Birthdays, Memories, and Lessons Learned through Pregnancy and Child Birth

Wow! What a week it has been, and it's only Tuesday! Yesterday we celebrated Ethan's first birthday! I cannot believe it's already been a year since he was born. Where does the time go? Today is Sophie's 4th birthday. Again, I must say, where does the time go? I have been thinking back on those two occasions and just feel so blessed to have those sweet little kiddos in my life! And man, what lessons God taught me through them!!! I know that I don't have quite the story that some do, but each child does have a story. I am so thankful God blessed me in sparing me from the infertility issues so many of my friends and family have faced. I know for a fact that, unlike those sweet ladies, I was not/am not strong enough to handle a battle like that. Praise God that He is sovereign and knew that I would not be able to handle that, and therefore spared me from it! But, His will was no less done through my "ordinary" pregnancies and births than it was done in the lives of those sweet little miracle babies, and for that I rejoice! We each had a lesson to learn and our all-knowing God knew that 1) the lesson wasn't the same one for all of us and 2) the same method would not work for all of us, either. How amazing is it that our God loves us enough that He even teaches us about Himself in the way that will leave the most lasting impression for us individually? That's just overwhelming! Anyway, since I know some of you don't know our story, and not that it's a grand one or anything, I thought I would share what I learned from 76 weeks of pregnancy and 2 deliveries...as best I can, anyway!

Back in 2005 we were on the road traveling with the Bibleman Live Ministry. We had been able to save up enough money while on the road that our plan was to take Nov. and Dec. (tour was over then) and just spend it with family, and maybe even take a little vacation. Then, in January, we would both start job hunting. Then, in August we found out we were pregnant. Believe me, that was NOT in the plan...and if you know me, I am a planner. We were both at a loss as to what we were going to do. I mean, here we were, touring the country with two other guys, living in the back of what was essentially a moving truck, sleeping on a futon, and once tour was over, neither one of us even had the prospect of a job! We had no idea what God was up to, but we knew there wasn't much choice other than to trust that He would take care of us and provide what we needed. Oh boy, did he! He provided amazing friends that let us live upstairs in their apartment until we could get a place of our own. He provided a construction job for Kevin so there would be money coming in while we were still job searching. He provided every dime for every bill and every need the whole time. And, he provided a full-time job for Kevin before little Sophie arrived. As many of you know, Sophie came 2 weeks ahead of her due date and about 4 weeks ahead of when the doctor thought she would arrive, but she was healthy and perfect! It was a huuuuuuuuuuuuge lesson for me, the control freak, that reminded me who was really in control. It wasn't about it and I wasn't in charge.

The lesson was pretty much the same with Ethan. Of course, he was planned, but still, things didn't work out like I had planned. From reading various books and reports, I knew that it usually takes about three months, at the very least, to get pregnant, so I had it all planned out what month would be the earliest we would get pregnant and what the earliest month was we would be expecting a baby. It was a good feeling for me...I felt so much more control than I had with Sophie. I was going in with a plan and was ready. Of course, when we were pregnant in just a few weeks, my plan, once again, went out the window. Then, when the contractions started just a day before Sophie's birthday, I was positive I could get them to stop because, if I had it my way, there was no way this baby was coming before her birthday. I know, those of you who have had children are laughing at the thought of stopping labor! I don't know what I was thinking. Anyway, we pulled into the hospital parking lot around 12:15 and Ethan was on the scale by 1:21. You guessed it, I had little to no control in that situation either! Yep, that was quite the lesson on who is in control...and it's not me!

Anyway, I feel so blessed to have these kiddos in my life. I have learned so much from them. I look forward to all the years ahead and all the lessons God is still going to teach me through them. I hope I allow Him to use me to teach them some lessons along the way, as well!