Happy 21st Troy

"9 lbs, 6 ounces, 22 inches long, 5:03 am on January 24, 1993" were very important statistics 21 years ago. Our 6th child, our 4th son, was born.

There was a time that we weren't sure our hope for this child would be realized. During the 30th week of my pregnancy, while driving home from a family trip to Louisiana, we hit a patch of black ice and slammed into a tree at about 45 mph. My seat-belt's shoulder harness failed to lock, my head hit my knee (my feet were up on the dash), the bolts on all of the van seats were stripped and I was thrown to the floor, and was briefly knocked unconscious. I came to with a practical understanding of what it means to "see stars", only it was more like a band of old time television static that wiped out a horizontal strip of about 1/3 of my vision. My water broke and the baby wasn't moving. Throughout the ambulance ride the EMT kept asking, "Do you feeling anything now?" And I kept replying, "No, but this baby doesn't move much." You'd think they'd carry a stethoscope in an ambulance. But they didn't. She stayed with me in the emergency room and cried when the fetal monitor picked up a strong heartbeat from a sleeping baby.

We chose his middle name that week--Jonathan, gift of God. His life itself was a gift, his preservation through the accident was a gift, and the closing of the bag of waters and full term delivery was a gift. The name Troy wasn't as meaningful. A week before his birth we still hadn't picked out a first name, and while watching a playoff football game the name "Troy Aikman" came up on the screen. Keith said, "Hey, we've never thought of using 'Troy'." It met our three criteria--fewer than three syllables, relatively uncommon, not so uncommon that people have never heard of it. A week later we still weren't opposed to it and hadn't found anything else we preferred, so Troy it was.

Not only is Troy our 4th son, but his father and grandfather are each the 4th son in their families making Troy "the 4th son of the 4th son of the 4th son".

Happy Birthday Troy-boy! May your life and spirit reflect the One who preserved you even before you were born.





Romans 12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

I love you!!