By His Grace: 7 years ago...

Today is a special day! Today we celebrate the 7th anniversary of our first born son. I remember the day as if it were yesterday. Hard to believe 7 years have come and gone.

That day was a Thursday. Lauren and I went to the doctor for her first of 4 weekly checkups...she was 36 weeks pregnant. At this point, being first time parents, we had already been to labor and delivery twice with false labor. But, she pressed on. At the time, we worked in the same office at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. She, an admin and me a loan processor. We had a baby shower scheduled that afternoon at work, which Lauren was very excited about. We were getting a cake from her favorite place...RJ Goodies in Spring, TX.

So we sat in the doctors office and Lauren was having contractions. The doctor examined her and as he got ready to leave the room, she had a heavy contraction and winced a bit. The doctor had a concerned look on his face and sat back down and asked, "What just happened?". She told him she had a contraction and that her back had been sore for several days to which he responded, "I think we will send you to labor and delivery...you're probably in labor." So we walked across the hospital to labor and delivery. When we arrived they instructed us to go back to the doctor. So, confused, we went back, to which Lauren quipped, "If I wasn't in labor before, all this walking will throw me into it." We got back to the doctor's office and he sat us down to inform us there was, "no room for us in the inn." Hurricane Katrina had come through two days earlier and the hospital L & D unit was full. So he sent us to a hospital just down the street.

We arrived and were taken immediately into triage for monitoring. About 20 minutes later, the nurse came in to tell us that the doctor would be there in about an hour to perform the delivery. We had elected a C-section (out of our own ignorance). So needless to say, this came as a bit of a shock. I went in the room to start making calls to work and family. And thus began the whirlwind of a day.

Our precious baby boy was born that afternoon around 2:15pm. The procedure went smoothly and after only about 15 minutes in the operating room, we heard the most beautiful sound...the first cry of our first child. We both teared up as they introduced us. They said he was beautiful...my first thought, "are you blind???" For those that have had children you will agree, that a newborn before cleaning them up is a bit messy and cute isn't quite the word I would use to describe it. :o) They moved us to the room, a very nice and large room. The rest of the day is a blur, but Colin was with us for all but about 20 minutes of the day after the delivery.

We, of course fell in love instantly!! Lauren's boss and a couple of colleagues brought the baby shower to us. It was a wonderful day.

So, to my dear oldest son let me say, I am so blessed to have you as my son. I am so proud of the young man you are becoming and pray God's blessings over you. I pray that he will tug at your heart, convict you of your sin and open your eyes to your need of Him. You are such a wonderful role model for your younger sisters and brother. I love so many things about you. I love your giving spirit and your compassionate heart. I pray God will shape you and mold you into a wonderful husband and father one day. You are a treasure!!!

~Psalm 127:3~

Wanted to include a few pics of that amazing day...