Some of you may know that Zach is my miracle child. When I was six weeks pregnant my doctor told me my baby had no heart beat and that I was going to miscarry. Little did they know how wrong they were. When a week later I hadn't miscarried, bloodwork and ultrasound showed I was still very much pregnant, but also had a huge uterine bleed. They pointed to the shadow on the ultrasound screen and said there was no way I would carry full term. I spent the first trimester on strict bed rest and my entire pregnancy praying. Zachary came into the world screaming at 3:05 am on August 23rd, the day after his due date. I will never forget when my doctor came into my room the next morning and told me that there was no medical explanation as to why he was here and healthy. Her exact words were, "God had other plans for this baby."
Today this baby turns sixteen years old, and as I reflect on his life, I can't help be grateful for how God intervened and blessed me with this amazingly precious gift.
Zach has had his struggles. While he doesn't carry the genes that would give him SMA like his big brother, he has had his trials to overcome - mainly processing issues, learning disabilities and PTSD. I have told many people, while Caleb may have a serious physical disability, Zach was the one that I would lay awake at night worrying about. But how foolish of me to not trust God with my little "Zach Attack" when He had shown himself faithful in Zach's life right from the start of my pregnancy.
While other kids went to little league, Taekwondo, and story time at the library, Zach went to vision therapy and tutoring. He did not start reading until third grade! We would plug away night after night at homework, many times me having to reteach and explain concepts. When his dad died, we went to therapy and counseling sessions. His little brain could not understand why Daddy left him. Seeing Zach struggle broke my heart many times over.
But God - that being my most favorite phrase of all time - had good plans for Zachary. During COVID, Zach developed a love of reading and when he went back to school and was tested again his reading comprehension had improved three grade levels! Within two years, Zach was pushing into general education classes with support and even made National Junior Honor Society. In high school he came to life when he joined the drama club and made friends.
Most importantly, Zach made the decision to follow Christ and asked to be baptized. Since that day in 2020, I have watched Zachary grow in his walk with Jesus and I am so proud to see him serving at church.
So for sixteen years now, Zach has brought immense joy and happiness into my life. I watch him and marvel at what a good and faithful God we serve who has brought Zach so far in so little time. I look forward to watching him grow in the future and, when he eventually leaves the nest, seeing what remarkable things he will do with his life.
Scrapbooking Tips
Somehow I end up with more birthday pictures of Zach than I could possibly scrapbook! I think it is because his birthday falls in the summer and there are so many fun antics with his younger cousins and the pool. So deciding which photos make it into the albums is always a challenge!
I wanted to include pictures of him opening his presents and blowing out the candles on his cheesecake all on one layout. I flipped through my stack of sketches and found one that would include thirteen photos! I also paired them with one of my all time favorite birthday collections from Simple Stories.
Most of the detail in this layout happened in the middle strip. I really wanted to use the bright, colorful paper but the matching stickers and embellishments did not stand out. My solution was to cut apart a sheet of pattern paper that had 2x2 inch squares. I had already used some of this paper, so all these embellishments essentially came from a scrap in my stash. I love when I can stretch my supplies like that - especially with a great collection.
To add some texture, I stitched on the designs. It's hard to see in the photos, but up close and personal it really added some extra detail. I also find stitching super relaxing, so I look for ways to incorporate it into my layouts.
One thing I purposefully included on this busy layout is a visual triangle, using the blue pattern paper. You can see that I matted my title, journaling and a photo on the same paper and placed them on points of an invisible triangle. This technique helps draw the eye around the layout, in addition to adding some white space on a very busy design.
Supplies Used:
Cardstock - American Crafts
Pattern Paper & Stickers - Simple Stories
Embroidery Floss - DMC
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