Another Nomad is Born

Yes, I know...it has been a couple of months since we last updated our blog. Life has been pretty crazy for us, and on April 28 it got alot more crazy.  We are excited to announce that our little Makaylan Joy arrived on April 28th at 8:02 a.m.  I can hear several of you wanting to hear the story (well...mainly the female readers) so here it is in bullet points.

Wednesday, April 27

-- Amanda goes for coffee with a friend. I'm feeling a little pressure and I hurt some, but nothing out of the ordinary.  Chris goes to the doctor because he's fighting a sinus infection.

-- We both stay home from church because I don't feel like sitting in pews, and Chris is feeling crummy.  He also has an accounting test the next day, so I help him study.

-- About 10:00 p.m. I have this urge to vacuum our house. Apparently, this should have been the tale-tale sign, but I'm clueless to all these signs.

Thursday, April 28

-- 12:00 a.m. Amanda encourages Chris to take a Tylenol PM so he will sleep. He really needed to do well on the accounting test, and he hadn't slept in a couple of night.  So Chris takes the medicine, and we go to bed.

-- 1:30 a.m. Amanda wakes up for her normal potty break. I had some really bad "cramping," but thought it was other issues.  I go back to bed.

-- 1:35 a.m. Amanda feels like something is about to "happen" so I get up again.  The minute my feet hit the floor, my water broke, and I immediately have severe contractions. I call the on call doctor who tells me I need to go to the hospital.  I decide to wait a bit because I didn't want to drive 30 minutes just to be sent home. I lasted 5 minutes, and told my "drug induced" husband that I thought I was in labor and my water had broke.  You should see a man who's under the influence of Tylenol PM try to comprehend his wife's in labor...hilarious!!! :) :)

-- 1:50 a.m. We are on our way to the hospital.  I was really praying that I was in labor because if I wasn't then something was terribly wrong.  On the way we timed the contractions, and they were 2 minutes apart. I knew something HAD to be going on.

-- 2:30 a.m. We enter the hospital and were greeted by two very sweet but very skeptical nurses.  They take their time processing me, told me to go to the bathroom, and then they would see if my water had indeed broken.

-- 2:45 a.m.  The nurses "check" me, and I am 6 cm dilated and 90% effaced.  They immediately go into high gear, call my doctor, grab an anesthesiologist leaving the hospital to put in my epidural, and I am whisked into a delivery room.  Chris calls our parents and tells them I'm in labor.  Cindy and Tommy (Chris' parents) were in Dallas, TX, and I think they go into extremely high gear.  Marc (Amanda's dad) was in Pineville, LA at a meeting and couldn't come), and Buttons (Amanda's mom) got dressed in record time. Needless to say, this was a HUGE shock to all of us.  Here it was April 28 and she wasn't supposed to arrive until mid May. :) :)

-- 4:00 a.m. Amanda gets the epidural, and I feel SOOO much better. I could actually relax and enjoy it.

-- 6:00 a.m. Amanda is ready to go, but the doctor is in the shower at home. Cindy and Tommy weren't there, so they continued with the drip so I wouldn't feel the urge to push.

-- 7:30 a.m. Amanda's doctor arrives, and I can officially begin the process of having our little girl. At some point Cindy and Tommy make it (YES, they drove 4 1/2 hours and made it!!).  It was one of the hardest things I've done, yet the drugs made it great!! :) :)

-- 8:02 a.m. Makaylan Joy Walker makes her grand appearance!!  She is SO beautiful, and we fell in love the minute we saw her.

This was one of the crazies but joyful days of our life.  It's been amazing to have her here and love on her. Chris and I are learning a whole new concept of love, patience, and grace through this little girl. Most days we just stare at her in awe, wondering how we got SO blessed with the responsibility of raising her.  The Modern Nomads have now added another nomad to the world :) :)  Oh, the journey we have ahead of us...we can't WAIT!!!!

Enjoy some pics her Aunt Cara Beth took...

Family Photo

Isn't she precious?!!