Happy Birthday to Alexander Benjamin!

I suppose we all deserve a pat on the back for making it to Friday, September 17, 2010. Today I am thinking about our Alexander Benjamin who will be five years old tomorrow. We are blessed with wonderful children, grandchildren, and even our little great granddaughter, our bundle of Madelyn Joy, but each one is so very special in their own special way. I went and fetched Alex from his day care a couple of weeks ago and he and I were talking about his birthday. I told him that being five was an important age. He said he knew that and he guessed he could start liking the bad guys on the video games now that he was five. I responded: "Absolutely not!" He laughed and said, "Poppy, I was just kidding." I couldn't help but feel that I had been set up for a joke by a preschooler. What's next? Kids today know so much more than we did. I am always impressed when I walk through the back door and see Alex on his MiMi's lap top using it like someone four times his age. It is mind boggling. When I was five we didn't even have a TV and I was likely more engaged in trying to find a stick to play with. It was a really good day for me back then when I found one that actually looked like a gun. Please don't write me about children and guns because we played cowboys and Indians all the time, and look how great I turned out, ......turned out, .......turned out!

Alex is one of those kids that will take your mind off of the stuff that typically keeps us all frazzled. When he and I ride in the car he doesn't want his Poppy to listen to the BBC News, he wants us to talk. Better yet, he wants his Poppy to listen. Note to parents: You will likely never look back and regret missing a radio program of any kind when you chose to engage your kiddos in conversation. My boys will probably respond by saying: Where was this fellow when we were children? However, we see in Alex so much potential and talent, and we pray that God will help us all to nurture him in his development. He loves to play. He loves to be outside. He loves computer games and knows all too well how to play the ones his teenager brother plays. He loves to play with his first cousin Brady. They are something to behold when they are together. Sure, they bump noggins now and then but there's a chemistry there that is very special. It reminds us so much of our boys when they were that age. Bottom line, Alexander Benjamin is a blessing and his Poppy and MiMi wish him a most wonderful birthday.

Thanks to all those who tune in regularly. I have a busy Saturday and Sunday lined up. I will be over visiting my brother in the hospital in the morning. Then back home to get ready for our Alex's birthday celebration. I am also looking forward to Lord's Day Sunday where we will gather to recognize our Savior and to encourage one another. If you are not a regular part of a local fellowship of believers, you need to be because God provides a special connection through the local body that He instituted. Doing life God's way is never easy but it sure helps when we cooperate with His ordained methods. Have a wonderful Saturday and Sunday and until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and yours. Amen. ..........More later.