firstborn

there's nothing quite like your firstborn. nineteen years ago today, i gave birth to alexander hollis widmer. 

not a small feat, (but then what birth is??) but at the end of a long day of heee heee heeeeing, i can't even begin to describe the feeling of looking into the face of your baby for the first time. and looking up to my husband and thinking. . . we did this??

well, actually, God did this, but isn't it cool He lets us in on the fun?

looking over pictures over the past nineteen years, (and they're in a stack in a box. they're not amazingly archively attached to a precious scrapbook with hand-journaled arty pages) i am reminded of how much i love that kid!

after three months of maybe-we-should-send-him-back-to-the-manufacturer colic, he found his thumb. the heavens opened, the angels sang. . . and life was all smiles from then on.

alex is a bright ray of sunshine in a world that has been unkind at times. and even in the unkindest times (like the time his face was smashed into a brick wall at the hands of some bully and he is still toothless ten years later) his sense of humor and smile have never gone missing.

a love for chipmunks, all things spongebob, viral videos, mario kart, friends, soccer, wiffleball in the front yard, Jesus, people, practical jokes, weiner dogs, laughing (real belly laughs) and anything sporty, alex is a great lover of life, an investor in people, and a precious light for our Savior.

do i have some great library of scrapbooks heralding each first step, first tooth, first day of school, first dance, first girlfriend, first car, first anything?

nope.

but i do have living proof that God has done an amazing thing in letting us be shepherds in our son's life.

oh, how i love that kid!

happy birthday, alex! you have taught me so much in 19 years, and i'm looking forward to being your mom for many, many more years.