Happy Birthday Gage

Look at that grin. This little girl loves her daddy! And boy does this daddy love his little girl!
Being a great dad is just one of Gage's many talents!

A couple of weeks ago I had my traditional Grandkid Jammie party. I started this a few years ago and it's been a hit with the grandkids ever since. Every year just before Christmas the grandkids come over to my house and we eat, play games, watch movies, open gifts --- which include a new pair of pajamas to sleep over in (if your old enough.)

This year Gage and Missy came over to my house and spent the night helping us with the festive event. I decided after watching Gage with the kids all night that next year I'm buying him a Santa suit! I also hate to inform him that he's going to have to show up every year now because he made the night so fun. I really felt like I'd hired an entertainer for the evening. He had the kids giggling and laughing the whole night long.

As soon as it was time for the kids to get in their pajamas, Glade and I produced the wrapped gifts from the basement and for the moment while we were getting kids situated we just sat the gifts on the kitchen counter. That's when they suddenly went missing. After settling rambunctious kids down I went to grab the gifts and mysteriously they had disappeared. That's also the moment I noticed Gage standing front and center with a giant grin fashioned on his face. For those of you who haven't figured this out yet, Gage is the biggest tease ever.

As soon as the kids noticed the gifts were gone they all started clambering and pitching a fit demanding their presents. That's when Gage started to laugh and exclaimed "oh, oh, looks like Santa hid them." From that moment on it was mass hysteria with kids running everywhere through the house looking for their gifts all the while with Corbin trailing behind them crying "I don't want to have to find my present." I've never laughed so hard at such mayhem!

The kids finally through a series of hot and cold tips, found their gifts and excitedly dressed in their flannel attire. What a fun night and I guess what I'm trying to say here is, I'm sure glad I have a son named Gage! I don't know what I was thinking though having him two days before Christmas! He was actually due well after Christmas but I guess wonderful surprises that bring great joy to the heart must surely come at Christmas.

I still remember coming home from the hospital on Christmas eve, a brand new baby in my arms. It's the only time in my life I have ever been fully prepared for Christmas. That Christmas eve was a night I'll never forget. The feelings and emotions of that night are still with me in great detail! One must keep in mind, it was only a year prior that I had trudged through the snow stood by the side of a cold tiny grave and buried a baby. Now I sat comfortably in the chair next to my porcelain nativity scene, dressed in my new red bathrobe Glade gave me, pondering over distant heart throbbing memories, while cradling God's great gift to me under the soft glow of the Christmas tree lights.

There is no greater joy than to hold a brand new healthy baby in your arms on Christmas Eve! Especially when you just got done sending a baby back to Heaven! For some reason the ultimate gifts that encompass the real meaning behind Christmas to me felt so much deeper that year. Well, they had meaning now. Suddenly Christ's gift of living and dying for me personally had great meaning! After having experienced the greatest loss a mother can experience, the death of her child, suddenly I came to personally appreciate the Saviors love for me in my life and in the new life I was holding.

Gage's birth two days before Christmas was no accident. Corbin's death twelve months prior was no accident. It was my Father in Heaven's way of searing me to my Savior and helping me as I make my way back to my home on high. That night as I sat in my chair holding my new son, looking at the Nativity with Joseph and Mary kneeling by the baby Jesus with all the meaning this scene now held in my life was the most beautiful Christmas I've ever had.

Gage I know you would have really liked a July birthday but I'm sure glad you were born in December, even if it is crazy! You'll always be my Christmas Joy! You healed my heart the day you were born and I'm so thankful you filled a place in this family at a time when no other spirit could have filled it quite like you did. You are great person with a great heart! I can call you and you're always good to help me with whatever I need. There are so many things I look up to you in.

When I look at Baylee I see Gage all over again. She is the cutest baby and the best natured baby just like her dad, she is always happy and never ever cries, just a joy to have and to hold. So too are you Gage; a joy to have and to hold! Happy Birthday! Thanks for being you! Thanks for always making life great! I'm buyin' you a Santa suit. You've got yourself a job! We love you so much! You are a great blessing to this family and I hope you have a wonderful day today!