Despite all their misgivings about having children, Pam and David were terrific parents. They were compassionate yet principled, generous yet disciplined, rational and fun-loving. Jennifer thrived as their child.
When Jennifer was a year and a bit, Pam felt ready to have a second, and she prayed to God that if He wanted them to have another, God would move in David’s life and David would suggest it. That very same day, David mentioned to Pam that they were starting to get older, and if they were going to have any more children, they should start heading in that direction! And so they did. Two years after Jennifer was born, there was another baby. Allison Deborah came along, rounding out their all-American family of four.
Although the couple assumed 2 kids, a dog, and a house was the fulfillment of the American Dream, God seemed to have other ideas.
Early in 1988, despite their normal “prevention” methods, David started to suspect that Pam was pregnant again. She was sure that there was no way she was, but a week later, a positive pregnancy test proved her wrong. Two days after Christmas that year, Daniel Joshua was born. His two older sisters adored him from the start, convinced they knew best for him, and “helping” Pam at every turn.
In the summer of 1990, Pam and David felt led to trust God for a fourth child, if it was His will. On Sunday, January 21, 1991, Allison was in Sunday School and confidently announced to her teacher that her mommy had a baby in her tummy. When the teacher asked Pam about this wonderful event, Pam assured her there was no way she was pregnant. But a few weeks later, Pam came home from shopping, complaining to David that the sales clerk had on such strong perfume in the store.
And that’s how they found out Pam was pregnant with their fourth. Esther Ruth was born on October 20, 1991.
Axel, I could tell you all kinds of stories about growing up as part of the JADE crew. How we built a dozen forts in the woods behind our house. How we raised monarch butterflies every year. How we all played basketball. How we were classmates for all of K-12. How we lived for our annual trip to the Outer Banks. How we formed bonds that can never be broken.
But I need to tell you another story.
I need to tell you how I fell in love with your dad. And how the biggest surprise of my life was how he fell in love with you.
The Miracle of You 
At this point, I’d like to add that they also became leaders in the church and raised many other spiritual children, myself included. Although I was already a mother myself when I accepted Jesus, I had a lot to learn. They were wonderful teachers and, most of all, examples of godly living and parenthood. My son was 10 years old when I joined them in their home group and I can tell you this, although he often tried to pretend he wasn’t listening (and later, as he entered into the teenaged years, even tried to act bored); he absorbed a lot from your father’s teaching and your mother’s interjections. I still have a very sweet picture of your dad and Daniel from the day they had us over for Easter dinner. They are lovely people and it’s been a blessing to see all of their children grow up to also choose Jesus.
LikeLike
Thank you for mentioning this, Sis. Laura! I remember attending home group with you two. It was a very special time in our lives. God has done many great things!
LikeLike
He sure has! What I love about you starting this blog is that it is doing what the children of Israel were told to do by passing down the testimonies of previous generations. Long before i had a computer, I started recording testimonies on one of the very first word processors. I just need to find a way to get them off of that….probably with an external drive writer. I know Axel, and many generations to come, will enjoy reading these stories! Thanks for sharing them with the rest of us too, Jenn.
Love you;
Sis. Laura
LikeLike
Sweet Sis. Laura,
Thank you so much for your kind words. We are thankful for you and humbled. You tackled the most difficult task there is- that of a single parent. Iām sure Will is proud to call you Mom!
Pam
LikeLike
Sweeter Sis. Pam –
You are most welcome! How lovely that your daughter will be keeping these stories alive for the future.
Pres. Reagan kept a journal by hand on a legal pad! The only time he couldn’t was for a very brief time during his hospitalization after being shot. I have a few books about him and one of them is about letters he sent & received from people all over…..from the “common” {are any of us, really? š } to dignitaries. It’s a wonderful chronicle of not just his life, but it also gives a glimpse back into that time from the perspective of many through their letters to him.
So, I hope that Axel will pick up this task himself one day and make it a tradition in his life.
– Laura
LikeLike