A Month of Gifts: Day Six

Lately, I have been reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts. As Kieran enters the last month of his first year, I decided to list some of the gifts we have celebrated since that wonderful March day as a sort of countdown to his very first birthday:

18.  Looking into someone else's face...and seeing yourself. It is crazy just how much of myself I see in Kieran sometimes. Of course, I see Jordan, too, but he still takes after me quite a bit. I look at these pictures and hope that as he grows I will see more of the good qualities I strive to possess reflected in him--not those parts of me I like to forget about.

19.  Memories. I know it is such a gift to have these memories. With Asher, we just had the memories of our brief joy. Some get a day, a week, or a year with their little one. Every day is a gift, and I scoff at what has been given when I do anything but overflow with gratefulness. Even those late nights with a sick, crying baby are a gift--my baby is crying, he is alive, he is lusty for life. And those bleary-eyed times I get to spend in prayer are priceless.

20.  That moment when all is right with the world. Somehow, a sleeping baby always brings peace and tranquility to a busy mom's heart. That is his unknown gift to me.