But his birthday did finally arrive and we enjoyed a wonderful celebration that spanned two days. We were in Nairobi to pick up my cousin and friend from the airport, which added to the birthday fun. Like any good birthday, the day began with opening a couple presents. Asa loves rhinos these days and was rather happy to add this guy to his rhino collection.
And then we ventured to the Giraffe Center! We celebrated Asa's 2nd birthday there also, but of course he couldn't remember that, so it felt like his first time feeding the giraffes and he was ecstatic.
Oh, and this happened :)
We eventually loaded up the car with seven people, lots of luggage and lots of supplies, and drove all the way back to Chogoria.
The next day I made Asa's cake. He made it clear several weeks in advance that he wanted a "rhino cake." So I drew a picture to work from, then got to work with lots of frosting. My cousin and friend were rockstars and entertained the kiddos so I had time and space to work in the kitchen. (Thanks, Karen and Renee!)
Asa was pretty happy with the results, which of course made me pretty happy too :)
After the sugar rush of eating birthday cake, Asa was quite ready for more presents. The high point was this final gift. What superhero-loving boy wouldn't want Thor's hammer???
Mjölnir (the hammer) was a castoff from another missionary family whose boys are all grown and they were therefore purging some things. We were very happy to take it off their hands! Now all we need to do is find this boy a regal red cape to go with it :)
Asa is our liveliest little man, full of spunk and personality. He is expressive and dramatic, loud and fun. He is unafraid of anything. He doesn't bat an eye at doing new things or going new places or meeting new people. He has an adventurous spirit and tags along with his older brothers extremely well. Asa loves to sing and has started making up his own songs, and his voice is beautiful. He loves to be read to, loves to play games, loves to wrestle with his brothers, and loves to watch movies. He still loves tractors but has added rhinos and hippos as new favorite things. He still naps almost every day and needs his snuggle blanket a lot. He is a total Mama's Boy, giving me kisses throughout the day and needing mama snuggles regularly. He is an energetic little dude who leaves me exhausted at the end of the day, and I can't imagine life without him.
The most important and beautiful and precious thing about our Asa Bubba is that he loves the Lord. He knows a lot about Jesus and often finds the shape of the cross wherever he may be, saying, "It's like Jesus on the cross!" And our little boy knows how to pray. He is comfortable with praying out loud and is always ready to pray whenever we ask him to. During his birthday celebration, we learned that Asa's prayers have made an impact on our househelper and her family. We always pray at chai time, and often Asa is the one who prays since he is ready and willing every time. He gives thanks to God and he prays for people, and it's wonderful to listen to. Our househelper has mentioned a couple times how impressed she is with Asa's prayers, and was particularly touched when he prayed for her daughter when she was sick. Apparently she has told her daughter about Asa's prayers, and her daughter was so impressed that a 3-year old boy knew how to pray. "We have 7-year old boys in school who don't even know how to pray," she said to her mom. And when she heard that Asa's birthday was coming up, she made him a card and gave him this rhino toy because she wanted to bless the little boy who already knew how to pray. You can imagine how blessed we were by such kindness and thoughtfulness and encouragement!
We are incredibly proud of our son and we pray that he will always live up to his namesake, King Asa of Judah, who did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord and had a heart fully committed to Him all the days of his life.
We love you, Asa!
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