My girls. Wow, we have two now!
Sunday – October 24th, 2021
“Any prayer requests before we get started?” Our small group leader asked as he looked around the circle of chairs.
“Emily could have our baby as soon as this week or next,” I offered.
Oh, that’s right! I thought so! She looks so good! — Came the happy whispers. Everyone smiled. They all knew we were expecting. It’s hard to hide the fact that a human is living within the confines of your wife’s abdominal region.
Our whole Sunday school class joined together in prayer for Emily and our baby.
Monday – October 25th, 2021
Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp. “Good job Ny, let’s do it two more times.”
Jackson ran into my room and said “Daddy, let’s get on the excavator!” To a three-year-old the very different concepts of elevator, excavator and alligator become a little muddled when one of them tries to pass from brain to tongue.
“Why do you want to go on the elevator, buddy?” I rolled out to see Emily and Nyra stomping up the stairs. They reached the top slightly breathless, and Emily caught my eye. “Exercise helps naturally induce labor,” she grinned as she and Nyra headed back down the stairs.
“Come on, Daddy! Excavator!” I did my best to assure Jackson we didn’t need to go downstairs with them.
Later when we were all gathered together for prayer time, we decided to pray just for Mommy and Baby. Nyra prayed specifically, as she had been for months, that Mommy wouldn’t need another C-section.
Tuesday – October 26th, 2021
3am is mighty early to wake up, but the words “my water just broke” are like two pots of coffee injected directly into the bloodstream. Emily got out of bed to clean up, get dressed, call her sister, and let my caregiver know the time had come.
Within a couple hours, Emily’s sister drove her to the hospital, Emily’s mom came to watch the kids, and I tried to catch a few precious winks until my caregiver arrived.
I recognize there’s a small section of society (namely every single mother in existence) that enjoys labor stories, but I’m going to skip that part and get to the good stuff. Sorry moms.
My wife is amazing. You may recall from seven lines ago that stuff started happening at 3 in the morning. It wasn’t until 13 hours later that our beautiful third child was born.
We didn’t find out what this one was going to be, but we were all 90% convinced it would be a boy. So when tiny Lael (Lay-EL, not Lahl or Lail) Joy appeared, we were over the moon and instantly in love.
One night in the hospital, two cafeteria meals and lots of medical tests later, we finally got to take our precious little girl home to meet her big brother and sister.
I was a little nervous at first that Nyra would be jealous of another girl in the house, or that Jackson would be upset about no longer being the baby. But God continued to show His faithfulness to us even in small ways. Both of Lael’s older siblings immediately took on their roles like they were born for her.
While we do anticipate many fights, arguments and disagreements to take place in the years to come between these three, we’re also encouraged and excited to watch them grow together in friendship and love that only siblings can understand. Bring on the inside jokes, kids. Mom and Dad are ready to “not get it”.
Our sweet little Lael Joy, we’ve been praying for you like we’ve been praying for your brother and sister. Praying that your heart will grow bigger every day and that God will fill it with a longing that won’t be satisfied by anything but Him.
And we won’t stop. Friends, family, casual blog readers, would you join us in this?
P.S. We’re so grateful for the ways many of you are surrounding us with love and encouragement right now. With not being able to cook myself, the meal train is more of a blessing than words can adequately describe. A load off my & Emily’s back as she is able to spend more time with the kiddos and focus on recovering/transitioning to Mama of 3. Emily wouldn’t share this directly but I will, for those of you that would like the link. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.
