Samren is Seven

In his new Ninja suit, from Grandma B..
With cousin Mia, who is five years old!

Sis Nichole with Mia.

Tinkerbell and Transformers!

Samren's birthday "cake" choice.

Samren, 4 months old.

Gosh, how can that tiny baby boy we brought home from Vietnam already be 7 years old?!

Last weekend we went to Kansas to celebrate Samren and Mia's birthday (Mia is my sister's cutie pie from Guatemala). It was pretty funny to have a Transformers and Tinkerbell mixed birthday party! Samren chose brownies with whipped cream and cherries on top as his "cake" and Mia chose my family's traditional German Chocolate cake.

It is a little somber to watch my baby grow up, but at the same time, joyful. We prayed hard for this kid to stay with us on this earth and watching him thrive never gets old. Six years ago we were watching him waste away in front of our eyes, and today we are actually talking a bit about the pudge in his face and middle section (too much mac and cheese!)!

Samren has always been on the immature side. He's still got a tiny munckin voice and can't say his "r"s yet. He has a huge joyous smile and doesn't usually perceive anything but good intentions on the part of others around him. I have watched him run up to his guy friends and school and unashamedly hug them with all his might. These boys wiggle and squirm, already thinking this must be a "bad" thing in first grade. But secretly I think that they probably need those hugs.

Samren has had a bit of a tough year. He is the shortest in his class, by a head. He is the only one that needs to use a stool for certain things. And a group of boys in his class has not made it easy for him. For the first time he doesn't feel like he is loved back with all of the love he gives. For the first time he is realizing that he is "different" and it coming to the realization that he will probably always have the distinction of being the shortest. [He's projected to be less than 5 feet as an adult, because of his previous illness and the treatment he had to go through.]

So it's been an awakening year for Samren. It's not all bad though. It is sad that he is maturing enough to realize his differences, but he is also maturing in ways that are cause for celebration. We are FINALLY seeing the toddler fits go away. We are FINALLY seeing him embrace his role as big brother to Bright and help mate to his family. He is taking more personal responsibity than he has in the past and thinking ahead before he makes choices that aren't going to benefit him.

What joy this child is. I believe it is his special gift from God. I can see a certain gift in all of my children. Samren's is JOY! He can make the grumpiest old man smile. And he can soften the hardest of hearts. I love that he still craves cuddles from me, and kisses/hugs without hesitation. It will be a sad day when my joy-boy quits doing that. Hopefully he never will. Just today he blessed me with something we always say to each other (from a favorite book): "I love you forever; I like you for always; As long as I'm living my mommy you'll be."

Happy birthday Samren!

Anita

P.S. Sorry. Blogger is acting up so I can't put my pictures where I usually would.