Mr. Grant Daniel is 9 years old!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY my precious SON - my FAVORITE Son - my #1 SON!!!! I know, precious isn't what a boy wants to be called but I think he's precious so that's what I will call him. He celebrated his day of birth a few days early because his birthday fell on a Monday so Saturday it was when 13 boys including Grant converged onto my house!! OH BOY!! I probably didn't think that 1 through to well, but it was all good. He had a football game that morning that took about 4 hrs. of our morning so "the sisters" came through like they always do and pulled together the last minute cleaning, cooking and ALL the decorating. Sarah was my favorite for the day - she did SO MUCH!! The birthday par-tay changed a bit because the rain that wouldn't stop for the week before. We took the boys to see the movie, "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs". Grant had been waiting since they had advertised it on screen and it is 1 of his most favorite books. Great movie - we then came back and ate hotdogs, wrestled, had cake, wrestled, opened presents, wrestled - you get the picture. He really had a great time - everyone seemed to have fun - there was minimal repairs to his room - so it was deemed a success. On his real b'day, 2 days later, he was taken to breakfast by a sister, taken to lunch by another sister, given gifts by sisters, we all went to dinner and we are done...by the time of Grant's birthday Mom and Dad are shouting because his birthday ends the Summer of Baker kids b'days!!! 2 in May, 1 in July, 1 in August and 1 in September. OH BOY, but then quickly it's Christmas so whatev. Here are a few pics from his big b'day.

Here's the dining room all decorated by his sisters.

This is the car that I took so I got a quick pic of some of the boys.

At the movies of course -

not the best but it will do.

Getting ready for the cake - look at those sweaty boys hovering,

I can't believe I ate a piece of that cake. All 4 are cousins.

Almost all the boys. Grant was loving it.

The famous Grant smile. This is the best he can do for now...

After his Dad, Austin is his most favorite guy. Can we say idol! (Hannah's BF)

All 13 of them - my sweet nephew Landry is hiding but he's there.

And the goofy look - this wasn't hard to achieve.

PRESENTS - he was BLESSED!!!

And it's TACKLE TIME!!!

I really can't believe that he is 1/2 way to 18. I don't want to believe it. I know that he will go to college right out of high school because he LOVES to learn. But we do tell him that he must go to college near home. I ask him regularly - do you want to be a horn frog, a mustang or a maverick. That is TCU, SMU or UTA! HA, I would HATE for him to go far so why not use some early mind games on him, kidding. As I said earlier he is playing football. Dad loves it, Mom, not so much. It is NOT fun in the least to see him get hit or see him covered from head to toe in bruises. I HATE IT! I'm trying, but it is not my fav - at all. He actually played flag football around 5 but this is TACKLE and all I want to do is go tackle the boys that tackle him. No, it's not that bad. He is doing quite well for his 1st year of tackle. Ray is SO proud. He has gotten many tackles, sacked the QB, recovered a fumble and thrown up on the field. YEP, the throwing up was his proudest moment. He actually has heard stories from his Dad about Ray playing and always throwing up - and then he kept on playing. WHATEVER!! They made Grant come off the field and we actually took him home because he was sick! OH BOY! So, we are learning many, many things - how to be patient with coaches, how to stick something out when it is taking SO MUCH of our family time up (4 nights a week and 1 day on the weekend). Umm, it is teaching Grant SO MUCH too. We really couldn't be prouder and he LOVES IT! I don't know if it is because Dad and Austin love it so much but I think he loves it too. Austin however isn't thrilled that he is a Sooner but he has dealt with that and cheers for Grant and will NEVER cheer, GO SOONERS! It's not something his Texas blood can do. Here are some pics from his homecoming game.

Here is my tough guy - #52

This is my nephew Landry - the QB, #11

This is the down, set, hut business. He is READY!!!

Since this was "homecoming" they had a little ceremony at halftime.

Notice he isn't holding her hand. She must hold his arm.

The STUD!!!

Pushing THROUGH!! He is the big 1 with NO socks.

And this is after the game. Grant, Amelia and Landry. My sister

Traci's kids. Their Dad Darrell is 1 of the coaches.

I could go on and on for days talking about what a good boy Grant is. He is truly a JOY to parent. He is all of our pride and joy! I've never known to many 9 year olds that have 4 big sisters that want to be around him. They take him on dates, read with him, play video games with him (Sarah), wrestle with him, get ALL his kisses - they just all truly adore him.

