A Special Birthday!

Today is another special day in our family! The newest "member" of our family is now as old as his girlfriend! :)
A little over a year ago, Carrie went on her second TLC trip to Europe. Without saying too much, Carrie was going through some really tough situations in her life and I was glad that this trip came when it did! Carrie got home and I noticed we had this young man "hanging" around an awful lot. The more he hung around and the more time we spent with him, the more more we liked him! The first thing that impressed me the most was that he was very well-mannered, very polite and respectful. For several months, Carrie had a wonderful friend when she needed it the most and that was the next thing that we were so impressed with! This guy proved himself to be a very, very loyal and trust-worthy friend! For those of you who know me well, you KNOW that I just didn't sit idly by twiddling my thumbs! Oh no - every opportunity that came my way I used to build this "friendship"! Sometimes, we moms can be pretty smart!!
So - November rolled around and Carrie was asked to the Thanksgiving Banquet the College does each year. And so began the "dating"! Valentines Day this past February, after a conversation with "THE DAD", Carrie became the "girlfriend" and we have been rolling along ever since!
Now, for those of you who have daughters, you have this image in your mind of the kind of guy you want your daughter to date! Well, to be honest, Josh has far surpassed my "criteria"!
Josh - I want to wish you a very Happy Birthday! You are an amazing example of what God can do with someone who is completed submitted to Him! Your desire to serve God is your best quality! I cannot tell you how much we appreciate your honesty, your respect of us AND Carrie, your desire to do right no matter WHAT that is! It has been so neat to watch you fit into our family! You "tolerate" Carrie's parents so well!! You have even managed to get the approval of the big, bad brother and THAT is saying soooooo much! The way you treat Ashley is NOT something that goes unnoticed in our family! I have had the privilege to watch your relationship with Carrie over the last year or so and all I can say is that you have impressed us beyond words! While we don't know all that the future holds, I am very confident that God has great things in store for you and Carrie! We are so glad that you are part of our family and we look forward to celebrating many more birthdays to come!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSH!!!!!!