You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

THAT WAS THEN...





THIS
IS
NOW...











wow...it is hard to believe that today marks Ben David's second birthday. what an amazing two years it has been. we are so grateful to the lord for his faithfulness in ben david's life that has been demonstrated since day one. on this momentous day, please permit me a somewhat lengthy trip down memory lane as i reflect on the events that have passed.
two years and 12 days ago, we were eagerly anticipating the birth of our firstborn. our due date was may 25th, and we were counting down till that time! our first baby shower was to be on march 12th, and another to follow the next month.
on march 11th, 2006...i got up to get ready for work as usual and my water broke. as you can imagine, i was paralyzed with fear. the events that followed are a bit of a blur, but resulted in my being told that i was 2cm. dilated, our baby could come at anytime and i was to be on strict bed rest at Carolinas Medical Center until he arrived. doctors and nurses rushed in and out of our room...no one able to tell us much. there was an sense of urgency as they administered to me the first of two steroid shots for ben david's lungs. these were imperative as his lungs were far from fully developed and could not function on their own at this point outside the womb. the next shot came 24 hours later and we were informed that this "window" of 48 hours (as each shot took 24 hours to become effective) was crucial.
the waiting was excruciating. we had no idea what to expect. hooked up to monitors of every kind...watching each up and down of our baby's heartbeat...it was overwhelming.
those first 48 hours passed and we were able to breath a small sigh of relief. survival was not the issue now. however, each minute, hour, and day that passed with ben david still inside of me was making all the difference in his development and lessening the chance of long term complications such as partial blindness, cerebral palsy and other difficult challenges preemies can face.
the 12 days of bed rest that followed are hard to describe. they were long, emotional and trying...but each was a gift. i was given much encouragement and wise words of counsel from friends and family and the medical staff. this support was essential and so meaningful to me.
my world as i knew it had come to an abrupt halt. i was forced into a position of absolute dependency and lack of control.
yet even with the presence of all these wonderful people, here is what i discovered: when the unexpected happens, when the rug is completely pulled out from under you, when your life is instantaneously turned upside down...there is truly only one secure place where you can find peace. you can look to your friends, family, medical experts- but you will be disappointed...every time. with all the best meaning intentions and knowledge we possess, we are still each limited by our sheer "humanness".
yet, there is one who can provide the "peace that passes all understanding" and assurance that you are not alone. there is one who can meet you in your lowest moments and points of uncertainty. there is one, and only one, who can be the "lamp unto your feet and light unto your path" when the path is unfamiliar and the territory uncharted.
it is the Lord. while i believe we all know this on some level, i don't think we truly come face to face with the reality of it until life throws us a curveball. and this will happen, time and time again...some curveballs being difficult and challenging, others even tragic.
throughout those long days of waiting, of not knowing what the future held for our little one, of wondering when he would come and how long he would be in the neonatal intensive care...time and time again, i was reminded of this simple truth.
our sweet son was born on march 22, 2006, a day i will never forget. he weighed in at 3lbs. 10.9 ounces, 15 inches long...we were grateful for every ounce!
while we were not allowed to hold him for the first 24 hours as he was far too fragile, we rejoiced in his arrival. he spent the first month of his life in the NICU learning to breath and eat on his own. each day, we sat by his bed. learning to suck from a bottle was hard work and often caused his little heart rate to temporarily plummet as he'd forget to breath. ours would of course do the same.
and yet, we keenly felt the presence of our lord, giving us the strength to keep going. to leave our son each night in the care of complete strangers. to get up during the night and pump instead of feeding my baby as i had anticipated.
on april 20th, we brought ben david home. ironically, just a few days after easter that year. as we celebrate easter this year, it actually falls on the weekend of ben david's birthday. my heart is full as i reflect on all these two years have held. ben david is a happy, healthy two year old and we praise the lord for him.
i am grateful for my son, but above all i am grateful for THE SON; for his death that purchased my life, for his resurrection power that enables me to live day to day without fearing what tomorrow may hold, for his constant presence and faithfulness that remain when all else is stripped away.
in conclusion, may each of you find great hope in our saviour's life anew this easter...for he is not dead, but "he has risen, just as he said." and he remains true to his word...today, tomorrow...forever.
happy birthday ben david! we love you!! may you too soon come to know our lord and the great love he has for you.

i would like to dedicate this blog to my sweet niece, selah marie who lives in heaven, and her wonderful parents. amy and dan have been a continual testimony of what it truly means to hold fast to your faith in the midst of the storm. i have learned much from them and my own faith has been strengthened as i've watched their love for the lord grow while walking through tremendous grief.

Party Time!!!

ben david will officially turn two on saturday, but we celebrated a little early this past sunday with the whole, and i mean WHOLE family!! grandmommie, poppie, marmie, poppy, deuce, aunt amy, uncle evbo, aunt anna, aunt bek, uncle nate and ALL nine cousins: adah, brittian, drew, kurt, annascott, nate, ceci, gia and baby kai! of course, mommy and daddy and brother james were also on hand for this big event!

"Little Two Timer"

Here is Ben David hanging out with two of his favorite friends, Stella and Victoria. Looks like a little "two-timing" going on if you ask me!:)















Here is James, just taking it all in!

