Things that go burp in the night!

We give thanks to God for his mercy and goodness in giving us a new baby BOY! Joshua Arthur arrived safe and sound and oh so snuggly at 4:17 PM, on Wednesday, August 27, 2008. He was 9 pounds, 9 ounces and 22 inches in length. He has a velvety head covered in soft brown hair, and blue eyes. He is adjusting to his position in the family, taking on that typical 13th born demeanor which is so endearing to us all.... (Joanna, meanwhile, is adjusting to her new role as "middle child", since she is 7th born...)

We were extra excited because his arrival was smack dab on Dave's dear mom's birthday, adding her day to our immediate list of birthdays. Grandma Carmen went to be with the Lord in 2001. Joshua gets his middle name, Arthur, from another dear brother in Christ, who went to be with the Lord in 2006.

Wow, we are so blessed!

Our midwives, Chris and (adult daughter) Billie Jo, felt like part of the family. I called them the night before, after having a few obvious signs that labor had started. They stayed in the girls' room the night before Joshua was born, and all the rest of the children camped out in the backyard. The next morning, it seemed like nothing was going to happen. We took our typical 3 mile walk, and Chris decided to check my progress before she and Billie went home. Good thing; I was 8 cm! We went ahead with our daily tasks as we waited for baby's arrival.


Abi and the older kids really kept everyone moving forward during the waiting time, so Daddy was able to focus on helping Mommy. My favorite memory was having ALL the kids trickle into our room to see Joshua for the first time, and seeing their faces just bursting with joy (oooh, I'll have to work on that word picture...).

(The Lord really helped me so much as always, and I would like to write up the labor story for moms who are into hearing more details; email me if you would like me to send it to you!)

It goes without saying that there was a lot of rejoicing here, and it was really nice that everyone (except yours truly) was able to get a lot of sleep the night before and retire at a normal hour. I had the night shift with our new bundle, which is such a precious privilege.

Well, that is all for now. We give God thanks and praise for this new blessing!