Ode to John Paul

I woke up this morning knowing I wanted to share with everyone what a wonderful son I have, as today is his 8th birthday.  At first I thought to honor him I would share the story of his birth but after some thought I decided against it.  For those of you who know the story it was the longest, scariest, happiest day of my life.  To make a long story short when John Paul finally arrived he was 5 weeks early and had to be air lifted to Asheville. After a week long stay in the NicU his lungs were strong enough for him to come home.  But I want to share with you the wonderful young man my son is today.  I am overcome with emotion when I think about what a fine young man my son is.  He has more natural caring and compassion than any of the rest of my children.  Anyone who is around my kids much see's how wild and crazy they can be and they are a great majority of the time but watching them individually its amazing to me how different they are from each other.  John Paul considers his words more carefully than any of his brothers, except for Brandon of course.  He thinks about harsh things before he says them and really makes an effort not to hurt others feelings, be it adults or children.  John Paul is smart, so very smart.  He is a grade and a half in math already, he does not get that from me, as I am sure some of you noticed from my first post with the mathematical error :)  John Paul has a musical aptitude as well, his piano teacher has told me of her surprise at his ability to pick things up and retain them on more than one occasion.  Most of all I am proud of my son because he has a true love for the Lord Jesus.  He has witnessed to his friends about Jesus and is not afraid to share the love of the Lord with them :)  I love my son, John Paul Jones, and it has been one of the biggest honors and blessings of my life to be allowed to be his mama!