that dress?"  I also recorded how at the age of 4, he would often pull out chairs at the supper table for his sisters.  

Caleb also had a vivid imagination as a youngster.  He had all kinds of imaginary friends - the most memorable was his imaginary grandfather who had red hair and a red beard, and lived in the mountains with Caleb's 25 brothers.  Once we asked him if his "grandfather" had a wife, and he said he used to, but she was eaten by a camel.  

In everything, Caleb has always enjoyed life to the fullest.

That "delightful creature of a boy" - my boy - gets one step closer to manhood today as he turns 21.  I am overwhelmed by the privilege and blessing that is mine to be the one that he calls "Mom."  In some ways I miss that wiggly, loud, cute little boy who used to try to put his little arm around me in church, who would cup my face with his hands and give me slobbery kisses, and who called me "Mommy."  That little boy who stood in the back of my grocery cart and loudly sang the "10 plagues song," and who, when he couldn't sleep at night would call me into his room, and when asked what was wrong would simply reply with a very animated, "Somepin!"  Yes, I miss that boy.

But what I have in place of that boy is a bigger, more mature version of the same.  That little Caleb that loved people, and was thoughtful and sensitive to the needs of others is now my Eagle Scout, Communication major, son of God, who still never meets a stranger, loves people, and makes friends wherever he goes.  That imaginative youngster who enjoyed life to the fullest is now my guitar playing, wood-burning, photography-loving, sky-diving hopeful young man, who gets great joy from going to Bucee's, building fires, and taking pictures on Kyle Field during Texas A&M football games. 

Is he perfect?  No, he's not - and he'll be the first to tell you that.  But more than anything, Caleb has a heart for service to God, and a heart that has always been tender to correction and instruction.  "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth" (3 John 4).  My greatest joy as Caleb's mother is seeing him growing into a man of God.  The most humbling thought I have ever entertained as a mother is that these 3 precious souls who entered this world as a result of the choices their father and I made, will live eternally.  How thankful I am that all 3 have chosen to serve the Lord.

Happy Birthday, Buddy Boy!  Thank you for bringing such joy and fun to our family - we would be a pretty boring bunch without you!  I can't wait to see what you do with the rest of your life as you continue to serve others with God as your center and focus.  "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be."