You may not realize this, but I have a son named Caleb.  He is son #4.

I cannot imagine the family without our Caleb.  He respects everyone; man, woman, child, and animal.  He notices things; beautiful things.  He not only holds my hand but it’s all his idea.  He is 11 years old and likes to hug and lean against his mama, still, like a much younger child would.  He knocks me off balance when he does because he’s such a very strong, solid boy.  When he walks we can hear him stomp.  When he jumps he lands with a thud.  When he laughs the sun comes out.  When he sleeps he buries his face in pillows.  He tells the truth.  He chews his nails off to the quick.

He and Ethan had cleanings this morning at the dentist in town.  They both hate the dentist so I had to go along to give the poor babies love and moral support.  Caleb had his teeth cleaned first and when he came back I asked him if he would go outside with me to stretch our legs while we waited for E.  Even though he was all set to read about football he readily said yes.

I’m thankful for my son Caleb.

He’s a great kid.  I can tease him, say no to him, lecture him, or love on him and he never complains.  This summer he has listened to JR Tolkien audio books every night and he is currently reading several books, including The Hobbit.  He goes to football practice every afternoon and during the day he plays with his siblings.  He loves to play video games.  He likes his things to be neat and organized and gets very upset when his siblings disturb his legos.  He sneezes a lot so I give him Zyrtec in the morning and that helps.  I think his favorite color is green.  Sometimes when he is silly he makes a “buck-hack” sound like a chicken, which is super annoying.  Seth does it now, too.   Caleb is always asking to have friends over.  He absolutely loves the family dog; Parker gets a lot of attention from his boy Caleb.

“YOU’VE MADE THIS DAY SPECIAL
JUST BY BEING YOU.
THERE’S NO ONE IN THE WORLD
QUITE LIKE YOU, AND
I LIKE YOU JUST THE WAY YOU ARE.”

We discovered a nice stream by the dentist office.  It was shady under the trees and the water was warm.  We studied the sumac plant (first pic), admired a tall mushroom, sank our feet in soft moss, and showed each other our best jumping skills.

It was much better than sitting in a waiting room.