Nine?? NINE?? I only get nine more and then he is a legal adult?? Say it isn’t so.? Tanner’s birthday was May 22nd? but it took me a month before the two of us got our picture day worked out.? We had a wonderful little date he and I.? After shooting these pictures, we went to CA Pizza Kitchen and had our favorite BBQ Cilantro Pizza.? Then I bought him a new baseball hat and we got ice cream.? Precious time with my firstborn child.?? I still remember the first time I saw my living room littered with baby toys and cried at the beautiful sight of it.? There was a baby in my home.? MY baby.
Jim is really itchin to cut Tanner’s hair but I wouldn’t let him before pictures.? I wanted to capture it and really see all the glorious red.? I have shared this detail before but since I am walking down memory lane and this IS my blog, I am going to revisit it again.
When I was young I dreamed I would give birth to a little boy with brilliant red hair.? The dream stayed with me and planted a strong desire for a red head in my heart.? When I was pregnant with Tanner I asked God over and over to bless him with red hair.?? While I do love red hair, I think in my heart, it was a more significant and symbolic conversation with God.? Because Tanner was my snowflake, I had no frame of reference.? I knew I would not see my eyes.? I wouldn’t see Jim’s perfectly chiseled jaw line.? I didn’t wonder what we would pass on to him knowing that wasn’t a possibility.? I didn’t mourn that either.? I was excited to be surprised by this little one that God was hand crafting inside me.?? I did see him with red hair though.? Because I recognized him as a gift straight from heaven, it just stood to reason with me that God had placed this little boy in my heart before He placed him in my womb.? I thought God whispered to me ahead of time about this little child and gave me a glimpse of him.? And so I always hoped…hoped that God had really spoken.? Hoped that the beautiful little red head would one day be mine.
When he was born and Jim held him up for me to see, my heart nearly exploded to see all that red hair.? I knew.? This was MY son.? I am crying again just thinking about it.? I look at these pictures and tears stream.? Nine years later and I have not forgotten the grandness of the gift I have been given.
More pictures tomorrow.
8 responses to “Year Nine”
I am crying too! What a precious gift God gave not only to you and Jim but to our family as well – our little soft-spoken Tanner who was given red hair for mama and the temperment that he shares with his daddy! I love when the Lord does things beyond our expectations that really show us that it is not just a coincidense but a work of the Lord in our lives. His name be praised 🙂 Tanner pictures are fantastic. I love his “cool” outfit and he even struck some magazine poses!!!! We are all thankful for the gift of Tanner!
Loved hearing your story again! What a beautiful boy Tanner is!!! Great pictures!
Oh MY GOODNESS!!! When did he grow into a young man?! Seriously he is SOOOO handsome. And he is quite the model isn’t he?!
He is truly a treasure and his gorgeous red hair (which by the way I’m glad you didn’t let Jim cut before the shoot;) ) is a constant reminder of God’s faithfulness.
Hi Doni, love the beautiful pictures and the story (which I have heard but is always so amazing to hear) to go with it. Just amazing. I have a special place in my heart for redheads 😉
Tanner is growing up so fast. You captured such memories that will last a lifetime 🙂
As a redhead myself and from experience, you may want to save some clippings of that red hair as it may change a bit 🙂
what a beautiful story for a beautiful boy. he is beautiful isn’t he? my! inside and out. i actually really like his hair long and brushed forward like that – so hip and cool!
to think i had the opportunity to hold that boy when he was still tiny… letting mama get some sleep. what an honor. 🙂
where was this shoot? i know you told me but oh wait – i think i recall – the place you thought was so great to find but later found others had used it? love the rusty wall that you’d mentioned on the phone. and those flip flops were a super nice touch. 🙂
Lovely pictures of an extremely handsome young man.
I had a very similar experience with my first daughter. While I was pregnant I very much had the expectation that she would be born with a head full of dark hair. I even had a dream that they handed me a bald baby and I said “this baby isn’t mine!” When she was born and she stretched out on my tummy with that head FULL of black hair (very much like Tori’s as a newborn)… I knew she was mine. You are rightg. God prepares deep places in our hearts for these little people.
I see him as an adult in some of these pics but I also see that little baby orangutan look too LOL! I love this boy, he is so beautiful and I LOVE the long hair:)
It is SO amazing to me that God loves us SO much to give us the desires of our hearts; and that He does it in ways that show us HIS power, revealing that He is the giver of the gift 🙂
I can’t believe how much he has grown up! Watching him grow up through pictures; he has changed SO much in such a short time, or so it seems.
Glad you had a great day with your wonderful boy 🙂