Two years ago, on your 2nd birthday, I started a tradition of writing you a letter on each of your birthdays; which started me writing to letters every week.
A year I wrote to you on your 3rd birthday, right as you were making that unofficial transition out of “toddlerhood.”
And now a year later, here you are, a year into boyhood. There is no doubt you definitely a real boy; not a toddler, not a baby.
Those funny “onion head” pictures on packages saying that toys are not suitable for ages 0-3 are a thing of the past.
You can now easily handle smart parts without it being a problem; as demonstrated in your amazing Lego creations.
This evolution of my son is present in the wallet cards I get from your school each time they have picture day.
I see a chubby blonde-haired baby who turned into a brown-haired boy.
These are the new “good ole days.”
I can honestly say I’m just as happy as you are to see you open your presents. These are the days of Legos, Transformers, Ninja Turtles, and Captain America. (Sounds a lot like my own childhood!)
Gone are the days of changing dirty diapers and cleaning bottles. Gone are the days of you stuttering and speaking in pigeon-English.
The fact that we’re building this new house (and hopefully moving in it in January) only compliments your coming of age to boyhood, as well as our family’s coming of age to a family with a real boy.
I am so excited to teach you to learn how to ride a bicycle in the cul-de-sac we will live in. And can’t for the day we get to “go camping” in our backyard; even though I convinced you’ll ask to go back inside after about an hour.
Things are good and about to get even better.
Happy 4th Birthday, Son. I love you with all that I have.
Last week I had the privilege of not only being on a conference call with Kirk Cameron in regards to his upcoming movie, Saving Christmas, but I also was able to see the movie in advance this past weekend.
Yes, it is a movie, but in particular, I would call it more of a “documentary spliced into a Christmas special hosted by Kirk Cameron alongside his actual family and friends, which takes place at his actual brother-in-law’s house.”
It is extremely professionally shot. I didn’t realize this until it began, but it is produced by my Alma Mater, Liberty University, where I earned my BA in English.
The first adjective that comes to mind after Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas is “captivating.”
This movie is 100% interesting. I learned that the actual Santa Claus (who was from modern-day Turkey) was a famous Christian bishop who passionately defended the deity of Christ and who was also known for anonymously giving to the poor.
I learned that the Christmas tree is a symbol of the Tree of Life, which became off limits after Adam and Eve tasted the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, as explained in Genesis 3:24:
“So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.”
In essence, having a Christmas tree in your home is celebrating the future heavenly Earth, as explained in the Bible, where followers of Christ will live and eat from the fruit of the Tree of Life, as explained in Revelation 22:1-2…
“1Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
The ornaments of the Christmas tree symbolize the fruit on that tree.
After watching Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas, I realized just how explicitly Christian that Christmas really is.
While obviously this Christian holiday has been (successfully?) commercialized, it is also an opportunity to introduce symbols and concepts of Christianity to those are who not familiar with who Jesus actually is.
Seeing Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas has reminded me (or maybe even taught me) that Christmas isn’t simply a celebration of the birth of Jesus. It’s equally a celebration of His life and resurrection as well.
Kirk Cameron has been recently establishing himself as a filmmaker who specializes in creative documentaries that tackle Christian-themed topics most people think about but don’t actually explore for themselves. I believe he’s got a talent for teaching challenging elements of Christianity to the general population, not just those who are already Christians.
And he is able to do it in a refreshing, welcoming, non-intimidating sort of way.
I just recently learned that Unstoppable and Monumental, his other recent films, are now available on Netflix if you’d like to get an idea of his style.
It has been an honor to, in essence, work on the promotion of Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas.
I predict he will continue making many more intriguing documentary style movies throughout his career and hopefully I can be involved in promoting them.
Oh yeah… and there’s a giveaway:
And one lucky reader will win some Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas stocking stuffers!
Just be the first person to post on the Facebook wall for Family Friendly Daddy Blog(not a private message), asking me, “Did I just win Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas stocking stuffers?”
That includes a signed Saving Christmas movie poster (by Kirk Cameron), the soundtrack to the film, and a car air freshener (they smell like Christmas trees .
If you’re the first person to do so, I will respond by saying yes… After that, I will follow up by getting your address to give to the publisher so they can send you your won copy!
Update: We have a winner! The giveaway is complete.
“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”
And hopefully one day, Kirk Cameron will grant my recent Twitter wish and make a movie on Intelligent Design!
As I just mentioned in my previous letter, The Cabinets Are Now Installed In Our House, Nonna and Papa drove up this weekend to help us with our move into a nearby storage facility.
