Happy Birthday, Gregory!

My oldest turned 15 yesterday. I didn't get to post, because I had to work all day, then we were tearing around town with all kinds of errands, and of course, dinner & birthday fun in the evening...today Samuel is home sick, so I arranged to spend much of the day with him, so here I am! (BTW, Samuel is getting better.)

I want to honor my eldest son, who is such a blessing in our lives. He was a long awaited baby!*

I was working at WordPerfect Corporation at the time, and had scheduled my "exit interview" for his due date, just to have it scheduled. I had no idea if he'd be early or late, of course. On his due date, Sept 16th, I started having contractions during breakfast with Nels, around 7:00. Hmm. I went to work, and they continued to progress gradually. My exit interview was at 11:15. When that was finished I went back and ate lunch at my desk, but soon I recognized that these were true contractions, preparing for the real thing. So I called Nels and had him pick me up and take me to the Orem Community Hospital, where he was delivered at 9:26 p.m., 19 1/2 inches long, with dark brown hair, and dark blue eyes. He was born the most beautiful baby boy, with eyelashes that swept half way down his cheeks! Playing on my cd player in the background was "Unforgettable," the duet of Natalie & Nat King Cole. I cried with joy.

Today, he is a hardworking, happy, fun-loving, guy who is becoming more and more responsible EVERY day! I love this guy, and am looking forward to seeing what he'll be able to do with his life, and what he will be contributing to our world! He is an amazing guy. What an honor to be his mother.

*Some more background, for the record. Married at 29 and 24, Nels and I wanted children, but we thought we'd wait just a few months to give us a bit of foundation for ourselves first. A few months turned into four years. We started infertility pursuits after a couple of years. Finally, I got pregnant. Then lost it - "blighted ovum". Got pregnant again, lost it again - "no growth after about 8 weeks." It was hard, but along the way, I had many priesthood blessings that promised that we'd have "children", but that it would be "in the Lord's due time." That's a phrase that's hard for us mortals to hear, but He has that right, knowing what's best for all of us. Also my patriarchal blessing referred to multiple children as well. So I knew that it was just a matter of time. So Nels and I proceeded with our lives. I graduated from BYU, and started working at WordPerfect Corp. Nels finished at BYU, and got the job he'd been wanting for years, at Novell. We bought our first home, this one in Pleasant Grove, Utah. I lost the second baby while we lived in our second ward, and they all surrounded me with love, including the wonderful woman we had bought our home from. My milk came in that time, and I remember her giving me a huge hug, and me just wishing it didn't hurt. I didn't realize that there were drugs that could have prevented the engorgement! Oh well. After that I stayed on my prenatal vitamins. This time, a few months later, I kept the pregnancy. (The vitamin angle is one of my theories as to why it wasn't working before - missing nutrients or something.) It was wonderful to be able to hear the heartbeat of that little guy!!