Our rough and tough blessing: From our beginning

Jake and I have know each other for as long as we can both remember. We grew up in the same church together 'till Jake and his family moved when he was 10. So we fast forward a few years to age 16. He spent that summer down here with his grandmother, who still went to the same church, and this is when our life together began.

I know what a lot of you might be thinking "at 16 you're too young to meet the love of your life" but I think it's a "southern thing" or maybe a "Sutton thing". You see the young love thing goes all the way back to Jake's great- grandfather "Pop". He married his wife "Grandmother" when she was just 14 and had their first baby when she was 15. That was Jake's grandmother "MawMaw" Inez who also got married young. I don't think it was quite that young though. But they had Debbie (Jake's mom) and Greg. Debbie and Sam were high school sweethearts, Greg and Melody were high school sweethearts and their sister Wendy and her husband Tony were high school sweethearts. So it's only natural that Jake and I "fell in love" in high school.

For two and half years we had a long distance relationship. After Jake's graduation in 2001 he moved down here to go to UAH for enginering. On January 3rd, 2004 we were married. After going back and forth on the idea of a baby for months in early 2006 we had decided to try, thinking it would take a long time. About a week later I found out I was already pregnant. After a great pregnancy and 70lbs. later on December 1st, 2006 David Gabel (Gabe) was born by schedule c-section. He was 8lbs. 11oz. and 21 1/2 in. long.

We thought Gabe was a healthy baby boy when he was born. Then the next morning Jake noticed he was laboring to breath. So he was sent down to the NICU. My doctor kept me in the hospital for four days so I could be close to Gabe; however, I ended up having to go home with out Gabe. (That was the worst feeling I have ever had in my life and I pray that I never have to do it again.) After many prayers and tears we got to bring our healthy baby home at a week old.I don't know where the time has gone. The past sixteen months have been so much fun and at the same time scary. It was amazing watching him do things like crawling one day and the next just deciding to take off walking. But then there are the times when he won't eat or wakes up screaming that are scary. It always leaves me second guessing myself. I have to say that the "mama" thing definitely kicks in, but having to decide if it just teething or another ear infection and whether to call the doctor, that what gets me. So most of the time the answer is just call the doctor.