A birthday story.

I wanted to show you everything- all pics from years past.  And then I couldn't get them off the network.  So, I decided to tell you about it instead.  We have started a tradition in our house of telling the story- first thing on the morning of a birthday, we tell the story of how the Lord gave us all breath.  And so this is how it went Saturday morning at 7 sharp, with three little people and two not-so-little in one queen sized bed.

It was late one evening, really hot outside, and Daddy and I were putting together a new piece of furniture for the TV.  I was really concerned that the one we had wasn't safe or childproof, and we must get a new one before you were born.  ;)  Mommy's belly started hurting, but it wasn't the normal kind of baby's coming hurting.  Besides, you weren't supposed to come for another five weeks!  After an hour or so, it was getting worse so we called the doctor.  She didn't realize it, but she was listening to the Lord when she told us to come in to the hospital.  We stuck some stuff in a bag and went out to get in the car.  When daddy helped me out, there was a big white german shepherd dog sitting in my seat!!  It was craziness.  A dog that we had never before seen in our neighborhood, and he wouldn't get out of the car.  Daddy had to pick him up so that there was room for me!  After he walked away I sat down and we went straight to the hospital.  We called NaeNae and Papa and they started packing.  We got there pretty late, and the nurses started listening to your heartbeat.  It wasn't quite what they like to hear, so they called the doctor and as soon as she got there she said it was time for you to come out!  Very quickly she and daddy changed clothes and we went into another room and it was there that you were born!  You came out of mommy's belly and your cry was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.  The doctor that was there to take care of you said he had never seen a baby born early that was as strong as you were.  We knew right then that the Lord had given you breath at the right moment, that he had protected you inside mommy's belly, and that he had special plans for you.  The verse that he spoke to daddy that night was:
"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." Revelation 4:11

 The Lord said to us that it was Him who created you and I, and it was by His will that we had our being.  And that He is worthy to receive glory and honor for the work He did on the night you were born.  Then the doctors took you to one room and they took mommy to another room to make sure that we were going to be okay.  NaeNae and Papa were driving as fast as they could to get there, but it was a long way.  They were really excited to meet you!  The next morning, I woke up and you were in the nursery and I was in the ICU.  I begged and begged the nurses to bring you to me so that we could be together.  And I kept sending your daddy to be with you.  Finally, they put us in one room together and we were all soooooo happy.  Mama Candace and Daddy Jack came, and even Anna Grace, who was in her mama's belly.  After that, NaeNae and Papa got there and we were all together.  After a week we got to go home and NaeNae stayed with us for another two whole weeks!  We had so much fun together.  In the beginning, you loved to eat and sleep.  I guess we both did the same thing for a week or so there.  The Lord began speaking to us so clearly about how he had been with us on the night you were born and we have never forgotten.

You are an amazing little boy and I am so proud of you every day.  You are caring, compassionate, strong of heart, and sensitive to others.  You are smart, easy-going, and love to play with friends.  You are a great soccer and basketball player.  Your growing love for the Lord is beautiful and I am so blessed to have you as a son.  I love you, my firstborn.  

 About Benjamin he said: "Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders." Deuteronomy 33:12