Happy Birthday Sam

Oh he was just about as cute as they came.. with a personality to boot. I remember the spark in his life, his imagination, his love for exploring. Oh the stories this little boy could tell! I wish I could have just one day back in each of his years of life and truly sit and enjoy every minute of it!
Sam was truly our "cowboy Sam". He wore cowboy boots everywhere and pretended to be a cowboy any chance he could.

Luke was Sam's very first real friend. You know, the kind of friend that your little one longs to be with, play with, and talks about all the time. Not the kind of friends that Ri and Elizabeth have ... the kind that they really don't know their names, but they like playing with them when they see them. ... Nope.. Luke was his true best friend. And, he still is. In fact, he is down in our basement as we speak. Luke is the friend who invited Sam to go to Poland with him last year. Their friendship is incredible. It is the kind that will last through just about anything. This picture was taken when the took safety school, just before going to Kindergarten.

And today... my son turns fifteen! I can hardly believe he is 15 years old. He is such an incredible blessing. He still has a spark for life. He still has a competitive spirit, though he has learned to tame it and control it. He still can make me smile; even when I am madder then a hornet at him. I remember when we just built our house. He was 2 years old (almost 3). I was upstairs taking care of Jacob when I heard him pounding the door. I kept telling him to wait. In my mind, I figured he just wanted to go outside and explore. He kept on pounding. When I came down, I saw a hammer in his hand and divits pounded in our brand new door. I tried very hard to be serious and angry with him. I was mad. Our house was brand new. But that spark in his eyes and his little smile melted my heart and I had to turn so that he could not see my cracking up. To this day, that child can still make me laugh in the midst of my rampage... even when my anger is completely justified!

He is developing into quiet the young man. He brings us much joy! We are so thankful for our son.

Our day was pretty uneventful. Sam made the high school volleyball team. He has never played volleyball before, so we are very proud of him. He had a scrimmage this morning, so we went to it. He did a great job. Then the kids decorated (Emily worked her tail off to make it special). Erin made a cake for him last night. And Jacob tried to wait on Sam, he even cleaned his room for him. Erin took Sam to the Y to practice for the pretest for the lifeguarding course they are taking all next week. Emily then took him to get a special movie to watch tonight. Then the kids grabbed airsoft guns and headed out to the woods. We hid Sam's presents near an old abandonned house. Sam had to make his way there while the other 3 hid. They were going to be snipers. It was fun to watch Sam make his way through the woods. At the end, he captured Jacob and made him tell him where the presents were. It was very funny. After that, Sam had 2 of his very best friends over.