Happy 4th Birthday, Jackson Parrish Duncan!

My Dearest Jack,

You would think that after having written your first, second and third Birthday letters, it would come as no surprise to me that it is once again time to write the fourth - yet it does. It surprises me how, in what feels like the blink of an eye, you have become such a Big Boy. It surprises me how very quickly the time has flown since that amazing, magical miracle of a moment that your Daddy and I found out you were alive inside of me.

Oh, Jack, I will never forget that day. Your Daddy and I were going to spend the entire day painting trim around the house. It was Labor Day, 2003. (I find it funny that we learned of your presence on Labor Day, seeing as how it took 30 hours of Labor to get you into the world!) Anyway, that particular day I was feeling so tired and achy and just couldn't bring myself to get out of the bed, much less stand on a ladder and paint. Your Daddy, in yet another instance of knowing me better than I know myself, had a gut feeling that I was pregnant. So, he drove to the drugstore and came home with a test for me to take. Just a few minutes later, we were both waiting not-so-patiently for the results of that test. I will never forget seeing those two pink lines - those two very strong, very distinct pink lines. No doubt whatsoever that a baby - YOU! - was already being knit together perfectly inside of me. There was lots of laughter and quite a few happy tears that day as your Daddy and I scrapped our painting plans and visited a few of our closest friends to tell them our news. The news that, all of a sudden, we were Three.

Jack, you are an answer to our prayers. You are a gift directly from Heaven. Every time I look into your big brown eyes, I catch a glimpse of love in its purest form. You have been with us for only four years, yet I can't really remember what life was like before you came. You have been so beautifully woven into the fabric of our family by the very hand of God.

Today, we celebrated YOU - just you, Daddy and me. The three of us. And what a wonderfully fun day we had! Daddy and I brought lunch and ate with you at school. We also brought cupcakes and had a little celebration with all your school friends. Then we whisked you away from school early - saving you from the dreaded afternoon nap - and spent the rest of the day at the zoo. We took our time, enjoying each and every exhibit and playing for a long time at the playground. I always love having the opportunity to experience days like this with you - to see the world through your eyes!

Sweetheart, you have opened my eyes to so many things. I never imagined that I would be able to sing every word to just about every Backyardigans song ever written. I know far more about Dinosaurs than I ever thought possible and can now, thanks to you, pronounce dinosaur names that up until a couple years ago I didn't even know were real words. I never imagined that I would know what it feels like to have my heart walking around outside of my body, wrapped in a skinny little 42 pound frame. I had no idea that I could love your Daddy more than I did the day you were born. I had no idea how much I enjoyed wet, sloppy kisses. Or how much fun it could be to make a mess. Or to throw rocks in the creek. Or to just be silly. You have opened my eyes to just how wonderful it is to live in the moment - because that's what you do best.

Jack, if I had to describe you in a word, that word would be Vibrant. I choose that word because it encompasses so many aspects of who you are. Everything you do, you do it with gusto. You love to make friends and have truly never met a stranger. You are always so friendly to everyone you come in contact with. You are charming. You are funny. And I mean Funny. When you laugh, you laugh with your whole body. And when you crack up, I crack up and it's usually hard to stop once we get going! You are kind. You are smart. You are loving. You are energetic. You are inquisitive. You know, you even misbehave with gusto! There is no doubt that you, my son, are indeed VIBRANT!

Jack, you have had an amazing year. A tremendous year, really. This year, you learned how to use the potty. You have gone from diapers to being able to completely take care of your bathroom business all by yourself, every single time. You have learned all of the sounds each letter of the alphabet makes. You can sound out any word that is spelled like it sounds and can even recognize lots of words by sight. You have learned most of the books of the Old Testament. You can undress yourself completely and can put on your own shoes. You have learned how to pick up after yourelf, keep your toys organized and your room clean - a big help to Mommy. You learned how to blow your nose. And pedal a tricycle. Fast! You know your left from your right. You use random words like "abomination" and "actually" correctly in sentences and it is hysterical. You attended your very first University of Alabama football game. You are playing on your very first soccer team. You got your first "Car" and are a natural at driving it. You got to go to Disney World twice -TWICE! - and rode crazy rides like Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain and Dinosaur. Most importantly, you have learned to say your prayers all by yourself, and you have been asking questions about God: Where is He? Who is He? and you seem to understand that He made you and that He loves you very much.

And that brings me to the point I want to stress to you with every Birthday Letter I write. Your Daddy and I adore you, Jack. We are wild about you. We think you hung the moon. But as madly in love with you as we both are, your Heavenly Father loves you infinitely more. He loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die for you so that you would have a way to know Him deeply and could one day be with Him in Heaven. My prayer is that you would talk to Him. Talk to Him about everything. And that you would find your value and your identity in the fact that you have been bought with a price and that you are a child of the King!

I love you so much, my darling angel-boy! Happy 4th Birthday!!

Always,
Your Mommy