Jack is 7 today!!

Wow!! I can recall my whole labor experience like it was yesterday. It's part of my story and the beginning of his.

It was 22 hours of labor that started with a quick drive to the hospital in the morning because Eric was so worried I'd have him in the car! I got an epidural ASAP, (best thing I ever did) labored all day and night and after 20 minutes of pushing, Jack was born at 8:35pm. 7 lbs. 13 oz. of love!

I remember being really emotional! I just sobbed and sobbed when I saw him and even now I tear up when I think about it. He was a miracle from God placed into my arms and I was instantly in love! I wished him a Happy Birthday and told him welcome to the world!

His going home outfit was centered around the hat! I just loved that hat! There was also a lion on his diaper butt-so cute!

We came home with Eric's sister Debbie who had just had her third baby Ryan 6 months prior. She stayed for 3 weeks and helped us immensely! We had LOTS of visitors and she was an amazing help with all the chaos going on. And she was taking care of her busy 6 month old too!

We knew Jack and Ryan would be best buddies from Day 1!

I was so overwhelmed with joy, sometimes I would just start crying out of nowhere. He was a really sweet baby and I loved every bit of the newborn stage. Even though we didn't always know what we were doing and we were totally sleep deprived! I loved staring at him while he was sleeping and took millions of pictures of him doing just that!

Eric was smitten from Day 1 too! He was the the best partner and most hands on dad ever! He was a good example to all our friends who didn't have kids yet but were very close. He set the bar super high! Jack was pretty much a daddy's boy and still is actually!

This is the little boy he's grown up to be! One who likes fishing, soccer, video games, baseball, swimming, and all things boy! He's very social and has a bubbly happy personality. He's an amazing big brother and can be really sweet and thoughtful. He also has a stubborn and feisty side but I have no idea where he gets that?

We love him very much and feel honored to be able to raise him and train him up in the way he should go. Our biggest job as parents is to teach him to Love God and Love Others. Thank you God for the treasure of our little boy!