Jaden is 8 today

With that in mind, I thought I would post 8 great things about Jaden as we get to celebrate his birthday.

1.  Jaden loves God.  We can see it in the way he reads the Bible on his own, the way that he prays and in his passions.  

2.  Jaden has an incredible heart.  He has a tenderness, compassion and kindness that people are drawn to.

3.  Jaden is my son...and by that I mean - he gets some of his traits and tendencies directly from me.  I can see myself in him and that is both a challenge and a true blessing to me and something I love about him dearly.  So, even though he is sullen sometimes and he has the same quick temper with his brother that I did with mine...I have to smile.  

4.  Jaden is an amazing reader.  He just consumes books so quickly.  It is neat to see how much he enjoys getting himself comfortable in his mom's papasan chair and getting lost in his book for hours.

5.  Jaden is willing to try new things.  Whether it is food or whatever, I really appreciate that he is open to trying things at least once.  It is a big contrast to his brothers who tend to shake their head no and not try anything.

6.  I am amazed at how talented Jaden is.  And I really want to help him explore and grow in these areas.  For instance, Jaden has an incredible ear for music.  He loves the piano and has started to teach himself how to play various pieces.  He may not be the prodigy that you see on YouTube, but I am blown away at the progress he has made on his own.

7.  I love that though Jaden is growing up, he is still ok with hanging with his parents, that he comes to us with problems and actually listens.  I know that he will continue to grow up and will grow more independent...but I love that it hasn't happened yet.  And I really think he will be a boy that is always respectful of us, so while I am not wanting the time to rush by, I am not overly worried about it either :)

8.  Jaden is a leader.  And I love that it is associated with good things.  He cares about fairness and sets a good example.  Jaden did something this year in school that I don't know that I ever would have done in school.  He got up in front of his whole class + others to let them know that the way things were was not ok and not fair to others with the way the soccer games were being played.  Despite maybe getting ridiculed, or people not thinking it was cool for him to call people out, he wanted everyone to know that things should be fair and that he would stand up for it.  That is my boy, and he is amazing.

Love you Jaden and happy birthday!