She is here!

And she is absolutely perfect.

Leilani Mikayla Abel was born on March 20th, 2010 at 8:49 a.m. weighing in at 7lbs 6oz and an even 20 inches long.

A week and a day has gone by since I experienced one of the most incredible ... experiences that one could possibly... experience. A surreal Friday dawned with contractions every 8 minutes for 4 hours that sent us to the midwife at opening time. We arrived riiight as they stopped. "Nope, no dilation. Tight as a clam, but those sound like they are something! So she will be here soon. I am sure of it." Went home to then have the classic "...oh! I think my water just broke?? Yeah! YEAH!! It DID! Honeeey???" moment that sent us back to the midwife right as the leak decided to not leak. She smiled at us and looked at me skeptically "Well... I am not seeing anything still... no contractions? Ok well... Uh, I will go test this to see if it is what you think it is..." A few minutes later she returned with a surprised expression and the announcement of "You ruptured!" And we were off to the hospital. I must say after all the "Is it? It is? No really, I promise they were comming regularly, no really I KNOW my water broke" moments I was relieved to get the official "Yes, you are not paranoid and crazy, she is on her way... Kinda." We checked in, I got hooked up to a drip, donned a fashionable backless hospital gown and sat down to wait. And wait. And nothing happened. So they started (very lightly) the dreaded Pitocin and THEN something sorta started to happen. Very slowly. 24 hours, millions of contractions. an epidural and 30 minutes of pushing later, there was a wet and sticky squirming little girl crying in my arms. Compeltely and utterly one of the two most profoudly amazing moments of my life.

She is a perfect little dreamboat. Nursing great from day 1, sleeping soundly (mostly) in between feedings, and content and peaceful the rest of the time. Unless she is hungry, soggy or in need of a burp, then she lets out the most heartbreaking wails I have ever had to endure. They end as quickly as they come though. God is so kind.

I have fallen in love again, and lost my heart to a teeny little bundle of Grand that leaves me every day in awe of her Creator.

Wednesday

Spring smells so nice as it blows through my open window... At first I could not quite figure out what it was. Something damp and fresh... Can "growing" be a scent? If it can, it smelled like growing. I wish outside could always smell like this. Although the buds on the trees have not decided to do anything exciting yet, the birds are still a little out of tune and the grass looks abused by too much cold and ice, everything is so full of promise and potential. To me, Spring can pretty much be summed up by a deep, full inhale. I just love, love, love this time of year.

This Spring, as the flowers start to arise out of the ground and as the grass and leaves rediscover photosynthesis, there will be a new little pair of lungs breathing in all this freshness for the very first time. A new little face will discover the brightness of the sunshine and soft baby fingers and toes with feel the warmth of an afternoon breeze. The loveliness of this season will all be taken in by a little pair of eyes, seeing it all for the very first time. A true new Beginning.

I can't wait to rediscover everything right along with her.

I want a new beginning too. I want to see the beauty as if I have never seen anything before and discover the Love of Jesus all over again in a completely new way.

"Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

It is 6:00 p.m. on a Tuesday...

...and the sun has been out all day, it has been in the sixties for most of the afternoon, the birds are singing and I am sleepy already.

Today is March 9th. Petunia is due to make her appearance on March 13th. At any moment, she could decide that she has had enough of her cramped little bubble and make her grand appearance. After much debate in my mind, I decided to take this week off from work in an attempt to rest myself, clean my house (yes those two can go together... sometimes), collect my thoughts, and focus myself on the Giver of this gift that is about to be opened.

I am so thankful for the calm quiet of the past two days. I don't think that I can really prepare very much for the adventure that awaits me tomorrow? Tonight? Next Thursday? but I have come to realize that the less prepared I think I am, the better. Parenting requires 100% reliance on God for everything and if I start thinking "Ok... I think we can handle this..." that 100% drops drastically and everything will fall apart guaranteed. I need to keep ever before me that "Apart from Him, I can do nothing." -John 15:5

It is a scary thing to know that in mere hours or days I will arrive at the weakest state I have ever been in, utterly out of my league without a clue of what to do. Scary but beautiful.

"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." -2 Corinthians 12:9

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." -Is. 40:28-29

Strength in weakness. Encouraging!