He FOR SURE was WELL worth the wait. Since this is his 1st birthday blog since I have been blogging I will explain the details of how we came about having a 5th child. Grant is 8 years younger then our #4 daughter and we for sure thought we were done having children. Grandchildren were in our thoughts BUT the Lord had another plan. Around a year before I became pregnant for Grant - Ray had gone to have a physical and we had decided to have him get broke, (why do they call it fixed), anyway you get the idea. He was scheduled for a Friday morning surgery, I had already gone to the pharmacy on Thursday to pick up his painkillers so that he could take 1 first thing in the morning. Everything was in motion to get up the next morning and head to the Dr.'s - until.... someone woke me up around 3 in the morning. I felt very uneasy about something when I got woken up and I knew I must pray. I at 1st had NO thoughts that it had anything to do with Ray's surgery and I FOR SURE had NO thoughts about another child. But 1 thing was clear by the end of my talk with God - Ray was NOT to have that surgery 4 hrs. from then. After getting peace I went back to bed and woke him up to tell him what I felt in my spirit. He of course said, "OK I'm not doing it" & he rolled back to sleep. So we woke up the next morning and we talked through what had happened and what I was feeling but bottom line - I knew he wasn't suppose to do it. It had nothing to do with another baby, we were VERY happy with our 4 little women. We were BEYOND active with sports, traveling from state to state. We were planning a BIG trip to Disney World and we TOTALLY felt complete. WELL, THANK GOD the Lord Jesus knows SO MUCH more then us!! I wasn't old by any means but when you have your 1st at 20 - 35 seems "older" to start with the diapers again. SO, he did NOT have the vasectomy - life went on and we never really questioned God about it again. Then about 3 months go by and I am 34, I begin to pray and wonder if we ARE to have another child. I kept it to myself and just pondered and prayed about the idea. Finally I broke the news to Ray of what I had been thinking and talking to God about. He of course would have had 10 kids but this time, for a bit, he wasn't seeing it. You see, our girls were TOTALLY self sufficient - we slept in on weekends - we could be gone out of the house quick - Rachel was fixing to get her learners permit - we were head first into TEENAGE years. SO, he said he would take it to the Lord in prayer. To make a LONG story long, he began to think that we were to have another child too! WOW, this was crazy. SO, we did what most people think is quite funny and really we knew the outcome before it happened but we called a family meeting. Now we have had numerous family meetings. We have made BIG decisions in some of our family meetings. But this 1 was the biggest by far. We talked to the girls about what we thought the Lord was wanting us to do and we shared that we wanted a new baby to feel wanted by us ALL and not begin a life with a spirit of rejection. We wanted them to know that life was going to change a bit, for a while. Well the "new baby" won by a vote of 3-1, Sarah would be the 1 that held out. She DID NOT want another sister. She was in the BIGGEST time of her tomboyhood and another sister would have done her in. She wanted us to hurry because in her 12 year old words, "you aren't getting any younger". She was disappointed that probably Disney World wasn't going to happen. But we went forth with "God's PLAN" and I was pregnant probably within 30 days. When we found out he was a boy (and we were ALL in the sonogram room) - we were ELATED!!!! After a long pregnancy of Gestational Diabetes and other issues, our PRINCE was born. Of course Sarah fell head over heels for her guy, she was quite smitten with him from 1st sight. And when Grant was 5 mths. old the Lord provided and we took our Disney World dream trip. I truly in a TRIZILLION years could NEVER imagine life without Grant. He does complete our family. He is my Mom's very best buddy. At 9 years old Grant still prefers her over anyone in the world. He is a big part of the reason my 79 year old Mother keeps going everyday. She stays sharp in her mind to keep up with his questions. She is going to be the main reason that he is going to be such an INCREDIBLE man. I see now ALL the why's of having him. In the moment I wasn't quite sure but OH MY, I am sure now. God's plan is ALWAYS PERFECT, when we let Him lead us. So 9 years ago - our quiver was FULL!

Grant has such GREATNESS in him, he has such a gentle spirit, he is a leader and I can't even imagine what the Lord has for his life. Ray is going to start a class with Grant and about 6 other 7-10 year olds and the name of it is "Men of Honor". We are beyond excited to continue training him into the MAN of GOD that he is called to be. I am SO thankful that Grant has a Dad that is more of a Man of Honor then I have EVER known or heard of. He is a living example of Christ likeness. Grant is so blessed to have him for a Daddy and for a best friend.

Their mission statement is -- To call young men to a new standard of Manhood, that is Christ-likeness. To provide a catalyst and opportunity for next generation leaders to emerge and exhibit honor, integrity, chivalry and moral excellence. To create positive peer groups which support and exert positive peer pressure.

Their motto is --

I am a winner... I am a man of honor;

I do the right thing... because it's the right thing to do;
My word is my bond.
C.H.I.P.
Character, Honesty, Integrity, Perseverance.
If there is no man... I will be the man;
Manhood and Christ-likeness are synonymous;
Being a male is a matter of birth;
Being a man is a matter of choice;
There is no greatness outside of God;
1, 2, 3... YES!

So Mr. Grant - like I tell you at least every other day - "If I could pick from ANY son in ALL of heaven, I WOULD PICK YOU!!!! I love you more then the VERY last number (and we know there will NEVER be a last number, they go on and on)!!! I thank God for giving you to me to be your Mom. You are a TRUE GIFT FROM GOD!!! Thank you for always making us proud of the boy you are. You will NEVER bring shame to us because you are a Godly man, you are a MAN OF HONOR!!