Happy 9th Birthday Caleb!

Today is Caleb's 9th birthday. (Yep, he and Joel are two years and 4 days apart!). We joyfully welcomed Caleb Aaron Wilson on Sunday, September 10, 2000 at 8:32 pm.

Caleb's pregnancy was fun because there was a lot of us pregnant at the same time at church. In fact I was working for our Children's Pastor and his wife was pregnant as well. (Poor Clayton a pregnant wife and secretary at the same time. Addison and Caleb are only 6 weeks apart.) I wasn't as sick as I was with Christian or Joel so that made it easier. I of course thought I was for sure having a girl and was so surprised that it was another boy. I went into pre-term labor at 34 weeks with Caleb. They stopped the contractions and put me on bed rest for the next 3 weeks. I had Caleb on a Sunday and it was the first day of football season. I remember before I had my epidural there were so many people in my room and I was hurting pretty bad, all of the men were at one end watching the Cowboys play and a nurse came in and made them all leave, ha. ha. Caleb was a good baby as well.

One thing I will never forget was an incident that happened when Caleb was 2 weeks old. Craig was working and my aunt was getting married. I sat Christian who was 4 down in front of the TV to watch the Olympics. I laid Caleb on the couch with the boppy around him and I went to get dressed. While I was curling my hair I could hear Christian just cracking up, I mean laughing loudly. I was thinking I don't think the Olympics are that funny. I came into the living room and Christian was rolling Caleb down the couch, saying roll Caleb roll. I was MORTIFIED. I mean not only was Caleb so little but Christian could have accidentally suffocated him or something. Needless to say he stayed with me from then on!!

Caleb - if anyone is going to get hurt it will be Caleb. He has put his hand through a window; hand through a glass door; ran straight into a barbed wire fence (still has that scar down his face); has a scar down his back from hitting a nail; you name it he has done it. He has gotten into more stuff than I can even remember. One day when Joel was an infant Caleb wanted to play outside. So I let him go in the backyard and kept the back door open so I could see him while I was feeding Joel. All of the sudden I hear him screaming here kitty, kitty, here kitty, kitty (and we didn't have a cat). The next thing I know he is in the house with an animal by the neck with blood coming down his arm and he is shaking it and hollering look mommy, look at my kitty. Thank goodness I had the wisdom to not over react. I calmly put Joel down and told Caleb to stay where he was. When I got closer to him I realized he had a squirrel by the neck and it had been injured, thus the blood. I again calmly told him to go back outside and put it down. He kept saying but mom it is my kitty. Animal control came and got the squirrel to make sure he didn't have rabies - thank goodness he didn't but I will NEVER forget it. Another time he and Christian were playing hide and seek and he climbed into the dryer!

Caleb is not really into school but he LOVES being around kids. He likes being outside riding his bike or scotter or playing with the neighborhood kids. He LOVES to swim and would swim all day everyday if we would let him. He likes all kinds of sports and has played soccer, baseball and flag football. He is the most sensitive of my children and the most DRAMATIC. He can have melt downs about anything - school work, homework, the heat, not getting something he wants!! He LOVES Jesus. I heard him praying the other night after I had tucked everyone into bed. He was so cute in the middle of praying he says Hold on a minute; then he says okay God I'm back, I had dropped my car and had to pick it up; then he says I hope that was okay and not rude to tell you to hold on; if it was rude I am sorry!!!

Happy Birthday Caleb, I love you so much. I am excited to see the success you will have this year in school and the years to come. I know God has great plans in store for you and can't wait to see how you grew and change into a Godly young man!

Happy 7th Birthday Joel!

Today my "baby" turns 7! Where does the time go? This week I have been remembering when I found out I was pregnant with Joel. Most of you know that Joel was a "surprise" (a BIG surprise) to us. We weren't planning on having any more children and definitely not at that time.

Caleb was 14 months old when I found out I was pregnant with Joel. Craig & I had just come through the hardest year of our life financially. Due to the struggles Craig had just decided that he would go back to school to get his Bachelor's degree. We had a dishwasher leak in our house and an inspector came in and said we had black mold - he had ripped up all of the carpet in our living and dining rooms and the hallway. (We didn't have black mold and ended up getting new carpet, new kitchen countertops and cabinets!). So my house was in total disarray, our finances were not good, I had a young toddler, my husband fixing to go back to school and how do we make all of that work and find a job that will work around his schedule, and now guess what your PREGNANT. Needless to say I did not handle the news very well. As the months passed and things settled down we of course got excited and I of course was hoping for a girl!! Although, I wasn't real surprised when for the third time the sonogram lady typed b-o-y!

We embarked on the difficult journey of thinking of a name. I refused to have another "c" name. I just was too hard with Craig, Christian & Caleb to add another one! I don't really remember how we agreed on Joel. I know Craig really liked it. So the waiting began. It was a pretty uneventful pregnancy. In the early stages I was so nauseated and because I had Caleb to take care of I couldn't take phenegran (it totally knocks me out)! So I took a drug that they give chemo patients during the day and then took phenegran at night. It was very busy time with Craig starting school, a new job and all of us adjusting to that schedule.

I was early with both Christian & Caleb so I naturally assumed this would be the case - WRONG. I actually had him on my due date. My mom and dad where in town that day (something I had prayed for since they had moved to Houston by then). I remember calling my mom at 7:30 that morning saying I am having contractions. I was determined to not go to the hospital too early and be told to go home and come back later (as I had done with the first two) and so by about 12:30 pm I was really hurting. We called Craig at work and then dropped off Caleb at the babysitters and arranged for a friend of mine to get Christian from school. We got to the hospital around 1:20 and I had him at 6:32 pm (which for me is very fast!!). He was such a great baby. He slept through the night at 3 days old!!

He has continued to be such a blessing to us. He is such a combination of Christian & Caleb's personalities. He is very analytical in his thinking (like Christian) but very sensitive especially to me (like Caleb). He truly is a momma's boy which I LOVE!! God knew exactly what he was doing. I do remember a time when I had all three in the car and both Caleb & Joel were crying. From the backseat Christian hollered, "Mom what were ya'll thinking having another baby!" I said Christian take it up with God! Ha.ha.

Joel loves school, loves baseball and LOVES his video games. A lot of nights he will sit on the couch with me and root for the Astros! He is the only one of my children who will order a salad (and LOVE it) and is not really into chocolate. However, he is known as the donut expert in our family. That boy loves him some donuts! (This is a picture from Friday - he wanted me to take donuts to school for his birthday rather than cupcakes).

So Happy Birthday to my youngest. I can't wait to see you grow more and more and develop a deeper and deeper relationship with Jesus. Leaning on him and his guidance and direction for your life. I love you Joel! (Picture-after Tina took our family pics in Florida, Joel wanted one of just me and him - did I mention he is a momma's boy!)