Enock's Birthday

First of all...
It feels so good to be writing once again!
Life in the Box house has been slightly out of control.
Good things, hard things and just those things that never go as planned.
I am sure I will write about some of these things soon, but not today.

Today... I get to tell you about one of the most memorable times in my life.

Enock's 3rd Birthday

Every mom gets sentimental around their children's birthdays.
It's one day a year that everything slows down and you get a chance to reflect on this little person that is growing up way too fast right before your eyes.
I love that we get one day a year to celebrate the people who mean the most to us.

This birthday was different though.
It had a whole new meaning to us.

This was the day that Enock turned 3 and had his very first birthday.

Words can not describe just how excited he was.
He ate up the fact that the day was about him.
Since his birthday was on a Thursday, we spent the day celebrating as a family.
We had family breakfast at Chick Fil A.
(Seriously, the boy loves chicken. If this was all we did he would have been thrilled.)
Once Jake went to work I took the boys to pick out a birthday balloon for E and a "good brother" balloon for Camp.
That day we played hard, sang Happy Birthday more times than I can count and ended the day giving him his very own Buzz Lightyear and eating birthday cake.

I know it doesn't sound like much. But it was priceless.

Birthday party details became a bit disastrous.
The one thing he really wanted to do was ride the train at our local park.
His party was rained out on Saturday so we moved it to Monday.
Monday when we got there the train was not running.
As soon as we sat down to eat and open presents about 10,000 school kids came running off their buses and filled the area we were sitting in.
This caused us to pack up and walk about .5 a mile to another picnic table.



Let's just say it wasn't how this mamma had pictured his perfect birthday party.

BUT... he enjoyed every minute of it.
The party was for him.
His friends were there for him.
The presents were picked out just for him.
And we sang Happy Birthday, which at this point he had declared his favorite song. ; )




As I reflected on the past year
I didn't get to reminisce a years worth of memories with E.
Or think about how much he has grown up since his last birthday.
But I did get to think about this adoption process.
About all of the waiting.
All of the paperwork.
All of the longing for days like today.
I thought about when we first got to see his face.
That precious little face in the picture sent to us from his orphanage.
I thought about when we finally got to hold him in our arms.
All of the times we told him that we were his family and that we would love him forever.
The hard transition times, language barrier, first I love yous and hugs.
Even though I do not have 3 years worth of memories with E
I can still say he has grown up so much, and we have come so far.
I LOVE that these days are ours now.
We get to be the ones to celebrate him for the rest of his life.

This was a special birthday.
And I look forward to all of the ones ahead.

Enock,

I love you sweet boy. I am so thankful that God gave us you. You are a precious blessing to us. You are a Box. I am so proud of you. You have been so brave with the many changes God has brought you through. You have been so open to let us love you and teach you what family means. You have been a good friend to your brother. I love your sensitive heart, your infectious laugh, and your big bright eyes. You give the best hugs and you give them often. We love you E and we will love you forever.

Love,
Mommy