One Special Little Guy!

We celebrated Isaiah's 3rd birthday yesterday! I not only celebrated his birthday, I celebrated who he is becoming. What a special joy our little guy is!

Isaiah is an encourager!

Isaiah loves to encourage people - just like his Daddy! The night before his birthday, I stayed up to decorate with balloons and set out some gifts. He, supposedly in bed, called me into his room at one point. He said in a low voice, "Good job puttin' up balloons, Mommy!" (Yeah, they were supposed to be a surprise!) We have a window opening in the wall between the hallway our bedrooms are in and the living room where I was decorating. I thought it was high enough to "hide" what I was doing, but apparently my son is growing taller. Or his jumping ability is increasing! He even proved that to me when I fained surprise, "Balloons? What balloons?" He, grinning, stretched his little neck as far up as he could, attempting to peer through the high window. "Those ones, Mommy!", jumping and pointing to the balloons I had just put up. I was caught! I had to laugh.

Balloons and Ribbons! Isaiah's special place at the breakfast table is ready!

Isaiah has a "Good job!" for every family member at the appropriate time. "Good job, Daddy, for fixin' that!" Good job, Anna!" It is usually accompanied by a huge grin, and a happy twinkle in those precious big blue eyes. Isaiah's had that spunky twinkle ever since he was born. I just love it! He is known to give compliments, too! "Aw, Anna! You looks so pretty!" The most endearing part about Isaiah's compliments is that they are straight from his heart. He means every word!

I made our family's special recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken!

It's a birthday tradition!

Irmiya (center), who works for us as our-day guard, made Isaiah a special bean and rice stew to celebrate African-style!

Isaiah is very much, a little BOY! I see this especially now that I can compare between him and Anna (who is very much a little GIRL!).

Opening a package from Uncle Mark and Aunt Bri - what a fun surprise!

Just because you're all girl doesn't mean you can't be an adventurer! Anna mastered the dining room table on Isaiah's birthday! Good thing her big brother was there to say, "Mommy! Come quick! Anna's on the table!"

Isaiah loves BUGS.

This fascination has its advantages. Since moving to Niger, I feel like I have encountered more bugs than I had in my whole life combined before. I maintain a low tolerance for them, especially when they feel overly comfortable in my home. This seems to have been passed on to Isaiah as he is now the supreme "big killer" of the household. Shoes? Who needs shoes when you have two perfectly good bare feet?!! My new problem is that I have had to ask him to tone down the extent of the execution. "Ok, Buddy, one squish is enough. Just enough to kill the bug. W-a-i-t!!!" (Stomp stomp stomp stomp!) "There, Mommy, now I really got 'im!" Sigh... Makes for a messy clean-up job, but at least I didn't have to do it!

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Lizards rank pretty high on the fascination list too. Just a few days ago, Isaiah spent the morning shooting lizards with his squirt gun. Now isn't that every boy's dream-come-true?!!! And how many boys actually get to do it? Isaiah's living it up in Niger!

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Isaiah loves to worship Jesus!
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Jonathan and I have recently begun to hear a little voice, humming and singing Hausa worship songs. It's precious beyond words. When we go to church, Isaiah dances to the African rhythms and grins with abandon as he worships. Just the other day, I heard Jonathan ask, "What are you doing, Isaiah?" "I'm singin' to Jesus," came the perky reply!

Our little drummer! I can't write a blog about Isaiah without having at least one drum picture!
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I can't believe how much you can love a little person, especially a little person who you had no idea who they were or what they would mean to you just a few years ago. I'm so thankful for Isaiah... and Anna! They bless me every day.

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Happy Birthday, to my special little guy, Isaiah! I love you!

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