Happy 13th Birthday, Clayton!

Before the creation of the world, God chose to create you - for His pleasure! (Eph. 1:4-5)

He knit you together in my womb. (Ps. 139:13)

You were the first piece of me, that I ever held outside of my body.

You were our first....the son of our youth.

Welcomed by excited family.

When you were brand new, we dedicated you to the Lord -

- something we've had to do over and over again.

You made it clear from the beginning that you had your own way of doing things.

You were my best little friend, the joy of my lonely days....

....the one who tagged along with us in all that we did.

The child your dad waited 28 years for.

All of your firsts, were our firsts too.

You were the one that we have made the most of our mistakes on.

The one we didn't hold often enough.

The one that we let cry more than we should have.

The one we couldn't keep from climbing up everything you could find to climb. You gave me lots of little heart attacks.

You have been the one that challenges our thinking to the nth degree.

The one who has excelled at everything you've tried.

We have only one little problem.

You won't quit growing.

You won't stop changing.

You keep amazing us.

With each passing day, we're more aware of how short our time with you is growing....

....and we plan to make use of every minute of it!

Happy Birthday, Clayton! We love you so much!