Julia's Entry

Justin and I had been married for just about four wonderful years when our world changed on April 11th, 2008 at 9:17 pm. After laboring for what seemed to be days on end, precious little Julia Joyce was born. Her entry into the world was all that we anticipated and so much more. Julia is the fulfillment of my childhood hopes--the reality of a once far away dream come true. Julia Joyce has expanded our hearts in ways we never knew possible.

After experiencing several nights of contractions and a few false alarms in the middle of the night, I finally was dilated enough to be admitted. The thai food I ate the night before and the many walks I took to speed her arrival seemed to do the trick at last. Once I was gowned up and heavily breathing through fairly close contractions I stayed dilated at about 4.5 cm for approximately 8 hours. The doctor suggested they break my water so I got prepped for an epidural. The intensity quickly rose and before we knew it, Julia was well on her way. A few pushes (and a quick scare when her heart dropped and the Doctor frantically tapped her head) and her little black-haired head peeped out. "Black hair!?" I thought. Hmmm...it was a hint that this child would surprise me countless times during her life, and she has already! Just minutes after she was born she got everything around her messy, had found her thumb, and also showed mom and dad the cutest little pouty lip we'd ever seen. Such tender first memories.

My hope is that this blog will be a way in which we can track our own precious moments as we adjust from a happy couple of two to an even more joyous family of three. Thanks to all of our families and friends for the tremendous support and love you bring to all of us. What a blessing it is to have people in our lives who love on Julia alongside of us. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!