Best Blessings in Life...

Dear Baby Barrow,

Life is filled with happiness and good times. But, throughout life, there will be times of hardship, struggle, and even sadness. As unfortunate as that is, it is part of life. Heavenly Father puts trials in our life to help us grow and develop as human beings. Sometimes, those trials will seem like more than we can handle, but we must always remember that Jesus Christ is with us and will help carry our burdens. Throughout my life, I have faced adversity. I have had struggles with my health. I have fought through depression. But, through it all, one thing has never changed. Heavenly Father has blessed me with family and friends who have been there to support me and help me through every hardship. They have been there to offer advice. They have been there to offer a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. They have offered their strength, lent their tears, and been there EVERY step of the way. Without them, I would not be who I am today.

As you grow up, you will begin to see just how important your family and friends are. They will love you and support you. They will always be there for you. As I have gotten older, I realize, more and more, just how important my family and friends are to me. True friends will always be by your side. They will make you laugh, they will make you smile, and they will bring joy to your life.

When times are tough, Heavenly Father will place those special people in your life to help you through the difficulties. Recently, he placed some special friends in our (Mom and me) lives. It is interesting how things like this come about. You may not even be looking for friends or think you need some, but Heavenly Father knows best. So, when he put Brittney and Dustin Erickson in our path...we screamed, ran, and hid. But, as you will learn, those Erickson's are persistent. Eventually, they found us...and I have to admit, we like them. They are amazing people with great values that they hold dear and show on a daily basis. And, so, just when we needed friends the most, Heavenly Father put these special people in our life. We are lucky to have them. Family and friends are the "best blessings in life". The Erickson's are one of those special blessings.

As a matter of fact, today, your mom and I woke up to a heartfelt, special message on Facebook from Brittney. I thought it would be something that you would like to read one day, so I plagiarized it on my blog for you. But, don't worry, she teaches Kindergarten, so she won't be worried about a little plagiarism.

She wrote "I am so so so happy to say that a couple of our absolute, greatest friends are going to be parents, and that means I have a little one to start spoiling! We are so excited for you Meagan Barrow and Justin Barrow! You're going to be amazing parents, and we can't wait to meet baby barrow! :)".

What a special message this was to your mother and me. Like I said, we have been blessed with great friends. And, our friends, are so eager to meet you and spend time with you. What a lucky child you will be. You will have a family that loves you and friends that want to spend time with you and share their love with you also.

So, to the Erickson's: "You're more than friends. You're blessings."

Thank you for coming into our lives when we needed you the most. Thank you for putting up with my wife...or ME! And, thank you for being excited to meet our little one. Good friends are hard to come by in this world, but "a true friend is a gift from God".

So, Baby Barrow, as you grow up, one of the best pieces of advice I can give is to cherish the blessing of good friends. Heavenly Father will put them in your life, and it is your job to keep them there.

We have been blessed to have the Erickson's, the Fisher's, and the Lawrence's all come into our lives and befriend us around the same time. We are blessed to call them our friends and make memories together. And, I cannot wait for you to meet some of the best blessings in life.

Love Daddy