4 Years of Wonderful

March 8, 2005...

I was so scared... probably as scared as I had ever been in my entire life. It was the day I was to be induced and give birth to my first child... my son, who was yet to be named. I was scared for so many reasons...

~ scared of what giving birth would be like...

~ scared to have an epidural...

~ scared that my son might not be healthy...

~ scared that I might have a complication...

At 12:08 am on March 9, 2005, those fears were put to rest when I laid eyes on my first-born son for the first time...

He was healthy, but he was having trouble breathing....

After holding my precious baby for a matter of seconds, he was taken to the NICU where he stayed for the next three days. I remember seeing him in the NICU for the first time and knowing in the depths of my soul that my heart had been forever changed...

I was no longer scared just for myself...

I now had a mother's heart and I longed for my precious baby to be healthy and free from any pain or anything that would make his life hard. I cared more about him that I did myself. I had a mother's heart.

Holding him in my arms for the first time, free from monitors and cords... that is a moment I will never forget...

He was healthy...

I was healthy...

I had done it...

I was a mother...

It hardly seems possible that those feelings and emotions occured four years ago. When I laid eyes on that sweet boy, I could never have possibly imagined how wonderful my life would be because of him.

I could never imagined how sweet, charming, and caring he would become... how wonderful he would be!

Each night, when I tuck Noah into bed, I tell him this...

"Of all the boys in the whole world, God gave me the best one."

And He did!

Noah is wonderful for so many reasons...

~ he is sweet and kind-hearted

~ he is friendly and genuinely cares about people

~ he is inquisitive and bright

~ he is easily delighted... it is so easy to make him happy!

~ he is animated... his facial expressions and voice inflection are adorable!

~ he has a huge personality in a tiny little body

~ he loves his family and tells us so often

~ he is cautious and a bit afraid of taking risks

~ he loves sports and spending "guy time" with Daddy and PaPa

~ he loves Jesus and has a child-like faith that is inspiring

~ he genuinely loves life

He teaches me so much about life. He makes me want to be a better person. He inspires me to grow in my faith. He makes my life full.

March 9, 2005...

The day my life was forever changed. The day my precious baby boy came into this world.

The first day of the rest of my wonderful life... my life as a mother.

I could never have imagined how wonderful he would be... in my wildest dreams, I could not have imagined a boy like Noah Robert Holtzman. And God chose me to be his mother.

I am honored...

I am privileged...

I am forever grateful...

I am forever changed...

Thank you, Lord, for four years of wonderful... wonderful Noah!