Happy Birthday Stanton and Jessica!!!

Well, this is a big Birthday Weekend. Stanton (our baby) is turning 7 y/o, and Jessica (my baby sister) is turning um, well, she's um turning ... well, ehhh um, you can ask her through the link on our blog... I can tell you this: I'm turning 36 this November and Jessie is just shy of 7 years younger than me.... ;) So, Happy Birthday Jessie!! We sure do miss you and your family. We hope to come visit sometime this winter (fair warning)... for those who don't know, Jessica and her gang live in Wal-Martland, Arkansas and we live in Euharlee, Georgia (45 minutes from Atlanta and 30 minutes from Rome, 75 minutes from Chattanooga).

It seems like forever since Jessie was my curly haired little sister who flipped Mom the bird in the bleachers at Neighborhood Park in Saraland, AL during one of Chris's little league games.... a move that led to the accidental Head-Bash against the hard shoulder of the couch... Mom was upset but not THAT upset... I'm not sure if it knocked some sense into Jessica or knocked the sense out of her.... (joking of course)... it definitely shook Mom up...

It also seems forever since she lived with us in Orange Beach, AL for a summer right after Ethan was born... this was where Jessica trained to be a master Chef in the kitchen of Mangos on the Island (a restaurant made famous by uh-um, yours truly).

Now she is mother of 2 (soon to be 3) and wife of 1 (Ryan... who has surprisingly come out of his nerd cave and seems to be developing an addiction to cycling... I knew he'd come around!!) So anyways, Happy Birthday Jessie-Mac!!

OK, moving right along. Stanton, our little Cherubim. It's hard to believe he's turning 7 already. Melinda and I have been blessed beyond comprehension with the two wonderful spirits that the Lord has entrusted us with. Both of our boys are so vibrant, smart, and energetic that it can be tiresome to be around them for extended periods of time without proper preparation and orientation. Not to leave Ethan out, but because it is Stanton's Birthday, I'll come back to Ethan in another post.
Let me just tell you about Stanton Valor Bedwell. He came into this world wide eyed and full of wonder. He hasn't changed a bit. He's excited, inquisitive, passionate, spiritual, and loving. He loves the outdoors. He loves mountain biking, bmx'ing, hiking, camping, canoeing, tubing, climbing trees, climbing rocks, climbing anything actually. He loves playing with his friends (which definitely includes his big brother, Ethan). He love his Family and misses them when he's not around them. He sometimes (just out of the blue) will express his longing to see his cousins, aunts/uncles, or Grandparents who he hasn't seen in a while. He will lovingly inquire of Melinda's parents, who died when he was too young to remember them, and express his desire to have known them. Stanton loves going to church and being in Primary (children's Sunday School). He has an impressive knowledge and understanding of scripture stories and of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His favorite scripture story is from Mosiah 12 (found in the Book of Mormon). It's when Abinidi testifies before the wicked King Noah and his priests. (If you are one of my non-LDS Friends, this is not the "Noah's Ark" Noah from the Old Testament... different era, different continent, gimme a call, I'll be glad to chat with you about it... better yet, I'll let Stanton talk to you about it).
Anyways, before I let my ADD get the better of me. Let me tell you about this past Monday morning. Being that we have two vibrant, energetic lads in our home, there is usually a plethora of small toys and pieces of toys (e.g. Lego's...) to step on in the floor. Well, Monday morning was no exception. I came home from work around 8 a.m. and got ready for bed. I had not even started to dream when Melinda woke me up with one of our kittens in her hands and said: "Scott, something's wrong with the cat, look at him!" The cat kept making this yawning motion and would paw at his face. He didn't seem to be in major distress as I could tell that he was breathing and somewhat calm. Melinda was a bit more excited, as she had noticed him doing this for some time and thought that something bad was happening. (the reason why we have these 2 kittens is because we lost "Spike-tail", our 6 year old Manx to the tainted Chinese cat food which caused his liver to fail last year). So being the Nurse that I am, I continued to assess the cat by the usual nursing method, you know: Airway, Breathing, Circulation (in that order)... as I looked in his mouth I saw something lodged between his upper teeth that encompassed his whole upper pallet. With Melinda holding him, I was able to pull this thing out, the cat shook his head a couple times, smacked his lips, then ran off to play with his brother. It turned out to be a round magnet from who knows what (Ethan is in a deconstructive phase where he likes to take things apart, he just hasn't made it to a reconstructive stage yet). So, I wash my hands and go back to bed. Fast-forward to 3 p.m.: The boys come in from school, I hear Melinda telling them about the cat so I get up and go downstairs. I reinforce what Melinda has told them and Stanton says to me something to this effect: "Daddy, during the 'Moment of Silence' this morning (they're not allowed to "pray" in school, so they have a "moment of silence" after their Pledge of Allegiance every morning) during the 'Moment of Silence' this morning, I had a bad feeling in my heart about the cats. It felt like something was wrong, so I said a prayer to Heavenly Father that the cats would be O.K. when I got home from school today." I was taken for a moment because I realized that when Melinda woke me and all that went on right about the same time Stanton would have been in his Moment of Silence. I gave him a hug and thanked him. I asked him if he always prays during the Moment of Silence and he said "Yeah, usually" in a nonchalant kind of way. I then encouraged him to thank his Father in Heaven that the cats were o.k. and for hearing is prayers. It may not seem like much to some of you, but when my kids say or do something like that, it really touches my heart. Being a parent is often very humbling, and when your children prove to be embracing Gospel principles and concepts (like prayer), well that's just plain inspiring!
Please don't think that I'm bragging (which I have no problem doing) about Stanton, but I consider myself beyond fortunate to have him and Ethan as my sons and Melinda as my wife.
Anyways, that's all for "Getting to know Stanton, volume 1". Wish him a Happy Birthday.
Happy Birthday Stanton, I love you buddy!