12 months

Dear Neil,

You turned one. A short simple statement, yet I feel a lump in my throat when I think that. You took your first steps independently 4 days ago. And I suddenly realized what a big boy you were getting to be. It feels to me that you have changed incredibly in the last month. You are much more independent and interactive. We are in India now with your grandparents. I feel they are spoiling you, but I guess it is their privilege. My dad thinks you are the best thing since sliced bread and talks about you to everyone. He is one proud grandpa. We celebrated your birthday by having a brief time of prayer, a message from the Bible and lots and lots of food and cake. You enjoyed the time and attention and was totally in your element. This month you got to travel in a plane, bus, autorickshaw, boat, got to see lions up close and personal, and had a ton of fun new experiences. I know you are not going to remember any of that, but it gives me great pleasure to do all these stuff with you. You have already logged about 10,000 airline miles and you just turned one. :)Since you started to walk, you had a couple of tumbles, but you bore it manfully. I am sure I would have yelled more. You don't cry when you wake up from your nap and although it is a good thing, it was so difficult here as you would wake up and just crawl away and fall off the bed (if I let you). Now we sleep on the floor and that works out great. TV doesn't captivate you so far, toys don't entice you, all you want to do is explore everywhere.

You are very adjusting and I thank my Lord every time for that. There are no cranky fits unless you are hungry or sleepy or sick. I am getting better at understanding you and I can figure out what is going on much better now. Now that you have a better understanding, I get to play a lot of games with you and that is so much fun. Your Daddy could not be with us the day you turned one as he is still in US, but we are having another party with friends when we get back home.

I love you so much and I consider it a huge blessing from God that he gave us you to raise. Being your momma has changed me a lot and I am so thankful for that. I am not a perfect mom, I lose my patience easily, and it is daily hard work, but there is nothing else I'd rather do. You are our NATHANIEL, gift from God, prayed for, and really longed for.

My hands and heart are full today. I pray that God will give you long life, good health, and all of the heavenly blessings and in turn make you a blessing to many. While I know I cannot protect you from the harshness of this world, you can be assured that my prayers will follow you all the days of your life.

Love,
Mama