agate

for my birthday, a couple of years ago, steve got me this wonderful book. a book about a self-conscious moose who compares himself to many other animals and never quite measures up. could it be that my husband was trying to tell me something? indeed he was. in his usual and inspiring ways he found me the perfect gift that spoke to my heart.

we dug this book out again today, and once again it's message reminded me of an important lesson. a lesson worth sharing...

after the moose moaps around for long enough the book story ends like this...

agate almost in tears.

his friends see he is really blue.

you're just like us, agate, you big galoot.

if we are gems, so are you.

just do what you're good at,

like being a moose,

and remember this simple rule:

let yourself shine,
and let others find...

you're a

fabulous

knobbly

glorious

lumpity

terrific

bumpity

incredible

gangly

remarkable
speldid

magnificent

secret jewel!

this is a picture of an actual agate stone. agates are known as nature's hidden artwork. they have a plain rough surface, but once polished reveal beautiful rings of crystals that grow one layer at a time towards the center, making each stone a work of art, reminding us to look for the secret treasures in ourselves and others.

may you find your hidden core. i know i have some polishing to do.

birthday boy

i had everything figured out, until i had kids that is. i scoffed at parents who gave their children suckers in the grocery store, never quite understood why moms would snap at their children and always wondered what couples were thinking when they planned to have a baby around Christmas. this stuff could be planned, right?

well, lo and behold, God gave us a lesson in who was in control when we were given the best Christmas present ever, our gibson jack. and it is hard to believe, but our surprise Christmas present just celebrated is 5th birthday! (pictures to come)

i have always worried that his birthday would be overshadowed by the Christmas season. we make sure he gets birthday wrapping paper, my family generously adds a Christmas eve birthday party to their hectic holidays, and we try to make his birthday as normal as possible.

this year i asked gibson how he liked having his birthday near Christmas. with a confused look in his eyes he replied, "i like it because it is next to Jesus' birthday and they put a tree up for my birthday and his."

tonight elliott asked if he could have a Christmas tree for his birthday too. i guess it's all in how you look at it.

happy birthday to our transformer loving, lego building, sledding master, swimming fish, knight in shining armor, tickle trickster, creative thinking gibson jack.