This week I had to make a trip to Selma,NC for work. A trip I didn't want to make in sight of the 3 hr drive with only a possibility of a 3 day job. Driving back I took the back roads to take me through the small town of Star,NC. Not only does it mark the geographical center of NC but is also is the roots of were I am from. As I went though the small town it brings back memories untold of going to the woods with Papa in his old white pickup truck. A old ford with a rusted floor that we would drop rocks through singing 'there's a hole in my bucket' and the occasional game of cow poker to pass the time. I was sadden that i couldn't remember the names of all the people that lived in the houses that Papa would always reminisce about as we passed. A story would come as how he would take his shotgun to school and leave it at the door so they could go rabbit hunting after. I wish I could have captured all the names and stories and even kept up with the relatives that have stayed but i have forgotten so much. Part of me thinks that it doesn't really matter since I will never probable move to star or even contact my 2nd,3rd or 4th cousins that i may be related to - but its hard to not feel like your letting your history go. I drove down coggin rd that has changed as they have clear cut the woods on both side of the road and somehow wish that nothing would have changed. I made it past Jacks house were before we would have never passed without stopping and saying hi to Jack, and down past Lilas house to visit Papa once more. Its sad to say that I haven't been back since the day nearly four years ago, but I made my way down the dirt road to the Coggin Cemetary. Its was refreshing to see it kept up and maintained as before some of the walls where falling and the grass overgrown. A flag pole now stands in the middle put up by Max Coggin dedicated to Nana and Papa. It shows how many peoples lives they touched and changed. Not many people have changed and shaped my life like Nana and Papa have. Many afternoons were filled by going to to their house and working with Papa in his shop. He taught me that 'what one fool can do, another can' and we would begin by making a steam engine or a slingshot. He trusted you to be able to do things he new were tough. I don't now how he was so trusting to let us use a knife at such a young age, not to mention the table saw, lathe, or band saw that we would always break because we didn't know how to use it. He took the time to teach you how to do it and that with enough patience anything can be done . I feel i have carried this on with many aspects of life and somehow crave the challenge of doing something I don't know how to do. Though i may loose the stories or names of the people that once lived in Star what Papa has taught me no one can take away. As I walked in the walls and saw Papa's stone I thought it would bring tears, but somehow i was just overjoyed with the memories and knowing that he was home, new again without pain. The silence of the woods brought back the best memories of walking through them with him. And though the charlie field is now a pine forest and the woods are changed, the memories i have and what Papa has left will never change. I am blessed to have known him and to have him shape my life. Driving back i couldn't help but full fill one more tradition of stopping to get ice cream as we drove back each time - it was either chocolate, vanilla, or swirl in a cup. This time i got vanilla.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your strength,and lean not on you own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

rainy day fun

today's raining day activities included multiple trips down the indoor sliding board (technically outdoor, but indoor on days like today), lots of fun with playdoh, a trip to the drive-thru starbucks, lunch with poppie at mcallisters, several cherub movies and....

FINGERPAINTING!!

here is ben david watching one of those cherub movies. he seemed annoyed and was muttering something under his breath about the poor quality of the tv screen. it seemed to be creating a glare...hence, the shades.

can somebody get this boy a plasma flat screen??

Dryers, Swingsets, and the Mighty Broccoli

Well life at the Wrights has been interesting. James is sick and having a hard time sleeping. This has created a lack of sleep for Christina and long hours of holding him at 330 in the morning trying to get him back to sleep. BD on the other hand just cant seem to get enough excitement going from one activity to the next. Sometimes when mr. potato head gets boring and its raining outside we divert to other fun toys in the house like the dryer...

Last weekend was the weekend to finish the new swing set (or at least try and finish). I did learn that the instructions were helpful and correct in that it will take 2 skilled men 20-24 hours to build - I guess that's suppose to encourage me when the set wasn't done this week. We did have 2 men working on the set though - one was just slowing the process down though...

Somehow the swing set looks smaller if you stand on top of it...
One thing i haven't figures out yet is how to slow the slide down - not sure if the set is on a slope and making the slide steeper than it should be but it shoots bd out the bottom of the slide so fast that he kept sliding on his belly in the grass. He is now scared to go down the slide...
And at last we have dinner time. Bd has always been a great eater until now. It seems that the mac and cheese, pasta, pb&j's have all lost their flave and BD wont eat. The only staple that he will it is the broccoli. BD loves his broccoli, in fact he like it so much that we have to save it until the end as desert or he will skip over everything and just eat that. When he gets the broccoli we always say 'oh hail the mighty broccoli' and this is what he does...

How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You!

we are at that stage where falling asleep in the car is not a good thing. i bank on that afternoon nap, and if it starts in the car, there is no telling if it will continue. so, today...i was trying my absolute best to keep poor ben david awake on short 10min. commute home from running errands. i gave him a cookie, my cell phone...even my wallet to play with. finally, out of desperation, i cranked up james taylor and started singing, "how sweet it is to be loved by you." i sang at the top of my lungs, i clapped along, did hand motions..in fact, i got so carried away with my musical interlude that i forgot the intention of it. while enjoying my solo...i totally forgot that was trying to keep ben david awake. jolting back into reality and away from my "american idol" moment...i looked in the rearview mirror, only to find both boys fast asleep... oh well!
i switched the song to "rockabye sweet baby james"...more appropriate at this point, and enjoyed the moment!:) no photo for this one...didn't want to risk waking up the little ones. oh, and for those wondering, the transistion from car to bed went well this time!