9 years ago today...

9 years ago today I felt like I had been pregnant for an eternity. I was only 3 days past my due date, but I was as big as a house. Russ and I woke up very early (for me not so early for an Army Specialist) and were at the hospital at 6am. I was not in labor. By 7am I was IV'd and laying in a bed with all sorts of monitors everywhere, one on my finger, one on my belly, and I still swear there were 3 dozen or so more. By 8am I was wondering why I had to be there at 6am. By 8:15 I thought I would bolt right out the door and keep my baby inside as my Dr came in with Pitocin and an amniotic hook.

Meds were a welcome relief at 10:30am, but not the news that followed. I was only 3 centimeters, meaning I wasn't even a true third of the way to done. By 3:30pm Russ, our dear friend, Kat, and I were pretty bored. A wonderful nurse came in and said something that sounded like music to our bored ears, "Ok here we go. Push."

At 7:30 my Dr. finally made his appearance. He tried with no avail to use forceps and told me a C-section was in my VERY near future as I had worn myself out completely and had never gotten more than the crown of my baby's head out. About an hour later, I lay in recovery completely unaware of what my son looked like, while Russ was holding him and loving him right from the start.

9 years ago I couldn't have imagined what Zachary would be like today. He's so smart, funny, helpful, wise beyond his years at times. His dad and I swear that from the time he began to talk he carried around an invisible shotgun cocking it whenever he disagreed with what we had told him "Well, well, (chhk, chhk) I think (take aim) ... (BOOM!)" and blowing holes through all of our carefully chosen words. He taught us to talk to him and treat him like a little man right from the start because he is just too smart to "dumb it down" to a child's level.

He's more than just a budding artist. He paints the solor system, or Wooly Mammoths better than his mom, and even helped me on my artwork for Penn State last year saying things like "I think there needs to be something right there. You have a hole in the picture."

He accepted Christ while sick a few years ago saying "Mom can you pray to your Jesus to make me better. I know he can make me not sick" and in a moment of perfect clarity I responded "no I won't because He can be your Jesus too. All you have to do is ask Him to live in your heart and then tell Him you don't feel well. He will listen to you too." He loves to just sit and read his Bible. He tells me he recently finished all of Isaiah. I can't say that I've ever read that book cover to cover myself.

He loves to sing. Is there ever any surprise there when one of our children appreciates and participates with music?? One Sunday morning Russ was feeling rather put down about using contemporary praise music in our Sunday morning services. He had been told that no one was "getting anything out of them" and that he was wasting time and money. We were in the kitchen making lunch and discussing the different possibilities when Zachary came in the kitchen with Joshua close on his heels asking "Dad what's the second verse of Days of Elijah? We know all the parts up to that one spot and all the words after it, but we can't get that one spot right. We love that song. We want to know ALL of the words."

I never ever thought I'd have a 9 year old son, but I do, and I love him more every day. Happy Birthday my baby, my son, my Zachary.