My sweet baby boy is 7!  The Little Mister is the laugh on our lips, the bounce in our steps, and the joy of our hearts.  This world is a HAPPIER place because of he is in it.

In our home we love books.  The Little Mister and his siblings delight in hearing stories that carry them away on grand journeys of adventure, mystery, humor, mischief, history, faith, and so on.  And so to celebrate the Little Mister’s 7th birthday, I’m harkening back to some of our favorite stories from the past year (plus a few readings of my own that made me think of him).  In a world and a time that can feel fettered by brokenness and hurt, these stories inspired us to see the good, the true, and the beautiful that surrounds us…if only we have the courage and faith to look for it.

The good, the true, and the beautiful that resides in each of us, as reflections of our God and Creator…

The good, the true, and the beautiful that shines so brightly in YOU, my beloved boy.  Ever.  Always.  And especially on this, your 7th birthday.

*****

Dreamer of the world beyond and all its beauty and magic

Life is always a rich and steady time when you are waiting for something to happen or to hatch.
– Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered.
– The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Adventurer with a call to the wild and thirst for danger

The mountains are calling and I must go…
-John Muir, 1873 letter to his sister

There’s no earthly way of knowing which direction they are going! There’s no knowing where they’re rowing, or which way the river’s flowing! Not a speck of light is showing, so the danger must be growing, for the rowers keep on rowing, and they’re certainly not showing any signs that they are slowing…
― Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Maker of merriment with a sparkle in his eye and mischief in his limbs

[He] was rough and strong, but he was not really mean; he had a weakness for practical jokes.”
– Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfeld

A connoisseur of confection, hungry for a life that is sweet

There’s nothing as cozy as a piece of candy and a book.
– Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Friend to all with a heart full of welcome

“Why did you do all this for me?” he asked. “I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.” “’You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing.”
– Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

“All these people from different ports o’ the world comin’ together here to make a new life, mixin’up their food and songs and ways o’ doing things. Ah tis a fine land you’ve been born to, Louisa Brody. Full o’ possibility.”
– Prairie Thief by Melissa Wiley

Lover of the beasts and friend of the furry (and creepy crawly!)

He began to think. If only he could keep the dog! He had always wanted a dog of his very own and now he had found a dog that wanted him.
– Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary

Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid the world of injustice. As a result, she now has a pig. A small one to be sure, but nevertheless a pig. It just shows what can happen if a person gets out of bed promptly.
– Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

A student both eager and earnest with the determination to carry on

“Swiftly? Thoth’s mercy! The snail has wings compared to the hours of this day. I vow I’ve been pulling wire since the First hill rose out of the waters of time, and still I’ve not done.”
– Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Challenger on the court and field

Kaffe did not have time to think what to do…He lowered his head, and hurled himself right at the stomach of the running man.
– Boy of the Pyramids by Ruth Fosdick Jones

A sailor on the high seas – those of the big blue and those of the heart

Penelope (the parrot) squawked, “I’ll do it because I want to but not because you tell me to!” Mary was certainly surprised at that because she thought that she had made up that brilliant remark.
– Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

Staring up through the ragged branches of the acacia to later, when I am older. All the world was grief and confusion that day.
– Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Mover and shaker driven by an imagination (and need to wiggle) unceasing

Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you, and a horizon that’s always changing!
– The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

I am the maker of music, the dreamer of dreams!
― Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

A Little Man with a big heart…full of courage, full of compassion

Mrs. Frisby was afraid. Then she thought of Timothy, and of the big steel plow blade. She told herself: I have no choice. If there is any chance the owl might be able to help me, to advise me, I must go…
– Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien

Never forget us brave little man
Mother and Father trust in you
Be brave as a lion, yet kind returning
Ready to fight and averse to wrong
Never forget you’re a gentleman
And never a fear you’ll do.
Life is short and the world is wide
We’re just a ripple on life’s great pool
Enjoy your life to the best you can
All will help to enrich the span
But never forget you’re a gentleman…
– Percy Fawcett, poem for his son, quoted from David Grann’s “The Lost City of Z”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my dear Little Mister.  

We love you with an abounding love.  We are proud of the man you are becoming.  We pray that just like these stories we have read and enjoyed together, you will live a life full of fun, adventure, love, courage, and FAITH.  Knowing that God is with you, and your family is behind you.  Always.

I [God] will be with you.  I will not leave you or forsake you.  Be strong and courageous…Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
– God’s command to Joshua; Joshua 1:5,9

7 Year Old Stats:

Weight: 56 lb 3.2 oz (71st percentile)
Height: 4′ 3.58″ (94th percentile…aiming for a final height of 6’3″!)