8 Years in the Blink of an Eye!!

I can't believe my oldest has turned eight today! I just don't comprehend how quickly the time passes us by! I struggle to grasp the moments....they are so fleeting!! We had a special day together as a family!! Austin actually spent the night at a friends house the night before, his very first sleepover in in fact! I was worried he would miss us, but I think it was us parents, that did the missing!! Eric made the comment last night that the house was too quiet without Austin here. I have to agree with him on that!! Even Wes was a bit sad at bedtime. I couldn't figure out why he was so very grumpy at bedtime. When I asked him if he was missing Austin, he began to cry. It made me grateful that he has that closeness to his brother. They may have their moments of getting on each other's last nerve. They have their disagreements, but they still share a special bond!! So we spent a busy day of firsts for Austin on the eve of his birthday. He had his first karate belt test, followed by his first sleepover. It was a hefty dose of reality that my baby is growing up. In spite of my asking him a few years back to be my little guy forever, it's a promise he can't keep!! I'm proud of the person he is growing to be! I'm thankful God has blessed us with such a wonderful son! He is a joy to those around him! I remember the first time I looked into those baby blues of his!! He is God's fine handy work! He is fearfully and wonderfully made!!
To celebrate, we started the day off by letting him open his presents. He got his very first what I would call a real Bible. His other ones are sort the little kid version with simple words and lots of bright pictures. Now he officially has a real bible. It is still a kid friendly bible, but it's the real deal! I hope he will grow to treasure reading it!! He got some other fun gifts on top of that! He seemed to enjoy his gifts and the day. We took him to a movie with his friend Joel, followed by a nice dinner out. We finished the night off with the dessert of his choice, blueberry cobbler!