“Our Gifts” – Nathan
Happy New Year friends! Have you made your resolutions yet? To be honest I don’t do resolutions, I plan for contributions. So, with that in mind, the topic for this blog adventure is going to be the gifts that are given to others. To be more specific, I want to talk about the contributions that our “Creatinies” make to the world in which we live. I have been asked more than once what I think our three awesome boys will grow up to be, and my answer is, and will always be, “Grow up to be?” They are already far stronger and more amazing than I will ever be, so I suppose that they will grow up to be super awesome. Beyond that, I have pondered what gifts they will give this world and I have come up with three big ones.
Faith– They show us and others that there is no need to worry about the things that we can’t control. Those things will be taken care of, we must just have faith in each other as people and in God. I have seen my boys in some of the most desperate medical conditions without so much a hint of fear. Elijah’s eyes do not lie, nor does he have the capacity to “be brave for me”. His faith is pure beyond measure and, if we could all learn a sliver of that from those amazing individuals among us, I think the world would truly be a better place.
Hope– I have come to terms that Elijah, Simon, and Ezra won’t grow up to be experts in the medical field, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t contribute to it. They participate in medical studies, they take some pokes and prods, they get looked at, examined, and studied. They have even been known to take cross country adventures to help out, even though it may never benefit them personally. What it does do is offer hope, hope for others and hope for the future. I am honored and humbled to be able to help them give that gift.
Love– This is the place that “the boys” really shine! They don’t just love others though, because I think it is fair to say that many people love others, but they do something I think a very few of those among us do- they inspire love, they encourage it, they embody it! Even at nine, the closest thing that Elijah does to a gesture of love is allowing someone to calm him by rubbing his head for thirty seconds, but Elijah, doesn’t show love through gestures, he shows it by just being himself. He gives his happiness freely to everyone around him, without judgement or question. His 
With that, welcome to another New Year! May this year be even better than the last and may it bring the hope of growth and strength!