I remember all of the details as though it was just yesterday.  All of the subtle moments as though they were still happening…

It was a Saturday morning…around 10:30am.  There was still snow on the ground, but the air was warm.  The birds were singing as though they were beckoning spring towards us.  The world seemed especially quiet as we drove the one and a half kilometers home.

That’s what it was like on the day that we first brought Hudson home; quiet and new.

We couldn’t have drove more than 20km an hour the entire drive home and when we pulled into our driveway, we looked at each other and took a deep breath.  A few moments later, we walked through our front door, put the car seat on the floor of our family room and just stared at the tiny little person sleeping inside.  We were home.  With our son.  And everything felt so different.

That evening, Steve made us the most wonderful dinner…and with Hudson sleeping in the playpen next to us, we sat down at our dining room table for the first time as parents.  It was only a few minutes later when it happened…when nine months worth of tears finally made their appearance.  And it just wouldn’t stop.  I cried for all we had seen and all we had been through.  I cried for all that had changed and all that was about to.  I cried for all of my joy and all of my fear.  I cried because – lying before us – was the little boy that we had waited so long to meet and that things were never going to be the same.

That little boy turns two today…

I would be lying if I said that this was an easy post for me to write.  I’ve actually sat down half a dozen times in an attempt to find the words, but every time, they simply seem to fail me.  I feel like we’ve been living the past year savouring the little details of life…living in a world of those same subtle moments that came with that first day at home.  That same joy…that same fear…and everything in between.

It’s the way that Hudson likes to sleep with his head right on the edge of his bed.  The way that he stands at the kitchen window patiently waiting for the school buses to go by.  The way that he only likes to eat his cheerios out of an ice cube tray and the way that he likes to sit on the bottom step to drink his juice.  It’s the way that he pulls the blankets up around his chin or brings you his shoes whenever he wants to go outside.  It’s the way that he kisses Avery goodnight and the way that he tries to tell you about his day.  It’s the way that he likes to put raisins in his apple sauce and whispers ‘I love you’ when he knows that he’s about to get in trouble.  It’s the freckle on the tip of his nose and the adorable way that likes to blow kisses.  It’s all of these things and so much more.

These are the little details and subtle moments that make up Hudson…that encompass what the past year has been like.  And those moments didn’t seem like they would be noteworthy to the rest of the world until I remembered that God is in those details.  God is in those moments.  God is in our little boy.  And that is very noteworthy.  In fact, that’s the most beautiful detail of all.  And every night, as I watch my little man go to sleep, I see God in him.  I see His grace…His glory…His love…and His plan.  I see how spectacular His craftsmanship really is.

The past year has definitely been the best of times {chasing Hudson from here to eternity…} and it’s been the worst of times {…while throwing up seven times a day!}.  But all that matters is that it’s been our times.  Together.  Growing as a family.  And the real adventure of being a family started the day that little boy entered our world and stole our hearts.

It started the day we first walked through that door…

Happy birthday, Hudson!  There is no gift we could ever give you that could equal what you have given us…

xoxo