Big John

My precious John Charles is EIGHT today! It doesn't seem possible. He was born three weeks early, at 4:17 in the afternoon, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I remember that day more clearly than my other two births...even the most recent one. I was sitting in our prenatal class feeling a little weird and hungry. During a bathroom break my water broke. I was so excited just to be at the hospital (we lived 45miles away at Camp Ozark) that I didn't care that I had to miss the rest of the class. I was on the fast track, I guess. Less than four hours later we had our first little boy. We had not decided on a name yet (we thought we had three more weeks!) so we had to call him "baby" for a few hours. I hated not having a name and I didn't make that mistake again. I love the name John because it is Brad's middle name, a Hoeksema family name, and most importantly the two most famous Johns of the bible...one proclaimed the coming of the Lord and the other followed Christ so closely that he wrote one of the gospels. What I love about these two Johns is that the both had confidence. One knew the Lord was coming and prepared the way for Him to come into the hearts of the Jewish people. The other was so confident in who he was and Christ's love for himself that he repeatedly refers to himself as "the beloved" of Christ. I just love that! It wasn't arrogance...it was confidence. I pray continually that our John will have the confidence to know Who God is and know what God says about him. This year, John asked Jesus into his heart. He asked to be baptized shortly after. Our church lets daddies do the baptizing...yikes. I was very afraid Brad would cry the whole way through, but he did great. For Brad is was very strange to go into the water with a son and come out with a brother.

Eight random things about John:
1. He LOVES Texas A&M. Had an Aggie themed birthday party. He has begged to go to College Station because he doesn't remember the campus from when we lived there. We are going over Christmas and he can't wait.
2. He played Upwards (awesome organization) flag football this year...loved it. Playing basketball now and will do baseball in the spring. He loves sports and is gaining new skills with every season.
3. He went to Camp Ozark in June and had the time of his life. He loved the waterslides, riflery, and the special events. He had great counselors and I was so happy to see him doing what Brad and I loved for so long. He came home a very different kid...so much independence I almost cried.
4. He got his own room this year. He does his own laundry (kind of). He is great at unloading the dishwasher.
5. He loves reading series books. He is into Magic Treehouse and Judy Blume.
6. He is kind. He has many sweet moments with his little brothers. He is my greatest helper.
7. His favorite food is macaroni and cheese and chicken.
8. Again, he was born at 4:17pm, so I have to stop writing now and give him a birthday kiss!