Three years ago today we met you for the first time; we held you close, counted your fingers and toes, smelled your sweet little baby smell and marveled at your perfection.
Today, 3 years later, we are still marveling at your perfection. You are exactly who God intended you to be.
You are joy. Gabriel, you are such a happy little boy. Your smile lights up your eyes and our world. It is positively infectious as is your laughter. Your happiness never seems to fade; no matter what life brings to you, you rejoice anyways.
Be happy and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16
You are love. You continually teach me daily about love, Gabe. You love without abandon and recklessly give yourself to anyone who comes into your life. You have taught me just how deep and fierce love can be. Continue to love, sweet boy. Find your love in the one who loves all and share it with everyone you meet.
Little children, let us not love in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth, in practice and in sincerity. -1 John 3: 18
Love the Lord your God with all your mind and heart and with your soul and strength
- Deuteronomy 6: 5
You are light. Light radiates through your eyes and pours out through your smile. Continue to be a light in the darkness, Gabriel. Do not let it fade away but grow with you as you grow.
You are the light of the world--like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. -Mathew 5:14
You are perseverance. You never quit, Gabe. No matter how hard it is to do something, you try again and again until you master the task. You're leading by example when you refuse to live by a diagnosis or someone else's expectations. You're perseverance is an inspiration - to us, your friends and everyone that meets you.
May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. - Colossians 1:11-12
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. - James 1:12
You are hope. Watching you grow and learn, seeing your compassion and kindness, listening to your sweet voice, understanding what your thinking and hearing you sing praise songs... it brings us hope. That despite what the world around us says there is hope. You make the world a better place, sweet boy. The hope that resonates from you is a gift given by God. Keep finding hope in the Lord.
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." -Jeremiah 29:11
You are everything we could've ever wanted in a son and so much more.
You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
I praise you God, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. -Psalm 139:14
Happy Birthday, sweet boy. We love you.
"A boy is truth with dirt on its face, beauty with a cut on its finger, wisdom with bubble gun in its hair, and the hope of the future with a frog in its pocket." -unknown
