I always loved playing dollies, holding them and feeding them and rocking them to sleep in my tiny dolly crib. And it was well-known with the girls next door that, when playing house, I had perpetual dibs on the mama role. (They didn't mind being the teenager or the cat, as long as they got to be teacher when we played school.)
In the fourth grade, when my class was supposed to dress up for the career we wanted to have, I tried to go simply as a mama. My Mama, giving deference to the fact that we were supposed to dress for a “career,” helped me tweak my outfit a bit to be a working mother, and off I went in a skirt and one of her blazers, with a baby doll on my hip. But we both knew that the baby doll was way more important to me than the blazer.
As my family grew cousin by cousin, I got some real life baby experience and figured out that not only did I want to be a mother but I wanted to be a mother to a big brood. When I read Cheaper by the Dozen in the seventh grade, I decided that twelve was a wonderful number to put on my desire to have a big family, and immediately drew up a list of eleven children’s names, with one blank reserved on the boy side for my future husband’s choosing. Generous little soul, wasn’t I?
When Jacob and I had become serious and were having those big life topic discussions, I revealed to him my Cheaper by the Dozen thoughts about family size, theretofore laughed at by most everyone, and he smiled and said, "Why stop at twelve?" I knew then for sure that this was the man God meant for me to marry.
On April 7, 2008, we found out we were expecting Andrew. How my heart soared to know I had become a mother to a tiny little being! And how very hard it was to keep this most joyous thing a secret until we'd been in for his first photo shoot!
What a terrific year it has been since learning Andrew was on his way to us! We may not ever get as far as twelve, but we have our firstborn and how very, very thankful we are for him!
10 comments:
So sweet! LOVE what he said about the "cheaper by the dozen" dream!!
Oh my gosh...I thought you were going to tell us you were pregnant again!!! My heart skipped a beat!!! I canNOT wait to see y'all next Tuesday!!! I love you!
Thanks, Eleanor!
Laura Ann-Don't you think I would have called you?! :)
I thought the same thing as Laura Ann! I thought you were telling us you were preggers again!!
Children are such a blessing!
what a precious reflection of your heart! praise the Lord for such a blessing!
Hard to believe it's been a year! We came the next week for the Festival and I just KNEW! Love, Mama
This is the sweetest post. Like you, I have always wanted to be a mom. I have wanted six kids for as long as I can remember. (Named all except one for my husband to have that honor!) The older I get, the more it is definitely affirmed. I still want half a dozen! :)
Oh, and...I, too thought as Laura Ann did! :) That just shows we are all waiting on the heals of number two!
Precious, precious! Thanks for sharing.
My dream came true too and it is all I ever imagined. God is good.
I definitely thought you were going to say you were having another baby.
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