Today I've been reflecting on the day of her birth, sixteen yearsago. Kent was a BYU student, a couple of weeks away from finals.
I had graduated about six months before and was working part time at a nearby elementary school.
We'd been married for two years, we were living in a tiny
apartment in Provo, and we were so excited to become parents.
Our families were excited too, she was the first grandbaby on my
side. We had decided not to find out the gender of our baby, but it
was no secret that I dearly hoped for a baby girl.
Thanksgiving was two days away and we were planning to travel to
Preston for the weekend. The baby wasn't due for a couple of
weeks. I'd been to the doctor the day before, he told me that
nothing was happening, and not to expect a delivery for at least a
week to ten days.
But our baby had other ideas. After a long, painful night and
morning we headed to the hospital that afternoon. It was not a
smooth delivery, the baby was posterior, the cord was around her
neck, her heart rate dipped to dangerous levels. The room was
filled with doctors and nurses working fast and furious, and we
were minutes away from an emergency c-section. Kent and I
were terrified.
But somehow the doctor was able to turn her, get her heart rate stabilized and she made her entrance into the world at 8:31 p.m. We were filled with joy when the doctor announced that we had a healthy baby GIRL!! She has been a blessing in our lives ever since.
Here are some of my favorite pictures of her through the years...
Happy birthday Rachel! We love you so much!