Happy birthday to our beautiful son! What a fun day we had together.
Originally, I wanted to title this blog post "Forgetting" or something similar. It is amazing, now that we are 8 months post-adoption, how that whole process seems like a dream. I remember that it was a lot of hard work. I remember that it was expensive. I remember times where I wondered how all of the paperwork would be finished. I remember how much our church and family supported us throughout the entire process. I remember that it was expensive. Did I already write that? :) I will always remember the first moments we had with our son on the other side of the world. What a special time.
However, it is truly wondrous to consider that we forget that Christopher was adopted. Christopher is really no different from our daughters. He really isn't. I understood this in a head-knowledge sort of way listening to our church's teaching on adoption and hearing others that adopted talk about it. It was also probably written about in Adopted for Life by Russell Moore. However, for someone like me, who really thinks about thinking a lot (it's my job), it has been an amazing experience. I thought maybe people write or say this to make adoption sound good. However, it really is true. The routine, daily adventures in our home reveal this great truth that I'm sure many who have adopted share. The love I have for Christopher is just like my other children. It is affectionate, genuine, and something that really does not require effort. I really have to think hard, when people ask about our adoption, to remember that this really happened and that Christopher is adopted. What a blessing to experience this first hand!
I know this great truth comes from the Lord and it provides such a wonderful picture of our adoption into God's family. It really causes me to marvel at God's love for us. What a great love. Many times I focus on justification, sanctification, and my responsibilities in this life. These are, obviously, very important. However, the doctrine of adoption is simply wonderful too. It is too great for words. As our pastor told me before we went on our first trip, adopting a child clarifies so many wonderful spiritual truths (he had adopted as well). He was right. I must have skimmed all of the mentions of adoption in the Bible before I adopted. Maybe it's similar to how I sometimes skim the passages about the lineages in the Old Testament. How blind I was! To think that the God of all creation seeks us out while we are dead in sin, justifies us and ADOPTS us into his family is beautiful. The true and living God adopts us into His family. This has got to be one of the most precious truths in the Bible. What great joy, hope, and security this should provide to all of those who are His.
Today we were able to reflect a little bit on the blessing we have in Christopher. God has been so good to us. On a more horizontal level, Christopher brings us so much joy and we can not imagine our life without him. Of course, by God's providence, Christopher was designed to be in our family and we are seeing His work every day as we watch this little boy learn and grow in so many neat ways. He is starting to sing during family worship and at church. It is very cute. He is just like his dad in this regard as I sing a lot. As mentioned in a previous post, he likes dirt, tractors, balls, and pretend reading. The pretend reading likely comes from having three older sisters that like to read as well as parents that are in books a lot. I hope you enjoy the pictures below of Christopher's special day.
After he woke up, Sandi surprised him with his favorite breakfast (pancakes and yogurt) and lots of happy birthdays. He knew right away that the day was special.
We always let the birthday kiddo choose something special to do on their special day. Since Christopher mentions "Bike ride helmet" (just like that, he says the three words "bike ride helmet") at least 20 times every day, we figured this would be the most fun for him.
It was an extra long bike ride and we even got to stop and watch tractors in action. What can be better than that for a two-year old boy???
Then, Sandi spent some time getting some pictures taken at JC Penney. I was impressed with her self-control. Even though many great pictures were taken, she stayed within budget. He is growing up...
After getting home, it felt like I was coming down with something. However, thankfully, God saw it fit to give me a great wife that enjoys applying all-natural remedies. My ails didn't keep me down too long. We celebrated his birthday after dinner. Dirt and tractors on the cake! He did a good job blowing out the candles.
Christopher then proceeded to open his presents and enjoy his new stuff. Of course, we had to give him new balls to play with. Dad keeps kicking them over the fence or getting them stuck 30 feet up in a pine tree. That reminds me that the soccer ball is still up there. Hmmm.
Today was a lot of fun for everybody. What a special time it was seeing Christopher get excited and spending time together as a family.
- chad
