Friday, March 6, 2009

My dream sons...





I love the dynamics of my family and each person's relationship with one another. In this photo, taken an hour ago, Nicolas was patiently holding John Michael while I filled the bird feeders. Watching these two together always makes my heart melt. It was one of those moments where I dropped everything and ran for the camera. Thankfully, they obliged with nice smiles.

I haven't blogged about Nicolas because it would be easy to get on the bragging bandwagon with him. At 11 1/2, he stands at 5' 5", is a model student, a born leader, altar server, 2nd class Boy Scout, and sax player to name a few. He's kind and caring (although 9 yr old sister Anna may disagree) and makes us all proud. He is a dream son. I could go on, but I don't want this to sound like one of those over-the-top Christmas letters where the font on the page gets smaller and smaller to include every accolade and achievement EVER. :-)

When John Michael was born and we shared his diagnosis with our kids, Nicolas would often share his sadness with me at our nightly prayertime. He wasn't concerned about John Michael being different as much as he wanted him to be healthy and do things "normal" kids could do, like play Legos and ball. The two boys share a room, and as John Michael's personality developed, so did Nic's love for him. In the early morning hours before I would pick up John Michael to nurse, Nic would often get out of bed to give him a Binky to comfort him. Nic still does this, but on the rare occasion that Nic is still in bed when John Michael wakes up in the morning, the little guy will sit up on his knees, throw his Binky on the floor and reach out to Nic. It's so sweet.

Before Greta and John Michael were born, I used to have a recurring dream about a little blonde boy that would walk behind our family. At the time, I thought our family was complete, but always wondered if this was a message from God that He wanted us to welcome another child. Greta, being a girl and a redhead, didn't fit that particular dream, so I tucked it away. (That being said, Greta is a wonderful, joyful addition!) After John Michael was born, I wondered if this was the little blonde boy God wanted me to have -- the one who would walk a few steps behind, but always be part of our family. I'm now convinced that this is that little guy. I can still see the face of the little boy in my dream and I think it's symbolic that the little boy walked behind us to indicate John Michael's Down syndrome would perhaps slow us down a bit. In a good way. John Michael is literally my dream son -- a special and unique gift from God.
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14 comments:

  1. This is such a beautiful post!!! Nicolas sounds like a great big brother!!! My boys have 10 years between them, though you would never know it. They have such a close bond, just as your boys do. I remeber Dylon's only concern was that if Adam would be able to play ball with him~ Gotta love boys!!!

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  2. I love this post, so touching.

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  3. You are my hero.
    - Paul Swagerty

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  4. Wauw, in this picture John Michael looks sooo big, and those cute little teeth... Nice story!

    Gr Maud

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  5. What a beautiful post, Monica!! Wow, amazing how God allowed you to "dream" about sweet John Michael long before he was born. God has such awesome plans for your family :) Love, Kris (Erin's mom)

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  6. Oh this post is just amazing! I read it a couple of times -Thank you for sharing this. Nic looks like such a fantastic big brother.

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  7. Dang it, I didn't want to cry anymore this evening! LOL. This post brought tears to my eyes! How very precious! Isn't God great?

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  8. Thank you for all your lovely comments. Paul, I don't know what to say! Jeanette -- AMEN!

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  9. Wonderful post!Isn't it beautiful how God works? I always enjoy the pictures of your beautiful children.

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  10. what sweet pictures of brothers hanging out together - you can just see their love for each other!

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  11. Monica,

    This post brought tears to my eyes... How incredible. Thanks so much for sharing your time with me today and your blog with me for many days to come. I can tell I will enjoy it very much.

    Blessings,

    Sonja

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  12. Wow! I love your dream and how it became a reality. It's amazing how God sends us messages and clues along our way. I firmly believe this. And I too believe my third son was sent to us a gift. Beautiful post and beautiful family!!!

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  13. Monica--I love this post too. Thank you for telling us more about your boys and the beautiful relationship they have. Yes, I think God was trying to tell you something with that dream.

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