Zebbity-Do-Da...

                                

Zebby, Zebbaroo, Zebberiffic, Zebco, Zebmiester.  Zeb.

Though I've told a few people it's short for Zebra, Zeb's name is just Zeb.  Plain, old Zeb.  Straight up and down.  We like it that way, but you would never know it because we always add an ending of some sort.

So why all the Zebbarama?  Well, today is a very special day for our family.  Today we celebrate Zeb's 10th Gotcha Day!  A Gotcha Day (the day we "got" him) is the same as an Adoption Day.  We celebrate this day faithfully; and, truthfully, it's more important than his birthday.  We're all about family, you know?

Instead of trying to make a case that Zeb is the greatest 10 year old on the planet and that I won the golden ticket when he was placed in my arms, I'll just share a few pictures and memories that I hold dear.
... and since nooooobody likes a bragger, I'll try to control myself.

Captured here is the happiest day of our entire lives.  Falling in love was delightful, getting married was exciting, learning to live together in harmony was an adventure, but this...  WOW!  Words can't even explain.

All of my kids are special, but Zeb holds a unique place in my heart.  He made me a mama.  Before him, I was a wanna-be mama.  On April 23, 2001, I became the real deal.  The promise of Psalm 113:9 was fulfilled in my life, and things have never been the same.

I love this picture because it reminds me of a prayer answered and a broken heart made whole.  

*******NUDITY ALERT*******

                                                                               

  

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures of the Zeb when he and Michal were young.  They had been playing outside in the mud and were too dirty to even bathe inside.  I stripped them down, lathered them up, and sprayed them with the garden hose.  Just look at those cheeks...  

 

Has there ever been a kid who didn't rock a shampoo-hawk at least once?

One of Lee and Zeb's favorite places... on the water.  I think those are snapper.

Zeb at 8 years old.  He was an Indian for the Ha-ha-ha-lelujah Festival at church.  The kids actually call it the Ha-ha-ha-le-LEWIS Festival.  We do appreciate the hundreds of people that love our family enough to attend.





Last year, Zeb won a prize with this "two word" poem.  I can only assume that the rest of the poems were really, really pitiful, but it did warm my heart.  Although he was on the money with the caring, worrying, and loving lines, he's a wee bit off on the running information.  The entire family knows he prefers Lee over me, so I cherish the moment I was center stage.  He probably just couldn't whittle all that Daddy-love into only two words.

Dear Karla Nelson Photography,
I'm sure something about this is illegal.  Please forgive me.

Above is Zeb's 8 year portrait.  Lisa H. says he looks like Mogli from The Jungle Book, and I kind of agree.  We've also heard he looks like Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Keanu Reeves.  Any of the three is fine with me, 'cause he used to look like Curious George.

A very proud moment came for Zeb this last spring when he shot his first fish in the Keys.  He used my brother's spear gun, took a deep breath, and swam maybe 20 feet down before stoning this barracuda on his first try.  Lee says that "stoning" a fish doesn't happen that often.

Think I'll close with a little known (and potentially embarrassing) fact about Zeb.  He is a superb Hula-hooper.   I told him he could probably be a hula-hooping professional when he grows up, but he said he'd rather stick to baseball and fishing.  And for that, I am thankful.

(Eh, uhm)  Ladies and Gentlemen, for his debut performance, hooping to his all-time favorite song, Mr. Zebbbbbbb Lewissss...