Outside of Good Friday services, Friday seemed like any other day...Keith and I both worked, and Rebeka ended up babysitting for the neighbors until close to midnight. Though we ended up not going to bed until late, I was hoping to get out Saturday to find something special for the girls' and Keith's easter baskets.
A little after 8 a.m., Jessica called apologizing for waking us up so early on a Saturday morning, but she thought she ought to let us know that her water had broken and they were on their way to the hospital! I have to admit, I was actually excited, even though the baby wasn't due until May 15 (Jessica had scheduled her c-section for May 7).
We had really wanted to be there when the baby was born, but with Keith just returning back to work and the end of school testing, it just wouldn't be possible. This little surprise changed everything...so I called Keith, who was on his way home from work, and let him know the news--we agreed to pack and head for Georgia! We had several errands to tend to before heading out, so the girls and I jumped into action, and I do believe we finished packing in record time--which is a feat for our household of women who struggle to keep the suitcases down to 2 EACH!!!
By the time Keith got home at 10, we were finished packing and all but 2 errands completed. We finally hit the road at 11:30. While stopping to grab a bite to eat along the way, I receive a text from Bert letting us know we had a new granddaughter!
Caroline Lawson Kelly made her way into our lives at 12:53 p.m. on April 23, 2011. Though she was a preemie, she weighed in at 7.1 lbs and measured 19.5 inches!!!
We arrived about 4 p.m. just as Bert brought in Elizabeth to meet her new baby sister! Though Elizabeth was excited about "her new baby," she wasn't quite sure about this newcomer and the attention Caroline was drawing!
The whole day seemed all too surreal for Bert and Jessica; Excited yet exhausted, they weren't quite prepared for this unexpected surprise, but they fell in love with their new baby immediately!
Jessica, the organizer that she is, had already been doing her "nesting," and so we were not surprised to find out that she'd already packed her bags, finished sewing several dresses, jumpers, bloomers, shorts and t-shirts for Elizabeth; completed Elizabeth's age 2 album; organized and labeled bins for the panty, the bathroom, the medicine cabinet, the cabinet and drawer spaces for Elizabeth's and Caroline's cups, plates, bottles, bibs, nipples, etc.; pulled out and hung up all of Elizabeth's clothes for Caroline to wear; and set up Caroline's changing table and dresser!! WHEW! In her blog, she wrote: Now I feel like if Caroline comes early (which I'm still praying she doesn't), then I'll be ready!
Early she did come, and for us that was a blessing to be able to share in that day! Of course, Aunt Hannah and Aunt Rebeka couldn't wait to hold her!
When Pappa held her, she began to wake up, giving us some great photos!
Finally, it was my turn!
Soon, Caroline fell back asleep.....
...and so did someone else!!!! (Bless his heart...! He'd only been up 24 hours by this time!!!)
Soon after, we took Elizabeth home, so we could all get some rest...I surely wished we knew how to upload videos from an UN-smart phone, because we have the greatest footage of Elizabeth eating her dinner--her favor-ite, corn on the cob!!! It is hilarious! Once home, we bathed her, dressed her for bed in her "froggy" p.j.'s, read her her favorite books, and sang her a few lullabies; and before we knew it, she was in la-la land as happy as could be!
Though we had to leave Sunday, it was well worth the trip to be with our daughter and son-in-law to share in this moment!
It would be Wednesday before they were released to go home...baby Caroline, though a bit jaundiced, was ready to go...here she is in her traveling outfit looking so much like Elizabeth!!!
Welcome Baby Caroline! You have overwhelmed us with your beautiful little self, and I am reminded of the Psalmists words:
The Message also excites me:For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was intricately woven in secret and skillfully wrought in the depths of my mother's womb. Your eyes saw my substnace, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You.
Ohhhh!!! How my cup runneth over!!!
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day. Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend them! I couldn't even begin to count them—any more than I could count the sand of the sea. Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
I just reread this. I just love hearing her story from someone who actually writes well!! Thanks! But her due date was may 15 but was scheduled for a c section on the 7. Only important because it made her 3 weeks early!!!
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