Cameron's Birthday, The Beginning of a Family

Cameron Skyler is 9 years old now. I suppose that officially makes me an adult! It took 9 years for that reality to set in! I'm the one making the judgment calls and calling the shots. Wow. Possibly this reality has been difficult for me to grasp because I was a young mother, pregnant at 17 and a wife and mom at 18. I had to instantly grow up even if I didn't feel like a "grown up".

I wanted to share a post I actually wrote several years ago when he turned six:

Our oldest son turned six years old 2 days ago. On the eve of his birthday I thought back through the brief six years and am amazed at what has transpired. The terrifying, complex fear of being young and pregnant...to the rapid changes that pregnancy brings...followed by a memorable labor (the sort of labor where you wouldn't change a thing!)... and of course the indescribable joy that every new mom must feel of holding her baby for the first time, his warm little finger wrapped around mine.

I remember with amusement the three of us making a home in our cozy 5th wheel for my baby's first few months of life... Always happy and in love in spite of our beat up car and cramped living quarters. Selling the 5th wheel brought a surprising sadness as it drove down the road with our memories.
The day we bought our very own first home when we were 18 years old is forever highlighted in bright yellow as one of the most exciting times of my life! Even a few years later, living in different brand new, fancy homes, my first little home was the most thrilling to set my baby's nursery up in, to cook our first dinner in, and to watch Cameron crawl across the new carpet after we worked so hard to remodel the old place! Cameron enjoyed three birthdays there before our life took another turn as we reached for yet another dream of ours: COLORADO! We've had the joy of watching Cameron and his brothers adopt this land as theirs, building memories in the mountains.
Every birthday is a milestone, a reflection of dreams gained and some lost along the way. Cameron's age marks our family history, from the moment he was conceived life changed course and it continues to wind along in new directions. We celebrate success and we bear disappointments. But especially right now, we celebrate our oldest, the one we're so proud of: Cameron Skyler. Happy Birthday to my baby.


How true this post is even 3 years later.

He is our blessing and a constant source of peace to me and Chris.