Whoopee, I'm 10!

We celebrated the last of our October birthdays this week.

Actually, this was the last of our birthdays this year, unless God decides that baby will actually be born close to it's due date :)

October 27th, 1998

It was 27 degrees Celsius outside.

I was in the hospital with a precious new baby boy.

We had an amazing room in Swan Lake hospital, it was actually a palliative care room. It had a mini fridge, microwave, sink, pull-out couch, rocking chair, bathroom and lots of space. It was perfect for our kids to come visit us.

Caleb Andrew. Even though Kerri was only 3 1/2 years old when he was born it seemed like forever since we had a newborn around. He was loved at first sight, and got many hugs and kisses in those first few months. Caleb has always been a pretty quiet guy. He didn't really talk until he was well over 2 years old. Some people figured it was because his siblings did all the talking for him, I think it was just because he is a quiet guy. Things I remember about Caleb when he was little? He liked to bathe in the toilet. We figured it must be cold and not that comfortable, but he did it over and over again. Just jumped right in, clothes and all! He also really liked slippery things. You would often find his hands, and the wall, and his clothes covered in things like butter and diaper rash ointment. As he grew up we noticed his artistic nature come out. He really enjoyed drawing, building things, and pretty much anything constructive with his hands. Now he spends many hours drawing things, and he does a pretty good job at it too. Caleb has a very soft heart. Here is an example. He mentioned that he would like to go to a hotel for his birthday. Every once in awhile we will grant that to one of our kids, and we decided it was his turn. After we said we would go, Caleb came to us very concerned about how the barn chores would get done if we left. We told him not to worry about that, we would take care of it. We had already decided to take just the four little guys along and leave the rest home to hold down the fort. Well when Caleb found that out, he felt sorry for his sisters who would have to stay home and miss out. After every one assured him it was okay, he finally relaxed and enjoyed himself. You really have to poke to get inside his heart. Often he will say something and if you don't catch what he is saying the first time he will say, "Oh never mind." So we find we are often prying things out of him. Quite different than some of his other brothers :) Caleb really had no interest in learning how to read until this past summer. Now he finally loves to read and you will often find him curled up with a book. He has said over and over again this fall how fun it is to be able to read everything. He is a very good helper to mom and when I ask him to do a job for me I can be quite sure it will be done well. He has great organizational abilities which is a great asset to me :) Caleb likes to play almost any kind of sport. As long as it involves action and sweat, he's in! Hockey is his favorite though and he is looking forward to this winter when we play on our rink.

Happy Birthday Caleb.

May this year be a year of learning the greatness of God

and growing closer to Him.

We love you lots and are so glad that God gave you to us!