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Man oh man! I am so far behind on this blog post! We promised you the third and final introduction to our family post weeks ago, and I am just now getting around to writing it. I have a ton of excuses, but I won’t bore you with all of them. But just for a reminder, feel free to go back and reread our love story and the story of our firstborn, Benaiah James.

This is the story of our spitfire, Uriah John. Be prepared to laugh at me. You may not want to read this if you are pregnant with what you think is a girl…..

When Benaiah was four months old, I took a pregnancy test and found out we were pregnant again. I was excited and distressed at the same time. Over and over in my head I asked the questions that I’m sure most mothers of multiple children ask. Will I be short changing my first child in any way? How am I going to change all those diapers? And is it truly possible for me to love anything as much as I love Benaiah? I spent many hours in tears behind closed doors. I didn’t want anyone to know I was anything but excited. I felt guilty for feeling apprehensive.

But God soothed my soul and I began to anticipate things about the pregnancy as I did with Benaiah. One of those things was finding out the sex around 16 weeks. We went in for an ultra sound and the doctor said it was impossible to say for sure, but he thought it was a girl. Then we had to have a second ultrasound a few weeks later and the doctor said it was for sure a girl. We hemmed and hawed over names forever, but finally settled on Esther Naomi. I began to gather all things purple and gray to decorate her nursery. My dining room table was constantly covered in lace and ribbon while making bows.

On December 17 we went to the doctor and I asked if we could go ahead and induce. She was to be due on Christmas day, and I didn’t want to be at home when we could be with family. My doctor agreed and so we headed home to get ready. We would have the baby tomorrow.

On the way home, Bubba said he wanted to talk. I was nervous. Remember how I said that he had three names picked out for boys? Well, after Benaiah James, he wanted Uriah John. I hated the name Uriah. I love the story of Uriah’s faithfulness to his king in 2 Samuel 11. And I loved that Uriah means Fire of Yahweh. But the sound of the name? It reminded me of urine…. So Bubba struck up a deal with me. I fondly refer to it as my deal with the devil.

He proposed that if for some crazy reason we had a boy the next day, we would name him Uriah. But if everything happened like it was supposed to and we had a girl, we would name her Esther and the name Uriah would be off the table for all future children. Hmmm…. Two ultrasounds said this was supposed to be a girl. And I would never have to worry about a child of my name walking around with a name that brought a toilet to mind? Yes, please! So we made the deal.

The next day at the hospital, I progressed quickly and so we called my dear friend Heather Graves of Sugar Creek Photography to come in. She was thinking about getting into photographing births, and I was a more than willing guinea pig.

So when the time came to push, Heather stood behind my head and started taking pictures of everything. When the baby started coming out all I could hear was a constant barrage of clicking in my right ear. Then it stopped and she gasped. Then my husband laughed. Then the doctor held up my sweet Esther and said, “It’s a boy!” What!? No way! It took quite a bit of convincing everyone in the waiting room until they saw him themselves.

So now we have our sweet Uriah John. I wouldn’t change his name for the world. It was somehow prophetic. I see fire in him every single day. He is not as active as Benaiah was, but constantly has a bed of coals simmering behind his eyes, soaking in every single detail. He talks all the time and looks at you as if waiting for you to understand exactly what he says. He just recently started walking and is so proud of himself. His temper tantrums are few and far between, but when they show up sometimes it’s just best to run! He’s learned to hold his own with his brother and has perfected the art of tackling someone as they run by. He loves his big brother and is constantly seeking him out. He has been such a joy in our home and our life.

We are so grateful for our Uriah John!





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