As I write this it is 9:36 pm (past my bedtime)on Sunday, August 7, 2005. Just a few minutes ago my eldest son Samuel came to me and said, "Hey Mom, today is my last day as a child." When he said this I came to him and let out a pouty whine. Then I grabbed his "taller than me" body and hugged him. I then had to do something as thoughts of his babyhood raced through my mind. I called him a babydoll because that's what he was when he was very little. He was my live babydoll. The one I had dreamed of when I was a young girl as I wrapped my hard plastic doll baby in a blanket. He was the first of four that made my dreams come true. As I hugged him, he stood still with a slight smile on his face probably thinking something like, "Mom, It's gonna happen."

Tomorrow I will step into being the parent of a teenager just like I stepped into parenthood most nearly 13 years ago at 12:57 pm on August 8, 1992 at Claremore Regional Hospital. But it's okay because such things are intended to happen and besides, to prepare I've been praying for him and all my children. I'm not scared because I know we've been helping develop the foundation of his life on the things of God.

. . . I think I need some of the best chocolate I can find.