Happy Birthday

We hadn’t been married very long before I was bit by the “baby” bug. Beloved, on the other hand, was perfectly content to float through life as a couple, never being bothered by small, noise, dirty children who sucked up your time and money. Exactly how a girl like me, who wanted a house filled with children came to be married to a man who didn’t really want children is still a mystery scientist are trying to solve to this day!

Seriously, the man didn’t want to have children. What a weirdo! I mean, who doesn’t love children? Crazy people, that’s who, snicker. (In Beloved's defense he changed his mind about children after becoming a father)

Anyway, I have a point to all this, really. I wanted a baby. Beloved wanted a pair of speakers. An expensive pair of speakers (I should have seen the warning signs all those years ago to know that my house would be riddled with antique stereo equipment, but I was young and in lllooovveee…) so I made him a deal. He could buy his speakers if I could have a baby.

As I remember it, he kinda laughed. It was a, “You’re just joking” kind of laugh. I laughed too. Mine was an evil, “I’m gonna get my way” kind of laugh. He bought the speakers and hoisted those monsters up the stairs and into our one bedroom apartment (our neighbors shook with fear). I watched him hook them up, so excited, just like a kid at Christmas (insert evil laugh here). Smiling I walked into the bathroom and came out with my birth control pills.

“I guess we don’t need these any more,” I sang as I walked to the kitchen and dumped them down into the trash can.

Beloved stood there. Just as if he were frozen in time. He had that deer in the head lights look and I started to wonder if he was breathing. I smiled. He blinked. I walked past him into the bedroom saying, “I’m glad you bought your speakers…”

And that, as the saying goes, was that.

Our first child was born on April 14, 1990, which also happens to be today’s date. So, as you may have guessed, this blog is about our boy.

My pregnancy was an easy one, right up until the end. Then something went wrong. Terribly wrong. After hours of labor the doctor decided to perform an emergency C-section. The baby was in distress and we were scared senseless. At 4:38am he arrived, limp and ashy gray.

“Is he okay? Is he okay?” I kept asking. I couldn’t see a thing.

And even though the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck THREE TIMES, he was okay. He was more than that, he was perfect.

Boy has filled our life with lots of laughter. Such as the time, when he was four-years-old, and his father had come home for lunch. As we sat at the table, little dude kept rocking his body from side to side. Beloved said, “What are you doing?” and he replied, “Oh. You know how little kids are, they’re always wiggling around.”

From a very early age our boy knew exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up. He drew me a picture for a school assignment showing himself, wearing glasses (which he didn’t wear at the time) and standing behind something. When I asked about the picture, he told me that it was him, as a Pastor. He was five.

You can imagine our surprise when several years later we were listening to a presentation by missionaries from Wycliffe Bible Translators who shared that most people in Christian service knew they were called to serve by the age of nine. Beloved and I looked at each other and whispered, “Wow”.

Boy graduated from high school a year early in 2007. He is currently interning with a Christian organization and is doing well. It’s been really fun to watching him grow and mature this past year. His studies in New Testament Greek, preaching, and Biblical studies challenge him to study hard, but there is still plenty of time for goofy stuff. I can’t really share all the goofy stuff here, but after eating pizza with him and his roommates tonight, I’ll just say that they’re having a good time and if you happen to use the bathroom down there…watch out for bottle rockets.

It was our great joy to take Boy, and his roommates to pizza tonight. We also brought him Kugal and Izzy (his favorite soda). What a fun bunch of guys and yet they are all very serious about the Lord. We are very thankful for good friends and good roomies.

Boy and Miss C with our dog Julie



Hey Ethan, I couldn't help but post this one of you and Boy. Funny thing is, you are both still this goofy!



Little guitar man and for all you kiddies, Boy wishes he had listened to me and practiced more (nah nah Mom was right!)


Big guitar man


Happy birthday Boy! We love you!