For the past several months, each Sunday after church as we’ve dropped off the recycling, we’ve also been dropping off bags of clothes and home goods to Goodwill.
And for the past several weeks, Mommy has been selling many of our home furnishings online. People bought our TV and stand, our coffee table, and this past weekend, our couch.
We figured with most of our home furnishings being around 7 years old, and for the fact we’ve already been stashing cash away for our new home’s furnishings, that we’d be better off just selling off some of our larger items instead of fooling around with having to move them.
So in theory, we will be able to buy a new couch, coffee table, TV and stand as we move in to our new house; which is somewhere around January 29th.
As would be expected from a nearly 4 year-old little boy (you’ll turn 4 this Sunday), you were extremely eager to help us with the move! All while wearing your Batman pajamas, of course…
I actually was pretty impressed with how quickly you could run with pillows and boxes and toys that were as big as you. You also were very handy with the broom. “I am brooming this right now,” you explained.
You loved running up and down the ramp on the moving truck. You were legitimately helping us move, Jack!
It was a work-filled weekend for sure, but as for now, most of our stuff is now in a 10 x 10 storage facility; including our box springs for our beds.
I think Mommy and I are pretty convinced we never plan to move out of the new house we’re building.
Meanwhile, you built an 18 wheeler out of Legos. As you explained, the drivers sit on top!
We celebrated the conclusion of the weekend’s hard work with some vegan burgers at Burger Republic; where you were a bit loopy, thanks to the wonderful combination of your beloved tater tots and the privilege of not having to take any naps this weekend while Nonna and Papa were in town!
This weekend was very special. Your Nonna and Papa (my parents) drove up to see our new house we are building in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
On the way to the site, you made sure you had some Annie’s snacks, as well as GoGo Squeez, both of which are contributing to your “No Artificial Anything” 4th birthday party this weekend. (Mommy and I let you sample some from the stashes that were mailed to us.)
We also were moving most of our stuff into storage this weekend as well, but more on that in the next letter…
As for the new surprises in our house this week, we saw that our cabinets have been installed; both in the kitchen and bathrooms. It’s a pretty big deal to see them. Mommy and I are very pleased with our choice; black with these cool “scoopy” handles.
It was a decision we made very quickly, along with the carpet, outside color of our house, which type of hardwood floor, etc. So it’s good to know we made a good rash decision a couple months ago.
I stood in front of where the sink and dishwasher will go to get a feel for what it will be like to do the dishes in our new kitchen.
Mommy and I were also pleasantly surprised with the banister on our staircase. I feel that it is more elaborate than the one featured in the model home.
Another cool surprise was the storage space in the attic. I actually forgot about that!
We finally figured out what crop is being grown behind our house: soy beans.
Should I thank Monsanto for that? Oh well, it’s a pretty view at least.
Obviously, the construction is really coming along; we’re actually ahead of schedule. Our closing date is January 29th. However, our agent explained that typically the house is typically move-in ready 45 days after the dry wall is installed.
If that’s the case, in theory our house should definitely be finished before January 29th, since the dry wall was already in a week ago.
Of course, I am keeping my expectations low- to be a realistic optimist. We’ll see what happens on that…
We finished the morning with lunch at Whole Foods, where you were able to (very easily) talk Nonna and Papa into buying you a new stuffed animal; a penguin who you instantly named “Pingy.”
Today was “Mismatch Day” at school, so you and I decided to take some fall pictures real quick in front of your school, while you wore your Ninja Turtle pajama pants.
Once we got inside, we saw your friend Madison. She had prepared a drawing for you along with a set of fish stickers, which you immediately implemented into artwork once we got home.
She’s the one who you were worried that she will get you a girl’s birthday present next week for your party. Based on the fact her Daddy replied with, “Jack, I hope you like Ninja Turtles,” I’d say you have nothing to worry about.
We were so pleasantly surprised by Madison’s kindness that I had reached the front door to leave, while holding you, when you looked at me confused, saying, “Daddy?”
Today made the first time I’ve ever forgot to actually leave you at school while dropping you off there. Had it not been for you bringing it to my attention, there’s a good chance I would have starting driving to work before I realized I never actually dropped you off at school, though we had both just walked in.
Times are good. I am loving the anticipation leading up to your 4th birthday party next weekend!
Last night Mommy even brought you home a cupcake to eat after dinner, to help you practice eating fun treats like we’ll have at your party.
I think we’re going to have a lot of fun next weekend; and not just you, but truly our whole family.
Not only am I excited for you, but I’m excited with you. I feel like I’m actually equally as excited as you are!
Your party is going to be a blast… given none of your girl friends give your girly gifts!
