Happy birthday Matthew

Today is Matthew's birthday. He woke up with a huge smile on his face. He's sixteen! Where has the time gone??

16 years ago I held the most beautiful baby in my arms. At that moment life was perfect. We had huge dreams and expectations for that little one. The road we envisioned was so completely different from the one that we ended up on. It hasn't been the leisurly walk that we expected. There have been a lot of steep hills and huge bumps in the road. We were not prepared. God has been with us every step of the way, however, and gave us a great teacher ... Matthew. Matt has taught us so much about life and people. He has taught us how to be better parents and how to love unconditionally. He has taught us how to help him to navigate the rough terrain. It has been a tough haul, one that I wouldn't wish on anyone, but one that has made us all better people because of it ... especially my beautiful 16 year-old. Life has not been very easy for him, and yet he continues to look at the possitive side of life and sees the good in people (regardless of how they treat him.)

The young man that jumped out of bed this morning, eager to start his first day as a 16 year-old) is different than he was a year ago. In the last few months he has been relatively anxiety free, and has really been maturing. We are on the upswing of some difficult years. He's been looking forward to today for over a year.

He's so happy to be 16. He will be even happier tonight when he receives his birthday present ... an ipod that he has been drooling over for a while now. Tonight is his night. He chooses what we do and where we eat (all between studying for his first exam which is tomorrow morning.) Enjoy it buddy! You deserve it and so much more!