19 years ago yesterday I was starting  my day like any other day – getting ready for the holidays and expecting your arrival near the end of January.  I had been uncomfortable but who isn’t at 8 months pregnant?  By 2:00 a.m. I had a tiny, perfect little boy.

We were living in a fourth floor apartment on South Gallup in Littleton Colorado.  You could see the foothills from our bedroom window.  We were next door to the Littleton Public Library and across the street from Ketring Park.

       
It was a nice place to live.  I went to the library all the time and we would walk around the park and take bread and feed the ducks that lived on the little lake there.  There was a goose that always bullied his way to the front and would nip my fingers if I didn’t get the bread to him fast enough.

On weekends we would usually go explore in the mountains.  It didn’t matter what time of year – winter through summer it was always beautiful and peaceful.  We especially liked riding around up by Indian Hills and Evergreen.  We would go sledding up in Evergreen and there was a greek restaurant in Indian Hills that we would eat lunch at.  We drove a white van much like the one in the picture.

You were born in Littleton Adventist Hospital.   It was brand new and they had a beautiful birthing center with suites that looked more like hotel rooms than hospital rooms.

So today we will have your traditional Strawberry Twinkie Cake and after Christmas we will hopefully take you to Tyler (if all the blasted pieces fall into place!) and you will be on your own.  You have wanted to be grown up since you were two.  You have always gotten frustrated easily.  If something was supposed to work a certain way then it should and it would make you so mad if it didn’t.  I can remember you playing for a few minutes with lego blogs and then seeing them fly through the air.  We bought you some bristle blocks because they stuck together any way you tried.

Your favorite toys were Power Rangers, My First Transformers, and anything you could wear.  You put on hats and put “tools” and things in a backpack and went on adventures in the back yard.  You liked to help me in the kitchen but you LOVED to help your dad.  Whatever he was doing you had to be right in the big middle of it.

This year you and your dad have been going to lunch together several times a week at least.  Between work, school, debate – I’m gone in the morning before you get up and I’m often asleep by the time you get home.  I’m glad you have this time with your dad.  I worry about the future.  We as a generation haven’t left things in very good shape.

I hope that your dreams come true and I pray that you will learn how to not always do it the hard way. Give yourself and everyone else a break now and then.  Learn to relax a bit, go with the flow.  Let plans change sometimes without it meaning the end of the world. We love you and are very proud of the man you are becoming.  Happy Birthday.
For those of you visiting – here is how to make Strawberry Twinkie Cake

1 box of Twinkies
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 box instant vanilla pudding (can also use cheesecake flavor)
1 cup of milk
1 small container of cool whip
1 24 oz. container of frozen sweetened strawberries (I used to use 2 of the little frozen cans but they didn’t have those this year at the store)

Cut the twinkies in half and place cream side up in a 9 x 13 pan
Spread with strawberries and juice
Mix the rest of the ingredients and spread on top of the strawberries
Refrigerate (this is better if you make it the night before and give the flavors a chance to work through)

YUM
To whoever left a gift certificate for Scholl Bros. BBQ in our mailbox – thank you so much!

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone 🙂