Dear Jace,
Happy 10th Birthday, buddy! Double digits—what a fun milestone. It feels like just yesterday you were building towers out of blocks, and now here you are, dreaming up entire worlds with LEGOs. Whether it’s designing and building an entire airport scene, or the large complex LEGO plane set for Christmas, and then the pirate ship for your birthday—your imagination and building skills have really taken off this past year. My favorites are when you come up with your own creations with details like camper hitches and airplane ailerons.
But your love for building isn’t just about bricks. You build joy, kindness, and connection wherever you go. Whether it’s soccer practice in the backyard or kicking the ball around with your buddy Arthur behind your school, you bring energy to everything you do. This fall, you’ll be on your first rec team, and I can already picture you sprinting across the field, giving it your all—not just to score goals, but to lift up your teammates. That’s who you are.
You love to wrestle and build pillow forts in the living room, and had an obsession with learning about tornados this year, asking most people we met for about 3 months if they had ever seen one, and then peppering them with questions so you could learn more. I can only hope that this interest in learning continues to all kinds of future topics.
You often sit and watch a new situation before you engage, but you always end up finding a way to get involved.
Your third-grade teacher said it best: you are “honor bound.” You help others do the right thing at school. Every morning this past year, you walked Jayden into his classroom, helped him get settled, and made sure he felt ready for the day. You didn’t stop there—you helped other kids too, and then quietly made your way to your own classroom, setting up chairs while waiting for your classmates. There was the time you were out riding your new bike and when you got halfway up the hill, you stopped, put the kickstand down, and walked back to help your mom push the stroller—without being asked. Or the time you handed your lucky orange to a classmate during Chinese New Year, or your piece of candy or toy to a sibling. No fanfare. Just quiet leadership.
And then there are the moments that your mom and I want to remember forever. Like when she asked how your day was, and you beamed, “It was amazing!” before skipping down the sidewalk, as a 9-year-old! Most of your days are “amazing,” even the ones spent hanging around the house, or a regular day at school.
This past year you told your mother, “Sometimes when I can’t hold your hand because you aren’t there, I hold my hands together and pretend that one of them is yours.” That kind of tenderness is rare. We pray that God continues to deepen character in you as you grow.
We pray this year you continue to develop your quiet leadership at home, modeling the right ways to be a helper, and treating your siblings with respect.
Jason, you are a gift. Not just to our family, but to everyone lucky enough to know you. As you step into this next chapter—ten years old!— we pray that you keep looking out for the underdog, continue to be the mayor of the school saying hi to everyone (kids and adults alike), and lean into your love for math, science, and history.
Happy Birthday, love,
Dad
