Stephen's Story

Sunday, August first, was a busy day. We had dinner with my Uncle Tom, Aunt Karilyn and the cousins as they traveled back from a family trip. We'd asked Becca, Elli and Tim to come stay for a couple of days. We'd planned for a little visit (before the baby came, of course) so we could catch up, play games, make yummy food, and generally have fun. Little did we know that a change of agenda was in the works!

Nine-thirty pm. After putting Alaina to bed and visiting for a little while, we settled down for a game of Five Crowns. I started feeling "a bit off" and thought I'd better drink some water to stay hydrated. Then I thought I'd better lay down a bit, and the game moved into the living room around the recliner. That lasted for a round or two until I started to get the idea that this was more than a few simple Braxton Hicks contractions. Needless to say, that ended the game. (Kyle and Tim claim victory, the girls claim suspension.)

Eleven-thirty pm. Why does it always take us so long to get out of the house? With Alaina and the livestock in excellent hands, Kyle and I started the hour long trek to the hospital. Every route there is under construction, so we opted for one of the back highways instead of the interstate. Sure enough, at that time of night the roads were clear and open. Our only concern was the one set of train tracks, where trains are notorious for stopping across the road to change personnel. We breathed a sigh of relief as we cleared the tracks, then Kyle looked in the looked in the rear view mirror. "Uh, Honey," he said, "the lights just went on. If we had been a minute later we would have hit the train!" Thank you, Lord, for the way things timed out!

Twelve-thirtyish. We got settled into our hospital room. Sure enough, we were ready to deliver and after a half an hour, Stephen arrived! Labor this time was definitely more intense, but recovery has been much easier and I'm feeling really good.

Although things worked out much differently than we expected, we're so grateful for God's timing! Kyle was home instead of far away on a job, with the cousins there we were able to leave right away, and Alaina received excellent care from people she had already had time to get used to. And I can't say what a huge blessing it was to come home to a spotless house with a delicious meal all ready to eat! (Thank you again! I still wish we'd gotten more time to catch up though . . .)

P

We're so grateful for the care of our family and friends, for a safe delivery, and most of all for our sweet little guy! Off to do some snuggling. ;-)

P.S. A word on pronunciation. Alaina calls her brother "Deedoo", but the rest of us say his name like "Steven".