Birthday Post - Joel

I remember waking up to a bit of commotion on October 7th, 1995. It was a Saturday, about 7:30 in the morning, and I could hear my dad's voice as well as voices I didn't recognize, walking back and forth down the hall outside my bedroom door. I climbed out of bed, got dressed and ventured out of my room. Dad greeted me with a big smile on his face. He said, "You have a new baby brother! He was born about 15 minutes ago!" Joel was the first and only child my mom had at home. Pretty much the neatest experience ever, for a 9 year old! Joel was the happiest, sweetest baby. If you were sad, he would give the nicest hugs and was the first to go running to Mom, very concerned, if any of us older kids were having a disagreement with each other. He started drawing portraits at 3 years old. Even at that age, you could tell he had an artistic eye. Soon enough, all he wanted to do was draw. He would get Mom to draw the tricky things like horses, until he wasn't happy with how she was drawing them and finally decided he could do it better. :) Today, Joel turns 18 (!!!) I am not really sure how time has flown by so fast. He still draws (pretty much all day ;) and is planning to pursue a career as an artist. Joel is a curious and creative guy, he makes friends easily, and is definitely a social young man. I am so proud of Joel, and can't wait to see all that the future has in store for him. I love you, Joel!

Happy 18th Birthday!