Another Birthday in the busy month of May... this time Jimmy!

Jimmy's third birthday came rolling in right before Memorial Day.  Susie and Doug decided to have his celebration on the Saturday of that weekend.  It made for a much quieter party since not many people pick the holiday weekend.  But it was fantastic!  The play place was empty except for us and the kids all had so much fun!  There were three different areas of play - a climbing playground, a sports field (complete with all the various balls and fun toys - even a parachute), and then a bounce house section.  The party ended in the party room for pizza and cake!  

The kids had an amazing time - even the big kids!  Anna and Zeke started racing on the sports field and pretty soon Lia and Ellie had joined in!   It was so much fun watching all the kids celebrate Jimmy.  While the day was warm and sunny, Doug and Susie had (smartly) opted for an indoor party, given the weather track record on Memorial Day weekend.  And it was a wise choice.

Sunday brought a steady rain and very cold temperatures.  It could have just as easily happened on Saturday, which made their party location a good decision.  Doug always likes to remember Ken and celebrate his birthday (which was on the 14th) by taking me to Ken's very favorite Barbeque place - Uncle Bubs.  

Ken loved this place so much and I think it was one of the last places we actually ate at after the Covid restrictions started to ease up a bit.  A love of  good barbeque is one of those things that Doug shard with Ken.  I love that we got to combine Jimmy's birthday and Ken's birthday with a trip here.  I love it is almost as much as Ken and Susie also loves it.  What a wonderful way to spend a rainy day.  After our fill (and lots of leftovers) we came back to my house and Jimmy opened his birthday presents from me!  They included his first "transformer" (car into robot) and the airplane Everest from Paw Patrol

This toddler safe transformer is really neat.  It is simple enough that it doesn't break easily, but also is a real transformer.  Jimmy loved it.  When you have a three year old boy, any car, truck, robot, airplane or rocket is a big hit!  

Jimmy is a busy, active, always running three year old.  His imagination is out of this world.  Spending time with him is like watching a series of movies happen and you are sometimes asked to play a part, even though you don't quite understand the plot!  With just a few sticks and a backyard to explore the story line goes from Batman (or Spiderman) out to capture some bad guys (usually one from the Spidey series), to Buzz Lightyear exploring the universe and discovering a robot that is chasing him.   This week the added storyline included a Danny go "Floor is Lava" event that required me to keep my feet off of the ground!   It is so much fun for sure!  This grandma is tired when the day is over!   He helped me clean and organize some of this toys this week.  He loved to sort his cars by size which brought us hours of fun. He is such a loving little guy, who runs to greet me when I arrive. He knows me so well and the first task of the day is helping me make my coffee!   I can't believe he is already three and will soon be starting preschool.  I really don't know where the time goes!

While Jimmy carries Ken's name (James Kenneth Rowley), it is sad that he will never know him.  Grace has lots of memories of Ken and often talks about him.  I can't wait to share memories of Ken with Jimmy as he gets older.  People often ask me if he reminds me of Doug at this age.  Sadly, Doug was so sick at this point that he didn't have the energy to run around.  I do think that if his health would have been different, Doug would have been a lot like Jimmy.  In some ways, I can sure see Doug.  For your viewing pleasure - Doug at three!

He got the "real" bike for his third birthday and the bottom picture was taken at my Dad's funeral.  Doug was just one month over three years old!  So yes, I think you can see the resemblance!  

Most of all, I pray that Jimmy would grow into exactly who Jesus has created him to be!  I believe that his energy and curiosity will help him to explore new things and new ways of doing things in the future.  His determination will help him overcome obstacles and his persistence will keep him from giving up when things are difficult.   The favorite song that he still asks me to sing is what he calls the "whole world" song.  It is the old Sunday School favorite, "He's got the whole world in His hands".  It is my continued prayer that Jimmy would know that God has him in his hand and that Jesus loves him!

Jesus, thank you for little boys and their boundless energy.  Holy Spirit, continue to draw Jimmy into a relationship with Jesus.  Remind us all to continue to pray for the children around us.  Help us to see them through your eyes, Jesus.  Holy Spirit empower us to love and to care for all the children - those we are close to, those who are far away, those who have no one, those who are hungry and those who are sick.  Thank you for your plans and purposes for children!  Amen