Happy Birthday my Angel Girl!

Two years ago right now I was feeling much the same as I am feeling right now -- VERY PREGNANT.  I was at the hospital all hooked up to IVs and monitors starting the induction process. I was just a few hours away from my first sight of my sweet little Camille.

What a day of pain relief that was. The pregnancy had been by far my most painful, especially in those last 3 months. Even this one has not compared to it. And my epidural only worked on one half of my body so the labor was also one of my most painful. Her birth was a glorious healing event for me.

Yesterday was a very long day. We began early with the planting of our Camille tree. Our other tree was bent over beyond repair by a storm this week. So my dad brought a truck over and hooked the tree to it and pulled it out with my husband's help. 

He and my mother took me to the nursery to look for a replacement. We went to Davis Nursery which has been around as long as anyone here can remember. The owners have known my family for generations. My grandfather used to spend his lunch hours walking through the nursery enjoying the plants. 

The owners mother was there and she knew my grandfather. When she asked if I would be naming the baby I was having Morgan after my dad who was standing next to me I said "yes, his name will be Morgan Noble."

"Noble?" She said. "As in Noble Waite? The one who..." The next 15 minutes were filled with a complete history of Noble Waite and his complete family tree. She told me fun stories about his wit and humor. While I have never met the man, all her stories sounded very consistent with everything I have heard about him. 

I had brought a leaf of a tree in our neighborhood that I liked. As we were going to go look at them, she suggested I look also at a red oak. She showed me pictures of how beautifully they grow here and how colorful they get in the fall.

We looked at both kinds of tree. I chose the red oak for a couple of reasons. First we wanted a strong tree that could withstand the heavy winds that life will throw at it. Oak trees are some of the strongest on earth. Secondly, since this tree is in honor of Camille for her birthday, I thought I ought to get a really beautiful tree. And I think this is a beautiful tree.

Also, the fact that this tree will change colors in the seasons will remind us that this life is but a season of our existence and after the winter, spring will come again. It will grow tall and wide and shade our house from the heat of the summer. We will treasure its red, orange, and golden leaves in the fall. And in the spring it will remind us of the new life we are promised with our Camille when Christ comes again.

Here she is freshly planted outside the front window. That is the window to the blue room that I decorated about a year ago now inspired by my sweet little Camille's eye color.

More tomorrow or later tonight on how we have spent today celebrating the birth of our angel sister.