E.T.'s 21st Birthday Is Today

The second half of 2011 and all of 2012 were years of tremendous changes for our family. Most of those changes required patience, maturity, and absolute trust that God was who He says He is. I believe that our three children living at home were the most affected. Nicole had just finished her first semester of college when our world was turned upside down. She has had to grow up in a hurry, and her mother and I are so proud of her and how she has handled the changes. Here is a blog I wrote a few weeks ago just before her wedding. To honor her 21st birthday, I thought I would repeat these words again. They say it so well for me...

In less than twenty four hours, my little E.T. will be married. It doesn't seem possible that this little girl that captured my heart when she joined our family as a foster baby, is old enough to get married. I look at her and see a wonderful young lady who is growing into the young woman that God intends her to be. And then I look again, and she is the tiny, fatherless, fragile, infant that I agonized over in the first few months she was with us. In an earlier blog I tell the story of how putting Nicole to bed every night changed my perspective on my heavenly Father and the care and love He has for me, and Nicole, and each of us. I also tell, in that blog, how she came to be called E.T.

As I write this, I wonder, "have we taught her everything she will need as a married woman?", "will we stay close, or will her new life change cause her to drift away?, "does she feel as bad as I do that we live so far away?" This is one of my biggest regrets, not living close enough to help Nicole and Nick as they finish remodeling their new home. I have given plenty of household repair advise to our other children over the phone, so for now, I guess that is how it will be for Nicole.

I am so happy for her, and Nick, and yet at the same time there is a growing hole in my heart that is full of tears. These tears have been spilling out at the most inopportune times. Letting go of children that you love dearly is one of the hardest things a parent must do. And yet, it is part of the cycle of life. One day she'll call us with the news that there is a little Nicole or Nick on the way, and the cycle will continue.

God is so good, and blesses us abundantly. He has blessed families from the beginning of time, and he has truly blessed ours. My heart is full of thanksgiving today. So don't be put off by this father's tears, they are tears of joy for my little lady's transition into marriage, and they are tears of joy for the years the Lord has granted Kathy and I with this treasure. And maybe a tear or two will be selfish ones that wishes time hadn't gone by so fast...

Happy Birthday Nicole!

Our Oldest Son's Birthday Is Today

Our oldest son, Jason Paul Salazar, has a birthday today. Jason was our "patriotic" baby, born in the year of our country's 200th birthday. We still have his highchair, with "1776-1976" on the back of it.

Jason got a lot of his great qualities from his grandparents. Creativity and orderliness from the Ferrin side and a hard work ethic and determination from the Salazar side. He has his mom's outgoing personality and his father's common sense. Somewhere along the line he became an athlete and I'm not sure where that came from. From very little, Jason could be found keeping rhythm on anything available. Pillows, pots and pans, toys, etc. He also always had a baseball hat on. I suspect that today, he has on a Giants World Series Champions hat on. Being raised in the Bay Area of California, he and his brother are die hard Giants and 49ers fan. It was a great pre-birthday present to have the 49ers win the NFC Championship yesterday and advance to the Super Bowl.

Jason's determination was demonstrated when he was in 9th grade. That summer we all attended our denomination's national conference in Portland, Oregon. All of the Assemblies of God colleges and universities had booths in the exhibit area. Jason spent a lot of time in those booths and he came away from that conference with the determination to attend Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. Not only did he graduate from Evangel, he is one year away from becoming a tenured professor of music at that same university. His creativity showed very early and in his senior year he won a national PTA award for an original composition that he composed, scored and recorded. When Jason was in high school, I attended Denver University for a semester to learn how to use brand new music software, Finale. I would come home and show Jason what I had learned and he learned along with me. Today he uses Finale with many of his composing clients, teaches it at the university, and helps his dad with technical support when I need it. (His skill level and understanding of the program passed mine years ago) I suspect he gets a lot of tech support calls.

Jason is a husband, (he married a wonderful young lady, Jennie), and a father to three great children, (Josie was adopted from Haiti three years ago). He is the kind of child that parents thank God every day for. His mom and I are amazed at his creativity. (How do you hear a full orchestra in your head, put all the parts down on a computer, print them all and then have a full orchestra play your score?) While we are proud of all the work he has done to this point for so many diverse clients, I know one day he'll call and tell us that he's going to be working on a major film score. And he'll do that while spending time with his with, taking time to coach his son's teams, going to their concerts and plays, and taking care of all the things that need to be done around his home. (Did I mention he'll be starting a PhD sometime soon?)

So Jason, enjoy your day, enjoy this year, and many more years to come. Your mom and I are amazed at the wonderful gift that God entrusted to us 37 years ago. We can't wait to see what He does in you, and through you in the years to come.