Happy Birthday to my first-born!

Oh, where does the time go?!? Today is our oldest son's 8th birthday. While he is not very old yet, I still can see how he has grown over the past year. For some reason when my first child reaches certain milestones or accomplishes something new I get more nostalgic about it and it doesn't take long for tears to come to my eyes.

The day George was born was one of the hottest of the summer and I walked our fields trying to get things to progress. I had felt heavy with pressure for days and finally the time was here.  I was a little nervous seeing as my doctor was out of town and I had no idea who my doctor would be or what to expect. While I went into labor at 5 a.m. I did not go to the hospital until 10 p.m. that night and was 5 cm at that point. I was able to use a whirlpool to relax and try to ease the pain (sure). It did help me to almost fully dialate and how I would have loved to stay right there and deliver but they didn't do water births. Around 2 a.m. (I cannot remember the exact time at this moment) our first child was born -- "a boy, a BIG boy!" were the first words out of the doctor's mouth. Now, we had thought along with many people that it was a girl so I was surprised at first to hear that I had a boy seeing as I didn't know a thing about boys. That mattered little when I held that precious bundle in my arms. George was perfect and we were now embarking on a new journey as parents. My parents and sister had been waiting out in the hall and were able to meet their first grandson and nephew. It was such a time of joy.

Early this morning George turned 8 and I reflect on what a special little man he has become. He is such a help to me that when he isn't around I wonder how I can get anything done without him. I can always count on him to watch the little ones when they are outside playing. George adores his little sister and will even willingly change a diaper or get her dressed if need be. He is a hands-on kind of boy and enjoys working on art projects (that he creates), going hiking, baking, and learning about Daddy's racecar and helping out when he can, to name a few. Unfortunately for me he is not as cuddly as he once was but lately will be the first one to say "I Love You Mommy" at bedtime.

George has been looking forward to his birthday for months now and as soon as the calendar flipped to the month of July his countdown began. He knew how many days left the minute anyone asked. George is a planner and so has been getting details ready for his party tonight. He picked out his birthday meal a month ago and has had his eye on a certain cake for me to make. This week he spent time starting to arrange a seating area outside next to our new landscaping and things like this get him in the "cleaning mode".

I look forward to seeing what God has in store for my little man. But today, I'll enjoy watching him revel in the attention showered on him and thank the Lord for blessing me with this special boy.