the beginning of her story...

I will never forget the day my big sister, Beth told us that she was pregnant.  She was 23, unmarried, and scared out of her mind.  I was 14 years old and sat in the living room that day as my Mom and sister cried buckets of tears with a big ol' smile on my face.  Sounds strange, I know.  But like I said, I was only 14.  My sister still lived at home with us and the reality was that a baby would join us in a few short months.  I was born a baby lover.  Still am.  I could not wait.  I somehow had a sense of peace and joy knowing that baby was a gift from God and it would change all of our lives.  I did cry but the smiles never stopped.  

It was August of 1993 when Tia made her entrance into the world.  My first niece.  My first baby love. I had spent hours folding & re-folding her little onesies in what would be her nursery while dreaming of what she would be like.  I spent so much time with her after she was born that my friends were getting mad at me for abandoning them.  I only cared about Tia.  I just wanted to take care of her.  My sister was working on her degree and working which gave me all kinds of special time with Tia.  I fed her, dressed her, bathed her, took her everywhere, and loved every minute of it.  I left for college and she would stand at the window inside my Mom's house screaming and crying for me not to leave.  It was heartbreaking. Our bond was a seriously special one. 

Fast forward to Tia at 19 years old telling my sister that she was pregnant.  It was not the way any of us envisioned her life unfolding.  My sister was heartbroken.  We all were.  This time around, my perspective was different and a whole lot of tears were shed before the smiles came.  I knew the challenges Tia would face with this life path and I was sad.  We are no strangers to heartache and this was yet another hurdle to overcome but it only took a little time for us to accept and move on. It was just another reminder that things don't always happen as we plan them.  We all believe that God is much bigger than our issues on earth and He never lets us go and we were ready to celebrate this new life.

On the evening of October 2nd, I got a voicemail from my sister that Tia's water had broken and she was on her way to the hospital.  The excitement in her voice was contagious and my heart began beating just a little faster at the thought of baby girl's arrival.  I called her right away and she talked a mile a minute explaining where Tia was and what she was doing when her water had broken. Beth laughed that she might even beat them to the hospital.  Becoming a Grandma for the first time is a very big deal and my sister doesn't mess around.  We had just put the kids to bed so I was pacing around the house calling and texting people like a crazy woman.  I was racking my brain trying to figure out how I could be there.  It was a Wednesday night and we don't have family super close and with Violet being so little, it just didn't seem possible.  

But I couldn't let it go.  It just didn't feel right to not be there.  I was determined to figure out a way.  Jason and I sat down for our nightly couch date and began discussing the options.  There didn't seem to be too many but being the selfless and amazing man that he is, he offered to stay home from work the next day and be Mr. Mom.  I fell a little more in love as I kissed him goodbye and headed out the door.  I decided it would be most fun to surprise them so that hour and a half car ride was full of excitement and me singing loudly to some of my very favorite tunes.  Among the songs that happened to come on the radio that night were "Dreams" by the Cranberries & "Melt With You" by Modern English.  Both classics making me feel happy, peaceful, and extremely thankful that my husband loves me so much.  I dreamed of the events unfolding at the hospital and could not wait to be a part of it all.  

They were all surprised and it felt so good to be there.  Another one of our nieces, Alaina had driven from college to be by Tia's side. We all shared lots of laughs throughout that sleepless night and even danced the "Electric Slide" for Tia at one point.  She didn't seem to appreciate it so much but we had fun.  Tia's contractions were extremely intense for hours but not doing much to dilate her.  The baby's heart rate kept dipping with each contraction and they gave Tia oxygen and put her in all kinds of different positions trying to help baby get more air.  She finally got an epidural and was smiling again.  It was good to have her back.  And then after about 15 hours of hard labor, the doctors decided a c-section would be best.  

We all anxiously waited in the delivery room for Tyler to come to the door announcing baby girl's arrival.  Finally, Tyler sent his Mom a text with a pic of her.  We all admired it and thought she looked like a big, healthy, and beautiful baby.  

We were already aware that she would probably be taken to the NICU right away for precautionary measures because she had a bowel movement in the womb so everyone was prepared for that.  But Tia called my sister to let her know that baby Presley was not breathing on her own and they had to put in a breathing tube.  

Our other sister left work and joined us after hearing this news.  We were all shocked and trying to process what was happening.  It would be hours before we could see her.  I wondered if they would need a wet-vac to clean up the crazy amount of tears that were shed in the waiting room that morning.

And then finally right before it was time for Alaina to head back to school and me to head back home, we got to visit the NICU with Tyler and meet baby girl for the very first time.  

She could not have been more perfect.  All 6 pounds and 20 inches of her.

Seeing her hooked up to all that stuff was hard.  I couldn't imagine how Tia & Tyler were feeling at this point.  

She reminded me so much of her Mommy as a newborn.

And now 5 days later, she remains in the NICU.  She began breathing on her own the next day which was wonderful news.  However, she had trouble when she ate and would forget to breathe so a feeding tube was inserted.  She has had a crazy amount of tests done on her tiny body and they aren't sure what is wrong.  Tia & Tyler had to be discharged yesterday and leave the hospital without their baby girl.  We are praying they will get answers soon.  Please join us in praying for this sweet baby girl, Presley Renee.  This is only the beginning and I feel confident that God has so much more to fill in the pages of her life story.