Happy Birthday To My Favorite Blonde-Headed Boy!

I can't believe it...I am officially the mother of a five-year-old boy. At 1:28pm on Oct. 5, 2004 we became the proud and blessed parents of Joseph Allen. He has been about as easy as his delivery was. I only labored with him for about 4 1/2 hours.

Joseph we are so blessed to have the pleasure of raising such a fine young boy. You are very laid back and easy going. You developed a sweet friendship with your favorite stuffed animal, "bear-bear". In fact, I bought a 2nd just in case "bear-bear #1" didn't hold up. You make friends easily, but are VERY cautious in everything you do (especially around water more than 1ft deep). You like to giggle a lot which then turns to hiccups. Your best bud is your brother Thomas, though you are sometimes worst enemies. You don't get upset too easily, but when you do you let everyone know. You have a gentle spirit and love animals and babies. You used to not let Mommy give you kisses, but you finally realized that kisses are okay from Mommy :). You are my favorite shopping buddy and enjoy going out just about anywhere! We often get some of the best questions from you about God and you are quickly learning the teachings. We just started school this year (a year early). When you try hard you do very well, but sometimes you get easily discouraged. Your favorite school is Sunday School and you are making many friends there. I enjoy hearing your prayers and am often surprised by what is on your heart.

Happy 5th Birthday Joseph Allen! What a blessing these 5 years have been!!!