HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIEL!!!

Exactly 15 years ago today at 10:36 p.m. , our 4th child and 2nd baby boy was born into our family. We named him Daniel Ray White and he weighed 9 pounds 2 1/2 ounces and was 22 inches long. He was my biggest baby. He also shares the same birthday as my father, so that makes this day even more special. Daniel was different from the rest in that he had coal black hair. He also is different in another way in that we felt God's presence from the very beginning with him.

Randy told me from day one that he KNEW the baby was a boy and that his name would be Daniel. I got to name the other 3 children, but Randy named Daniel. I really didn't like that name to be honest ( I love it now though) but every where we went, the name "Daniel" would be mentioned. We would be in the car listening to the radio....and a guy would be preaching on Daniel. We went to someone's house one time, and the man who prayed before our dinner mentioned the name "Daniel" in his prayer. When I would ask our 1 year old Aaron to bring me a book to read, he would bring me a book about "Daniel". Things like that happened all the time. It was really wierd but I knew God was telling me too that we would have a boy and we were to call him "Daniel". When it was time for my baby shower, I told everyone I was having a boy and to give me boy clothes. I had no idea for sure because we never found out the sex of our babies. I took a chance in saying that he was a boy because that is how sure we were that he would be a boy!! And he was!!!

His birth was quite stressful for me in that my Doctor insisted that he be taken by cesarean on his due date. Because she believed a baby should not go one day past their due date. We went round and round with her. She made my life miserable. She even went so far as to tell me that she hoped she wouldn't visit our baby in the morgue!!! All of my babies were late and we were going to trust God in his timing of birth and not man's. Brooke was 3 weeks late and Paige and Aaron were exactly 9 days late. Daniel ended up being 9 days late also. During these 9 days of lateness, the Doctor made my life even more stressed.

Well, God has a funny sense of humor. The morning of February 22nd, I woke up and knew that I was in labor. The pains were not bad but I knew it was labor. My mother was with me and we went to the mall to walk. We even went out to eat at the Eola for lunch and people would say "How much longer do you have?" and I would say, "I'm in labor now." That really freaked them out!!! Later that evening the pain was much worst. I remember being in bed watching the Olympics with all that Nancy Kerigan and Tonya Harding stuff going on. I was in so much pain. The family would come check on me and I would send them away because when I'm in pain, I like to be left alone. Based on my painful experience with Aaron, I knew the hospital wouldn't let me have an epidural until I got to a 5 so I decided to be in pain in the comforts of my own home and not in some cold hospital. When the pain got so bad I just couldn't take it anymore, we went to the hospital. They checked me right away and I was at a 5!!!!!! Oh joy, joy, joy......that means I get my epidural!!!! They told me to go to the restroom and then they would give me the epidural. For you younger readers, you may want to leave at this time. Anyways, when I went into the bathroom, the baby's head started coming out. I started screaming for the nurse and she got me to the table where SHE delivered him. That mean doctor never even got the pleasure of delivering a beautiful, healthy baby boy. This was the first time for that nurse to ever deliver a baby so I was quite the talk of the hospital. Unfortunately because I went from a 5 to a 10 in a matter of minutes, my body wasn't ready and Daniel came out bruised from head to toe. No joke - he looked like he had been dropped on the floor he was so black and blue. You know how bruises change colors as they heal...well he was different colors for a good month after he was born. The nurses in the hospital nick-named him the "Skid Mark Baby." He came into this world in a big hurry!!

Out of all my pregnancies, we felt the hand of God on Daniel's life more than any other child. He is indeed a very special gift that was given to us.

The name Daniel means "God is my Judge." Our prayer for Daniel is that he will live his life for an audience of ONE and not live to please man. We want him to only care what God thinks about what he does and not man's opinion. Daniel is so special to us and he has such a tender and caring heart. He is so much fun to be around and I love him more than words can say

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIEL. I AM SO BLESSED THAT GOD GAVE YOU TO ME!!!!!

Prom Days are Back

Randy and I got to attend the Prom at the boy's school on Saturday. We were in charge of the "coat check" area. We got to get all dressed up and it was a lot of fun. I do have to say, we aren't as young as we used to be because it wiped us out!!!! There was a breakfast afterwards and a lot of the kids and parents spent the night at the house it was at. We got home about 2:30 a.m. It was on Valentines night!!! My boys were the most handsome ones there, of course!! It was fun to feel like a kid again!!