It’s Birthday Month!

And I’m not talking about Independence Day (‘Merica!).

Our oldest kid, Noah Michael Cruz, was born 7 years ago.

Seven. Years.

He’s responsible for such magnificent pieces of art like this:

This:

And this:

Even though he probably will never see this post, I wanted to brag on him a little bit. This is the millennial version of pulling out the school pictures in your wallet and showing them off.

He’s our firstborn. He’s the oldest sibling. He’s serious, and silly. He’s focused, and kind. He can’t sit still when music starts playing, and he can watch Dude Perfect videos for an inordinate amount of time. He just finished Kindergarten, and he reads on a third grade level. He is brutally honest, and incredibly sensitive. And he took a little while to get here.

You’re never really “ready” for kids, but when we were ready to start trying, it didn’t happen right away. It took 18 long months until we finally found out he was on the way. 18 months of uncertainty. 18 months of wishing, and hoping, and praying, and dreaming. 18 months of wondering if parenthood was something we would ever be able to enjoy. And I realize this is nothing compared to the stories of so many others. Still, it was hard.

For my wife, who feels firmly called to motherhood, it felt like a complete contradiction of what she was created to do. For me, it felt like a failure to provide one of the only things my wife wanted. We started down the road of testing for problems and considering solutions.

And then, it happened.

I can’t say for sure if there was one thing that helped us most, but, relationally, we never blamed each other, we kept living our life, and we leaned into our faith, a lot.

For those who might be in this type of season right now, I would encourage you to focus on those three things. Through any kind of medical testing, old wives’ tales, or pleading to God, lean on each other.

Looking back, those 18 months seem like a long time ago when we get to see this face:

So, Happy Birthday to my firstborn, the one who officially started #daddylessons.