Birth story for Paul: Meeting the other kids

One thing I've done for each and every child is that the kids are the FIRST to meet their new sibling.  I've had a yearning for a family that is close.  The healthy kind of close.  The kind of close that you know that you can rely on one another no matter what.  That you love one another no matter what.  That you can support one another through anything.

And a great start is being the FIRST to welcome one another into the world.  There is something to be said of firsts.  So absolutely unequivocally the kids are the first (besides William and myself) to meet the new baby.

We gave Jan a call to let her know she was free to come whenever.  And she got there pretty quick.  I felt bad because we had to delay letting them in due to me being checked...and I can't recall what else.  It felt like forever - but my sense of time was pretty off.

Finally William went to get them.  He walked in and asked each of the kids what their guess was.  Rebekah guessed girl.  Peter guessed boy.  Ruth guessed girl.

William smiled and said "Well, two of you are wrong."  Peter thought about it for a moment.  William said he could see the smile spread across Peter's face as he realized HE was right.  His face erupted into overflowing joy and he exclaimed "YES!" complete with a fist pump.

They made their way back to the room to meet little Paul. 

I was still in a bit of a haze, but my recollection was simply that Peter was smitten, Ruth was excited and Rebekah was playing it cool.  I think Rebekah tried hard to not be in love - but love won out.

I think the pictures speak for themselves. 

They watched Paul get cleaned up.  Peter was right there in the mix.  Ruth stood looking at me, not really sure what to think.  She was concerned about the IV line, but wasn't afraid.  (Rebekah was terrified of it when Peter was born - wouldn't come near me. I was happy Ruth was scared like that.)  Rebekah sat on the couch, a quiet observer in it all.

I tried to pay attention to it all, but it was hard. There was a lot going on in the room. And honestly, it is amazing to me how hazy everything was.  But this sticks out.  Jan had an amazing story to tell me.

She said that this particular weekend her son had a college wrestling tournament.  She had thought about attending, but then he was sick...and so she had thought he wouldn't wrestle.  He had ended up getting better in time to wrestle, but she still felt she shouldn't go.  Saturday was a very chaotic day for her.  Overly chaotic.  The kind that would make you wonder if you could squeeze one more thing in.  And Sunday looked to be busy too.  God woke her up at 5 AM on Sunday to tell her that things would be just fine, they would work out, and that this baby was coming today.

Isn't that amazing?  Hearing this and a related story where God woke up my mom and told her that the baby was coming AND that it would be a boy...made me feel a little like Mary - in that God announced this baby's arrival.  I've been pondering Mary and her thoughts on motherhood for awhile.  So I've been trying to treasure every moment.  I kind of wonder what she thought when she got all her visitors?  The Bible doesn't say - but it would be a confirmation that the Lord's plan is playing out.  She might have been a woman of great faith - but everyone gets shaken up now and again.  And sometimes the Lord sends us encouragement ahead of time, so that we can remind ourselves of it later when we need it.

For me - it was just a reminder that having this baby earlier than my plans was OK.  God knew it was going to be this way.  He has things worked out for my best interest.  And He was going to continue to show this to me for the rest of the week.

We all hung out and I soaked it all in.

Next up:  My overall hospital stay.