11 years of syd smith!

something about jellyfish makes syd dance.

thanksgiving in port a.

syd smith thinking deep thoughts. or not.

syd at the beach with the promise of donuts to get him up.

syd the soccer kid.

i love this photo for the grass sticking out of his shin guards.

syd's donut tower!

Syd turned 11 yesterday. He celebrated with both sets of grandparents, one crazy loving brother and 4 good friends. I am so proud of Syd and so blessed to have him as one of my sons. I could write of all of his accomplishments of the last year, which would be many. I could tell of how he is well loved by most people who know him. I could tell you how in the 5th grade he's already making plans to go to Baylor. I guess I just did. :)

But the thing that I'm most proud of, so happy about, is how Syd loves Jesus. There is an unspoken bond there that dictates his life. There is a joy in his eyes that only comes from knowing Jesus.

Syd's favorite Bible verse is 1 Corinthians 13, emphasizing the first and last verses.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13