The Importance of Reading

Being a reading teacher, I know the importance of reading to your children every night.  It builds vocabulary and fluency better than anything else I know.  So, I vowed when I had a child I would read to him every night right from the start.  And, so far I think he loves to read.  Not sure exactly how much he is actually understanding right now, but I know it can't hurt.  I have lots of help in this reading effort.  Nani likes to read to all the babies.  This particular book was about having good manners.  Leave it to Aunt Amanda to make funny faces and add humor to the situation.

A few nights after Nani had come up for a visit and Kayden got to sleepover at Jenni's with us, he reminded me he had left his Bible at my house.  He asked me had I seen it and went around each room looking for it with no success.  He then sat down on the sofa beside me and with all seriousness said, "Jenni, I'm really worried about my Bible."  Well, then we went on a massive search and ended up finding it under the sofa.  He immediately wanted to sit down and read it, so we turned to Luke 2 and began to read the Christmas story.  It was only moments that I had all three boys piled up in my little rocking armchair reading the Christmas story from Kayden's Bible.  So blessed.

Hopper's First Halloween

Sam's first Halloween was a blast!  Since Dad and Kim host a fall festival on their farm each year, October is already a pretty happenin' month in our family.  We visited CedarRock fall fest almost every weekend, but on Halloween day, we attended Hoedown at World Outreach Church.  Kayden was Bumblebee, Cameron was a scarecrow, and Samuel was a newborn baby dressed in a pumpkin jumper.  

Kayden discovers cotton candy and shows his little brother around.

We call him the "small scarecrow" 

 Kayden and Sam enjoying Hoedown

 The "small scarecrow" and the tall scarecrow

 Pawpaw and Kimmie came to the house to trick-or-treat with the boys and help hand out candy.

Kimmie made mini jack-o-lanterns for each of her grandsons on Halloween.

A New Pumpkin at CedarRock

At just ten days old, I took Sam out to CedarRock to see Kittrell's first grade on their fieldtrip to the pumpkin patch.  I got to say hello to some of my teacher friends at Kittrell and introduce them to my new pumpkin.  While the kids were out hunting for pumpkins and dancing with the tall scarecrow, Sam and I were taking some pictures in The Pumpkin Store.  

Family Exercise Time

In order to curb my cabin fever and help me get control on these hormones, we have started walking around the block together as a family every afternoon.  Day 1, Sam cried the whole time and Michael and I talked loudly over him and pretended we didn't hear it.  By Day 3, Sam is getting the hang of this daily walk thing and looking around, taking in new sights.  No crying.  Instead, we sing to him and he really seems to like it.  It also seems that this daily walk regimen is becoming a WHOLE family thing.  Abby has started joining us.  The first time she "walked" with us, Michael actually carried her, and she let him!  Then, she found a new spot to hitch a ride...

Sam Comes Home

After two days in the hospital, we loaded up all our belongings (and we had a lot of belongings) and our new bundle of joy and headed home.  Sam's "homecoming" outfit was a sweater jumper given to us by Aunt Amanda and a hand-crocheted hat made by Kimmie.  She also made him the striped blanket too.  Doesn't he just look precious?

The day was sunny and perfect.  The drive home was a dream.  Nani had dinner cooking when we arrived.  The tired new Mommy and Daddy were so ready to be home.  Sam's bassinet was waiting and he quickly showed us his favorite sleep position...Sam's not happy being swaddled tightly like all the books say.  He wants those arms spread wide and over his head.  Too funny! 

Hopper Gets a Name

As many may know, Michael and I had a bit of trouble deciding on a name for our new baby boy.  Every time we tried to have a serious conversation about naming our baby, Michael would want to name him “Hopper” and that ended the conversation.  Although, Hopper did stick as a nickname.  However, throughout the entire pregnancy Michael and I would pray that God would give us the right name for our son...and he certainly did.

Right after our boy was born, I told Michael I thought he looked like a Jake or a Luke because he was already so big and strong at birth.  He needed a strong name.  Michael thought he was more of a Samuel or Jeremiah.  Again, we could not agree on even one name we both liked, so our baby entered the nursery on day 1 as “Baby Boy Burtram.”  The next morning, the birth certificate representative came to our hospital room, and we had to tell her to come back tomorrow; we still did not have a name.

It was not until we were visited by Susan and Lori from our church that God revealed what our child was to be named.  When we asked them for suggestions, Lori asked, “What do you want for your son?  What is your prayer for him?”  Our response was that God would bless our son and use him to do great things for His kingdom...

She began tellings the stories of various biblical characters, straight from her memory.  She told the stories of Peter, Josiah, Jacob, Jeremiah, Luke, Titus, Bartholomew, Paul, the “big 12” and so on.  But, when she got to the story of Samuel, Michael and I looked at each other and knew God was speaking to us through Lori.

Samuel’s mother, Hannah, was barren but she pleaded with God to give her a child.  She promised that if God would hear her prayer and bless her with a child, she would return that child to God to be used for his purposes.  Hannah became pregnant and entered motherhood prepared to do what all parents must do, let their children go.  At a young age, Samuel became a prophet and later a judge.  He was faithful to the Lord even from early childhood.  He led a godly life and helped to lead a fallen generation of people back to the Lord.  He was a powerful character in the Bible with a name that means “God hears.”  Our prayer for our baby Samuel is the same as Hannah’s prayer.  We are thankful for the miracle of this perfect little boy, for he too is an answered prayer.  We fully dedicate him to the Lord to do his work here on Earth, and we ask God to help us be godly parents to this special boy named Samuel Elliott Burtram.   

I look forward to our Samuel getting a bit older and asking me, “How did you pick my name?”  I will tell him we didn’t choose his name, God did.  Let me tell you the story..

I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." 1 Samuel 1:26

Off to the hospital

I really wanted to go into labor naturally.  I wanted the whole, "My water just broke" moment and the mad dash to the hospital.  So, I walked, and I walked, and I walked.  Miles out at CedarRock.  Up and down the tractor trail with my mother by my side.  And still, nothing...

We woke up Sunday morning (10/10/10) knowing that one way or another, this would be my last day to be pregnant. I was scheduled to be induced Monday morning.  We went to church as usual then had lunch at Sam's.  Afterward, we came home for an uneventful afternoon before checking in to the newly opened hospital at 7:45 that evening.  Before we left, I took one last picture of my pregnant self...

Oh, and as I walked out the door with the last of our hospital stuff, I received cheers and applause from the neighbors next door...glad that I was FINALLY going to have a baby!  Thanks guys.