100

This is my 100th post!

In honor of my 100th post, I'm going to explain an obsession of mine. I'm obsessed with numbers. It's kind of weird, and I try to keep it in check so I don't freak people out. But, I'm going to come clean today.

There's also a surprise at the bottom. But you have to read all about my number obsession first. I know, I'm cruel.

Numbers are a big deal to me. I like even numbers and my favorite numbers are 4, 8, and 12.

Individual numbers aren't actually all that important; what's more important is the way that they are grouped. Odd numbers belong together and even numbers belong together. I don't necessarily have to have control over the numbers; I just have to feel like there is some semblance of order or meaning I can derive from them.

This being said, I gave a lot of thought to my kids birthdays.

Jack's due date was 6.2.04. Works for me. They are all even and 4 is my ultimate favorite number and 6 minus 2 is 4. Ahhh. Perfect. Of course, he didn't come then. He actually came on 6.4.04. Even better. Two 4s. At 8:42 p.m. no less. After my ridiculously long and hard labor with him resulting in a C-section, I deserved some good numbers.

Melody's due date was 2.12.07. Not a whole lot I could do about the year. But the 2 and the 12 were good. Since I would be having a repeat C-section, I knew that date wasn't really that important. When it came time to schedule her birthday, the doctor was available on 1.30.07. I also made that work. See, 1 and 07 are both odd so that grouped them together. 30, being even, tied her to Jack who had all even numbers in his birthday. She was born at 8:30 a.m. as well. The 8 is even and ties in with Jack too and the 30 works with her birthday.

Charlie's numbers were all over the board. My due date changed several times, but I knew that date wasn't really important anyway. In July, we scheduled my C-section for 9.30.08. This number worked for me. The 08 was even and 4 years past Jack's birth year. The 30 tied him to Melody, and even though 30 is even, 3 is odd so that tied the 9 in.

**Yes, I know this is totally weird and I'm a complete wacko.**

Anyway, so I had made peace with those numbers. However, about a week or two before then, I started feeling like I wasn't going to be able to make it that long. I met with my doctor and had another ultrasound and the decision was made to move the date up a bit. We looked at moving it up to 9.25.08. This number was pretty significant because it 9.25 is my great-granddaddy's birthday. His name was Eli. Charlie's name is Charles Eli. Immediately I felt like that was Charlie's date. However, there were some scheduling conflicts and I couldn't get that date. Instead I had to settle for 9.26.08. Kind of a disaster for me. I mean, the 9 is left all alone. There is no other odd number in that group. On top of that I could find no connection to that date. I obsessed and obsessed. Finally my friend Lauren and my mom both told me that it didn't matter if that number flowed or connected to anything. That date would be important to me because it would be Charlie's birthday.

Of course, 9.26.08 came and Charlie was born at 6:11 that evening (another number I couldn't tie into anything). I love that date now. I don't really care that it's not connected to anything. Until the other day when I realized it is connected to something. It's actually connected to something pretty big...

9.26.08 is the date I gave birth to my last child.
9.26.03 is the date I discovered I was pregnant with my first.
How cool is that!?

Just so I seem weirder, that is exactly a 5 year difference.

If you want a little challenge, here you go. At some point in each of my pregnancies, I found a Bible verse for that child. These were verses that are important to me now and were significant to me during that time. They all can be tied into my children's birth dates. The numbers also tie all the kids together. Do you see how?

Jack - Psalm 118:24
Melody - Psalm 100:5
Charlie - Psalm 9:1

Ok, so that's my weird issue with numbers. Thanks for reading all that. It was long. And strange. I hope you'll still follow me now that you know the truth...

On to the fun stuff...I'm having a giveaway! I'll announce the giveaway on my 104th post. That will be in just a few days so make sure you check back. I'm not going to give any hints, but believe me, it's cool.