Gently Led: Thirteen Things About Silas

I remember when I knew.
Isaac (Cashling #3) was only 10 months old and as I carried him back to his room on that one particular afternoon for his nap I felt this deep, deep tiredness that I could not push through.
We lay down on the rug in Isaac and Alex's room to read some books and an hour later I woke up with Isaac curled up asleep beside me. I had no memory of the previous hour, just that the kind of tired I was feeling was unique and specific.

Pregnant.

How in the actual world?!

Truth be told, I fully understood 'how', but I could not fathom how my own plan was so completely thwarted.

We were done with babies.

We were wrong.

Nine months and a whole lot of Zofran later....

1. A blond was born unto us. A blond?! I do not have blond hair. Jeff has definitely never had blond hair. And yet, somehow, we birthed the most adorable blond-headed boy.

2. That aside, Jeff Cash cannot deny this child. Not ever. His manner, his words and his spirit are Jeff Cash remade. Delightful.

3.Silas loves Jesus. I remember driving home from church one Sunday when he spoke, frustrated, from the back seat, “Mom, I want to be baptized and I am not sure anyone is taking me seriously. This is it. I believe. And it is time to make that public and permanent.” He was eight. And he was right. Glorious day.

4. He is a master of story, analogy and metaphor. (See #2) He consistently says he wants to be a missionary when he grows up.

5. As Cashling numero quatro, let’s face it, the boy can hardly get in a word edgewise when everyone is together. He has been interrupted and spoken for more than you could possibly imagine. And so, he has learned how to grab attention and make his point quickly with humor and tact. What a gift for all of us!

6. When his sister left for her internship in Kenya, Si wrote three letters full of encouraging scriptures. He gave her one to read at home before she left, one to read on the plane and one to read once she had arrived. All three letters made me cry. I’m sure they meant a lot to Kinley too ;).

7. Silas has had health issues, very similar to my own, since his birth. They have peaked in the last few years draining his energy as he manages constant discomfort. To heal, he, at 12 years of age, courageously changed his diet giving up many things that have made him sad to lose. In the midst of his physical struggle he has continued to advance in scout ranks, persevere with homeschool and remain a world class climber of trees. He is one incredibly tough kid.

8. We had a hard time choosing Silas’ name before he was born. For a long while he was going to be Ryan, but we couldn’t decide on a middle name to accompany that. When people asked about potential names we began to quip that we were going to use our mother’s maiden names: Small King. Just a few days before he was born we happened upon Silas (you know, in the Bible ;)) and we loved it. Plus it sounded great with Ryan as a middle name. Just after he was born we looked up the meaning of both names and discovered that Silas meant “from the forest” (see #2) and Ryan means: ‘a small king.'

He is just like his name-- meant to be.

9. His current favorite color is camouflage. His favorite clothes are camouflage. His most requested items for gifts are knives, camping gear and anything camouflage.

Camping and being outside (particularly if it involves mud or dirt) have consistently remained his favorite things.

10. He has always worn his brother’s hand-me-downs. And not one time, NOT ONE TIME, has he ever complained.

11. His tears break all of us. Sincerely. You want the other five Cashes all up in your business—cross Silas. He is a well-loved and very protected kid!

(Also, Disneyland is hard, people!)