SJ

When we found out we were expecting our second child I remember quietly hoping for a son. We had our precious girl (who's been a dream & a joy) and I thought it'd be fun to add a little rough & tumble to our family. When our dr confirmed that SJ was in fact a boy- I remember thinking "Nah. Too good to be true- he's mistaken". Seriously, I don't know why, but even in the hours leading up to my delivery I worried that they were wrong- that there happened to be a glitch on the monitor during every ultrasound. That it wasn't a... Ahem- weenie. (I'm still struggling with what to call it...)

As it turns out, it was a weenie (not a glitch) and we were blessed to bring home a little boy who has completed our family in so many ways. He turns two next month and lately that reality consumes me. In a good way.

He's at that age/place where he communicates with us like crazy- he WANTS to be heard! The grunting & pointing has given way to the forming of words & certainty about whether we've understood him or not. He's very good at letting us know when he feels misunderstood 😉.

He LOVES baseball. If you can hit it with a bat, he'll turn it into a baseball game. He has a good arm- or so I'm told. He has the deepest voice I've ever heard come out of a toddler- and it's loud. He's a snuggler & a kisser. He goes for the lips- like my great Aunt Vieda (eww). He loves his big sister & often runs to her for comfort if he's in trouble with us. She just eats it up 😉.

I'll leave you with some of my favorite SJ moments, as of late. I'm enjoying this journey as a boy mama for sure 😊.

And what of the "little" prayers?

I can still remember the day a team of neurologists at TCH sat Shaun & me down to share with us that an old bleed had been discovered on Morgan's brain. Brain bleeds are common in premature birth &, given that Morgan was born 3 mths premature, we were surprised when our previous team in Savannah discovered no bleeds.

But now our new team in Houston had found one. It was small- but packed a big punch. Cerebral Palsy. Worse yet, there was no way to know what level of impact it would have. I distinctly remember our neurologist saying, "...it could be as simple as a mild learning disability or limp- or as significant as a vegetative state. Only time will tell." At that time Morgan was battling for her life, sometimes opening her eyes to a familiar voice, but little else.

Fast forward a few years and it was plain to see that, while fine & gross motor skills were a challenge for her, Morgan met each challenge with determination & spunk. ☺
Each milestone a mountain she would climb and claim victory to. From birth my favorite book (hers too) to read with her was "Ruby In Her Own Time"- the story of a late bloomer who ended up defying the odds.

One "mountain" we faced was the simple joy of swinging. As a child I loved to swing- for hours. It was clear early on that Morgan found joy in the tummy butterflies & wind in her hair as well.😊 I loved to watch her close her little eyes & smile as I pushed her swing. Such a pure joy.

Swinging independently proved difficult, though. I watched her little friends hop effortlessly onto swings alongside her & almost without thought, swing themselves high into the sky as she watched from below. Of course I would have pushed her any day- but she wanted to be like those friends- swinging on her own.

Morgan was nearly five when I began to pray that God would give her the ability to swing. Sounds a little silly, I guess- but it was important to her & to me. We practiced often- me coaching her to lean back then forward... her focusing all her energy into something most don't give a second thought to. And you know what? God honored those prayers AND that hard work. One day it just clicked. One minute she was struggling & the next she was soaring.😊

The God who delivered His people from captivity. The God who made the lame walk & the blind see. He's the same God who listened to a Mama's prayer for her little girl to master the swing. And don't you know, it's her favorite activity! She runs to that swing EVERYtime her feet hit the grass. She swings so high it loosens the bolts in her swing set & Shaun has to tighten them often. 😉

My point? Nothing is of insignificance before His throne. He loves us & He loves when we trust him with our details. What have you been aching to give over to Him lately?