Nine? NINE? I only get nine more and then he is a legal adult? Say it isn’t so. Tanner’s birthday was May 22nd but it took me a month before the two of us got our picture day worked out. We had a wonderful little date he and I. After shooting these pictures, we went to CA Pizza Kitchen and had our favorite BBQ Cilantro Pizza. Then I bought him a new baseball hat and we got ice cream. Precious time with my firstborn child. I still remember the first time I saw my living room littered with baby toys and cried at the beautiful sight of it. There was a baby in my home. MY baby.
Jim is really itchin to cut Tanner’s hair but I wouldn’t let him before pictures. I wanted to capture it and really see all the glorious red. I have shared this detail before but since I am walking down memory lane and this IS my blog, I am going to revisit it again.
When I was young I dreamed I would give birth to a little boy with brilliant red hair. The dream stayed with me and planted a strong desire for a red head in my heart. When I was pregnant with Tanner I asked God over and over to bless him with red hair. While I do love red hair, I think in my heart, it was a more significant and symbolic conversation with God. Because Tanner was my snowflake, I had no frame of reference. I knew I would not see my eyes. I wouldn’t see Jim’s perfectly chiseled jaw line. I didn’t wonder what we would pass on to him knowing that wasn’t a possibility. I didn’t mourn that either. I was excited to be surprised by this little one that God was hand crafting inside me. I did see him with red hair though. Because I recognized him as a gift straight from heaven, it just stood to reason with me that God had placed this little boy in my heart before He placed him in my womb. I thought God whispered to me ahead of time about this little child and gave me a glimpse of him. And so I always hoped…hoped that God had really spoken. Hoped that the beautiful little red head would one day be mine.
When he was born and Jim held him up for me to see, my heart nearly exploded to see all that red hair. I knew. This was MY son. I am crying again just thinking about it. I look at these pictures and tears stream. Nine years later and I have not forgotten the grandness of the gift I have been given.
More pictures tomorrow.
. Apparently, I can block inmate collect calls so now I am just waiting on a call back with instructions on how to do that.
