We were so excited, her daddy and I, as we waited on her arrival. We had been married less than two years, but all I ever wanted was to be a wife and mother. My dream was about to come true, and I could have never imagined the joys that it would bring.
She was a stubborn one from the start, breech as the doctors call it. Unless someone has been there, you can't describe to anyone the feeling of trying to bend down and feeling the head of a baby bump into your rib cage and stop you. She was determined not to turn and to come into the world her way, even after the doctor decided to "manually" turn her around inside of me. Yeah, like she was going to listen to the doctor.
That was at the beginning of August. The doctor said that there was still time for her to turn into the proper position for birth, but she had other ideas. We scheduled a c-section for August 19th and prepared for the birth of our first child.
The night of August 18th, we hardly slept at all. We stayed up really late playing the video game system of the day, which was a Sega Genesis at the time. We were up early the next day, ungodly early, and off to the hospital we went.
I don't remember being nervous at all. I don't know if I was mature enough at the time to even think of being nervous. I remember getting out of the car at the hospital that morning, and Ken's daddy being there with the camcorder. It's so cute when I think of it now, Jack saying that when we got back in the car we would have a baby.
The ceserean went as planned, and I remember that she wasn't crying when they took her away. It didn't take long though before I heard the wail. Things get a little fuzzy at this point, but I do remember a family friend (a general surgeon), Dr. David Alford, stepping into the recover room and telling me that I had a beautiful, healthy little girl.
I just don't know what happened next. I mean, I remember taking her home and laying her in her bed and thinking of how tiny and lonely she looked. I remember that Ken looked at me and said, "What do we do now?" I remember having help in our home so that I could concentrate solely on recovering and taking care of my baby. Then, all of a sudden, here we are 18 years later.
There have been many preschool programs, many dance recitals, choral concerts, basketball and soccer games, and church events. There have been laughter, tears, fun, stress, and everything in between. We've watced her grow and mature into the big sister of three other sisters. We've seen her break hearts and get her heart broken. We've seen her win trophies and medals for dancing and achieve commendations for scholastic acheivement. We watched her fall down the steps in her first prom dress in front of her date. We hugged her as she said goodbye to her true love as he went away to boot camp. We proudly watched her walk across the stage to receive her diploma, with honors. We recently watched her go to her first day of college. Gracious, I could blog on this for a week!
Most proudly, we have watched her place her faith in Jesus Christ. We have seen her grow in His grace. We have served alongside her in ministry and missions. We have listened as she sings for the glory of the Lord. We have watched her mature in her sold-out life. We have prayed for her, supported her, and have seen God bless her. In as much as she is a blessing to us, she is also a blessing to others, and for that we are so thankful.
She was our "Boogie" from the start, with her own mind, stubborn like her parents, strong, and independent. She has always had a kind heart with a concern for others and a dedication to doing what is right. She has become fiercely patriotic as she supports her Sailor. She's determined to follow her heart, but she's smart enough to know that she has to use her head. She was our guinea pig, our test child, the first run, our tester as parents, but with God's help, I think "we done good".
Jordan, you are a blessing, and I am so excited to see what God has in store for your life. I am proud of you, and I love you, my little guinea pig.
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