Nathan's Birthday

So today is my youngest son's birthday.  Fourteen years ago today, he came into the world.   He was my one child whom I actually believed might enter this world with out any coaxing or intervention.  For a couple of weeks before he was born, I felt like he was on his way.  But that was not to be the case.

Instead on Friday, October 20, 2000, we went to the hospital to be induced.  We went in to the room.  My husband and his sister-in-law (his brother's wife -aka my coach for all four children) and I settled in.  It was typical labor for me in that I spent most of it on my side because of my blood pressure.  At some point during the morning the nurse wanted to check how far along I was, so my husband stepped outside of the room.  To our surprise, he found two of his aunts there because the daughter of one of the aunt's was in the room directly beside me.  Talk about interesting.  The nurses began taking bets on which one of us would deliver first (me on number 3 or her with her first).  He was my one child who made us nervous prior to delivery -well other than my first who did not seem interested in being born).  

This son came into the world and brightened our world.  There was not too much he was afraid of.  He would be on the opposite side of a hotel swimming pool and jump in having absolute faith that his father or I would be there to catch him.  He is also the son that required our first trip to the ER for stitches. 

He is best friends with his baby sister, well for the most part.  He is also our first child to fracture a bone, which was quite the adventure for me.  He is full of hugs and love.  He has a heart of gold.  

So happy 14th birthday to my wonderful son Nathan! 

Life of a Mom of 4 - Day 2 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge

So I am participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge and today I want to talk about life for me as the mom of 4.  I am a wife and a mother.  I also homeschool our 4 children.  Obviously I have held the title of wife longer than mother or homeschooler.  Life is never dull being the wife of a military service member, nor is it dull with 4 children in the house.

Our oldest turned 18 back in June.  He has been our interesting child.  Since the day he was born, he has never let us have a dull moment.  From breaking our crib to driving our van into a fence at 4 years old (although our 2nd son was his cohort in crime for that little excursion).  He keeps life exciting.  He is the protector of his little sister and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.  He is the reason we got into homeschooling in the first place.  At 18 he still gives me tons of hugs and kisses along with saying he loves me.  He even does this in front of his friends (much to the friends' dismay and the friends' mothers disappointment that their sons don't).

Then along came number 2.  He's my one that arrived in the world before nurses or doctor were ready - or even the aunt who was my coach.  He  has a smile that lights up a room.  Although he quietly goes around stirring up trouble and leaving excitement in his wake.  I quickly learned to find him when things happened at our house.  This was also the child that at 2 years old assisted in the great minivan fence fiasco.  He is also an Eagle Scout and was the youngest scout in our troop at that time to have earned the rank.  He sets goals and achieves them!  He and his older brother earned their ranks of Eagle Scout on the same day and we had one fantastic Eagle ceremony, where their younger brother served as Master of Ceremonies.

Then came number 3 who took anything we might have thought we learned from 1 and 2 and made us throw it out the window.  This child had no fear - I repeat no fear!  He would jump into pools even if mom and dad were on the other side of the pool.  Because he knew we would race to the other side to get him.  At Busch Gardens Williamsburg, he went up and down the ropes area for kids and race down the slides only to jump up and race back to the top - sure that Daddy would catch back up with him before he reached the point where the attendants might make him stop.  And this was all because Mom couldn't keep up seeing how she was about 7 months pregnant at the time.  He's had the most stitches of our children- approximately 7 sets with the majority being in his head within a one year period.  We quickly discovered the only thing wrong was motor skill issues.  Fortunately we were able to take him to an amazing physical therapy office in NC. He was the only one to fracture a bone and other adventures as well.

Then along came his cohort in crime.  They are the dynamic duo and the Bobbsey Twins and quite a few other things rolled in one.  Our little girl quietly entered the scene and took everything in.  She moved with stealthiness that is hard to come by.  She is defended by her three big brothers.  She grew up with three brothers plus being surrounded by loads of boys thanks to Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.  She has no fear either.  Anything the boys can do, I assure you she will say she can do better.  She is my little doll.  She is my sunshine.  

So needless to say, my life is never boring they keep me on my toes and I love every minute of it.  Often people tell me, "Oh I couldn't homeschool my children".  Well I say don't say you will never do something, because God has an amazing sense of humor.  So you might be surprised what you find yourself doing.  And #blogboost - 2 days down and 29 days to go!