108 Months!

Drake,

Where do I begin? Nine years old already? It seems just like yesterday that Daddy got up to find me in the shower at 4:00 in the morning (which just does not happen) and threw open the shower curtain and yelled, "What's going on?" He scared me half to death! And I apparently had scared him half to death by being in the shower that early. But I was trying to determine if I was really in labor or not. I had been up since around 2:00 a.m. timing contractions off and on. They were enough to keep me awake, but not enough for me to be convinced yet. But since the contractions didn't stop with the shower, I told Daddy he probably didn't need to plan on going to work that day. Daddy was ready to leave right then to go to the hospital, but I wasn't. I wanted to wait a little while longer.

Finally around 6:00 a.m. when the contractions were steadily around five minutes apart Daddy convinced me to let him call the hospital and tell them we were coming in and I called Grandma so she could come stay with Dakota and take her to school. I think Grandma got here around 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. or so and Daddy was whisking me out the door. He was a little anxious!

We made the drive to the hospital - although I think it was the longest 25-minute drive ever. Daddy kept asking me if I was okay and if I was having another contraction. At one point he asked me how far apart they were and when I told him about two minutes he almost went airborne in the car. We were only 2 minutes from the hospital at that point but he couldn't get there fast enough! Again, he was a little anxious!

We got checked in and did all the paperwork and all the crazy stuff they make you do at the hospital and got a room. It wasn't a delivery room because they were full that day. I told the nurse we were not going to be there long (because your sister came pretty quick, too) so she could try and find us a delivery room. And soon enough they had a delivery room ready - and it was just in time! The doctor finally got there and he kept leaving the room and the nurse kept telling him he better get back in there because she didn't feel like filling out all the paperwork she would have to do if she had to do his job for him. So, he finally came back and just a few minutes later, at 9:31 a.m., you entered this world.

You weighed 8 lbs. and 13 ounces! You were a big, chubby boy. And the first thing I said to Daddy when they handed you to me was "He's got your cowlick in the middle of his forehead, just like Dakota." You were absolutely the most handsome thing I had ever seen! We had waited a long time for you and we were so happy to finally meet you.

So, fast forward nine years and here we are. You now weigh about 53 pounds and are nowhere near that chubby little roly poly you were when you were a baby. You have such a compassionate spirit about you and a kind, giving heart. You are making another transition from being a little boy into becoming a young man.

You love to be outside. It doesn't matter what you are doing, if you are outside doing it, you are on cloud nine. And if it involves dirt and being as dirty and sweaty as you can be, that's right up your alley!

You are very mechanically inclined and love to work with tools; tinkering around with old bikes or building and making things. You recently have built a barn to play with inside and an entire farm to go with it that you have in your room.

(The barn is 10 inches wide and 15 inches tall. It's pretty big - for a Popsicle stick barn!)These pictures just don't do it justice. It's quite an elaborate setup you have! You absolutely love it and are very proud of it (as you should be). You play with your farm nearly every day - it's the one thing you absolutely love to do inside - and I guess that's because it has to do with being outside? I don't know but you love it. Grandma recently asked you if you were going to be an architect or a carpenter when you grow up and you said, "No, I think I'll just build things."

You keep us in stitches most of the time with funny things you say or do - and sometimes it's when you're not trying to be funny that you crack me up the most! It's amazing to me, too, how compassionate you are at such a young age. You think of other people and how you can help them. You can sense other people's pain and are a comforter. When we lost Papa 'Tucky last year you sat right beside me at the funeral and patted my leg and just kept telling me over and over, "Mama, it's okay." "Mama, it'll be all right." That made me cry even harder, but those tears were tears of overwhelming pride at how tender your heart is.

You're a hard worker, too. This summer when we went back to Kentucky to help Grandma 'Tucky clean up around the house and tear down the old house, you worked every day, without complaining, (which is more than I can say for some of the adults) right alongside everyone else. Of course, this picture I caught you taking a break under the tree! I'm quite certain you were supervising, though, and not taking a break! We've been working on building our new barn this year and you've been a lot of help! You've been out there working as much as you can (or as much as they'll let you). Here you are helping drive nails in your new goat pen.


And when you're not allowed to help, then you're sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone to tell you they found something for you to do.

We've had a busy year and another busy year is just starting! I can't wait to see what this year holds for you. You're a big Third grader now and finally a Junior 4-Her, not a Cloverbud anymore! Yea! You are so excited about the fact that you can show animals "for real" now and participate and actually compete in 4-H activities. You're going to have a great year being 9!

I probably don't tell you enough - but I hope you will always know and remember how very much I love you and how proud I am of you and the young man you are becoming. You are a unique little boy with awesome qualities and God-given talents and abilities. And I thank God for loaning you to our family and giving us the privilege of raising you. Happy 9th Birthday!