Tag Archives: family life

Thank you Judah

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How an unborn* child has taught us to give thanks a little deeper.

[38 weeks and five days pregnant - Judah's birthday]
There are a thousand things I am thankful for. Literally. I’m sure I could write on and on about the good things in my life, the good things I see around me, and the good things I know to be true about life and humanity and the world.

But for my family this Thanksgiving is all about our little Judah.

Our Judah that the doctors said phrases like “chromosomal anomaly” and “down syndrome”… and then “dilated kidneys” and “potential bladder problems”… and even others more recently that I don’t even want to give “print” space to.

Each of those phrases caused concern and question and plenty of tears. But they also forced us to have faith and compelled us to be in hope.

And each of those phrases have fizzled in time as our son was born perfectly healthy.

We will never know whether some of those things actually existed while he was in the womb, or if they didn’t. We will never know if he was healed before birth or “healed” all along.

And that’s ok – we’ve made peace with not knowing.

For all of the “problems” and “abnormalities” and “threats” that turned out to be nothing, we are thankful. We’re thankful for the all the “nothings” but we’re also thankful for the so many “somethings” that have come out of the short few months during my pregnancy and now eight weeks in our arms:

Thankful for the opportunity to see the preciousness of life with more clarity.

Thankful for the peace that comes when God whispers in the storm.

Thankful for those that rally and pray and encourage and write and… bring zucchini bread.

Thankful to see that we are loved perhaps more than we realized.

Thankful to connect with people we never would have otherwise.

And thankful now for each little milestone that Judah makes – one more confirmation that he is in fact healthy and developing just as he should.

And there are other things he’s taught me to be thankful for too:

Thankful that I now see children with special needs with a deeper longing for them to experience love and acceptance and support in chasing their own dreams… because I’ve imagined my son in their shoes.

Thankful that I now see parents of children with special needs with more compassion and understanding and admiration… because I’ve imagined myself in their shoes.

Thankful that I now have a greater understanding of my own influence and role in championing and advocating their cause as I’m able.

There are a thousand things for me to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, but most of all I’m thankful for this year’s most special of gifts: the gift of our son Judah Matthew** and all that his life has meant to us so far.

Without words or actions or intention on his part he’s already taught us so much.

Thank you son. Thank you God.

We are beyond grateful.

*Our son is now of course born, but the lessons from this season began long before his birthday. **Judah means “to call on the name of the Lord and to praise, confess, or give thanks”. Matthew means “gift of God”.

Dear friends, what has been your greatest gift to offer thanks for this year? May you fully enter in to Thanksgiving this year – and offer thanks with a whole heart to the One who deserves it most.

Love, Adriel for the family

Welcome Judah Matthew!

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Hi friends. We’re so excited to introduce you to our son – Judah Matthew Booker! As expected, he is ridiculously cute:

He was born on Friday, September 30th at 10:15pm (eight days before his due date) after 20.5 hours of labor. Judah weighed 7.5 lbs and measured 19.5 inches. (That’s exactly a pound lighter and inch shorter than Levi was!)

I did great if I do say so myself. ;)  After seven days of on again/off again prodromal labor, I was exhausted already going into the big day… but was just so glad to finally make it into established labor. Bubs had turned posterior so I had some pretty intense back labor (which also might explain the week of on/off labor) but got through it by the grace of God and some incredible cheerleaders! Ryan was amazing helping me through the labor and delivery, as were my friends Katie and JP who supported us. I seriously had the best birth team ever and am so grateful!

Everything went according to plans and I got to have my natural birth (and VBAC) like I had hoped for with the lovely midwives that were on duty and assigned to me (Helen and Lucy – more heroes!). He came out with his cord wrapped around his leg, shoulder, and neck, but it was just a tangle – nothing too tight to worry about. Not only that but he also had his hand up with his head… fist-pumping his way into the world, no doubt excited to meet us! The highlight was getting to “catch” him myself as he came out. It was the most incredible culmination of all of the events of this pregnancy and birth… and it still makes my head spin when I think about how awesome that moment was.

I’m well now, just a little tired and sore like every other mom who’s recently given birth. :) I had some tearing and grazing and stitches in a couple of places, but that seemed minor in the grand scheme of things. The whole experience was excruciating, powerful, and so beautiful. And… I now officially feel like a superhero. :)

Jude’s breastfeeding is going well and so far he has been very settled and content and peaceful. He has lovely skin, long fingers and toes, a cute pudgy nose, perfect little lips, and light blonde hair!

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div>Pediatric doctors examined him after birth and again today before we were released from the hospital. As far as we can tell there are no indications of Down Syndrome. We are relieved and grateful! There is still a small question mark around the issue of his kidneys so he will have an ultrasound in a couple of weeks to check it out further and just confirm everything is ok. We’ll also take him back to the hospital in two months to see a specialist for one more evaluation and to make sure he’s progressing normally from a developmental standpoint. We expect nothing out of the ordinary and left with very positive feedback from the doctors. What an awesome answer to prayer!

Levi doesn’t quite know what’s happening at the moment. He’s very sweet with Judah but probably doesn’t really understand that he’s part of the family yet. Surely he’ll figure it out soon enough, especially now that we’re all home together! Like any toddler, he’s interested in Jude on his own clock – kissing him one moment and totally disinterested the next.

One of our favorite moments so far has been when Ryan and I drove home from the hospital today – looking back to see two car seats full of our precious boys in the back seat. We’re very happy and it feels so right to now be a family of four!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your prayers and support as we’ve journeyed this pregnancy. It’s been a wild ride, that’s for sure! We’re just grateful to now have our boy on the outside, safely in our arms. He is lovely in every way and we are absolutely sure he will bring joy to many.

Judah has a two-fold meaning: to call on the name of Yahweh and to confess, praise, or give thanks to God. Matthew means gift of God, which he is and has been since the moment we learned of his existence. We feel both his names are so fitting.

Again, thanks for loving and celebrating our boy so much! He certainly is a special one.

Love Adriel
Proud mama to Judah and Levi, and smitten wife to Superman himself (Ryan).

P.S. Yes, of course we’re taking a thousand photos… to be plastered all over facebook soon. :)