He's Five and I'm Still Alive

When Avonlea turned five she asked if she could go to Disneyland, this being one of all children's inalienable rights, we said yes. Being the short-sighted people we are, Dave and I went one step further and said that all our children could pick where they wanted to go on their fifth birthday. We just kinda assumed that they would all want to go to Disneyland. So, we were caught off guard a bit when a year and a half later Grant turned five and told us he wanted to go to Hawaii. Hmmm.....
And I was a little more than concerned when Rowan's fifth birthday approached and he was heavily leaning toward taking us all to Nevada. Now...I have nothing against Nevada, but Rowan's sole attraction to it was it's shape outlined on his placemat, and that's almost impossible to actually experience. So....we encouraged him to think about other options...like Hawaii.
So motivated by the fact that he loves the ocean, and by the knowledge that his three pretty cousins live there, he consented.
We gave him a police uniform for his present and he made several citizen's arrests. He blew his whistle at all the crosswalks when it was time to go. He lingered by police cars, vowing to save all his birthday money so that he could buy one when he grew bigger.

I am a blessed woman. I love these boys.

Dessert!

His birthday dinner was at the cheesecake factory in Waikiki with his cousins.

This birthday marks so much more than just the passage of time and the acknowledgement of physical growth. Rowan gave his heart to Jesus this year and I've witnessed with my own eyes the Spirit's work in his life. He's learned to think before speaking, to pray for others, to check his anger by counting to ten, to ask questions and ponder answers. He's become a helpful son and a caring brother. He still gets into mischief, he still sighs when his will is thwarted, but he's learning, and so am I.

I'm so thankful for Rowan.

I'm so thankful I didn't have to go to Nevada.