HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!!!

Eighteen years ago today, March 6, 1991, at around 11:00 p.m., my youngest nephew was born. So..........

HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY CALEB McDONALD WATKINS!!!!

Grandma Howell, Momma and Caleb--ca. 1993

When Caleb was a little fella, he had the blondest hair with the prettiest curls you have ever seen! Charlotte refused to cut his hair till well after his first birthday cause it was just sooooo cute! His only sister, Katie, had her heart set on a baby sister. After all, she already had two baby brothers! For the entire time of Charlotte's pregnancy, Katie prayed diligently and believed the Lord would give her a baby sister.

On the night of Caleb's delivery, she was stoked because she just KNEW she was gettin ready to welcome her brand new baby sister into the world. When Caleb arrived and Ricky came to tell us the news, the first question out of her mouth was "Is it a baby sister?"! When Ricky gathered her up into his arms and told her no, that it was a baby brother, her whole spirit was just crushed! She cried and cried. We went to see Caleb, who was just too precious for words, but it just could not calm her spirit.

We left the hospital with the kids in tow and headed back to Mommas. Katie continued to cry all the way home, which was about an hour's drive. She just could not understand why God had not given her a baby sister! She eventually cried herself to sleep at Momma's house.

The next day, Charlotte and Ricky brought Caleb home and Momma took the kids home to be there when they arrived. As soon as Caleb was at home where Katie could get her hands on him, she was enthralled with him! She mother-henned him and took care of him better than any baby doll she had!!! She held him, changed his diapers, rocked him, played with him...anything she could do to help, she did.

When he was older, because they lived in a three bedroom house and now had four children, my Charlotte and Ricky put Caleb into Katie's bedroom. At night when they were settling in to sleep, Caleb would crawl into his little toddler bed and call out to Katie "Katie, which way are you going to turn your head?" and Katie would answer "I"m going to turn my head toward you baby?" That would be it then. Caleb would settle down to sleep because he felt secure knowing Katie was watching out for him.

As he grew, he started Kindergarten and Katie was responsible for dropping him off every day. She would drive him to his Kindergarten building and drop him off, many times crying after her to take him with her. Many days, Katie went to school crying herself cause she was so upset that she had left Caleb crying.

Uncle Caleb and Alix--June, 2005

When Caleb was 9, Katie got married. His little heart was broken because his Katie was not going to come back home and live with him anymore! He was in the wedding party. He was such a little man, but he stood there and cried throughout the entire ceremony! Later in that same year, Katie and Brian introduced Caleb to his first niece, Alix Joy. Although Caleb was not yet ten, he took to Alix immediately. He loved her and watched over her and played with her....much like Katie had done for him.

Caleb--October, 2008

Now, Caleb is about to become a man! Oh my Lord, where have the years gone?! It seems only yesterday he was using his Dad's umbrella as a parachute while he jumped from the roof of the storage shed! Or tried to eat spiders, or covered his eyes with his hands proclaiming "You can't find me now cause you can't see me!"!!!! So many precious memories and now he's a man. This summer he will graduate from high school.

Caleb and Jacob--Mother's Day, 2008

He is such a tech geek. Not a geek in the wrong sense of the word, but in the sense that he is absolutely engrossed in technology and wants to know everything about anything new in the tech world. He knows more about my computer than me (which isn't saying a whole lot!) and he's my 'go to' guy when I have problems. He's never let me down, he's always known how to fix it and get me up and going again. He has expressed some interest in the military, but hasn't made his final decision yet.

He comes by my house to help me out with anything I might need and has been doing so for quite some time now. I honestly do not know what I would have done without him, his brothers and my other nephew during all the things I have been through over the past months. They have stood in the gap for me and took up the slack that was left when Terry could no longer do the 'man' things around our house. I was determined to do it on my own, but they wouldn't let me!

This IS Caleb, laid back and pretty much relaxed!

So, today my youngest nephew is 18. Wow! I still have a hard time seeing him as a grown young man. Thank you Lord for this wonderful young man who has blessed my life and my heart so very many times just by walking into the room! Happy Birthday Caleb! Aunt Di loves you and is so, so proud of the young man you have become!