Sweet Zadie

It was late 2008, early 2009 and we were ready. Things has calmed down with the twins and Zach was doing well with school. Business was slow, but it always was during the winter months. With all of that being said we thought the time was right to bring the fourth and final (?) Z into the world. And a little truth telling, Julie and I love babies. I could not do justice describing the feeling of joy and wonderment that washes over me when I see that sweet baby for the first time.

So ... we were pregnant. Zadie Ella was due to be born in mid to late November. But all was not joyful ... business stayed slow. Very slow. When the housing boom, burst, so did a large percentage of my business. We had to start to cut expenses, which meant staff ... and health insurance.

Adding to the financial worry, people did not meet our news with the same cheery reaction as they had with the previous 3. Zach was our first, so of course people were elated to hear the news. The second pregnancy produced twins, and the responses were very enthusiastic, probably because twins are somewhat of an anomaly. But the reaction to the fourth, told with your twin toddlers running around or whining at your feet ... not so harmonious.

So, needless to say we ventured through this pregnancy with much trepidation and angst. But time marched on, with little to no consideration for our situation, as time tends to do. The jaunt toward B-Day this time felt less like anxiously awaiting the ball drop on a chilly New Years Eve in Time Square and more like a forced tramp down the green mile.

But something happened. On November 8th Two Thousand and Nine, Zadie was born. ²⁶He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. (Matthew 8:26). In the storm of life, we were given an amazing gift of Grace.

We were given a tiny angel that was just ... content. If she cries, it is easily fixed. Change her, burp her, feed her or put her to bed ... and then she is again, content. Brush her cheek, get a smile. Laugh to her and she laughs back. Just a beautiful baby princess, full of hope and possibility.

By no means are the seas calm; but are they ever? A lot has happened since November. The business has closed. Julie and I have switched our roles. Zach is now home-schooled. But in the ebb and flow of life, there is something in the smile of a child that says, "everything is OK ... life will go on ... now lets have some fun".

Julie and I are lucky; no privileged to have 4 wonderful children that remind us every day, that the most important things in life typically do not come with price tags ... just a few (thousand) messy diapers.