May 2, 2011: Today our baby is 6 months old. Happy Half Birthday, Silas Clark! We celebrated with half a cookie and half a candle.After dinner I spent some time lying on the living room floor next to Silas as he played–just letting the room fill with baby noises, so precious and so fleeting. Even when Silas and I have our bumpy days (like today)–days filled with fitful naps, hungry bellies, and tired cries–I know that I will miss these beautiful moments. When my little man becomes a man, I’ll remember nights like tonight. His tiny belly, now chubby from bowls of oatmeal, pooches out as his little fingers grasp at a toy.I told him again of his birth story. How Mommy’s belly was big. How Daddy and Mommy walked the halls of the hospital. How Daddy was the first one to hold him after the cord was cut. But, I also told Silas the story of Jesus. How Jesus loves him and wants him to live in heaven. How Jesus died on the cross to take our punishment for our sins. How Jesus rose again and gives us eternal life if we trust in Him. This is the story I want my son to know.A quote from a blog I regularly read came to my mind tonight. In thinking of her relationship with her children, the writer of the blog asks herself at the end of each day, “In this day did they feel loved? Did they know God through me?” I long to be able to answer yes to both questions.

I’m learning that perhaps the most amazing and the most sobering task we are given as parents is to give our child an accurate view of God. I pray that God will give grace to Stephen and me as we venture forth on this amazing journey called parenting.