34 years ago, today, our daughter Aimee was born at Kaiser Hospital in Santa Clara, California. For a minister of music, the timing was very interesting. That week, we were in the final preparations for our annual Christmas concert, and the hospital was 2 hours driving time away from the city we were living in. It was this way because of insurance requirements. Our oldest son, Jason, was almost 2 years old, so that year we had a great Christmas with Jason, who understood what was going on, and Aimee, our brand new baby, that everyone wanted to hold.
Every year we had to really work at having Aimee's birthday on the calendar early enough so that the church music I was working on wouldn't overlap. Jason was an almost perfect baby. He hardly fussed, slept through the night starting his first week home, and was an easy baby and child to care for. Then came Aimee... One night when she was still pretty young she came into our bedroom. I was already in bed, reading Dr. Dobson's The Strong Willed Child. She asked me what I was reading and I told her, "Aimee, I'm reading a book about you." Then there was the time she and her mother were visiting Kathy's parents. Marjorie taught organ lessons in her home and was finishing up with a student. As the adult student started to leave, Kathy and Aimee came into the room and Kathy's mom introduced them. The student asked Aimee, "what do you call your Grandma?" to which Aimee replied "Grandma." Then the student asked her "what do you call your Grandpa", to which Aimee proudly replied "jerk." We're still not sure where that came from. What we did know early on was that Aimee had a mind of her own, and she would march to the beat of her drummer, not necessarily ours.
Today Aimee is an outstanding Children's Pastor in Albany, Oregon. This is the second church where she has made tremendous strides in the church's ministry to children. I think the single-mindedness that she displayed as a child has benefited her tremendously as she creatively designs ministry to children. I believe that somewhere down the road, Aimee will be a regional, if not national Children's Ministry leader. I think she will be a wonderful mentor and creative resource for children and children's leaders across our country. She is also a wonderful mother and wife.
As I stand back and watch from a distance, I am so thankful to God for this wonderful little dynamo that He trusted us with. Her mother and I are so proud of her. We can't wait to see all of the great things that God will help her and her husband accomplish.
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