a gift from God..

Three years ago to the day I was laying in a hospital bed, hooked up to a lovely Pitocin cocktail, watching college football, eating jalepeno potato chips and waiting for labor to start!

 The miracle of the day, 

Aaron was right next to me!

At the time of her birth, Aaron was still in the Navy, still stationed in Italy.

When I was 2-3 months pregnant with her I went to Italy to be with him and came back when i was about 7-8ish months. 

My biggest fear in coming back to the states is that Aaron wouldn't be able to be there for the birth.

With the military there are always unknowns and surprises.

They denied all of his requests for baby leave so we really thought he would miss it.

The ship was on schedule to come back stateside in November.

It seemed like everyday they had a new idea of how long they wanted to take and where they wanted to stay.

I even got an email one day saying they were thinking of changing the homeport to Guam or Hawaii.

I was a hysterical mess, but my wise Momma pulled me into her arms and we prayed.

She prayed with me everyday that Aaron would be home for the birth.

I knew the Lord works miracles, but when you are dealing with Navy, there aren't always miracles! 

Sadly, I was doubtful a miracle would happen.

The Navy finally approved leave, but it was weeks before my due date so there was still a good chance he would miss the birth!

I would never have gotten through those last couple months without my mom.

She came to every appointment with me.

Coached me through what birthing was like.

Helped me write a birthing plan.

Helped me figure out what to put in a hospital bag.

All that stuff that usually husbands help with.

Well, in a way my Momma was my husband for a while.

She gave me all the support and love I needed in the absence of my real husband.

For my 38 week appointment, Beth came with me because Mom was busy.

We had been monitoring the baby's growth since I got back from Italy and they had concern she wasn't growing.

If I remember right my placenta was even starting to separate from my uterine wall.

Anyway, at 38 weeks they thought she wasn't growing at all. 

They estimated her to be 3 to 4 pounds.

The midwife looked at the information and said, you need to be induced today!

I panicked.

Aaron flew in, in 1 day.

I begged her to let me wait until Aaron was in town.

She left the room to go discuss with all the doctors if that would be safe for the baby.

After what seemed like ages,

She said YES!

A miracle from the Lord!

Aaron flew in and ironically the hospital didn't have a bed for us so we had to wait a couple days to even get into the hospital.

We finally got in, went through with the induction, 

tried going natural but when I was getting contractions literately on top of each other I decided I needed the drugs!

The first one didn't work so I had to get a second one.

After the drugs, it was so peaceful!

We just sat there, still watching football, talking, laughing, not really realizing in a few moments our world was going to change drastically.

I calmly pushed her out and then watched as they whisked her away from me.

She was a healthy 5 and a half pounds!

We named her Brookelyn Grace.

Grace to remind us constantly of the grace the Lord has shown us over and over. 

He showed us grace by giving her to us!

She is spunky, sassy, creative, has a great imagination, stubborn, loves being a big sister, Daddy's girl, caring, bossy and independent. 

When I found out I was pregnant, I couldn't even imagine how she would change my life for the better.

We did not deserve such a beautiful gift, but the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, sent her to us.

The Lord knew she was just what I needed.

We treasure our little gift named Brookelyn, everyday!

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalms 100:5