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Happy Birthday Zachary!
This is going to be a strange way to start a Happy Birthday blog, but it will explain the kind of boy my little Zach was and is so please bear with me.
Many people have questioned how we have been able to adopt six children in two years. They wondered how in the world we brought home four at one time. Zachary is part of the reason why. I wouldn’t recommend bringing that many children home at one time unless you have very special circumstances such as ours. Two adult children living at home and a husband who works from home most of the week means extra hands to help. It also means that we have had many adults around to lavish love upon the kiddos.
Zach and Cassie both lived at home in an apartment on our acreage. They both chose to live close to home so they could love their siblings and get to know them better. At a time when most children are ready to leave the nest, both of our adult children have chosen to stay close. They have driven 45 minutes both ways to and from college so that their siblings could see them every day. Zach chose to do this because at the time we were expecting Gracie, he said he couldn’t stand the thought that his little sister wouldn’t really know him. To this day, Zach and Gracie have a very close bond.
Zach and Cassie have been questioned and made fun of by their peers at school because they chose to live at home, even teachers have questioned why they would want to do something like that. It amazes me that wanting to be close to your family would be considered such an oddity and even frowned upon.
After Zach completed his computer science degree at Iowa State, he moved to Florida to complete a master’s degree in a very innovative new program designed to train software engineers, artists and producers to produce state-of-the-art, big budget video games. After completing his masters degree, Zach was interning at EA, one of the biggest companies in the interactive entertainment business, and had been offered a job in game development. At that time, we were in the process to adopt Ben and Maisey and soon after that Gracie was diagnosed with lupus. Gracie was very, very ill and was going to start chemo. These circumstances lead Zach to decide to forgo the job at EA and move home. Zach said that he couldn’t stand the thought of not knowing his two new siblings and if something happened to Gracie, and he wasn’t here, he would never forgive himself. His peers were incredulous. Why would he give up his dream job to go home to be closer to family? Even when Zach explained the circumstances, no one really understood and many questioned him over and over again. Zach, however, knew what was important.
Zach has always had a strong sense of family and God. One of my favorite moments was also one of the most devastating in my life. A couple years after having Zach, I had miscarried and was feeling very sad. Zach was a little over three years old. He sat on the step holding my hand and comforting me. His sense of God and his understanding of life were apparent even then. Zachary held my hand and said, “Don’t be sad mom. God has a plan.”
Recently my mother-in-law gave me this note that she had found while going through some old papers. Zach would have been four at the time it was written.
Who knows what “I sure miss God and Jesus! I haven’t seen them in a long, long time” means, but Zach has always seemed to have an understanding of God. His faith has always been strong. He has always talked about God like He was a friend, from the time he was very little.
Life was hard after Kyle died and with Codey being hospitalized for so long. I had no intention of getting pregnant, EVER again, which was saying a lot from a girl who always dreamed of having a big family. Codey was still in the hospital when I found out I was pregnant. God’s ways are not our ways, truer words have never been spoken. I would have never in a million years chosen to be pregnant then, but I thank God every day that I did get pregnant. Zach was one of the most wonderful gifts I have ever been given. He is a bright, sweet, generous, caring, God-fearing, wonderful young man. He was such a wonderful child to parent. He is not perfect, none of us are, but he has always been a blessing. He has always been a pleasure to be around. He has always asked questions that made me truly think. He makes my life a hundred times better than it would have been without him in it. His life showed me that love is greater than fear. He taught me to talk to God like a friend. He helped my heart heal.
He was married earlier this year to a wonderful girl. It will be a blessing to one day watch him love his own little ones. He couldn’t have been a better big brother to all his siblings and I know one day he will make a wonderful father.
Happy birthday Zachary! May God grant you as many blessings as you have brought into our lives.
