....and it seems like no time has passed really since I was busily scrubbing the floors 2 weeks overdue and eagerly anticipating my second baby making her appearance. Desperately I tried to dodge the repeat C-section that was inevitable if labour didn't ensure before the prescribed date. I'd pushed the doctors as far as I could, but when 16 days overdue came along with nary a real contraction I knew my time had run out....completely. So off to the hospital we went...
Giving birth to Miss E was the strangest experience of my life. She was my only pregnancy where I had no labour ( lots of false labour, but nothing that was of any consequence). I walked into the surgery & came out with a baby (& sick from a drug reaction). It wasn't the exhausting effort Zai's birth had been with the 17 hours of hard labour followed by an emergency C-section and it wasn't the worry filled birth of our twins not knowing if they would make it through the removal from my body. It was in a single word ....
STRANGE.
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| Her morning 'birthday hunt' ~ our family tradition! |
I was always intrigued by birth. I was the little girl that would sit in the car & read the first aid book & it was always about the emergency births and I daydreamed about when it would happen to me ( not the emergency part, but the giving birth). I was the almost-teen who begged her Mum to allow her to come to the birth of her youngest sister & if only that sister had not decided to appear during the night I would possibly have been allowed. I am the person so intrigued by the whole birthing concept I have read & studied upon it & yet it seems in some twist of irony I've never been allowed to have that natural birth I longed for.
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| She wanted a pool cake ~ thankfully as we were very busy that weekend & a pool cake is very easy! |
Well 9 years ago it may have been strange, but it was also a wonderful time of welcoming our precious daughter into the world. The second she emerged I saw a minature of myself & while Zai so obviously resembled Dave's family, Miss E came out looking like she could add to the lineup of girls on my side (sometimes we jokingly refer to her as 'number 6').
Although she looks so much like me, her temperament is more like her father's and this makes Ellie & I compliment each other when we work together (which is more & more as she gets older). As our beautiful daughter grows we are enjoying seeing her sweetness & gentleness come out more & more.
Miss Ellie is still our strong-willed daughter, but in a wonderful way where she stands up for what is right. She is still our busy bee, but often now in more constructive pursuits. She is still the wonderful friend to all she comes across & can charm even the most reluctant child into playing. She mothers the younger children & often times can be found with a group around her. She instructs her brothers on games & although comes across some resistance ( especially from her older brother) she can generally gently come up with a compromise that all participants are happy with. Daily she seeks the Lord & it's been wonderful watching her make her personal devotions part of her nightly routine ( Miss E is our only night owl, so this works well for her).
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| Her real personality shining through!!! |
We are so thankful to the Lord for our precious Miss Ellie! We celebrated her special day with a house full of dear friends ( our family are too far away ~ we'll celebrate with them soon!!) It was so much fun, but a little sad to think that this is her last single digit birthday (well only sad for Mum, she's very excited!!).
What a blessings she is to our whole family!!
Blessings
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