Tucker's Fourth Birthday

He has always been unexpected, it seems. And yet, I can't imagine life without him. I am usually so calculated in every move I make. Every decision is carefully thought out and executed. Nothing happens unless it's written down and posted to the schedule. Maybe God gave me this lesson in spontaneity so that I can learn that unplanned events aren't as scary as I think they are. Sometimes, the unexpected things in life are things you cherish the most.

He was unexpected when we found out I was pregnant. We had planned on starting a family when Matt returned from Afghanistan, but who knew it would only take a week! Matt always joked that Tucker would be half Samoan, we were living in Hawaii at the time.

It was unexpected how incredibly sick I would be throughout the entire pregnancy.

It was unexpected that he wasn't a she! We thought we would have a girl.

It was unexpected on December 19, 2005 when my water broke, SEVEN weeks early. I was freaking out and I could recall the moment like it was yesterday. But with the understanding that I'm not dealing with an entirely female audience, I will spare the details and just say my water broke and I was freaking out. I went to the hospital on Monday morning and was induced in the evening on Friday the 23rd and had our wonderful boy on Christmas Eve at 4:28am.

It was unexpected that he would go home from the Special Care Nursery after only 14 days. He still had 4 weeks until his due date when we put him in our car for the first time.

It was unexpected how emotional I would be on his first birthday. I lost count of how many times I cried that day.

I have been caught off guard so many times with this young boy that I think God is telling me to stop scheduling. Stop freaking out. Stop trying to run the show. Let God, God....everything will be alright. Here is a picture of my beautiful, intelligent and always funny, Tucker Bukieda Glem getting ready to blow out the candles on his 4th birthday cake. *sigh*