It's My Life: Happy Birthday Derek!

I can't believe I have been a mom for 11 years. How can time go so fast? This journey has been a lot harder than I could have imagined, but all the pain it took to get Derek here was worth it as I watch him love his brothers, play sports and teach me new things each day.

I went back to Derek's journal and found this excerpt from when he was born. Although many things have changed, my love for him is still the same.

February, 2000

What a miracle it is to have a baby! I never expected the experience of having a baby to be so painful or so rewarding. During your delivery my screams of pain echoed up and down the hospital hallways. At your birth, my heart was so full of love for you that I had no words to express. All I could say was, “my baby”. You were my precious baby boy. You were so beautiful and so peaceful. From the moment they laid you on my chest the rest of the world did not matter. I knew it would be easy to devote the rest of my life to loving, protecting, teaching, and caring for you. Even though your dad was afraid of all the babies before you, he took you off my chest the first chance he got so he could hold you and show you off. He is the most proud father in the entire world. He has so many plans for your free time together.

During these first three weeks you have grown so much. Every time I go anywhere people tell me what a beautiful infant you are. Your head is so perfectly shaped that everyone thinks you must have been delivered c-section. I can sit for hours and just watch you, marveling in the idea that we created you. I love to hold you close and rub my face on your soft skin and smell your delicious baby smell. Your dad races home every day from work just to kiss you and rave about how cute his son is.