Part 2: She was born 13 years ago....

The pregnancy continued on and we were filled with such unspeakable joy. Sharing the pregnancy with friends and family....even my fifth grade students were excited for us...it was just such an incredible time for both Gregg and I as a couple. Every little thing about this baby was so mind boggling to me...from the transformation of my body, to the feeling of the baby moving around, to seeing the baby on ultrasound for the first time. I couldn't believe the possibility of what this gift could mean to our lives, but I still had this nagging soundtrack playing in my mind. It was the Enemy playing that "oldie but goodie" of his..."FEAR." I'm sure you have heard it before. It has been "on the charts" for a long, long time.

One day, I was driving along a rural road by myself in Edmond, Oklahoma, reflecting once again on the potential of seeing this child face to face in a few months. Uncharacteristically at that time, I felt the Lord lay something on my heart. (Side note- I know a lot of people speak of hearing the Lord's audible voice. I never have. I don't discount them at all. However for me, I feel His heart promptings from time to time. This was one of them.) I felt Him impress upon me, "I want this child's name to be Faith." I disregarded it. (CRAZY, isn't it??? You don't "disregard" God!!) For one, we didn't even know "what" this child was going to be. We wanted to be surprised. To the shock and surprise of those around us, we weren't going to find out. And for all intents and purposes, I was certain the baby was going to be a boy. But I thought it was a nice suggestion on God's part. A little off maybe...but a nice suggestion.

The pregnancy progressed normally, until around Month 7, when my ankles began to be very swollen and I was having trouble getting my shoes to fit. It was the end of the school year thankfully, so I could spend the remainder of the
pregnancy "resting" at home....which is what I didn't do. I had so much to get ready in anticipation of seeing this precious one. There was no time to rest. When I would lay down for a minute, I would see little white flashes or stars in my eyes as I would get up off the couch. I paid no attention to these signals, nor was I very alarmed when the military doctors informed me I had protein in my urine (is that too graphic??) and my blood pressure was high during my regular prenatal visits. I must have skipped that chapter in "What to expect when you are expecting."

We got to Month 9 and I was so very big! I was finally accepting the fact that I was going to be a mother, and I was so grateful to God for honoring my heart's desire. The military has all sorts of unnecessary rules, but one of the most absurd was their "must be 14 days past due date before inducing" rule. I was getting bigger by the minute, very uncomfortable, and my blood pressure continued to stay within dangerous levels. I mistakenly trusted in my doctors at the military hospital and had absolutely no idea how scary this really was for me and for the baby.

By the 10th day past my due date of July 30, I could feel some major action going on, and it seemed as if we were finally going to see the baby face to face. We raced to the hospital (after stopping for gas on the way....WHAT???!!), and began the process of labor....laboring into the late hours of the day, with no baby yet. The doctor came in to inform me that we would need to do a C-section, which had been one of my ultimate fears throughout the pregnancy. Even shared it with God in my prayer journal. But I was so ready to have the labor part over with...and to see my precious one, I could have run to the operating room myself, just to expedite the process.

She (surprisingly, not he) was born at 11:27 pm on August 8, at a whopping 9lbs. 2 oz. She was beyond beautiful, with her perfectly little round head, and sweet little cry. I COULDN'T BELIEVE THIS GIFT I WAS SEEING FOR THE 1ST TIME!! There was no room for words because we couldn't find it in our feeble little brains to describe what we were feeling inside, but our God knew. He also knew why it was so important that her name be "Faith".... because there would be a "massive" amount needed just 12 short hours later.