11 is a Fabulous Number

When Rick and I were dating and we spoke of the future, we talked about having at least one child together. And when I got pregnant with Kari, I was content with adding her to our family. Rick hinted that he would like a boy as well, but we never really talked about it because two teens, a preteen and a newborn seemed like enough.


When Kari was around 18 months old, I felt like my weight loss had stalled. My sister came to visit and I asked her if it looked like I might be gaining weight instead of losing it. She suggested that I take a pregnancy test since she did feel that it looked like I was gaining weight. I nonchalantly took the test because I was on a low dose of birth control and was not anticipating adding to our family.


Clearly, God had other plans because the test was positive. Rick was thrilled, my mom was cautious and I was anxious. I had never had to handle a newborn and a toddler and Kari would be just over 2 years old when the new baby arrived. Some possible complications in the beginning of my pregnancy made us a bit apprehensive, but once an sonogram confirmed it was a boy, Rick and I were excited about the new addition.


And when Noah Howard arrived on July 6, 2004, it was confirmed that he was the perfect surprise blessing for our family. He was a smiley baby who didn't care for his carseat, but fit perfectly into our chaos.


Noah just celebrated his 11th birthday. We had a low key day, since I had to work and then went out to dinner followed by gifts and cake. He finally received his coveted laptop and Minecraft for the PC. He had trouble falling asleep, he was so excited!

He is a passionate young man that views the world in black and white. Not much of a grey area for him. Noah is artistic and loves anime. He enjoys drawing, singing and dancing and is aware of his quirks, but not bothered by them. He marches to the beat of a different drum. He does well in school and is not much of an athlete, but enjoys walking with me and the dog. He takes his role as uncle very seriously and enjoys holding Hayden and making her laugh. When Kaysen and Kiyah visit, he loves to play outside with them and watch movies with them. He is definitely a Momma's boy and loves to watch Hallmark Channel and take naps with me. He enjoys serving at church and being part of the middle schoolers group, Club 56.  

Noah is a definite blessing to our family and to those that have the privilege to meet him.

Happy Birthday, Noodle! You always know how to bring a smile to my face. I am so proud of the young man you are becoming. You make me laugh with your punny jokes and amaze me with your knowledge of all things Anime. I love you up to the moon and I love you as big as the sky. Keep building and creating!